TEAM BELD: Proposal for Improvement of Train Breakdown Travel Contingency Plans

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Land)

Singapore Institute of Technology

10 Dover Drive

Singapore 138683

20 October 2015

CHEW Men Leong

Chief Executive

Land Transport Authority

1 Hampshire Road

Singapore 219428

Dear Mr Chew,

Re: Proposal for Improvement of Train breakdown Contingency plans

Enclosed for your kind consideration is the following proposal for the improvement of train breakdown contingency plans in Singapore. This report has been prepared with the intention of establishing a system to address the affected commuters’ needs during a train breakdown.

The report consists of the rationale behind the proposed solutions, along with a detailed summary of all related primary and secondary research. As public commuters ourselves, we have provided information on the flaws of the current contingency plans and an analysis on how the relevant agencies might improve on them.

We would like to express our gratitude to you for taking the time to read through our proposal. Your consideration to our suggestions in making public commute a more pleasant journey is greatly appreciated.

Yours Sincerely,

Darrell Lin (Team Representative)

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Personal Statement

Benjamin Heng

As someone who relies on using public transport on a regular basis, be it going to school or going out, I have not experienced any major breakdowns before, only minor ones. I can understand how commuters feel when they experience a major breakdown which could lead to many frustrations. Train breakdowns are frequent, and as we all know MRT has been in service for nearly 20 years. For this project, I hope to give better suggestions to improve the situation when such event happens again.

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Executive Summary

According to LTA, more than 2.5 million people use the MRT daily in Singapore to get to their destinations. Over the past few years, train breakdowns have increased significantly. Our group has come to an agreement that from the commuters’ perspective, train breakdowns are highly probable due to the increasing population growth in Singapore which leads to a higher usage of the public transport. Our group is keen in looking into the current contingency travel plans that the various agencies have implemented, to improve on them so as to give commuters a better commuting experience. The current contingency travel plans have room for improvement. Our team conducted a survey, targeted at commuters of different age groups, to find out if they are satisfied with the current contingency travel plans. The survey results has shown that commuters are displeased with the contingency travel plans in place. It has also shown that commuters are unaware of the current contingency travel plans. The thrust of this proposal is to suggest the implementation of new bus routes that follow the train routes and also implementing bicycles rentals at MRT stations. These solutions aim to aid in crowd control, provide alternative transport means, and get commuters to their destinations in the event of a train breakdown.

Pharmaceutical Disposal (Final Draft)

In the article, ‘Pharmaceutical Disposal’, Iburch (2015), states that disposing of unused medications is ‘a common practice by many residents and hospitals’ in New York. Disposal methods like flushing or throwing into rivers causes water to be polluted. People practice disposal because there is no law that prevents improper disposal of pharmaceutical drugs. According to Iburch, studies ‘found trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water and treatment plants.’ These treatment plants are not equipped to remove pharmaceutical contaminants which is a problem treating these kind of waste. The writer states that even though ‘pharmaceutical contamination’ are found in water, there is no proven health effects on humans. However, he strongly asserts that it is necessary to promote safe disposal options for the people so that residents and healthcare facilities will not dispose unused medications improperly. A federal law is being implemented to provide more options to safe pharmaceutical disposal. I agree with the article to a certain extent that pharmaceutical disposal is a hazard to the public and the environment. However, the author did not emphasize on the consequences of what too much drug pollution in the water can do to the public.

Improper disposing of pharmaceutical drugs can be harmful to humans and the environment when people either flush or throw their unused medications into rivers or lakes. The author describes the negative impact improper disposal can have on aquatic life but suggest otherwise for humans. The article “The Environmental Impact of the Pharmaceuticals Industry” (2013) states that ‘Improper disposing of medications finds its way into streams and drinking water which negatively impact humans, wildlife and the environment.’ Though the effects on humans remain unknown, the public still needs to have the awareness of pharmaceutical pollution. In fact, some medicines can have serious consequences on human health. According to the FDA (2015), there is a list of medicines that require certain disposal techniques to prevent ‘accidental exposure or intentional misuse.’ Pharmaceutical waste comes through improper disposal and also through our bodies. When human take medicine, ‘excess drugs in the bloodstream leave the body through urine and the urine flow with the sewage out of our homes to the streams and lakes.’

The article by Burch showed the importance of promoting safe disposal pharmaceutical drugs to prevent pollution of water and the environment. According to the article, “Guidelines for Safe Disposal of Unused Pharmaceuticals in and after Emergencies”, (WHO,1999), the public and the media must be informed of safe disposal instructions and the current situation of pharmaceutical disposal just as they are informed about the risk of disposal of pharmaceuticals and how pharmaceutical become ‘less efficacious’ pass their expiry date. In the article, “How to Dispose of Medicines Properly”, the EPA (2011) gave a few information on how proper disposing can benefit the public and environment. According to EPA, the few of the information given are ‘Prevents poisoning of children and pets’, ‘Avoids health problems from accidental overdose of same or wrong medicine’. The public and media must know the consequences of pharmaceutical pollution. If they were not informed regarding the disposal, drinking water may be too polluted to drink. Furthermore, “The Secure and Responsible Drug Act was passed into law to encourage voluntary drug take back programs” and also to improve public awareness of such events. At least 20 states in the USA now have collection programs for unused medications, which greatly enhanced awareness of safe disposal of pharmaceuticals.

In conclusion, the Iburch article brought up good information on pharmaceutical disposal and how it can affect the people and environment. He may not have given detailed information about improper disposal but it was clear in the article that too much of such disposal will bring harm to people in the near future. It is important to note that effects caused by improper disposal of medications may be vague for now but it does not stop us from knowing the cause it might do to people who consumed water that is polluted by medications.

References::

Burch, LW. (2015, March 4). Pharmaceutical disposal. - Citizens Campaign for the Environment. Retrieved from:

http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/pharmaceutical-disposal.asp

The Environmental Impact of the Pharmaceuticals Industry. (2013, January 31). Retrieved from:

http://www.kwikmed.org/environmental-impact-pharmaceutical-industry/

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2011, April). How to Dispose of Medicines Properly. Retrieved from:

http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/ppcp/upload/ppcpflyer.pdf

US Food & Drug Administration. (2015, September 25). Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know. Retrieved from:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm

World Health Organisation. (1999). Guidelines for Safe Disposal of Unwanted Pharmaceuticals in and after Emergencies. Retrieved from:

http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jwhozip51e/2.9.html

CRITICAL REFLECTION OF PEER AND TUTOR FEEDBACK

The role of feedback are important for improving a person’s essay, presentation skills or even a person’s personality. Giving concise feedback to the person can help him in many ways like listing down his strengths and weaknesses and where the person mistakes are.

When I first came to know about the communication course in polytechnic all I know was that my English had to be good because I know that this type of course require me to write and speak fluently. I am not a natural born speaker who can speak well in front of an audience. This type of course improves my ability to speak confidently in class. I started giving evaluation in polytechnic to my peers and at the same time receiving feedback from them. At first, I did not take seriously about the feedback given to me because I felt that it is only a person’s opinion. However, as I kept reading the feedback and taking them into consideration, I found myself improving as a person and as a student in the course as well. Feedback can be encouraging, it can be hurtful, but they both work the same way. Feedback are opinions of the evaluators and it may be useful to the person depending on how he/she responds to feedback.

In polytechnic, the feedback were not so focused on improving oneself but more focused on pointing out the strength and weaknesses of the person. Now in university, creating the blog and setting up groups help all of us understand the need for effective communication. The blog is like a new hobby to me because ever since I created the blog and posted my first post, I frequently will go online to see if anybody commented on my blog. The comments are interesting and I take them very seriously. It is to improve my quality of the essay that I have written because I know my English is not strong. I feel that I do not want to let my peers and tutor down because they took so much time to read through my blog and give feedback on the areas I should improve on. Likewise, I will do the same for them. The comments made helped each other learn from the mistakes that we have made.

I believe feedback can help improve my writing and also improving on my interview skills. I feel that feedback should be given not only during communication classes but in every other lessons as well. It may be hard for some to give critical feedback to the person to avoid any conflicts but people will feel more comfortable when they see feedback.  It’s like telling the person straight into his/her face about their problems but in a nicer way. For me, I will feel encourage to do better and not let anybody down. 

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN MY LIFE

The most influential person in my life would be my Gong Gong (‘grandfather’ in Chinese). He have been an important part in my life, from my childhood to my adult life. Firstly, I just want to say that this post is dedicated to him for being the best person in my life. There is so many things to talk about the times I had with my Gong Gong, but I will just make it short. I still remember when I was young, the first thing I knew about my Gong Gong was he was a smoker. That was the first thing my Dad told me before going over to his place at Redhill where my uncle and his wife lived as well. We always have this weekly routine going on where all my father’s side family members gathered for dinner. It was every Saturday where all my relatives and my family gathered just to get together, talk and just have fun. It was a joyous occasion for everyone.

When I first knew my Gong Gong, he was about 70+ years old. Every time our families gathered at his place, he will be the person that cooked the dishes and I remember asking my Dad, “Pa, Gong Gong is so old already, why he still cooking for us?’ Then my Dad told me he likes to cook so he does not mind. My Gong Gong could only speak dialects and I did not learn any dialects so communication was hard between me and my Gong Gong. However, I still talked to him with my Dad’s help. After dinner, he would usually go downstairs alone and take a walk. I would walk with him occasionally with my Dad just to make sure he is safe. And we would go to the nearby fruit store to buy fruits and bring back for the family. The ideology for my Gong Gong in walking every time after dinner is to keep fit, maybe that is why I am also interested in exercising. He is also the type of person that does not like to depend on others for help. Every time my uncle, auntie or even my Dad offered helped for him, he would just reject and do it himself. I admire him because still at the age of 70, he still can do so many things by himself. I had always looked up to him as a less talk but more action kind of person and who does not ask anything in return. Toys he gave us to play with and he also joined in when he had the time.

Spending every Chinese New Year and National Day together at his place, I still remember the laughter and fun times we all had every time our families meet up. By the time my Gong Gong reached 80 years old he stopped cooking for us but we would still go to his place at Redhill and eat ‘da-bao’ food. And of course everyone gets older, and when my Gong Gong got older he became weaker and had to depend on others. He had to go for many surgeries because of breathing difficulties but he still pushed on. The hospital is where I dread going to because every time I visit my Gong Gong at the hospital, it hurts. It is like your mind will just wander thinking about the negatives that may happen. However, my Gong Gong is a strong and fit person with all the walking he have done in the past, he stayed strong and never gave up. My family and relatives also stayed strong and never show signs of breaking down.

Then came the news when I was in my National Service, my Dad called my camp to inform my commander that my Gong Gong had passed away. It was one week before my Passing Out Parade which I wanted everyone to attend including my Gong Gong. It hit me hard and on the day of the cremation, everyone just broke down to tears. People like my Dad and uncles who are always looking strong could not handle their emotions. It was all too sudden for all of us.

But I know that he will be watching over us from above and he will always be in my heart the best person who I will become when I get older. A kind and gentle Gong Gong with less talk more action attitude and does not ask anything in return. :’)