Zulfadli's Blog

In the article, “District heating and cooling systems'', ENGIE (2013) discusses the benefits of operating 320 urban heating and cooling network systems while simultaneously protecting the environment. ENGIE has been a major provider of urban cooling networks in Europe for 30 years. The article states that ENGIE has aimed to increase the usage of renewable sources to 50% in its European urban networks from 2018 onwards. Renewable sources such as solar and geothermal are being used for heat generation. A heating network has four main components which consist of heat generating units, a heat exchanger, and a primary and a secondary pipeline. A cooling network provides cool air through chilled water and operates between two pipelines. The utilisation of the cooling network compared to a conventional air conditioning system will achieve greater energy efficiency, lesser water and electricity consumption, and will emit less carbon dioxide. References: ENGIE. (2013, February 11) Distr...

Dear Professor Blackstone, My name is Mohamad Zulfadli, and I am a student from T5 in your Effective Communication module. I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services). The purpose of this letter is to provide a descriptive reflection of myself.   I have graduated with a Diploma in Mechatronics from Temasek Polytechnic. After that achievement, I was enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces to serve my National Service.  After serving the nation, I have attained a Specialist Diploma in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Engineering from Nanyang Polytechnic in parallel with working as an Assistant Quality Engineer. After my stint as an Assistant Quality Engineer, I have worked as an Assistant Technical Support Engineer. My passion for learning engineering comes from my uncle as he has constantly shared with me his exciting projects while working as a Civil Engineer. In addition, a show called “Mythbusters” has further p...

How do I see communication and critical thinking impacting my future role as a leader in the workplace? I can envision that communication and critical thinking will have a great impact in my future role as a leader in the workplace. According to the article, in a 2008 whitepaper by IDC, poor communication has led to organizations in the UK and USA to lose an estimated US$37 billion! Poor communication has resulted in a lower shareholder return. Research by Towers Watson has shown that organisations with highly effective communication skills see a 47 percent higher total returns to shareholders compared with firms that are the least effective at communicating. However, it is not sufficient to possess good communication skills alone. Communication skills can be enhanced with critical thinking. Critical thinking is the driver of an effective communication. A leader will have increased confidence in communication with critical thinking as communication is easier when leaders are prep...

"Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter." Gilbert Amelio, former President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp Effective leadership requires a leader that has excellent communication skills and can connect with the team members. It is essential to possess excellent communication skills as it inspires positivity towards the team members. A leader can inspire positive change and align with the team by imparting knowledge and ideas. Poor communication skills may lead to misinterpreted information and lowered employee productivity and morale.