Twisted Mind

It is fascinating to see that sometimes people twist and turn in times of uncertain excitement. When one's mind has been twisted, nothing is logical anymore. Logical in its true sense. Of course its logical to the twisted mind. An example, A hates B for being B for a long time. A wanted B to become like A and not being a dogmatic B. B was hit left, right and centre. B was smashed with no mercy. Then suddenly B wants to move forward and becomes better. B overhauled himself and becomes a better B who is liked by many more people than before. Now, A does not like this new B either. A is now saying B is out of his mind for not being the real or original B. B has diverted so much and has abandoned his original principle. A is telling everyone who cares to listen and to believe that B is now being influenced by others. What the heck? Suddenly A cares so much for B and his team members. The truth is B has improved so much that he is now probably better prepared to better A anytime. A is playing a reverse psychology or sorts but too bad nobody will take the bite. It is a sad sign of a twisted mind in action.

Gone but never Forgotten

There are many things in life which can wait for time. People say, everything has its own time. But is it really true? Perhaps these hold true with the benefits of hindsights. In truth life is about time. Time waits for no one. It is up to us really, to find the right time for the right thing or the right thing for the perfect time. Indeed when the time passes us only memories will be left behind, good or bad. At times, it is gone for a while but other times, time is gone forever, no time to recover or re-discover. It is either thankful, remorse or regret that will be embedded in the remaining time of life. Indeed 'Demi Masa, Manusia itu kerugian...'

Another Chance

Often times, one would beg for another chance when he or she realizes that the current chance is not going to give the desired results. Some people do get another chance while others may not be lucky to have another bite at the cheery. For instance, in the education system, one has to go through several examinations. Most are minors while others are majors and could be life turning points. Because of these exams, some dropped off while others took off. In any case many do not recognize the fact that all these are stop points for one to reflect. These are milestones in life if the missed chances of the previous phases are used to improve and prepare for the next chance. It does not matter what it takes to prepare one self. There are many rags to riches stories whereby one fall propelled to greatness in life.

Having gone through many phases of failures with one success in the end may make one to take things for granted. Yes, all the missed chances are easily forgotten once one managed to succeed given the time. It is like in a football game, a striker may shoot at the goal many times. Eventually he manages to make one count and the team wins the match. Unfortunately, getting so many chances is only relevant as long as one is alive. We only have one life to live in this world no matter what people may say about cats having nine lives or what. The question is which one of our chances can be considered another chance or even the last chance? Unless and until we turn every single another chance in life as the last chance we may not even have time to regret. The bottom line is therefore to be mindful of life, cherish God given gifts, be thankful and grateful to Him and be the best person who can be real benefits to others like a candle in the darkness of night!

A Year Full of Refections

It was indeed a significant phase in my life. It is like a tipping point when a series of events took place in your life, one after another. While one would wish a mixture of good and bad, it is not always controllable. One has to go deep into understanding life to be able to comprehend what could be the most important lesson in one's life. Indeed so many things to reflect on and so many angles to approach. At the end of that, it could be your another chance, if not second or third chance taking as the beginning of a renewed life full of opportunities to atone for the past travelled past!

Educating Engineers

Education has been one of the most sensitive subjects of discussion in this country. To most people the level of education one receives will determine the quality of life one would enjoy later. Is this the truth or a myth? No doubt that education is a very important component of a civilized society. It is in fact considered as the most basic rights of a human being. The issue is how do we define or what do we consider as education?

As far as engineering education is concerned it should consist of the various aspects of producing good and wholesome engineers who are very much relevant to the society and civilization. It is not limited to being an engineer who is very good in technical areas like design and analysis but also able to apply and relate to the way of life of the community. For instance, it is of little use to have a beautiful and structurally strong building if the parking lot is not easily accessible to the users. As more engineers become a part of corporate organizations, they need new skills and knowledge on management including marketing, financial, human capital and even on business and economy. Engineers should be able to produce as good management reports, financial analyses and business proposals as design calculations and technical drawings for an iconic building. The question then, is our engineering education system capable of transforming our engineers to be managers and corporate players?

Everybody would have his or her own views on this. The fact is everyone of us especially IEM members has a fair share of responsibility to make this ideal thinking a reality. So often we hear how our graduate engineers are not equipped to enter the job market. Many cited the lack of communication skill and proficiency as the main stumbling block. This is nothing new but can this situation be rectified merely by expressing our shock, dismay and disappointment? Has anything been changed in the way of engineering education to change the end products? Can the engineers in the academic world who are directly involved with engineering students not seeing this and take the necessary action? Can the engineering corporations not doing something substantive to ensure their corporations are sustainable?

It is clear that engineering education needs to be transformed to prepare our engineers to face the challenge as Malaysia moves towards a developed and a High Income Economy nation. If individuals and corporations are not capable, then who should lead the transformation of engineering education in this country? Indeed, as the essential component of nation building, we engineers need to pull our socks and shape up to ensure the nation stands proud on the world stage. Perhaps we should remember what C.S Lewis once said ‘Experienced: the most brutal of teachers: but we learn. My God what do we learn.’ Let us share our experience with the incoming members of engineering fraternity in the true sense of the word!

Mobility

One of the main feature or globalization is the ease of mobility around the borderless globe. However, in most cases, mobility refers to the transmission of data and information in communication. From the conventional fixed line technology, communication has moved to many steps into the 4G spectrum. This has changed the way we live our daily life. The same kind of borderless mobility however does not apply to the movement of human and goods. While human trafficking is viewed negatively, issues involving traffic movements especially in urban living are becoming more complex.

Although new technology has been part of the improved people movers system, such as for the LRT, ERL, Monorail or even KTMB rail network, there are other aspects of transportation system which the technology alone cannot resolve. This is because transportation system involves physical rather than virtual infrastructures. How do we then, come up with an intelligent integrated transportation network when the required infrastructure is not there? Instead of solving the problems for the users, the physical limitations can be a real turn off for the system to be fully utilized. With the cost of infrastructures running into billions of Ringgit, it is imperative that a comprehensive plan is needed before we embark on the construction journey. Otherwise the future generations would be paying a very high price to just move from point A to point B.

Road and rail networks have to be part of residential and commercial centres for them to contribute to a better way of life hence meeting the objectives of the networks themselves. Conversely, the system will have to be of a high standard in terms of reliability and trustworthiness. It is in this light that we, engineers, can play a better and more effective role. Planning a transportation system which allows for the integration of the various modes of transport as well as the diverging needs of a community is the ultimate challenge to ensure the perceived future benefits of mobility are realized and not limited to mere data and information transportation.

Engineering A Clean Life

For years, energy saving was one of the better known initiatives within the built environment when one talks about cost savings. It was in no way related to the survival of mankind. As a result, innovating energy saving products was the main focus of the power related industry. From the use of energy saving electrical fittings and accessories to high efficiency motors, it was all about optimizing the consumption of electricity. Conversely, factors influencing the efficient use of energy such as harmonics and power loss for electricity and better fuel economy cars are closely examined with many research hours devoted to them. While awareness on energy conservation was growing, global warming was still in its infancy.

There is no doubt that energy is one of life’s essentials. No activity can ever get done without energy being consumed. In today’s life, requirements for energy for daily activities are almost taken for granted. We consume electricity like the supply will be forever. We will jump the moment there is a power outage affecting us. We consume fossil fuel with little regards for the potential damage the resultant carbon emission would have on our environment. The question is, can we live our normal life without energy, especially electricity?

The level of awareness on the need to have sustainable development and better managed energy production has probably increased over the past few years. Many programs and initiatives are carried out by the relevant parties to create more responsible energy consumers. Going green is almost fashionable. We have Green Buildings, Green Technology, Green Energy, Green Living, Green Fuel, to name a few. The fact however remains that these terms are just beginning to creep into our daily life. To create a successful green culture would require more than just organizing or participating in green programs or activities. It has to be a way of life, simply because Green Living goes beyond the usual understanding of reducing wastage and recycling materials. Other than living a simple life with less dependent on energy as we know today, the challenge is really to innovate in identifying the source for clean energy. This means that the source for energy generation does not result in drawbacks which could adversely affect human life. Otherwise the irony of global warming causing people to consume more electricity to cool themselves off which in turn creates warmer atmosphere will continue as a vicious cycle. Whether the source is hydro, wind, solar or even uranium the bottom line is human should endeavor to live harmoniously with nature! Can we engineer that kind of Green Living?

Managing Sustainable Future

MANAGING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE!

The 51^st Annual General Meeting for The Institution of Engineers Malaysia was successfully convened recently. Congratulations are in order to those who were given the mandate to serve IEM in various ex-officio capacities for the 2010/2011 term. The Presidential Address touched on several matters closed to the heart of all engineers in Malaysia today. The theme of Engineering Mobility, Globalisation and Green Technology for a Sustainable Future was very relevant to the challenges faced by the engineering fraternity and related industries. As the role of engineers and in particular IEM, becomes more prominent in our society, it is imperative that all members are aware of and understand the very existence of IEM and the various mechanisms or strategies put in place to live up to the aspirations of the founding members. It is in this respect that we wish the new office bearers all the best to lead the way for IEM to move forward to the next level of excellence.

Project Management is probably one aspect of engineering practices which is becoming a focal point in today’s nation building. While construction industry is considered one of the drivers for economic growth, project management skill will ensure that driver gets to his or her destination in a timely manner without any unreasonable deviation. The fact that project management has evolved to become a more wholesome profession on its own, is in itself a challenge to all engineers. One wonders, is the skill to become a Project Manager so difficult to acquire that often times a project suffers from poor management? Alternatively, what is the Critical Success Factors (CSF) for a project management team to succeed? Do we need to spell out the Key Result Areas (KRA) hence Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for each project as further guidance, in addition to the Critical Path Methods (CPM) most engineers would have learned especially in relation to Construction or Production Management? Indeed, with the advent of Facilities Management, Asset Lifecycle Management, Value Management and so on the need for engineers to be good managers could not be over emphasised.

It is hoped that the feature articles and reports which highlight the various aspects of project management in this edition of JURUTERA would contribute some ways to a better understanding of project management and value management amongst us. The paper series on Structural Eurocodes continue with an insight on issues affecting the local standards. The usual columns on safety, travel notes and other updates on activities and fund raising for our building should offer continuous supply of adrenalin to last for another day be it in the office or out on the field.

Together We Do It

TOGETHER WE DO IT!

This column has been touching on several aspects pertaining to the submission, vetting and subsequently acceptance of an article for publication in JURUTERA in the past few editions. In general, this is aimed at bringing greater awareness amongst the readers of this monthly bulletin. It is hoped that this greater awareness would translate into better responses from the members of IEM, be it in the form of constructive ideas through feedbacks or even better by sending valuable contributions via technical articles.

Towards this end, the readers are informed of the future themes of JURUTERA two months in advance in the anticipation of greater participation. It would be an uplifting experience for the team to read readers’ comments in their e-mail inbox. At least they know that their hard work did not go unnoticed. Perhaps it is our culture to only comments when something bad happens rather than making effort to be fair by giving credit when it is due and stick when it is necessary. With the advent of mobile e-mail tools, sending e-mails are literally at one’s finger tip to most people.

There are a few groups of people working behind the scene to ensure that this monthly bulletin reaches you on time. The challenge for the team is to do it over and over again every month. Of course there have been and most probably will still be hiccups along the way but rest assured that the production processes are reviewed and improved continuously.

The theme for this month is Mining and Quarry Engineering. Although this area of engineering may be foreign to most people now, the cover story and the accompanying articles should be rather enlightening. An Introduction and Overview of the Structural Steel Design to MS 1993 is another insight for the industry. The usual columns on safety, engineering miscellany, engineering and law, travel notes and other updates should provide an interesting break from your routine.

Finally, in spite of the co-pilot being away attending to a private matter, the flight continues without much disruption. Most important of all, the expected menu to keep everyone freshened up in time for landing is still served timely. Happy reading!

Into The Job

Brace for Landing

The plane had been on autopilot for a while when the first-time co-pilot took over the controls. Hopefully, the passengers did not notice the slight wobble. With sweaty palms, he flew for a few hours, while at the same time, trying to get acquainted with the Pilot, the First Officer and the Chief Stewardess. Everyone in the cockpit was an ‘out-sourced’ personnel, doing other things for a living when not flying. In fact, they worked on their computers even in the cockpit. Shhh …

Occasionally, the Pilot checked out the passengers and returned remarking that some First Class passengers complained why it took so long to traverse a ‘routine’ stretch … they had been on the same flight before, and recalled that the on-board screen showed a faster passage. Another passenger remarked that they are not getting value for their money, as the travel agent had a good deal with the airline to promote the flight but did not make sure that the airline could live up to its promises. Luckily, there were also those who enjoyed the ride better than the autopilot mode, perhaps the plane happened to be flying low over a scenic landscape. It is the view, not the flight that counts!

Then the co-pilot received a private call. A family affair needs his urgent attention. Nobody was impressed, especially since they would be landing soon. Reluctantly, the Pilot, still on his computer, took over. “Don’t take too long,” he demanded, hoping that the co-pilot could be back in time for the messier business of landing. The First Officer graciously offered to help. The Chief Stewardess thought, “Oh, my God ...” Relax, since the Pilot clocked more flying hours, a crash landing was not a concern; besides, the First Officer is an unusually seasoned person.

The co-pilot sheepishly left the cockpit for some private conversation, at the same time feeling both guilt and relief. Perhaps after landing there would be a change of crew. Since everyone is ‘out-sourced’, who will be on duty next is anybody’s guess. As a non-profit carrier, the airline had difficulty securing full-time highly qualified flight crew. The airline had been lucky to get a good advertiser, so at least now it is not bleeding profusely like the good old days when advertising was done in-house. But now the passengers expect a more delicious main course!

So, ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belt, put your seats upright ... (and pray). Thank you for flying with XXX Airline and hope to see you again soon.

Return on Engineering

One of the definitions of Asset in business term is anything of material value of usefulness that is owned by a person or a company. The key word is here usefulness. How do we ensure that the asset is useful? First it must be fit for purpose, not only when it is acquired but throughout its designed life. In engineering standard the life term may range from twenty-five to even fifty years.

Over the years, there have been many approaches considered and taken to sustain the usefulness of one’s asset. Most of them are related to the way the asset is maintained. Terms such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Condition Based Monitoring (CBM), Preventive and Predictive Maintenance (PM) and even Corrective Maintenance (CM) have been used to reflect the desire of technical teams to ensure that a particular asset is fit for purpose as long as possible. Asset Lifecycle is probably one of the latest trends or approach in optimizing the usefulness of an asset. With proper execution of the relevant methodology, the Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Investment (ROI) values would benefit the company and its shareholders.

The challenge for engineers actually does not start the moment the asset is delivered to the premise. In fact, it should start well before that when the conceptual design was first mooted. So often that this predesign stage overlooked the requirements for maintenance stage. As a result, modification or variation had to be done to improve the asset lifecycle. The main reason is probably the exclusive nature of the design and maintenance groups. As professionals, engineers should strive to widen their knowledge beyond the traditional outlook. Designers should not limit themselves to theoretical applications and likewise the operators or maintenance experts should be able to share and impart the knowledge and expertise so that the end result is one of unity!

While a lot of progress has been made in improving the lifecycle of fixed assets be it properties, plants or equipment, there are still a lot more need to be done for the other asset, namely human capital. We used to hear that employees are the best asset of a company but is this still true today? Without doubt, we could have the most sophisticated and intelligent building, equipment and maintenance system but if it is not matched with equally intelligent, skilled and versatile workforce to execute all the programs would we be able to optimize our ROA and our ROI?

New Year

Happy New Year! Indeed, Year 2010 was quite a year for engineers. Almost all major incidences that occurred in 2010 were related to engineering works one way or the other, except of course those caused by natural disasters. The Deepwater Horizon incident was one of the worst engineering disasters in history of mankind. The jury is still out on the final cost of the failure. Could this kind of disaster have been prevented?

Another significant event, which might be considered as the pinnacle of engineering work during a disaster was the Chile mine incident. As it turned out all the miners survived and were brought up to the surface by a specially designed capsule, which was a result of an engineering innovation and well coordinated and managed rescue operation.

So, what is in store for 2011? Perhaps, a closer look would bring forth the fact that 1^st January 2011 is not only a start to a new year but also a start to the third decade of the Vision 2020, which was launched in 1990. It is like on the home stretch or the last lap, whichever way one looks at it. As one of the essential components of nation builders, there are plenty of opportunities and challenges for engineers and the engineering society. The New Economic Model (NEM), the Economic Transformation Programs (ETP) and the Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP) are some of the key Headlines. While the economist may have completed their number crunching for these programs, the real work for the engineers is just starting. Planning, designing, implementing and commissioning are probably the most obvious tasks. The issue of sustainability and environmental friendly engineering will become more prominent. The question is, can we engineers face up to the challenge to ensure all the ideas and concepts on the drawing boards are translated fully into reality? Our expertise on Value Engineering and Project Management will certainly be needed.

Those Malaysians who were born in 1990 and chose to be engineers are now in their second year of an engineering course. In two years time they will be actively involved in some kind of engineering works. Are we ready to lead and guide them to carry on the good name of the engineering profession towards 2020? With the ever and fast changing way of life, can the engineers remain merely in the traditional domain of engineering or ready to impart and infuse the engineering practices in other areas of life professions?

A Long Journey Back

After a very long hiatus, I plan to reconnect with the readers to this page. There have been so many things happening the past ten months or so. Thank God I now believe that I could have some time again to blog. Hope this second phase will be more interesting sharing work experience and views rather than others.

Time flew real fast. My last posting was almost two months ago. It seems time is becoming shorter while the list of things grows longer. Indeed I remember one of the thing that keeps coming up to my mind is the fact that 'Man will always have more things to do than the time they have' or something to that effect. I don't know, there may be many people in this world who have more time than they need. Never mind, they may be the unfortunate ones who have to struggle with life just to make ends meet. Even then I supposed they will still find it hard to get or earn what they want in 24 hours.

Anyway, one of the many things I had to do the past few months was to take care of my old folks. It is indeed a very emotional experience trying to do the right thing acceptable to them especially and those around me. There were times when a meeting point will not make one party happy while at other times they were quite a smooth sailing. The bottom line is one has to be really patient, passionate and thoughtful in taking care of them. Sometimes I wonder whether I have done enough by them. I hope The Almighty will always know how best I tried to discharge my filial duty to them.

Being in their eighties means love is very much different from what we know today. Love is not demonstrated but is translated into their hard works to get the best out for their kids. Their love knows no boundary to the extent that they may at times appear to spill over to the unwelcome territory. Their outlook on life is rather simplistic though they very much understand how complicated life has become to their kids having own families. Indeed one can talk a lot about the unseen love between these two generations separated by evolution of human race.

In spite of all the shortcomings they ought to be treated with real care. Their sensitive hearts should not be hurt in anyway less it may not recover in time. In my quiet moments I could not stop wondering how tough my father was. He was an unsung hero during the short period between the surrender of Japan in World War II and the return of the British forces. My remote village was under attack by the 'Bintang Tiga' Army. The battle was fought hard with casualties on both sides. I lost my grandpa and other relatives. Apparently my father was shot at by the enemy. He survived with bullet hole marks on his shirt. The sad thing is that I only came to know about this recently, when I could no longer enjoy relishing the memory with my father. Looking at how he is now I have missed the real chance to get the story first hand. This will however remain in my memory.....

Having said that I was still lucky to have been able to spend a short time with him just a few weeks ago. I took him to a Hypermarket just to get him to choose something he would like. He did and we returned home happy though I knew he would have enjoyed it better had it been a couple of years earlier.

To those who still have the opportunity please do not let your long list of things get in your way to be with your old folks.....

25 Years On!

I have been inactive for a long while to the extent I almost lost this blog. I somehow managed to reconnect today. In fact I had planned to resume posting last Wednesday for some reasons but that day and date have now passed.

Anyway, it was a memorable weekend last week, being a start to a new Lunar Year. There have been so much discussions on how auspicious and meaningful a Lunar Year is and I do not wish to add to the discussions. At personal level though, it was quite significant for me. Not only for the long weekend but also the timing of it all.

Indeed it coincided with our 25th year Anniversary with my other half. It was a long journey to reach this far. We went through valleys, hilltops, winding and straight roads at one time or other. Together we managed to ride the cold, warm, sorrows and joys of a meaningful relationship. Through all the ups and downs, Thank God, we passed through with not much of bruises and pains. Yet we learned a lot both as individuals as well as, as a pair. No doubt there will be many more lessons to learn as we move to the next phase of parenthood. With our kids and no longer kids in the true sense but grown ups there will be different kind of challenges to face. It will also be the time when we will have to be the guide for new families to be established when the time comes for our kids. With all that, I pray that we will continue to enjoy our remaining life together and hopefully we will be blessed by the Almighty for the next 25 years and beyond.

For all the achievements of the past 25 years, I have my better half to thank to - she is not only a wife and mother to my kids but she is the best friend I have. Thanks so much, Dear!