Critical Reflection

It was a fruitful 14 weeks for me. Before attending this module, I am not used to formal writing and an introvert myself. I am not confident in public speaking, especially speaking to a crowd, due to that I am only close and speak to friends that I am comfortable with. However, this module requires us to mingle with other groupmates to work on different tasks on hand. With that, I was able to open myself to others in terms of communication and in my writings.

During the first week of this module, we were tasked to write a formal letter about ourselves, from there I have set aside some goals that I want to achieve from this module. One of which, was to improve my writing which I was able to learn from this module through all the writings and peer evaluations and consultations from Professor Brad. I was able to correct my sentences and with the use of synonyms which has broadened my vocabulary. The second was to improve in my speaking, which I was able to improve and learn through this module even though I might not have done very well in the presentation. The experience gained from this module will be put into well used for another module.

One thing I like about this module is that there is a platform for us to write on like the blog created in the first week of class, which I was able to utilize and express myself in the form of words. I was also able to seek references from the writing of my peers as well as receiving feedback from them.

I was also able to pick up some very good writing skill through this module like following standards like APA style, seven Cs of communication, how I should cite and paraphrase my articles instead of just chucking it in a report as well as sourcing reliable resources through scholarly articles and library researches instead of just using the internet alone.

Some of the things I find challenging in this module are the amount of reading and research we must go through for each task and especially the project research which my team and I have difficulties mid-way through the project, which we managed to pull through with the advice from Professor Brad. My team and I were able to work pleasantly and smooth out any differences along the way as well as contributing to different thoughts through communicating and writing which is beneficial for us. 

The project report also taught me how to summarize a related article, retrieve and paraphrase relevant information for our topic all the while keeping in mind the word limits and not to put in non-related details. This process ensures a better understanding of our project research as well as to prepare ourselves for the presentation of the topic.

In conclusion, I feel that communication is very important not only just for school, but it relates to the workforce as well. I am glad to be able to pick up important communication skills from this module as well as the goals I have set in the first week. Will continue to improve my writings and presentation skills. 

 

Annotated summary

Hwang. H.T, Varma.A. (2014). Hydrogen storage for fuel cell vehicles. Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, Volume 5, August 2014, Pages 42-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coche.2014.04.004

The article focuses on the different types of storage tanks and materials used and how different temperatures can affect hydrogen gas volumetric energy density. Hydrogen gas has high energy density on a mass basis as compared to petroleum (120 MJ/kg for hydrogen vs. 44 MJ/kg for petroleum). Sadly, it has low volumetric energy density (0.01 MJ/L for hydrogen at STP vs. 32 MJ/L for petroleum), yet it can be increased by liquefying it. It is also mentioned in the article that pressurizing hydrogen to -253.15 degrees celsius helps improve the volumetric density but due to this, it prompts a challenge to store hydrogen in large quantities for vehicle applications. The author also mentioned the constraints like safety, weight, volume, cost, and efficiency on hydrogen storage for a single trip of more than 500km.

The article also listed possible ways of hydrogen storage, some advantages and disadvantages that are useful for our project research. On the aspect of storage, compressed hydrogen storage offers a promising option but falls short on the cost due to the material used. Better production is needed to advance gravimetric and volumetric capacities, kinetics within suitable temperature/pressure ranges, along with the overall cost. A deeper understanding is required between cost, energy efficiency and environmental impact are essential in the system cycle. From the article, we can take into consideration for hydrogen to be implemented in-vehicle applications, together with material exploration overall system advancement are required to overcome impediment related to hydrogen storage. The article provides adequate analysis that our team can consider upon for our research project.

Revised on 7/12/2020

Reviewed: Joshua, Sebastian, and Dorothy's summary.

Summary reader response

In the article “Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation”, Sprogis (n.d.) used AnyLogic’s software simulator to prove his claim that limiting “Bus Bunching” would boost the experience of public bus transport commuters. The author mentioned that the long waiting time at the bus stop could be eradicated and congestion could be reduced by improving minor setbacks to the bus before a cluster is formed. The author proposed to install the SaaS (Software as a Service) system knowing that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) had presented an API (Application Programming Interface) with real-time bus data that could be retrieved for scrutiny. The author shaped an actual route using the Geographic Information System software, which allow him to replicate the situation with ideal results he called “equilibrium”. Adopting this protocol, transport buses have to maintain distances between each other as a result, the number of users is spread uniformly, reducing long waiting time and flooding of buses. The author suggested that MBTA implement “uber-fication” of their buses using application software to advise drivers while imposing the protocol. This could further aid decision-makers in anticipating the issues and would improve the services for the commuters. I agree with the author that the implementation of the SaaS system in the transport operation, real-time data could be retrieved to assist bus drivers and operators in data analysis, headway calculations, and app developments for the commuter’s benefits.

Firstly, passenger count and headway analysis could be attained to assist bus operators with the help of different types of sensors such as GPS (Global Positioning System), APC (Automatic Passenger Count), AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location), odometers, etc., in the bus operating system. According to Erath (2013), cities like London and Zurich have adopted an identical approach where the bus drivers have the information display on their dashboard. Also, as illustrated by Wang (2018), systems like “AVL and APC” have been utilized widely in bus operating systems. These could help ensure that the information is precise regarding the bus location even in tunnels or downtown areas. These units continue to record real-time data and feed it over to assist bus control operators in data analysis.

Secondly, bus drivers could also benefit from the use of AVL, GPS and APC as proposed by Bartholdi (2011). With the use of these systems, mean headway and alteration among headways could be achieved, it is also possible to update and correct headways of buses departing from the control points. Bus drivers will also be alerted to accommodate their speed in real-time and relies on the estimation of commuter demand in order to achieve the target speed in which they called “self-equalizing”.

Lastly, commuters could benefit from this system by relying on real-time data updated on the bus application. According to Moreira-Matias (2016), a real-time data collection application using historical and real-time AVL data were proposed to predict and prevent bus bunching from occurring. The outputs predicted could be correctively adjusted by the system. This system has shown improvement and a “reduction of 68%” in the statistics of bus bunching incidents, as demonstrated by cases in a country like Portugal. Which has shown improvement in bus bunching and commuter’s experience.

In conclusion, the implementation of SaaS system in transport operation is ideal to prevent bus bunching as real-time data can assist bus drivers and operators in data analysis, headway calculations and app development for the benefits of the commuters.

References

Bartholdi, J., Eisenstein, D. (2011). A self-coordinating bus route to resist bus bunching. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 46(4), 481-491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2011.11.001

Erath, A. (2013). How to solve the problem of bus bunching. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-bus-bunching

Moreira-Matias, L. (2016). An online learning approach to eliminate bus bunching in real-time. Applied Soft Computing, 47, 460-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2016.06.031

Sprogis, D.(n.d.). Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation. AnyLogic. https://www.anylogic.com/preventing-bus-bunching-with-smart-phone-application-implementation/

Wang, P., Chen X., Chen W. (2018, October 1). Provision of bus real-time information: Turning passengers from being contributors of headway irregularity to controllers. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2672(8). https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118798722

Revised on 3/11/2020

Reader response draft 3

In the article “Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation”, Dave Sprogis (n.d.) used AnyLogic’s software simulator to prove his claim that limiting “Bus Bunching” would boost the experience of public bus transport commuters. Sprogis surveyed that the long waiting time at the bus stop could be eradicated and congestion could be reduced by improving minor setbacks to the bus before a cluster is formed. Sprogis proposed to install the SaaS system knowing that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) had presented an API with real-time bus data that could be retrieved for scrutiny. Sprogis shaped an actual route using Geographic Information System software which allows him to replicate the situation with his ideal results he called “equilibrium”. Adopting this protocol, transport buses have to maintain distances between each other, as a result, the number of users is spread uniformly, reducing long waiting time and inundate of buses. Sprogis suggested that MBTA implement “uber-fication” of their buses using application software to advise drivers while imposing the protocol. This could further aid decision-makers in anticipating the issues and would improve the services for the commuters. I agree with Sprogis in the implementation of the SaaS system in the transport operation. Real-time data could be retrieved to assist bus drivers and operators in data analysis, headway calculations, and app developments for the commuter’s benefits.

Firstly, passenger count and headway analysis could be attained to assist bus operators with the help of different types of sensors such as GPS, APC, odometers, etc. in the bus operating system. According to Erath (2013), cities like London and Zurich have adopted an identical approach. Also illustrated by Wang (2018), systems like “AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) and APC (Automatic Passenger Count)” have been utilized widely in bus operating systems. This could help establish the precision of the bus location even in tunnels or downtown areas. These units are on board buses that continue to record real-time data and feed it over to assist bus control operators in data analysis.

Secondly, bus drivers could also benefit from this system as proposed by Bartholdi (2011), with the use of AVL and GPS. With these two data, we could achieve mean headway and alteration among headways. With the help of these data it is possible to update and correct headways of buses departing from the control points. Bus drivers will also be alerted to accommodate their speed in real-time and relies on the estimation of commuter demand in order to achieve the target speed in which they called “self-equalizing”.

Lastly, commuters could benefit from this system by relying on real-time data updated on the bus application. According to Moreira-Matias (2016), a real-time data collection application using historical and real-time AVL data were proposed to predict and prevent bus bunching from occurring. The outputs predicted could be correctively adjusted by the system. This system has shown improvement and a “reduction of 68%” in the statistics of bus bunching incidents, as demonstrated by country like Portugal. As a result, has shown improvement in bus bunching and commuter’s experience.

In conclusion, the proposal made by Sprogis (n.d.) is feasible and with the advancement in technologies and resources. Drivers and bus control operators could benefit from data analysis. Also, data could be easily attained for the benefits of commuters in terms of mobile applications.

References

Bartholdi, J., Eisenstein, D. (2011). A self-coördinating bus route to resist bus bunching. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 46(4), 481-491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2011.11.001

Erath, A. (2013). How to solve the problem of bus bunching, The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-bus-bunching

Moreira-Matias, L. (2016). An online learning approach to eliminate Bus Bunching in real-time. Applied soft computing, 47, 460-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2016.06.031

Sprogis, D.(n.d.). Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation. https://www.anylogic.com/preventing-bus-bunching-with-smart-phone-application-implementation/

Wang, P., Chen X., Chen W. (2018). Provision of Bus Real-Time Information: Turning Passengers from Being Contributors of Headway Irregularity to Controllers. Sage Journals. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118798722

Reader response draft #2- "Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation”.

In the article “Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation”, Dave Sprogis (n.d.) used AnyLogic’s software simulator to prove his claim that limiting “Bus Bunching” would boost the experience of public bus transport users. Sprogis surveyed that the long awaiting time at the bus stop could be eradicated and congestion could be reduced by improving minor setbacks to the bus before a cluster is formed. Sprogis proposed to install a SaaS system knowing that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) had presented an API with real-time bus data could be retrieved for scrutiny. Sprogis shaped an actual route using Geographic Information System software which allows him to replicate the situation with his ideal results he called “equilibrium”. Adopting this protocol, transport buses have to maintain distances between each other, as a result the number of users are spread uniformly, reducing long waiting time and inundate of buses. Sprogis suggested that MBTA implement “uber-fication” of their buses using app to advise drivers while imposing the protocol. This could further aid decision makers in anticipating the issues and would improve the services for the commuters. I agree with Sprogis in the implementation of the SaaS system in transport operation. Real-time data could be retrieved to assist bus drivers and operators in data analysis, headway calculations and app developments for the commuter’s benefits.

Firstly, passenger count and headway analysis could be attained to assist bus operators with the help of different type of sensors such as GPS, APC, odometers etc. in the bus operating system. According to Erath (2013), cities like London and Zurich have adopted identical approach. Also illustrated by Wang (2018), systems like “AVL (automatic Vehicle location) and APC (automatic passenger count)” have been utilized widely in bus operating systems. This could help establish precision of the bus location even in tunnels or downtown areas. These units are onboard buses which continues to record real-time data and feed it over to the bus control operators.

Secondly, bus divers could also benefit from this system as proposed by Bartholdi (2011), with the use of “AVL” and “GPS”. With these two data we could achieved mean headway and alteration among headways. This control points requires these data to update and correct headways of buses departing from the control points. Bus drivers will be alerted to accommodate their speed in real-time and relies on the estimation of commuter demand in order to achieve the target speed in which they call “self-equalizing”.

Lastly, commuters could benefit from this system by relying on the real-time data updated on the bus applications. According to Moreira-Matias (2016), a real-time data collection application using historical and real-time AVL data was proposed to predict and prevent bus bunching from occurring. The outputs predicted could be correctively adjusted by the system operators. This system has shown an improvement and a “reduction of 68%” in statistic of bus bunching incident, as demonstrated by country like Portugal. This as a result, has shown improvement on bus bunching and commuter’s experience.

In conclusion, the proposal made by Sprogis (n.d.) is feasible and with the advancement in technologies and resources. Drivers and bus control operators could benefit from the data analysis. Also, data could be easily attained for the benefits of the commuters in terms of mobile applications.

References

Bartholdi, J., Eisenstein, D. (2011). A self-coördinating bus route to resist bus bunching. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 46(4), 481-491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2011.11.001

Erath, A. (2013). How to solve the problem of bus bunching, The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-bus-bunching

Moreira-Matias, L. (2016). An online learning approach to eliminate Bus Bunching in real-time. Applied soft computing, 47, 460-482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2016.06.031

Sprogis, D.(n.d.). Preventing ‘Bus Bunching’ with Smart Phone Application Implementation. https://www.anylogic.com/preventing-bus-bunching-with-smart-phone-application-implementation/

Wang, P., Chen X., Chen W. (2018). Provision of Bus Real-Time Information: Turning Passengers from Being Contributors of Headway Irregularity to Controllers. Sage Journals. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118798722

Revised on 16/10/20

Tutorial 2 Task 5: Formal email

Dear Professor Blackstone,

My name is Raymond Tan an undergraduate from Singapore Institute of Technology, Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services). I am attending SIE2016 Effective Communication class T3.

Growing up, I have always enjoy constructing figures and preferred hands on task which probably the reason that motivated me into pursuing a career in engineering. I graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a Diploma in Microelectronics. It became clear to me during my final year in TP that my interest in Engineering was increasing. My team and I constructed a Portable Hydrogen Fuel Cell to run DC appliances, that led me the envision the possibility of setting up solar panels and wind turbines on the roof of HDB housing estates.

I would say my strength is being an active listener with an open mind. I enjoy listening to other’s opinion on things and see what I am able to learn from them. My weakness is not being able to do any type of public speaking. I personally feel the lack of confidence and the soft-spoken nature of my voice also contributes to this. Another weakness of mine would be writing, I don’t read very much which contributes to my limited vocabulary and poor grammar.

What I would love to take away from this module, is to be able to present myself confidently to a group of audiences and overcome the fear of public speaking. Also, to improve in my writing and further prepare myself for the workforce.  

 

Best regards,

Raymond Tan

Revised on 5/10/2020

Read article of : Joshua, Shi Min, Jin Han and Herman

SIE 2016 Effective Communication

 Tutorial T3 task 3: The Importance of communication skills for engineers

"Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective
leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a
sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across
clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even
matter." Gilbert Amelio, President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp

My partners and I have come out with the conclusions regarding the task above.

Being an effective leader is someone who can communicate well and influence others using one's abilities and knowledge to gain trust from peers. Especially in the engineering industry, it is important to share one's knowledge and bring a group of people together towards a similar goal. As a leader, it is important to be able to influence and encourage others to understand the principles/beliefs that one possess.