Summary Draft 2

From the article “How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch” (GERMii,2021) the pandemic made a significant impact by changing the world’s attention to cleaning and sterilizing. The requirement for cleanliness is increasing, robots complement the cleaners by accomplishing monotonous roles, while the cleaners can prioritize sterilizing “high-touch, high-risk or difficult-to-clean areas” stated by Harold Van Haltren, CEO of pathogen mitigation company GERMII. However, organizations need to teach their staff to operate the robots and use data from the robots to optimize cleaning operations. With Covid-19 causing the demand for cleaners to fluctuate, organizations can send their cleaners for training and upskilling when the demand is low.

According to GERMii (2021), emphasis on cleanliness also leads to over-cleaning and excessive usage of chemicals, which potentially causes an impact on health, cost, and the environment. Organizations need to inform and instruct their cleaners on mitigating these risks. Alternatively, SoftBank Robotics’ floorcare cleaning robot, Whiz, uses Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) to disinfect surfaces, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals.

Due to the pandemic, the demand for cleaning and sterilizing has increased, investing in these cleaning robots will be prominent in the healthcare industry with the help with new technologies will benefit us even more, especially with the prominence of sanitation being in the spotlight.

(GERMii, 2021). How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch. Govinsider.

Retrieved from https://govinsider.asia/intl-en/article/how-tech-can-ease-the-cleaning-industrys-manpower-crunch-robots-germii

Summary draft 1

The pandemic has had a significant impact on changing the world’s attention to cleaning and sterilizing. Singapore has made it compulsory for communal areas to be cleaned at a minimum frequency. The National Environment Agency also provided grants for cleaning companies to integrate technology into their cleaning operations.

As the requirement for cleanliness is increasing, robots complement the cleaners by accomplishing monotonous roles, while the cleaners can prioritize on sterilizing “high-touch, high-risk or difficult-to-clean areas” (GERMii, 2021). At the same time, organizations need to teach their staff to operate the robots and use data from the robots to optimize cleaning operations. With Covid-19 causing the demand for cleaners to fluctuate, organizations can send their cleaners for training and upskilling when the demand is low.

Emphasis on cleanliness also leads to over-cleaning and excessive usage of chemicals, potentially causing an impact on health, cost, and the environment. Organizations need to inform and instruct their cleaners on mitigating these risks. Alternatively, SoftBank Robotics’ floorcare cleaning robot, Whiz, uses Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) to disinfect surfaces, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals. As we progress into the future, new technologies will benefit us even more, especially with the prominence of sanitation being in the spotlight.

References: 

GERMii. (2021). How tech can ease the cleaning industry’s manpower crunch. Govinsider. 

Retrieved from https://govinsider.asia/intl-en/article/how-tech-can-ease-the-cleaning-industrys-manpower-crunch-robots-germii

Task 3 : The Importance of communication skills for engineering

“Without clear lines of communication, our ideas would stay within our own

small development teams instead of becoming mature products. While this is

obvious to those of us who have become experienced engineers, the real

question is: Why is it lost to us when we are engineering students?”

Akbar R Khan, Software Systems Engineer, USA,

“Good Communication Is Essential...” (2014)

Explanation:

If there is no communication within the team, there are basically no suggestions/comments given to each individual idea to better improve it. Also, we as students lack working experience, lack of confidence, and lack of communication which leads to communication breakdowns at times.

Imagine in a group meeting, where everybody is supposed to present a better idea to improve the idea in a group project but due to a lack of communication, the idea was not properly passed down and with this lack of communication it might have a huge impact on products or even endanger life. Hence, as an engineer, there must be a clear line of communication to ensure the safety of others. In short, the key to jumpstarting a good idea is to have good communication.