Reader Response Draft #3

Improving Indoor Air Quality 

In the report Guideline for Good Indoor Air Quality in Office Premises, the Ministry of Environment (ENV) (1996) sets the guideline to improving indoor air quality into two main factors: The design and construction of the ventilation systems in the building. The ministry states that the materials used in Air Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation(ACMV) should be free from any contamination, so that air supplied to the space is not polluted. The ministry explains that the air duct for taking in outdoor air should be designed at where the air is least likely to be polluted. Furthermore, careful examinations will be done by professionals to ensure systems are up to standard throughout all phases of construction. The ACMV systems should also be strategically designed to prevent any spread of pollutant to unaffected areas when necessary. The ministry further implies that main components of the ACMV system should be designed in an easily reached position so that the maintenance team can perform their tasks in a safe manner.

Taking into account of construction and design for ACMV system, ENV provides a comprehensive guideline to allow engineers to check through all aspects of the system's design, as well as ensuring standards are met from the beginning to the end of the construction. However, it is also important to mention other factors occuring during post-construction phase. Certain factors like types of paint used and chemical for household purposes in the building also contribute to the indoor air quality (IAQ) within the building. These factors are still important in today's context, which ENV cannot eliminate when discussing about IAQ.

One area to look into is taking into account the equipment used by tenants in the building. Based on the report back in 1996, ENV only consider design and construction, the time frame they looking into is only until the end of the construction. A building's lifespan is much longer than its construction phase, improving indoor air quality should not be overlooked during occupancy phase. According to McFarland (2017), she states that printer and photocopier are culprits of releasing harmful particle into the surrounding. The author further suggests that the particles released during printing process can cause deterioration to occupant's respiratory and cardiovascular systems. From here, it is obvious that many preventive measures that go beyond just during design and construction phase can be implemented to ensure indoor air quality is maintained.

Another way of regulating IAQ is to consider the types of product used for domestic and professional cleaning to reduce the risk of releasing harmful chemical. The report by ENV in 1996 only mentions that material used for the building should not released any harmful pollutant, but many cleaning and sanitizing products out in the market emit certain amount of Volatile Organic Compounds(VOC), which could affect the IAQ. According to article VOCs in Cleaning/Sanitizing Products and Health, it implies that greater risk of asthma symptoms are found in buildings that require more thorough cleansing. This evidently shows that cleaning solution has the ability to affect the IAQ, and this is one area ENV cannot neglect.

After buildings are constructed, regular IAQ checks by specialists should be done to make sure that IAQ standard within the building is maintained. In the report written in 1996, ENV only talks about designing ACMV system to be accessible for maintenance work but not regular IAQ checks. In the article 6 Benefits of an Indoor Air Quality Check (2015), it suggests that having regular IAQ checks, it lowers the possible allergic reactions. It is a good practice to conduct IAQ checks to ensure good quality of air within the building.

By looking into only design and construction phase, is it definitely not enough to provide occupant a healthy IAQ. Maintaining IAQ should be done also during the occupancy phase through different various measures to achieve a good IAQ within building.


Reference:

Indoor Air Quality. VOCs in Cleaning/Sanitizing Products and Health. Retrieved, October 1, 2018, https://iaqscience.lbl.gov/voc-cleaning

European Commission. (2007). Opinion on risk assessment on indoor air quality. Retrieved, September 27, 2018, http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scher/docs/scher_o_055.pdf


McFarland, E. (2017). Is Your Printer Polluting Your Indoor Air & Affecting Your Respiratory Health?. Retrieved, October 1, 2018, http://myhealthmaven.com/printer-polluting-indoor-air-affecting-respiratory-health/


Roberts Heating and Air-Conditioning, inc. (2015). 6 Benefits of an Indoor Air Quality Check. Retrieved, October 1, 2018, https://robertsheating.com/articles/6-benefits-of-an-indoor-air-quality-check

Singapore Ministry of the Environment. (1996). Guidelines for Good Indoor Air Quality in Office Premises. Retrieved, September 24, 2018, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/others/NEA_Office_IAQ_Guidelines.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2014). Factors Affecting Indoor Air Quality. Retrieved, September 27, 2018, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-08/documents/sec_2.pdf



Revised: 131018

Summary Draft #2

In the report Guideline for Good Indoor Air Quality in Office Premises, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) (1996) set the guideline to improving indoor air quality into 2 main factors: The design and construction of the ventilation systems in the building. The ministry states that the materials used in Air Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation(ACMV) should be free from any contamination, so that air supplied to the space is not polluted. The ministry explains that the air duct for taking in outdoor air should be design in area where the air is least likely to be polluted. Furthermore, careful examinations will be done by professionals to ensure systems are up to standard throughout all phases of construction. The ACMV systems should be constructed in a way such that different part of the rooms should be able to isolate from each other to prevent any spread of pollutant. The ministry further imply that main components of the ACMV system should be designed in an easily reached position so that the maintenance team can perform their tasks in a safe manner.


Thesis: Taking into account of construction and design for ACMV system, MOE provides a comprehensive guideline to allow engineers to thoroughly check through all aspects of the system's design, as well as ensuring the ACMV systems are up to standard from the beginning to the end of the construction. However, it did not include other factors including the type of furniture the tenants are bringing in. Certain factors like types of paint used, and using of chemical for household purposes in the building also contribute to the IAQ within the building. Therefore these factors should be considered in order to provide a more comprehensive IAQ assessment.


European Commission. (2007). Opinion on risk assessment on indoor air quality. Retrieved, September 27, 2018, http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scher/docs/scher_o_055.pdf

Singapore Ministry of the Environment. (1996). Guidelines for Good Indoor Air Quality in Office Premises. Retrieved, September 24, 2018, from https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/others/NEA_Office_IAQ_Guidelines.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2014). Factors Affecting Indoor Air Quality. Retrieved, September 27, 2018, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-08/documents/sec_2.pdf


Edited: 28 Sep.

Summary draft #1

Improving Indoor Air Quality

In the report Guideline for Good Indoor Air Quality in Office Premises, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) (1996), claims that improving indoor air quality could be broken down into 2 main factors: The design and construction of the ventilation systems in the building. MOE states that the materials used in Air Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation(ACMV) should be free from any contamination, so that air supplied to the space is not polluted. MOE explains that the air duct for taking in outdoor air should be design in area where the air is least likely to be polluted. Furthermore, careful examinations will be done by professionals to ensure systems are up to standard throughout all phases of construction. The ACMV systems should be constructed in a way such that different part of the rooms should be able to isolate from each other to prevent any spread of pollutant. MOE further imply that main components of the ACMV system should be designed in an easily reached position so that the maintenance team can perform their tasks in a safe manner.

Revised: 24 Sep 2018

Reflection in real life

back in secondary school, i was a very playful student. Result was never my priority, after school i would always hang out with friends until late night before heading home. I didn't understand why did we need to study so hard, i have no plans for future, so i thought to myself, "why not just have fun and not stress over school, study right before exams will do."

i keep giving myself the excuse of "studying right before exam", and procrastinated my work. Time past, and it was a few weeks before my "O" level preliminary exams. I started studying, and I realised that there were just so much that i didn't understand, but it was too late.

As predicted, i scored badly for both my preliminary exams, that was when i came to realised that this attitude of mine cannot continue, if i do not start to have more discipline, i would definitely fail my "O" levels. With very little time left, i tried my best to catch up with all my revision. Naturally, i wasn't able to finish the whole syllabus, but i will managed to complete my "O" level and make it to polytechnic. That was when i started to understand that if we want something, we have to work for it.

Formal introduction email

Subject: Getting to know each other better

Dear Prof Blackstone

Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Lim Meng Wee,currently a year 1 student, studying sustainable infrastructure engineering (Building Services) program in SIT Dover. Formally from Temasek Polytechnic, I graduated with an engineering diploma.

My interest for engineering grew over the 3 year in polytechnic especially during my internship, therefore decided to further my studies in the engineering faculty, specifically in the building and construction industry. These day, my hobbies include cycling, running, and model building. My most persistent hobby would be model building, I have been building model kits for over 10 years, having a wide range of collection varying in different sizes. I started out as I was truly impressed by all the parts coming together and form the end product i wanted, feeling the sense of satisfaction when the model is completed from scratch. This is part of the reason why I am interested in building and construction industry, getting to see the building erected from scratch to serve the occupants.

I feel that my weakness is my verbal communication skill, I tend to be less confrontational. I don’t exactly like to express my opinion unless i really need to, I usually listen to what other has to say. I feel that I need to overcome this and be a more confident speaker. 

My strength is that I am open minded. I am open to listening and putting myself in other people's shoes rather than getting my thoughts across. I am usually accepting to opinion from people with whom I disagree, knowing that everyone has their own opinion, therefore there is no right or wrong.

My goal by the end of this module would to learn to be a more confident speaker and learn the proper method to express myself in a friendly/professional way. I believe having a deeper understand in communication will allow me to effectively bring my thought to my intended audience. Thank you so much for your time, looking forward to attend your effective communication lesson.

Warmest regards,

Lim Meng Wee

SIT Student, SIE(BS)

Edited: 20 Sep 18