Summary_ReaderResponse of Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means Draft #1

In the article “Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means”, Lecomte (2019) states that having certification with standardized metrics is fundamental for smart buildings to wholly emerge in the 'built environment'. Lecomte mentions that the lack of unanimity from various stakeholders has delayed the drafting of standardized rubrics. Hence, private and public sectors design their own metrics to assess smart buildings but their rubrics vary from one another. However, current private and public metrics have been unsuccessful in tackling the complicated and expanding aspect that buildings will perform in ‘smart cities’. Lecomte believes that one crucial component to be included in the standardized rubrics would be cyber risk management as cyber threats ‘increase exponentially’ along with more advanced and integrated technology in smart buildings. Lecomte concludes that holistic and reliable 'smart building certifications and rubrics' will be the foundation of a 'functioning market for smart real estate'. However, standardization is not necessary at this point of development. Also, examples of stakeholders coming together to define 'smart buildings' already exists.

Firstly, Lecomte's article gives readers the impression that the standardization of 'smart buildings' are chaotic and no sustainable outcome is being achieved. The article claims that Efforts to standardize the definition of 'smart buildings' have been hindered by the lack of mutual agreement among various stakeholders. Marcia Wendorf (2019) states that "The Amsterdam Smart City initiative began in 2009, and it currently includes over 170 projects being developed collaboratively by government, residents, and businesses." And as a result of this collaboration, some of Amsterdam's residential buildings are installed with energy meters which rewards people who reduce energy consumption. Though this implementation may not have been on a global or even on a country scale, yet it is reported here that not only private and public sectors but residents also are working together to achieve a 'smart building in a smart city' outcome. This is a prime example of how various stakeholders are coming together to work together on mutual terms to define 'smart buildings'.

Secondly, a diverse interpretation and essence of 'smart buildings' for different countries and even cities is, at this present moment of time, critical to meet the differing needs and problems each community faces. Though every city has similar needs, some needs are more crucial than others, if a city has a high generation of waste, 'smart building' designs will tend to lean towards waste generation, likewise if a city has a higher energy consumption rate. Aura Vasquez points out that "Cities often think about [smart city] programs in a homogeneous way, not an equitable way. Without understanding the people that are going to live in this smart city—what their priorities and problems are—we’re not going to get to them … So, we must be very intentional about how we deploy for those communities." In this case, 'smart' is how the infrastructure can adapt and meet the needs of the community and their culture. Thus, in view of diverse cultures and backgrounds, 'smart' can hold differing values.

Lastly, clamping down on standardization leaves lesser room for experimentation with different technology and their integration with one another. Mankind is constantly advancing in technology and in the area of 'smart buildings', new systems are being developed constantly. These new systems need to be constantly tested in applicable environments and diverse standards could actually prove accommodating to tackle specific and diverse issues alike. Viki (2016) states that analysts have traced the root of creativity in teams and individuals and that is due to the presence of multicultural and environmental exposure. With this fact established, a variation of standardization would prove beneficial for 'smart buildings' the long run. New ways of integration and break through in development can be cultivated from teams comprised of people of different culture and environment, enhancing the range of technology integration of 'smart buildings'.

In conclusion, there are benefits of a more standardized rubrics to facilitate the integration of 'smart buildings' into 'smart cities' and even to beyond that in the future where cities interact with one another. However, this would limit potential innovation allowed with a more flexible choice of rubrics to adopt. While Lecomte's ambition is not in error in the least as discussed, the best interest of today's society would be the sufficiency of space required for creativity to mature and in reward, ingenuity solutions. 

References:

- Lecomte. (2019, January 29). Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means. Retrieved from The Business Times: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/smart-buildings-what-smart-really-means
- Wendorf, M. (2019, July 29). Smart Cities Initiatives around the World Are Improving Citizens' Lives. Retrieved from Interesting Engineering: https://interestingengineering.com/smart-cities-initiatives-around-the-world-are-improving-citizens-lives
- Kathleen O’Dell, A. N. (2019, August 28). Inclusive smart cities. Retrieved from Deloitte Insights: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/public-sector/inclusive-smart-cities.html
- Baumgartner, J. (2010, November 24). Why Diversity is the Mother of Creativity. Retrieved from Innovation Management: https://innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/why-diversity-is-the-mother-of-creativity/
- Viki, T. (2016, December 6). Why Diverse Teams Are More Creative. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tendayiviki/2016/12/06/why-diverse-teams-are-more-creative/#5bb33de77262

Summary of Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means Draft #2

In the article “Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means”, Lecomte (2019) states that having certification with standardized metrics is fundamental for smart buildings to wholly emerge in the 'built environment'. Lecomte mentions that the lack of unanimity from various stakeholders has delayed the drafting of standardized rubrics. Hence, private and public sectors design their own metrics to assess smart buildings but their rubrics vary from one another. However, current private and public metrics are unsuccessful in tackling the complicated and expanding aspect that buildings will perform in ‘smart cities’. Lecomte believes that one crucial component to be included in the standardized rubrics would be cyber risk management as cyber threats ‘increase exponentially’ along with more advanced and integrated technology in smart buildings. Lecomte concludes that holistic and reliable 'smart building certifications and rubrics' would be the foundation of a 'functioning market for smart real estate'.

Though it is courageous and bold of Lecomte to address the elephant in the room, which is the disagreement on standardized rubrics and certifications, no solution exists in the article to facilitate these standardization between public and private sectors.

References:

- Lecomte. (2019, January 29). Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means. Retrieved from The Business Times: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/smart-buildings-what-smart-really-means

Summary of Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means Draft #1

In the article “Smart Buildings: What 'smart' really means”, Lecomte (2019) states that having certification with standardized metrics is fundamental for smart buildings to wholly emerge in the 'built environment'. Lecomte mentions that the lack of unanimity from various stakeholders has delayed the drafting of standardized rubrics. Hence, private and public sectors design their own metrics to assess smart buildings but their rubrics vary from one another. However, current private and public metrics were unsuccessful in tackling the complicated and expanding aspect that buildings will perform in ‘smart cities’. Lecomte believes that one crucial component to be included in the standardized rubrics would be cyber risk management as cyber threats ‘increase exponentially’ along with more advanced and integrated technology in smart buildings. Lecomte concluded that holistic and reliable 'smart building certifications and rubrics' will be the foundation of a 'functioning market for smart real estate'.

Self-introduction letter

Subject: Self-introduction

Dear Professor Blackstone,

My name is Sammy Chew Yong Jie and I am writing to you to introduce myself to you as a student in your class, SIE2016-Effective Communication-T5. I am a graduate from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in marine & offshore technology. My interest in sustainable development of the future has brought me to Singapore Institute of Technology's (SIT) offered course, Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services).

Just to share more about myself, I love exploring new places and looking at new scenery. Every time I go to a location, old or new, if I had the time, I would aimlessly walk about and take routes I never had before just to get a fresh and new perspective of an area. One of the most enjoyable things I like to look at is architecture, especially in Singapore's city area where there is a mixture of modern and colonial architecture designs. The engineering behind to make such buildings such as being able to bear weight and their organized directions has always fascinated me and is probably why I chose to enroll into this course.

My goal for this module is to refine and strengthen my use and command of the English language. For most of my life, my proficiency in the language has only been sharpened through verbal communication without any proper knowledge about grammar items and sentence structures. As a result, I sometimes have trouble with grammar, punctuation and sentence structures. I hope that through this class, I will be able to have a better grasp on the language.

In terms of strengths, I tend to enjoy writing descriptive and reading up on definitions. I guess that this is why I also tend to explain things in greater detail. However, it can also take me quite long to explain something through writing as I will run through my explanations over and over again just to ensure that what what is written is accurately conveyed. I hope that through your class, I can be more confident in my own proficiency of the language as well.

I am a strong believer in learning through application and therefore look forward to your future lessons so that I can further refine my communication skills with the help of your guidance.

Best Regards,

Sammy Chew

*Edited on 24/09/19

Commented on:
How Wei
Alicia
Yuan Kai

The importance of communication skills for engineers

"Employers identify communication as one of the basic competencies every graduate should have, asserting that the ability to communicate is valuable for obtaining employment and maintaining a successful job performance." 

- Sherwym Morreale, Michael Osborn & Judy Pearson, Professor of Communication (2000) 

I just want to share some thoughts I have about this quote which may hopefully shed some light and serve as an aid to better understand its intended message and rationale behind it.

Firstly, I'll be talking about communication in the aspect of obtaining employment. When companies are interviewing a prospect employee, the first cut off would naturally be the need to know whether the person has the suitable qualifications and qualities to be suited for the job. In order to convey such criteria clearly both in resumes and interviews, the ability to communicate in such a way is required for the employer to have a clear, accurate view and assessment of the applicant.

Now I'll be discussing effective communication in maintaining successful job performance. In companies, roles and tasks are allocated accordingly to effectively facilitate the company to grow and work towards its projected goals or fulfill its tasks. Like a body that requires communication from every relevant part in a given example of running, so communication between employees is vital for everyone to be on the same page and leveled on progress. Beyond horizontal interaction, communication with superiors and subordinates also play an important role in ensuring that the right instructions are being passed down and clearly understood. As for subordinates, communication upwards gives superiors an accurate picture of what is happening on the ground, enabling them to make decisions that will be beneficial for the company. Such a quality in an individual will prove advantageous for the company, saving costs and time on potential misinterpretation of data leading to poor, if not detrimental decisions. Such performance thus would be deemed successful. Therefore, communication is key, if not, fundamental in maintaining successful job performance

*Edited on 09/09/19

Introducing...

Hello all, my name is Sammy, a student at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). I am currently studying Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services).