Readers Response: Final

In the article “TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA, 2016) wrote that despite undergoing rectification works, the trains that have been in the media spotlight are safe for service.

According to LTA, all new trains are tested before they are put into service. For defective trains, immediate action was taken to prevent defects from resurfacing during train operation.

Hairline cracks that were discovered during inspection were confirmed to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, to ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, all affected trains were being sent back, one at a time, for rectification. Stringent checks would also be performed regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains. Although this article was written to clarify that safety was never compromised despite having defects on the trains, as well as, extensive measures were taken to rectify the problem, it was only written sometime after being reported on another news webpage.

In my opinion, had LTA publicized this matter to the public earlier, along with evidence based reassurance regarding safety concerns and their comprehensive solution, superfluous assumption on the matter could have been circumvented.

There should have been publication on the matter stating that defects were spotted on the trains and it will be sent back to the manufacturer for rectification purposes, followed by evidence based reassurance to the public.

An example of an evidence based reassurance by TUV Rheinland an independent accessor, will evaluate the condition of the trains stating that they are operationally safe (Khaw, 2016). The public will feel assured as they will recognize the trains as safe for commuting, after knowing that it is being accessed by a qualified company.

On top of that, releasing additional information regarding train robustness along with the publication will have provided further reassurance to the public. In this instances, it will be the train being able to withstand three times the maximum stress during operations and that the safety margin has not been reduced due to the cracks. 

Subsequently, releasing news regarding the arrangement to replace all 26 bolsters and car bodies by Kawaksaki-Sifang, as well as, extending the warranty period for the train parts would have helped the public to comprehend the ongoing situation. 

Further notice on the procedures to replace all bolters and car bodies can be elaborated as follow-ups. That there is a schedule with the manufacturer to stretch the time frame of sending the trains back all the way to 2019. Doing so will help improve the situation, as it will not affect the plans of train capacity expansion in the North-South and East-West line (Channel News Asia, 2016). All this information will be supportive as it suggests that meticulous planning was done by LTA to resolve the issue effectively via strategizing the train schedule without affecting existing plans.

Ultimately this will help the commuters in understanding that safety checks were done, followed by a thorough solution that was put into action in order to avoid inconvenience caused to the public.

In conclusion, this matter could have been resolved with a number of evidence based article to notify and reassure the public. Along with a detailed solution and that disruptions to existing plans and inconvenience to commuters were taken into consideration and avoided. Because the news will be published earlier, inaccurate conjecture on the matter and unnecessary tensions in the public could have been avoided.

References:

Khaw (2016, Aug 17). Cracks on MRT trains: Khaw addresses key issues raised. The Straits times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/cracks-on-mrt-trains-khaw-addresses-key-issues-raised

Khaw (2016, Aug 16). Khaw: Lessons to be learnt from defective SMRT trains incident. Channel News Asia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/lessons-to-be-learnt-from/3048928.html

The Straits Times (2016, Sept 10). Hairline cracks found on 11 Sengkang-Punggol LRT trains. The Straits times, Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/hairline-cracks-found-on-11-lrt-trains

Critical reflection on developing communication skills:

The entire communication course has been a meaningful journey and it has taught me several skills which I will be needed in the near future. Over the duration of the course, our instructor Brad, had guided us through many coursework, from paraphrasing to citations and report writing which benefited us greatly. I definitely had a wonderful and enjoyable time learning with my peers, and improving our bond through communication. I felt that this is one of the module which I benefited most from. This module has given me the opportunity to develop my writing skills, in addition to learning how communication skills can benefit me. Moreover, it had improved my knowledge on presentation skills, such as Monroe persuasive speech and Garr Reynolds presentation tips. There are other written skills which I had learned along the way, such as the seven C’s in communication. However, there are much more areas of improvement which I will need to work on, such as my grammar and sentence structure, in addition to expanding my vocabulary knowledge. Communication skills does not stop here once this course is over in fact, it is just the beginning of the end and there are much more to be learned as we continue using communication skills to enhance our development. This course had taught me the importance of communication and prepared me for the near future. All in all, it had been a great learning journey with my peers and instructor. 

Commented on:
Jerry's critical reflection on  9 December 2016
Derrick's critical reflection on  9 December 2016 
Ike's critical reflection on 9 December 2016 

Analytical reflection on oral presentation:

I felt that our team was confident in projecting ourselves during the presentation. During the initial part of the presentation, it was slightly tense however, over the course of the presentation, our confidence grew. The entire course from planning to delivering the proposal was a learning journey. We met up over the weekend to rehearse and discuss and agree upon how the idea could be presented more effectively to the audience, such as keeping our explanations short and concise, as well as, minimizing words in our visual aid. We agreed that the presentation would appear more convincing as we would only use visual aids to convey our ideas more effectively when needed. We each had our own strength and style in presenting which we can learn from, and apply it to our future presentations. Personally, the practice we had together helped me significantly, by organizing my thoughts, which increased my confidence for the presentation. There are much more improvements to be made, as well as, much more styles of presenting to be learned, in order to improvise our way of pitching in a captivating manner. Many great speakers speak without any visual aids, yet allowing the audience to visualize their thoughts and ideas. This is the objective in which we want to achieve, to not bore the audience with too much technical items in the presentation, but to catch their attention, and convey the idea which will persuade them in a fun and stimulating manner. The audience must leave with knowledge of our proposal, and an impression that the presentation was enjoyable. I feel that there a few more improvements which i need to make. Some improvement which i can make would be to present with more passion and enthusiasm, also to attend other presentations and experience the style of other speakers. This will broaden my knowledge of presentation skills as well as, how other speakers cope with the audience.