Assignment 4 Thinking

8/10/2019 Assignment 4 Thinking

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KXEX 2167- Thinking And Communication Skills For Civil EngineersRefurbishment of Department of Civil Engineering building (Block G)

1

Introduction

Refurbishment of Department of Civil Engineering building (Block G)

To meet the growing demands of increased number of students and to enable better

customer service, the Department of Civil Engineering is embarking on a project to

refurbish its current office block (Block G). The refurbishment should enhance the

current layout and aesthetic outlook, but should preserve the existing structural

specification. Once completed, the building should consist of main administrative office,

rooms for all lectures, rooms for visiting lectures, work-station for tutors and

postgraduates, a resource room/library, computer laboratories, seminar rooms, design

offices, study area for students, other rooms for administrative purposes, at least two

research laboratories, utility shop and a gymnasium. The new layout proposed should

enable to achieve the objectives of better customer service and meet enhanced demand in

higher education. The report should also provide conceptual designs of the proposals.

Through years, there are growing demands of increased number of students. To

enable better customer service, the Department of Civil Engineering is intent to

refurbish its current office block (Block G).

The refurbishment will enhance the current layout and aesthetic outlook.

The brand new layout will enable to achieve the objectives of better customer

service, meet enhanced demand in higher education, making use the space

effectively.


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Objective

Aesthetic the current outlook.

Better customer service. Update the existing facilities.

Improve students performance by providing good services, resource and facilities.

The brand new Block G will consists of

Main administrative office

Rooms for all lectures

Rooms for visiting lecturers

work-station for tutors and postgraduates

Resource room/library

Computer laboratories

Seminar rooms

Design office

Study area for students

Other rooms for administrative purposes

At least two research laboratories

Utility shop

Gymnasium


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Concept

This is four concept that we use

1.

Aesthetic

- Something or about appreciation combination of qualities giving

pleasure to the sight or other senses or to be mind.

2. Comfortable

- Circumstance; occurrence of fact connected with an event or person

that feel good or better.

3. Systematic

- Follow the system and something meditate; plan that going fluent.

4. Spacious

- Something that away from crowded and commodious; having plenty of

leisure.


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Methodology

Our group comprised of three member, which are Wong Mei Wah, Faiz Najmi

Bin Abdullah and Nur Liyana Binti Hassan. We have discussed properly before we sub-

divided the job to complete the findings on our topic. After fairly discussion, Wong MeiWah has been appointed as the head of the team.

We started plan our work by discussion at first. During the session of discussion,

it required lots communication skills to end up with compromise among group members.

Anyway, we did it successfully in discussion and concede a point to do our project.

Next, we distributed evenly our tasks according to everyone own ability. Then,

we had meeting at few places in the Faculty of Engineering, which are engineering

library, Infineon corner at Engineering Tower, student corner at Block U and student

gathering corner at Civil Engineering Department which situated at Block G of the

Faculty of Engineering. This is to ensure every group members will not lag behind the

process.

We discussed it during meeting when we were facing the hesitation in making

decision. In this project is about refurbishment of department of Civil Engineering

building (Block G), we would like to ask the response from civil departments students.

Thus, we had decided to distribute questionnaire and conduct interview session with

students in Civil Department of Faculty of Engineering to ask for their opinion. After that,

we gathered all feedback and analysis on it.

At last, we compiling identified problems and constrains with all data include

suggestions and considered solutions. Then, we could conclude it with recommendations

for this case.


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4. Planning the study

i. Suggestion to have indoor structure of the

student gathering corner in block G

ii. Suggestion to have welfare facilities inside

the department

iii. Suggestion to have stronger and wider Wifi

zone in block G

iv. Suggestion to concentrate all lecturersroom

in one floor

v. Suggestion to make full use of every space

of block G

vi.

Suggestion to use autoCAD to draw the new

plan of block G

Wong Mei Wah

All members

All members

All members

5. Distribution of duties

i. Conduct the survey

ii. Designer of the plan of block G

iii. Arranging meeting and write minutes

iv. Photographer

v. Cost estimation

Wong Mei Wah

Faiz Najmi Bin Abdullah

Nur Liyana Binti Hassan

Wong Mei Wah



6. Decide on work schedule

i. Having next meeting after 2 weeks

ii. Data collection

All members


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Second Minutes of Meeting

Date :19 November 2013

Time : 3.30pm

Venue : Infineon Corner, Engineering Tower

Topics :

Discuss information

Data collection

Analyses data

Attendance :

1. Wong Mei Wah

2. Faiz Najmi Bin Abdullah

3. Nur Liyana Binti Hassan

No. Topics Action

1. Discuss information required

i.

Design of the new design of plan of block G All members

2. Data collection

i. Problems faced

ii. Solution considered

All members

3. Analyses data

i. Result of the survey All members


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Third Minutes of Meeting

Date : 3 December 2013

Time :3.00pm

Venue :Engineering library, Faculty of Engineering

Topics :

Discuss the findings

Finalize the report

Prepare for presentation

Attendance :

1. Wong Mei Wah

2. Faiz Najmi Bin Abdullah

3. Nur Liyana Binti Hassan

No. Topics Action

1. Discuss the findings

i.

Cost estimation of project Faiz Najmi Bin Abdullah

2. Finalize the report

i. Make arrangements for the report

ii. Individual summary

All members

3. Prepare for presentation

i. Divide the topics among member

ii. Gather information to prepare a PowerPoint

presentation

All members


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Problems Encountered

A) Lacking of facilities

We found out that existing facilities in block G of Civil Engineering Department is

insufficient and not well maintained.

Problem 1: Study area

There are lacking of study area for students in our department. This is due to the

growing demand of increased number of undergraduate and postgraduate students. The

study area of block G is limited and the surrounding is not suitable to study as it is near to

the laboratory and exposed to weather change, such as rain. Even though the study area is

covered, but when heavy rain in University of Malaya students cannot stay at the study

area due to the environment condition of the place. Besides, the study area of block G is

not equipped well with suitable tables and chairs.

Cur rent studentsstudy corner


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Problem 2: Block G do not have computer lab.

In Block G, computer lab is unavailable. Although there is an existing computer

lab at block G, the lab are not equipped with computers. Students usually face a big

problem when doing assignments or reports which need to be completed using computer.

Students have to bring their own laptop or go to the computer lab of block N. As an

example, students who taking course Drawing for Civil Engineering, KAEA1102, have to

go to computer lab of block N when doing AutoCad design.

Computer lab without Computer facili tiesProblem 3:

Current teaching equipment of block G is too old and not well-upgraded. The

tables and T-rulers in the drawing room are too old and some are malfunctioning

compared to those in the Faculty of Build Environment. Besides, the sound system and

projector of design office often spoiled or not function well during lecture time.


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Table and ru ler in block G Table and ru ler of Facul ty of Architecture

Problem 4: Lack of welfare facilities

Current Department of Civil Engineering do not equipped with any welfare

facilities such as utility shop and gymnasium or leisure area. Students, lecturers and staffs

do not have any place for them to do sport and exercise. For post-graduate students who

often spend their time at department do not have any place for them to enjoy exercise for

a better performance on academic. For final year students, they are suffering in looking

for printing service in purpose of printing thesis paper. Besides, students often face with

the problem on printing lecture note or assignment paper as there is not photocopy shop

at block G. For staffs at department do not have any grocery shop for them to buy some

snacks or drinks.

B) Wi-Fi problem.

There are free Wi-Fi access for students around University of Malaya, which are UM-

WiFi-studentand UM-Wifi-staff. However, we cannot detect Wi-Fi access at block G.

This is very inconvenient to students as students cannot access internet to carry out

academic stuff, such as to find information and images to complete the assignment.

Besides, lecturers also face with the same problem during the lecture as sometime

they need to access on internet for some teaching resources.

Free Wi-F i access at Department of Civil Engineeri ng


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C) The structural design of block G is too complicated.

Even though the building of block G is not large, students, especially first year

students are failed to reach their destination in block G. The current design of lecturer

room are too complicated and confusing, which make problems to students who

wanted to meet lecturer at their office as they hardly to find the room. For the new

design of the rooms for lecturer should be clear and simple which concentrate in one

floor.


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The F loor Plan of Block G

D) The building of civil department (block G) dilapidated and not well-maintained.

University of Malaya has an old historic background. Department of Civil

Engineering is the first department of Faculty of Engineering in University of Malaya.

The building of Department of Civil Engineering has a six-decades of history.

Therefore, the building of block G is very old and need to be maintained-well to make

sure the building is under good condition. Refurbishment and renovation on the

building is needed to ensure a better and more comfortable study environment for

students.

Cur rent appearance of block G


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Considered Solutions

(a)

Floor plan of ground floor of block G

F loor plan of ground floor of block G

Study

area

Utility

shop


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For the new design of the floor plan, a new study area for students and a utility shop will

be added for the ground floor. The main adminstrative office and two research

labotatories will remain the same as current building. Besides, the new study area should

be a closed area equiped with adequade and suitable study tables and chairs. On the other

hand, a new utility shop should be built beside the new study area to ease the needs of

students. The utility shop will provide priting and photocopy service for students and

grocery for all the students, lecturers and staff at Block G.

Study area of block G.

Uti li ty shop of block G


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(b)Floor plan of first floor of block G

F loor plan of fi rst fl oor of block G

The current floor of the building will be demonished and refurbish with two seminar

rooms, one discussion room, work station for tutor and postgraduates, and rooms for

lecturer in the new design of Block G. The two seminar rooms will be equipped with

tables, chairs and latest teaching equipment such as white board, projector, computer and

LCD screen. A small discussion will be built for the purpose of students visiting lecterurs.


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Seminar r ooms of block G

Discussion room of block G


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(c)Floor plan of second floor of block G

F loor plan of second f loor of block G

Same as the first floor of block G, the second floor will be demonized and the two design

offices will be remain. For the new design for second floor, there are two new computer

labs, a mini library, a small gymnasium, a small study area, a small work station for tutor


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and lecturer, and rooms for lecturer. The two new computer lab with equipped with

desktop and latest software, suitable computer tables and chairs, and teaching equipment.

The new mini library will provide reference books, journals, thesis that related with civil

engineering field. A small gymnasium is built for the purpose of provided a leisure area

for students, lecturers, and staffs of civil department. Besides, the design office will equip

with new drawing tables and chairs.

Computer lab of block G Gymnasium of block G

M ini li brary of block G Study area of Block G


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Constrains & Limitations

Based on the problems encountered, we analyze the building of block G and design a newplan of block G for the refurbishment of block G. However, in the process of design and

proposing this project, we were facing some obstacles and limitations.

1)Budget/ Cost

The refurbishment of block G is a huge project as it requires a large amount of money.

The reconstruction of the internal structural design and facilities such as gym, mini

library and computer lab require a huge budget such as the equipment and the

construction fee. Most of these equipment are very expensive and need to have

maintenance regularly. Hence, it is quite hard for this project to obtain approval and carry

out practically.

2) I nconvenience for lectur ers and students dur ing the refu rbi shment process

As the refurbishment work involved most lecturers in the department, they may face

inconveniences during that time as they have no place to do their own works.

Furthermore, it is not so comfortable for them to do their works at temporary offices as

they are not familiar with the surrounding and it is difficult to manage the work in

temporary places. Besides that, for those students who are usually having classes in the

department need to find alternative places for their class. This eventually brought

inconvenience for the lecturers and students too.


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Analysis of Data

Part A: Opinions on Current Building of Department of Civil Engineering, Block G

Question 1: Do you satisfied with the appearance and layout of Block G?

Graph 1: Satisfaction Level towards the Appearance and Layout of Block G

Based on the data collected, 90% of the respondents show their dissatisfactory towards

the appearance of Block G. This results clearly shows that the building is already

obsolete and a new refurbishment is needed to implement. Furthermore, there is alwaysseeping of water into the building once raining. The respondents also claimed that the

spaces in Block G are not fully utilized. Thus, it causes the layout of Block G is less

satisfactory.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Very Satisfy Satisfy Dissatisfy Very Dissastisfy

NUMBEROFRESPONDENTS

Satisfaction towards The Appearance and Layout of Block G


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Question 2: Do you satisfied with the study area for students in Department of Civil and

Environmental Engineering?

Chart 1 Satisfaction Level towards the Study Area in Block G

The pie chart above shows that majority of the respondents are not satisfy towards the

study area in Block G. 88% of the respondents are dissatisfied towards the condition of

the current study area in Block G. Only 12% of the respondents are satisfied with thestudy area. This mainly due to the environmental condition and the facilities in the study

area in Block G. The study area is an open area; thus it does not provide a quite

environment for the students to do revisions. Furthermore, most of the respondents showtheir dissatisfactory towards the study area because it does not provide a conductive study

environment for the students as the study area is without air-conditioners. Another reason

is the weak Wi-Fi strength in the study area causes most of students do not like the study

area in Block G.

Very Satisfy

0%Satisfy

12%

Dissatisfy

42%

Very Dissastisfy

46%

SATISFACTION TOWARDS THE STUDY AREA IN BLOCK G


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Question 3: The design offices in Block G are in good condition?

Graph 2: Condition of Design Offices in Block G.

According to the analysis above, there is a neutral voting from the respondents. Thenumber of respondents agree and disagree that the design offices are in good condition

are both 22 out of the 50. However, there are a slightly difference for the very disagree

and very agree. Only 1 out of 50 of the respondents very agrees that the design offices

are in good condition. Hence, we can conclude that total of 46% of the respondents saythat the design offices are in good condition but 54% of them are not agree with that.

0

5

10

15

20

25

Very Agree Agree Diasgree Very Disagree

1

22 22

5

NumberofRespondents

Condition of Design Offices in Block G


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Question 4: The laboratories in Block G are well equipped and suitable to carry out

experiments related to the courses?

Chart 2: Condition of the Laboratories in Block G

According to the pie chart above, the proportion of respondents who are disagree with the

statement is higher that than of those who are agree. 23 out of 50 of the respondents

disagree while 18 out of 50 of the respondents agree with the statement. The reason for

the respondents claim that the lab is not in good condition because the equipment andapparatus in the laboratories are old and outdated, some of them are even malfunctioning.

5, 10%

18, 36%23, 46%

4, 8%

Condition of The Laboratories in Block G

Very Agree

Agree

Disagree

Very Disagree


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Question 5: The work-stations for tutors and postgraduates are sufficient and well

equipped?

Graph 3: Work-stations for Tutors and Postgraduates

Based on the graph above, most of the respondents say that the number of current work-

stations for tutors and postgraduates are not sufficient and not well equipped. 28 out of 50

of the respondents, which is 56% of the respondents disagree with the statement while 22out of 50 of the respondents, which is 44% agree with the statement. Most of the

postgraduates wish to have a more comfortable work place.

3

19

25

3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Very Agree Agree Disagree Very Disagree

Numbero

fRespondents

Work Stations for Tutors and Postgraduates


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Question 6: Rooms for lecturer are in good condition.

Graph 4: Condition of Lecturers Room

31 out of 50 of the respondents say that the conditions of the lecturers rooms are

dissatisfactory. On the contrary, only 19 out of 50 of the respondents say that the

conditions in the lecturers rooms are well enough and in a good condition.From theanalysis, most of the respondents do not satisfied with the condition of the lecturers

room. It is because the lecturer room is quite small and the space is very limited. Then,

when the lecturers place their teaching materials in their rooms, it cause the room to seemmessy. Besides that, the furniture in the rooms for lecturers is old. Thus, the rooms for

lecturers should be renovated and embellished.

0

5

10

15

20

25


9

22

19

0NUMBEROFRESPONDENTS

Rooms for Lecturers


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Question 7: Is seminar room necessary in Block G?

Chart 3: Necessity of seminar rooms in Block G

Based on the data obtained on the opinion of having a seminar room in Block G, morethan half of the respondents think that is a necessary. 66% of the respondents agree to

have a seminar room because it provides a suitable place for the outside speakers orlecturers to give talks to students. Besides that, students also can carry out discussions or

meeting in the seminar rooms.

Yes66%

No

34%

Necessity of Seminar Rooms


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Part B: Suggestion for Refurbishment of Block G

Question 8: Do you support the idea of refurbishment of Block G?

Chart 4: Agreement of the Idea of Refurbishment of Block G

According to the pie chart above, mostly of the respondents agree with the refurbishment

of Block G with only 7.14% of the respondents disagree with that. One situation that weneed to observe that is none of the respondent is very disagree with the idea as most of

the student claim that the departments building is already old and obsolete either in the

outlook or the interior part. Hence, we can say that the respondents are agree with the

idea of refurbishment of Block G. Thus, a refurbishment is necessary to make thebuilding looks new.

23, 46%

20, 40%

7, 14%0, 0%

Refurbishment of Block G

Very Agree

Agree

Disagree

Very Disagree


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Questions 10: What facility will you suggest to be included in the newly renovated studyarea?

Graph 6: Facilities should be included in the Newly Renovated Study Area

The data obtained shows that most of the respondents suggested that installing airconditioners and providing better Wi-Fi in the study area will make them more

comfortable to stay and study there. 21 out of 50 of the respondents are choosing to

install air conditioners in the study area while 20 of them are selecting a better Wi-Fi. Wecan see that air conditioner is the most essential facility in the new study area. In addition,

availability of Wi-Fi becomes very important to the students because we use internet for

information, submitting assignments, and also downloading the lecture notes. In addition,we also notice that some respondents requested for comfortable chairs and stools to be

included in the new study area. Besides that, students also wish that the study area does

provide vending machines which sell drinks and also food and snacks. As a result, we

propose that the new study area should be equipped with air-conditioners, comfortablechairs and stools and food and drinks vending machines.

21

6

20

2 1

Facilities in Study Area

Install Air Conditioners

Provide Comfortable Chairs

and Tables

Provide Better Wi-fi

Vending Machines Selling

Drinks

Vending Machines Selling

Food


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Questions 11 and 12: Do you agree to enhance the facilities of laboratories and designoffices in Block G?

Graph 7: Enhancement of Facilities of Laboratories and Design Offices in Block G

According to the graph above, most of the respondents agree with enhancing the facilities

of laboratories and design offices in the Block G. There is a same trend for respondents

very agree, agree, disagree and very disagree in the laboratories and design office. 86%

and 94% of the respondents agree to enhance the laboratories and design officerespectively. Majority of them agree because they found that some of the apparatus and

the equipment in the laboratories are already not functioning well and are outdated which

always provide an inaccurate experimental result. Furthermore, some of the tables and

chairs in the design offices are also spoiled. As a result, this might become an obstacle forstudents to learn and study there. Hence, we propose to enhance the facilities of

laboratories and design offices in Block G

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


NumberofResp

ondents

Enchancement of Facilities

Laboratories Design Offices


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Questions 13, 14, 15 and 16: Do you support the idea of proposing new area in Block G?

Graph 8: Agreement of Idea of Proposing New Area in Block G.

The graph above shows that more than half of the respondents agree with the idea of

proposing the new areas as stated. The students wish to have seminar rooms for them to

carry out discussions and listen to talks, computer labs for them to learn advancedsoftware, utility shop such as a photocopy shop and also a library which provides them

sufficient reading materials. Thus, we propose to introduce these new areas in Block G.

9

23

16

2

3

23

21

3

11

19

12

8

13

21

9

7

0 5 10 15 20 25

Very Agree

Agree

Disagree

Very Disagree

Proposing New Area in Block G

Seminar Room Computer Lab Utility Shop Library


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Cost Estimation

A) Mini Gymnasium

1. Boxing bags RM 180x3 RM 540

2.

Elliptical Bike RM 668x2 RM 13363. Sit up Equipment RM 710x2 RM 1420

4. Dumbbell Weightlifting Bench RM 420x2 RM 840

B) Mini Library

1. Bookshelves RM 169x8 RM 1352

2. Air Conditioner

(Mitsubishi 1HP SRK09CMP) RM 769x2 RM 1538

C) Computer Lab

1.

Tables RM 159x70 RM 11130

2. Printers

(HP LASERJET 2200) RM 250x2 RM 500

3. Air Conditioner

(Mitsubishi 1HP SRK09CMP) RM 769x4 RM3076

4. Computers

(Dell 3010M-i3224G50-W87

OptiPlex 3010) RM 2048x70 RM143360

D) Study Corner

1. Writing Tables

(1500x700x750mm) RM 160x4 RM 640

2. Chairs RM 45x15 RM 675

3. Air Conditioner

(Mitsubishi 1HP SRK09CMP) RM 769x1 RM 769

E) Construction Fee

RM 10000

TOTAL RM 177176


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Recommendations

In this topic, we analysis and conclude all of our data. At first, we had identified

four problems previously. We noticed these problems were based on a point that relatedto the facilities and maintenance of the Department of Civil Engineering. Hence, the most

feasible solution must be able to solve these four problems together.

At the same time, refurbishment of the department with a series of assumed that

the most effective way to fix the four problems. This is because if the facilities are

upgraded and well-maintained, the students can be motivated to strive for their best as

they can have extra privilege in pursuing their studies. With those solutions mentioned,

the department can build a good image with such facilities and systematic arrangement of

every single room.

In addition, we had conducted a survey among students of the department. This

survey purposely collected various opinions from students towards the situation in their

department. According to the statistic chart, it shows that majority of students agree that

it is necessary to upgrade the department with various facilities.

Although there were several constrains that we were facing, but the refurbishment

planning could provide more convenience to all students in the future. Anyhow, it is

necessary to carry on this plan. According to the questionnaire that we had distributed,

we also found that majority of students agree to have this refurbishment work as it does

really benefit everyone. The limits and constrains that will be facing can actually solve if

we plan well. The overall cost for the work is estimated to be RM167176 that mainly

involved the equipment to be installed. The work can be completed in short period which

around 2 months.


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References

1. "Part 2 CAD/CAM/CAE",25 Year retrospective, Computer Graphics World,

2011, retrieved 29 March 2012

2. Autodesk, Inc".FundingUniverse. Lendio. 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.

3. Brief History of Interior Design (2007) Retrieved December 7, 2012, from

www.interior-design-school.net

4. Piotrowski, C, 2004, Becoming an Interior Designer, John Wiley & Sons, New

Jersey, USA

5. Grahame, James. (2007-05-17)Mike Riddle's Prehistoric AutoCAD.Retro Thing.

Retrieved on 2013-07-21.

6. Pile, J, 2003, Interior Design, 3rd edn, Pearson, New Jersey, USA

7.

Site Plans, Elevations and Floor PlansA Community Guide San Jose. Accessed 11February 2009.
http://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2002/Volume-25-Issue-2-Feb-2002-/25-YEAR-RETROSPECTIVE-br-Part-2-CAD-CAM-CAE.aspxhttp://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Autodesk-Inc-company-History.htmlhttp://www.interior-design-school.net/http://www.retrothing.com/2007/05/mike_riddles_pr.htmlhttp://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/counter/planning_sanjose/Planning_in_San_Jose_pt3.pdfhttp://www.sanjoseca.gov/planning/counter/planning_sanjose/Planning_in_San_Jose_pt3.pdfhttp://www.retrothing.com/2007/05/mike_riddles_pr.htmlhttp://www.interior-design-school.net/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Autodesk-Inc-company-History.htmlhttp://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2002/Volume-25-Issue-2-Feb-2002-/25-YEAR-RETROSPECTIVE-br-Part-2-CAD-CAM-CAE.aspx


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Individual Summary

Name : Wong Mei Wah

Matric Number : KEA120053

We are divided into three group in the first interactive class of Thinking and

Communication Skills for Civil Engineers. There are three members in our group who are

Faiz Najmi Bin Abdullah, Nur Liyana Binti Hassan and me. We were assigned to the

project which is titled Refurbishment of Department of Civil Engineering building

(Block G). We decided to have our first meeting on 12 November 2013 after the class

ended.

We managed to briefly discuss and get further understanding the ideas of the topic

in our first meeting. Then, we listed out our group organization as well as responsibility

of each member. I have been selected as the group leader. In this meeting, I was

responsible for the floor plan design of block G and the preparation on presentation slides.

I suggested to increase the facilities of block G to have a utility shop that provide

photocopy and printing services. After the discussion, we distributed all the duties to each

of us and we decided to have the next meeting on 3 weeks time from now. After the

meeting, I browse through some books and references regarding the floor plan design of

block G and redesign it out by using AutoCad software. To get more information about

the design of Block G, I also research through Internet and ask the opinions of seniors of

my department.

For our second meeting, we continue our discussion on the collected data about

the design on refurbishment of Department of Civil Engineering building (Block G). In

the process of designing, I found that there are some standard guidelines to be followed

when designing floor plan of the block G. Through this process, I really learnt a lot of

useful things which is related to the building and construction. Besides that, we also able

to identify the existing problems, problems will exist during construction as well as the

solution to all these problems. It is a very great challenge to us as we can apply all the


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things we learnt before. At the end of the meeting, we decided to finalize and discuss all

the remaining details by 2 weeks time.

During the last meeting, the issue about the cost of estimation for refurbishment

of block G is brought out. I have faced some problem while designing the floor plan of

the block G. It is the first time for me to do the designing of building. In fact, it is a quite

tough job for us as we never learnt the cost of estimation for a refurbishment on a

building before. However, with the help of lecturers, we manage to finish it at last. After

that, we combine all the data and details in our report. I also prepare some slides for the

presentation as well.

After all the hard works, I would like to highlight that the cooperation and

collaboration among group members are essentially and paramount importance in the

way to produce a efficiency as well as a significance group discussion so as to find out

the best and critical solutions to solve all the constraints in various aspects such as in term

of budget, manpower and time. All group members should take up their responsibility

and play their crucial roles in different ways in order to complete this task. Through this

project, I had gain knowledge and experience. Besides that, I also experiences as the

leader of the group which improves my leadership skills, how to organize my work andcommunicates with my group members.

Lastly, I want to show my appreciation to our lecturers, Prof. Dr. Hashim Bin

Abdul Razak and Dr. Min Jang as well as my group members as they really help and

guide me a lot in the way to complete this challenging task. Without their help, this

project would not run smoothly as it does now.


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Name : Faiz Najmi Bin Abdullah

Matric Number : KEA120016

The last few days have been seriously stressful for me. I'm not good at being the center of

attention, and this whole thing has brought me to tears on more than one occasion since I

hit publish on Monday night. But in all of that, the commenter of GT have been amazing

about rallying around me and supporting me, and I'm incredibly grateful, so I wanted to

take some time to specifically mention the people who went above and beyond for me.

First of all, I want to congratulate to our group for making our final assignment

critical thinking and communication successful and finish before the due date. Thanks to

our lecturer that work hard to make the course interesting and easier to learn. The lecturerI meant is Professor Dr. Hashim Bin Abdul Razak. He patiently teaches us the theoretical

part by spending around 2 hour and gives us enough exercise to make sure we understand

the course outcome. Also, our co-instructor Professor Dr. Min Jang that handle the hand

on and tutorial class. Sincerely, Prof. Dr. Min Jang gave a very energetic lecture and

inspires us to become a better speaker and gave us tips about speaking in front of people.

Furthermore, I want to thank you to my group for working very hard to make the project

successful. My group mate Wong Mei Wah and Yana. For Wong Mei Wah, I want to

thanks you because as the main contributor to our final project. She is very efficient and

very tidy in her work. As we distributed the works, her majority does the research and

rearranges the final works. As for Yana, she basically does the assist work for Wong Mei

Wah, by doing the survey, analysis and meeting report. As for me, I do the theoretical

part, spending the time to do research and the facts.


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As for intro for this summary for this report, I will explain about the report

generally. We picked this topic because the topic is very near to as civil engineering

undergraduate. The topic about the renovation of the department of civil engineering is

embarking on the project to reconstruct and design the current office block (block G).

The improvement included the arrangement, current layout, and aesthetic layout.

However, the structure of the existing building must be preserved.

As for the solution for this problem, we manage to collect many respondents from

undergraduate to make sure our research approved and the suggestion. The questionnaire

asked about the satisfactory towards the outlook of Block G and the refurbishment of

Block G. Most of them agree that the block G should be improved and the design should

be more captive and bright.

As for theoretical part and factual part, we did the research by referring the

internet and articles. From there, we manage to identify the problem and found the great

example of good department building. Majorly, we identify problem came from lack of

facilities, poor teaching equipment, problem with internet connection, poor and not well-

maintained building. Furthermore, the plan of the building is very complicated and not

well arrange.

We also manage to get a few solutions to solve the following problems. First of

all, we must simplify the plan of the block G. We must make the lecturer room smallerand we also manage to build the utility shop and study area for student services.

Moreover, we must make sure our department facilities up to date.

However, we found that there are some Constrains and limitations. The limitation

is the budget. The refurbishment of block G is a huge project as it consumes a large

amount of money. Moreover, the improvement is very Inconvenience for lecturers and

students. Refurbishment work involved most lecturers in the department, they may face

inconveniences as they have no place to do their own works Students who are usually

having class in the department need to find other places for their class.

Although there were several constrains that we were facing, but the refurbishment

planning could provide more convenience to all students in the future. Anyhow, it is

necessary to carry on this plan. According to the questionnaire that we had distributed,


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the research and findings on facts. He also did the theoretical part. They had given a good

cooperation along the making of the assignment. For me, I did the survey work and

analysis part. I also did the meeting report.

So, here are some introductions on our topic. Our topic is Refurbishment of

Department of Civil Engineering Building (Block G). We had chosen this topic as we

are civil engineering students and we are the closes to this building. We wish to express

our opinion on our department building and give suggestions on how we can improve and

maximize the usage of that building. We had come out with the idea on renovating the

building and improve the current layouts of the building.

We find out that we had a few problems faced on the department. One of them is

lack of facilities. Facilities that we are stressing on are convenient study area which is

very necessary for us, computer lab as we cant bring our laptop everyday to class to do

our assignment, good teaching equipment and welfare facilities such as utility shop as we

faced the difficulties on printing and photocopy lecture notes or assignments. Another

main problem is the current layout of Block G is too complicated. To prove these

problems do exist, we had conducted a survey on 50 respondents. We had asked them on

their satisfaction towards the outlook of the Block G. As we have expected, most of them

are dissatisfy with the current outlook of Block G. They do agree if we do some

improvements towards the block.For the theoretical and factual part, we had did some research on the internet.

From that, we managed to find some good examples of building concept and good

facilities. This helps us in providing the suggestions on how we can improve the outlook

of the building and improve the facilities provided at the block in the future. So basically,

we are suggesting that we should make the layout of each floor at the block are more

simple. We suggest that we move the current lecturer room and turn it into a discussion

room. We also suggest some spot where we can establish it as a new study area for civil

engineering student and utility shop. We insist that the future utility shop should be

provided with printing and photocopy services. Furthermore, we suggest on how we can

improve the computer lab and facilities provided at the computer lab along with the

teaching equipment as well.


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However, there are some constrains and limitation that we face if we want to

proceed this project. This project will require construction works and purchasing some

equipment. Therefore, we can expect a large amount of money is required. So, we have

the limitations on budget. Furthermore, since there will be a construction work in

progress, obviously the lecturer cannot use their room for the meantime. This will be

inconvenient to them as they have to find new place to do their jobs. Besides, there are

some classes been held at the block G. It will also causes some difficulties to find new

replacement class as our tutorial classes and lecture halls in Faculty of Engineering are so

limited.

Even there are a few limitations exist, if this project is carried out, it will give a

huge benefit to the students of Civil Engineering in the future. This had been agreed by

most of the respondents from our survey. So, we can say that it is necessary to proceed

with this project.

Assignment 4 Thinking

Documents

Transcript of Assignment 4 Thinking