Thursday, January 31, 2019

Summary, Thesis and Reader's Response: Eight Failures Of Grenfell Tower

In the news release, “Eight failures that left people of Grenfell Tower at mercy of the inferno”, Knapton and Dixon (2017) reported the eight failures of the Grenfell Tower’s fire incident. Until 1986, all buildings in London adhered to the London building act which demanded that external walls have a minimum of at least 1 hour of fire resistance. However, during the Margaret Thatcher’s government, the law was changed which removed the critical time stipulations. Also, a coroner’s report in 2013 following a 2009 fire in South London was responded by Community Secretary Eric Pickles who reassured that a government review on building regulations would be published in 2016/17. Till today, there is still no updated regulation. The physical aspect of the Grenfell tower was also a vital cause to the fire incident. Firstly, the claddings were thought to be made out of a flammable plastic core, and the position of the claddings also acted as wind tunnels to spread the fire upwards. Secondly, there was no central sprinkler system in the building, and some of the front doors were not fireproof doors. Also, the Grenfell Tower only had one staircase which made escaping and rescue difficult. Also, no regular inspection was being conducted for the building.  These failures could have been prevented with regular reviews and better-fireproofing standards.


All in all, the Knapton and Dixon(2017) news release provides information regarding the eight failures of the Grenfell Tower’s fire incident, however it fails to mention the severity or importance of the failures or the critical factor that could have possibly been the reason to the other failures. 

Supporting Statement 1: "No regular Inspection" was the most vital failure which leads to the other failures. Should regular inspection be conducted, the chances of other failures occurring are minimal. 
  
Supporting Statement 2: There should be a fire pumping system in the building. This is another vital failure. It is essential to have a fire pumping system in case of a fire event occurring. If this was installed in the Grenfell Tower, more lives could have been saved. 

Supporting Statement 3: Mentioning the severity or importance of each failure would allow engineers or designers in the future to look into the problem, learn from it and make necessary improvements. 


Monday, January 28, 2019

Summary & Thesis: Eight Failures Of Grenfell Tower

In the news release, “Eight failures that left people of Grenfell Tower at mercy of the inferno”, Knapton and Dixon (2017) reported the eight failures of the Grenfell Tower’s fire incident. Until 1986, all buildings in London adhered to the London building act which demanded that external walls have a minimum of at least 1 hour of fire resistance. However, during the Margaret Thatcher’s government, the law was changed which removed the critical time stipulations. Also, a coroner’s report in 2013 following a 2009 fire in South London was responded by Community Secretary Eric Pickles who reassured that a government review on building regulations would be published in 2016/17. Till today, there is still no updated regulation. The physical aspect of the Grenfell tower was also a vital cause to the fire incident. Firstly, the claddings were thought to be made out of a flammable plastic core, and the position of the claddings also acted as wind tunnels to spread the fire upwards. Secondly, there was no central sprinkler system in the building, and some of the front doors were not fireproof doors. Also, the Grenfell Tower only had one staircase which made escaping and rescue difficult. Also, no regular inspection was being conducted for the building.  These failures could have been prevented with regular reviews and better-fireproofing standards.


All in all, the Knapton and Dixon(2017) news release provides information regarding the eight failures of the Grenfell Tower’s fire incident, however it fails to mention the severity or importance of the failures or the critical factor that could have possibly been the reason to the other failures. 

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Mr Penguin's Problem (Reflection)

Mr Penguin believed that spending his money on the latest technologies or gadgets was the problem he  encountered. For every latest gadget that is being released, Mr penguin claimed that he had to buy them and be ahead of everyone else. He also mentioned that reputation is of great importance to him as he wants people to recognize him as the guy with the latest gadgets. He said that it affected his parents as they are worried for him about saving up money for his other needs. Sometimes, he would use his parents’ money which worries him as well.
Mr Penguin proposed that setting up a second bank would be a good option to overcome his problem as he could start saving. Also, he found that using other technological brands besides Apple would be the first step to save money as they are cheaper. Today, Mr Penguin is trying his best to be contented with whatever he has and is trying to control his expenditure on unnecessary items. 


Edited 18/01/2019 1450

Self-Introduction

Dear Professor Blackstone,

I am Hairi Anuar and I am writing to introduce myself. In 2016, I graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in Civil Engineering with Business before serving the nation with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in the next 2 years. Upon completion of my national service, I decided to further my studies in civil engineering at Singapore Institute of Technology to further enhance my knowledge and skills in the field.

Since young, my ambition has always been to become a professional civil engineer. Despite having that goal, I was always uncertain as to which field of civil engineering to specialise in. Therefore, I’ve decided to further my education to gain more knowledge and deepen my understanding of the various aspects in my field. I always believe that learning is a life long journey. Besides my passion in civil engineering, my other hobbies include strength training in the gym and motorcycles. Night riding and exercising allow me to escape the daily stress faced in and out of school. They also provide me with active platforms to interact and make new friends. This has inevitably allowed me to become comfortable in communicating with new people and moulded me into the social butterfly I am today.

My family and friends find me approachable and outgoing. Often in life when problems arise, they will not hesitate to look for me for a listening ear. My interpersonal skills and empathetic nature has allowed me to make others feel comfortable and trustworthy. My journey in the Transcom vocation in SPF has further enhanced my communication skills with people. Daily at work, I would find myself approaching strangers and building conversations with people of different ages and backgrounds. These many different experiences have allowed me to gain confidence speaking to different people, shaping me into the sociable person I am today.

With my outgoing personality being my strength, I would say my weakness is procrastination. However, with my positive and optimistic outlook on life, I have chosen to see this characteristic as a strength. I can channel my procrastination into positive stress, in turn allowing me to complete my tasks with quality and determination. Although sometimes I procrastinate, I realised that I am able to complete tasks efficiently in a short-required amount of time. Last minute work doesn’t necessarily equate to poor quality work. Despite all these, I understand that starting early is a good habit to cultivate and hence, I have tried to procrastinate less. When I am entrusted with a responsibility, I will also definitely ensure that the job is completed successfully.

I often find myself having trouble putting my thoughts into words. That, I believe is caused by my weak writing skills. Brainstorming for ideas in group discussions does not pose a problem for me. Putting my ideas into words is my real struggle. Towards the end of this module, I have a personal aim to be able to write confidently and expressively, channeling my thoughts and ideas clearly into words. Step by step, I believe I can improve. I look forward to that day, as how I do for your lessons.

Yours Sincerely,
Hairi Anuar, Group 1a CVE


*Edited 18/01/2019 12:44am
*Edited 24/01/2019 11:11pm

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Welcome

Hi, this is Hairi. The purpose of this blog is to showcase my course of study and different assignments as well as to enhance my writing skills at the same time. Please feel free to provide comments or feedback (:

Critical Reflection

My personal aim of this module at the start of the course is to have the ability to channel my thoughts into words and to also write confi...