Tech Report Draft 1

Despite being a clean and green country, the carbon emissions in Singapore is relatively high in proportion to its size. This proposal is a response to the poor air quality that we breathe in due to the high carbon emissions.

Singapore is one of the most well-established countries in the world. We have many vehicles roaming our streets along with industrial building constantly releasing harmful particles into the air on a daily basis. In fact, a research by the National Climate Change Secretariat of Singapore stated that “Singapore contributes to 0.11% of the global emissions”. The percentage may seem small, but considering the size of our country, it is a rather large contribution. The article further shows that Singapore ranks 123rd place in terms of CO2 per dollar GDP, ahead of countries like the United Kingdom and France which are many times larger than our country. This shows that Singapore does have an issue with air pollution.

Air is essential to every human being, however, the air that we are breathing in could be affecting our health in the long run. Such harmful particles are known as ‘particulate matter 2.5’, PM2.5. It refers to tiny particles that are 2.5 micrometers (µm) or less in diameter, often called fine PM. PM2.5 causes by men are more severe than natural sources, the particles are directly emitted into the air from motor vehicles, forest burnings, and industrial gases. As they are so small and light, they stay longer in the air causing the air to be polluted and increases the chances of people inhaling it. Due to their tiny size, the particles are able to enter our lungs and circulatory system. This could cause health hazards both in the short and long run. An article published on the US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health (NCBI, 2002) stated that “Long-term exposure to combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.”Based on a guideline by WHO, the PM2.5 levels should be at 10µgc annual mean and 25µgc for 24 hours mean. According to the psi index by NEA, the psi levels in Singapore currently falls within the range of 50 to 60µgc which are beyond the the levels listed in the WHO guidelines

The factors which have contributed to PM 2.5 in Singapore are mainly from vehicles and industrial factories. These PM 2.5 can also be the product formed by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. An article by The Straits Times stated that “due to the concentration of particle vapour and local emissions - from cars and factories”. These small-sized particles are not entirely from the neighbouring country that carries out deforestation which in the later part of the article stated “experts point to culprits closer to home: factories and cars”.  

During the haze period, one of the strategies that Singaporean use to counter haze problem is to stay indoors and use air-conditioners, as is it advisable to limit outdoor activities when the PSI level is high. While all doors and windows are closed, it can limit the particles in the haze from entering the houses. However, conventional air-conditioners are unable to filter the tiny particles like PM2.5, so there are still chances of breathing them in.

When indoors, the air conditional will always be on. A building grade air conditioning uses Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system, known as HVAC. The main purpose of a HVAC system is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. The most common HVAC system used in buildings are called packaged rooftop units. As the name goes, it is located on the rooftops.

An ideal innovative campus should adopt an advanced approach which can circulate clean indoor air and provide a conducive environment to study without being affected by the air quality. Due to the location of the SIT@Dover, the air quality is affected by the carbon emission of cars along the highway and the industrial buildings near the coast. This results in a build-up of air pollution around the school which would be harmful to students. Inserting electrostatic precipitators to the air cons, it will filter out PM2.5 particles from the indoor air and circulate back clean air around the room. The purpose of this report is to propose to the facility manager of SIT@Dover to install electrostatic precipitators on the current campus.

4 ways to demolish the building: Reader Response Final Draft

4 ways to Demolish a building

The article “4 Ways to Demolish the Building”, by Rodriguez (2018), states the 4 methods on how to demolish a building.  The methods include Implosion, High Reach Arm, Wrecking Ball, and Selective Demolition. The technique use for demolition will depend on the location of the building and the primary building materials. Disposal of debris after demolition and safety of the demolition crew and the public must be taken into consideration.

The first method Implosion uses explosive to knock out a building’s vertical supports causing the building to collapse onto itself from the inside out, it is often used to demolish huge structures in urban areas. The second method is High Reach arm demolition, it uses demolishing tools attached to a base machine to break up the building structures of height more than 66 feet. The third method is Wrecking Ball demolition, it is an old technique used to demolish concrete structures with a wrecking ball weighting up to 13,500 pounds. The ball is dropped onto or swung into the structure which simply crushes the building with repeated blows. The last method is Selective demolition, it strips out selective materials demolition. The aim of selective demolition is to reuse or recycle building materials.

Based on the article, the author provides substantial details on the method of demolition, however, the author could elaborate more on dangers and the importance of risks assessment and site safety in demolition.

Demolition is a highly dangerous task.  A better understanding on the risks in demolition work and focusing on demolition safety is therefore needed to avoid unnecessary work accident

First of all, as we understand that demolition is dangerous process, hence demolition sites must be aware of the kind of dangers and hazards that could be exposed to which method employed in the demolition.  The common demolition risks include unplanned structure collapse, falling objects, risks from connected services such as gas and electricity which may cause fire hazard.  Environmental hazard such as noise and dust is also a safety issue. The article on “Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre” by Collins(2018) states that a Danish cultural centre being damaged after a 53-metre high silo fell the wrong way during the demolition. Even though no one was injured but damage was done to surrounding building. The onlookers were shocked after seeing the building toppled towards the other building. This incident is a good example of the danger involved in demolition. Hence in order to combat the risks arising from the process of demolition, a better understanding on the safety precautions and risk assessment prior to the process is needed to prevent casualties.

A pre-demolishing risk assessment and management plan is compulsory to prevent accidents. The risk assessment will reveal the hazards and impact arising from the demolition. Only trained and licensed personnel should be deployed to ensure safety measures are put in place to facilitate a safe demolition. The article "Expert behind fatal Canberra hospital blast still holds act license" (2018) by Steven Trask, mentioned that an attempt to implode the Royal Cranberra Hospital in 1997 was flawed, causing debris to fly further than they calculated killing a child and wounding several.  The person in charge of the implosion was not qualified and the task was dangerously carried out.  The accident caused by dangerous demolition result in costly social aftermath. Therefore, a pre-demolition risk identification and assessment follow by risk control during the process of demolition must be in placed to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.

Safety is always the most important concern in demolition. Accident arising on breaches of safety measures will result in major complications to workers and the surrounding public, it rises to many unwanted social and environmental issues.  The article "Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more)"(2008), reported that breaking the mandated safety law will come with a huge consequences.  A deadly explosion at Port Wentworth factory caused by violation of safety standards claimed the lives of 13 employees and cost the company $9million in a penalty.  The author emphasis on the importance of safety of a construction site, breaching it will result in a hefty financial and social cost.  Implementation and reviewing on safety control measures will need to be put in place to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.

The ultimate goal of demolition is to pull down a building in the safest and most efficient way possible. In order to achieve this, risks assessment and good safety measures and solution implement are the key factors for a successful demolition

Reference:

Rodriguez, J. (2018, June 29). 4 ways to demolish the building

Site from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/ways-to-demolish-buildings-844420

Collins, P. (2018, April 9). Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre 

Site from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/silo-demolition-in-denmark-goes-wrong-and-crushes-cultural-centre

Davis, G. (2008). Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more)

Site from: https://www.safetyservicescompany.com/industry-category/construction/disregarding-safety-will-cost-you/

Taylor, G. (2017, July 13). Royal Canberra Hospital implosion: 20 years on the lessons are still relevant, family rep says.

Site from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/canberra-hospital-implosion-20th-anniversary/8702712

4 ways to demolish the building: Reader response Draft 1:

4 ways to Demolish a building

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish the Building”, by Rodriguez (2018), states the demolition workers were looking into the considerations and the ways on how to have the buildings to be demolished. There are 4 method on how to demolish a building stated in the passage.

The technique use for demolition will depends on the location of the building, the primary building materials so that specific method could be used.  Disposal of debris after demolition and safety of the demolition crew and the public must also be taken into consideration.

The passage also introduces the different ways of demolition of a building which includes implosion, High Reach Arm, Wrecking Ball and Selective Demolition.

The first method introduce is Implosion. It is to knock out a building’s vertical supports which causes the building to collapse onto itself from the inside out. They were often used to demolish huge structures in urban areas. In order to demolish it successfully, the crews need to analyse a complete set of structural blueprints, to identify the main components of the building, determine whether other areas need to be blasted, determine the type of explosives to use and where to position the explosives. The second method is High Reach Arm demolition. This method of demolition is using a base machine fitted with a long demolition arm consisting of three sections or a telescopic boom. A demolition tools, such as a crusher, shears or hammer is attached to the end of the arm to break up the building from the top.  The machine removes the large pieces of the building structure for the ground crew to further break them down for disposal. This method of demolition is used to demolish building of height more than 66 feet. It is used on reinforced concrete building, masonary, steel, and mixed material structures. The third method is wrecking ball demolition. This method is an old and common technique use to demolish concrete and masonry structures with a wrecking ball weighting up to 13,500 pounds. The ball is either dropped onto or swung into the structure which simply crushes the building with repeated blows. The demolition must be performed with highly skilled and experienced crane operators. It creates a great deal of dust, vibration, and noise.  The last method is the selective demolition. This method is to strip out, selective materials demolition. It allows builders to reuse or recycle the building’s materials such as wood, brick, metals, and concrete. The aim of this demolition is to recover the maximum amount of primary(reusable) and secondary(recyclable) material in a safe and cost-effective procedure. However, the process is labour-intensive and is difficult to achieve in a timely and economical manner for light-framed building.

Demolition is a dangerous process, safety issue if not handled properly may cause injuries and possible death. to workers and surrounding public. A better understanding on the dangers and risks as in demolition work and focusing on demolition safety is therefore needed to avoid unnecessary work accident

Firstly, as we understand that demolition is dangerous process that imposed safety hazard hence evaluation on the dangers involved is thus necessary before commencing a demolition. The common demolition risks include unplanned structure collapse, falling objects, risks from connected services such as gas and electricity which may cause fire hazard.  Environmental hazard such as noise and dust is also a safety issue to look into. Noise and vibration create safety risk as it difficult for workers to communicate effectively and stops them from hearing warning signals. In the article on Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre by Pádraig Collins (2018) states that a Danish cultural centre being damaged after a 53-metre high silo fell the wrong way during the demolition. Even though no one was injured but damage was done to surrounding building. The onlookers were shocked after seeing the building toppled towards the other building. This incident is a good example of the danger of demolition. Hence, a better understanding on the safety risks and planning is therefore needed to avoid demolition accident.

In a separate news report, fatalities and casualties were involved. In the article "Expert behind fatal Canberra hospital blast still holds act license" (2018) by Steven Trask, an attempt to implode the Royal Cranberra Hospital in 1997 was flawed, causing debris to fly further than they calculated killing a child and wounding several onlookers.  The person in charge of the implosion was not qualified and the task was dangerously carried out.  Accident caused by dangerous demolition will result in costly social aftermath. The best way is to manage the risks associated with the demolition will include identifying the hazard associate with demolition. A pre-demolition risk identification and assessment prior to demolition must be carried out follow by risk control during the process of demolition. Reviewing control measures will need to be put in place to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.

The other major concern in demolition work is the importance of safety.  As we know demolition is a dangerous process, safety issue if not handled properly, will result in major complications to workers and surrounding public resulting to many unwanted social and environmental issues.  Safety has and will always be the most important part of demolition project. In the article "Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more)" by George Davis  (2008), the author states that safety is mandated by law, breaking the law will come with a huge consequences.  A deadly explosion at Port Wentworth factory caused by violation of safety standards claimed the lives of 13 employee and cost the company $9million in penalty.  The author emphasis on the importance of safety of a construction site.  Breaching it will result in a hefty financial and social cost. The best way to ensure the safety of demolition is making necessary preparation. The first step of the process is an engineering survey on the demolition site for risk assessment. Follow by decision on the correct method and equipment  for demolition. Implementation and reviewing on safety control measures will need to be put in place to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.

The ultimate goal of demolition is to pull down a building in the safest and most efficient way possible. In order to achieve this, risks assessment and good safety measures and solution implement are the key factors for a successful demolition

Reference:

Juan Rodriguez, 4 ways to demolish the building(2018).

Site from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/ways-to-demolish-buildings-844420

Pádraig Collins, Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre (2018)Site from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/silo-demolition-in-denmark-goes-wrong-and-crushes-cultural-centre

George Davis, Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more) (2008).Site from: https://www.safetyservicescompany.com/industry-category/construction/disregarding-safety-will-cost-you/

Steven Trask, Expert behind fatal Canberra hospital blast still holds act license (2018).
Site from: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/expert-behind-fatal-canberra-hospital-blast-still-holds-act-licence-20180719-p4zsfm.html

4 ways to demolish the building: Reader response Draft 2

4 ways to Demolish a building

In the article “4 Ways to Demolish the Building”, by Rodriguez (2018), states the demolition workers were looking into the considerations and the ways on how to have the buildings to be demolished. There are 4 method on how to demolish a building stated in the passage.

The technique use for demolition will depend on the location of the building, the primary building materials so that specific method could be used.  Disposal of debris after demolition and safety of the demolition crew and the public must also be taken into consideration.

The passage also introduces the different ways of demolition of a building which includes implosion, High Reach Arm, Wrecking Ball and Selective Demolition.

The first method introduce is Implosion. It is to knock out a building’s vertical supports which causes the building to collapse onto itself from the inside out. They were often used to demolish huge structures in urban areas. In order to demolish it successfully, the crews need to analyse a complete set of structural blueprints, to identify the main components of the building, determine whether other areas need to be blasted, determine the type of explosives to use and where to position the explosives. The second method is High Reach Arm demolition. This method of demolition is using a base machine fitted with a long demolition arm consisting of three sections or a telescopic boom. A demolition tools, such as a crusher, shears or hammer is attached to the end of the arm to break up the building from the top.  The machine removes the large pieces of the building structure for the ground crew to further break them down for disposal. This method of demolition is used to demolish building of height more than 66 feet. It is used on a reinforced concrete building, masonry, steel, and mixed material structures. The third method is wrecking ball demolition. This method is an old and common technique use to demolish concrete and masonry structures with a wrecking ball weighting up to 13,500 pounds. The ball is either dropped onto or swung into the structure which simply crushes the building with repeated blows. The demolition must be performed with highly skilled and experienced crane operators. It creates a great deal of dust, vibration, and noise.  The last method is the selective demolition. This method is to strip out, selective materials demolition. It allows builders to reuse or recycle the building’s materials such as wood, brick, metals, and concrete. The aim of this demolition is to recover the maximum amount of primary(reusable) and secondary(recyclable) material in a safe and cost-effective procedure. However, the process is labour-intensive and is difficult to achieve in a timely and economical manner for light-framed building.

Based on this article, although the author focus mainly about the 4 methods of demolition From the passage it is obvious that demolition is a dangerous process, it is much more than knocking down a building.  The author could elaborate more on dangers and the importance of safety of demolition.

Demolition is a dangerous process, safety issue if not handled properly may cause injuries and possible death. to workers and surrounding public. A better understanding on the dangers and risks as in demolition work and focusing on demolition safety is therefore needed to avoid unnecessary work accident

Firstly, as we understand that demolition is dangerous process that imposed safety hazard hence evaluation on the dangers involved is thus necessary before commencing a demolition. The common demolition risks include unplanned structure collapse, falling objects, risks from connected services such as gas and electricity which may cause fire hazard.  Environmental hazard such as noise and dust is also a safety issue to look into. Noise and vibration create safety risk as it difficult for workers to communicate effectively and stops them from hearing warning signals. In the article on Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre by Pádraig Collins (2018) states that a Danish cultural centre being damaged after a 53-metre high silo fell the wrong way during the demolition. Even though no one was injured but damage was done to surrounding building. The onlookers were shocked after seeing the building toppled towards the other building. This incident is a good example of the danger of demolition. Hence, a better understanding on the safety risks and planning is therefore needed to avoid demolition accident.

In a separate news report, fatalities and casualties were involved. In the article "Expert behind fatal Canberra hospital blast still holds act license" (2018) by Steven Trask, an attempt to implode the Royal Cranberra Hospital in 1997 was flawed, causing debris to fly further than they calculated killing a child and wounding several onlookers.  The person in charge of the implosion was not qualified and the task was dangerously carried out.  Accident caused by dangerous demolition will result in costly social aftermath. The best way is to manage the risks associated with the demolition will include identifying the hazard associate with demolition. A pre-demolition risk identification and assessment prior to demolition must be carried out follow by risk control during the process of demolition. Reviewing control measures will need to be put in place to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.

The other major concern in demolition work is the importance of safety.  As we know demolition is a dangerous process, safety issue if not handled properly, will result in major complications to workers and surrounding public resulting to many unwanted social and environmental issues.  Safety has and will always be the most important part of demolition project. In the article "Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more)" by George Davis  (2008), the author states that safety is mandated by law, breaking the law will come with a huge consequences.  A deadly explosion at Port Wentworth factory caused by violation of safety standards claimed the lives of 13 employee and cost the company $9million in penalty.  The author emphasis on the importance of safety of a construction site.  Breaching it will result in a hefty financial and social cost. The best way to ensure the safety of demolition is making necessary preparation. The first step of the process is an engineering survey on the demolition site for risk assessment. Follow by decision on the correct method and equipment  for demolition. Implementation and reviewing on safety control measures will need to be put in place to protect the health and safety of the workers and public.

The ultimate goal of demolition is to pull down a building in the safest and most efficient way possible. In order to achieve this, risks assessment and good safety measures and solution implement are the key factors for a successful demolition

Reference:

Juan Rodriguez, 4 ways to demolish the building(2018).

Site from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/ways-to-demolish-buildings-844420

Pádraig Collins, Silo demolition in Denmark goes wrong and crushes cultural centre (2018)Site from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/silo-demolition-in-denmark-goes-wrong-and-crushes-cultural-centre

George Davis, Disregarding Safety will cost you twice (And so much more) (2008).Site from: https://www.safetyservicescompany.com/industry-category/construction/disregarding-safety-will-cost-you/

Steven Trask, Expert behind fatal Canberra hospital blast still holds act license (2018).
Site from: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/expert-behind-fatal-canberra-hospital-blast-still-holds-act-licence-20180719-p4zsfm.html