[Draft 2] Summary of "Smart Buildings: “What ‘smart'; really means"

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 emphasises 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'.

I strongly agree with Lecomte that there should be a globalized standardization of definition on what is a smart building. I strongly believe that a globally recognized smart building will help the city to prosper and thrive.

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

(147 words)

Edited 29/09/2019

[Draft 1] Summary of "Smart Buildings: “What ‘smart'; really means"

In the article “Smart Buildings: “What ‘smart' really means”, Lecomte (2019)addressed the lack of rubrics and certification that caters to both the public and private real estate industry which makes smart buildings more susceptible to cyber threats. The lack of consent from the different group of stakeholders has delayed the drafting of the skeleton of the rubrics. The public and private sectors set rubrics to their advantage. The private sector created the rubrics based on their products which neglected pre-design considerations. The public sector created rubrics based on the engineering aspects but fail to spot the opportunity of integrating the building into its environment. Both sectors failed to grasp the opportunity of integrating the buildings into the city. Lecomte believes that one crucial component to be included in the standardized rubrics would be cyber risk management. Lecomte suggested involving stakeholders from both sectors to discuss a common rubrics and certification to promote credibility and reliability among the general public.

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

(162 words)

Edited 24/09/2019

Assignment 1 [Formal Letter]

Subject: Self-introduction

Dear Professor Blackstone, 

My name is Zhi Qi, and I am writing to introduce myself to you as a student in your effective communication class. I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in Hotel Leisure & Facilities Management. I was fortunate to land an internship at Parkway Pantai where I was exposed to the many aspects of facilities management. The most fun experience was running around with the technicians and getting my hands dirty on the job. This internship left me wanting to know more about the technical side of facilities management. I hope to deepen my technical knowledge for facilities management and thus, I enrolled in sustainable infrastructure engineering.

I believe one of my greatest communication strengths would be my ability to make my slides easy to understand for the audience as I try to keep my slides uncluttered. I would just put a few points on the slides and further elaborate on it when I am presenting. 

I believe one of my greatest weaknesses in communication is my tendency to rush through my content or mumble my words when I am stressed or nervous. I am not a very confident person and I get flighty when all the attention is on me. 

My first goal for this module is to learn to be able to better simplify the information given to me and make it easily digestible for others even with zero technical knowledge. My second goal for this module is to develop the proper communication skills to present clearly to the intended audience.

Through this module, I hope to gain more confidence for public speaking and improve on my articulation on words when presenting under your guidance. I look forward to the upcoming lessons with you for this trimester.

Best regards, 

Lim Zhi Qi 

SIE2019 Group 5 

Edited: 15/09/2019

Commented on: 
Tiara 
Jun Heng 
Yuan Kai 

Task 3: The Importance of communication skills for engineers

Hi, I am Zhi Qi currently pursuing a degree in BEng(Hons) Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services).

"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, President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp

I personally feel that the key to a great leader is being a good communicator. As a leader who can have innovating ideas, but if he can't get it across to his team, it will only be a dream. He must be able to express his ideas well so the team is able to envision what the leader wants. And as a leader, you must be able to motivate others through your words and actions. Communicating properly with the team will allow everyone to work more efficiently toward the same goal.


Last edited: 06/09/2019