engineering - myset.org.my

20
KDN PP 18194/08/2013(033606) Issue 22 March-April 2014 Engineering Failures From Highland Tower to Chernobyl Opinion .................... 05 Feature .................... 06 Events ...................... 14 Calendar 2014 ......... 18

Upload: others

Post on 23-Mar-2022

1 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

KDN PP 18194/08/2013(033606)

Issue 22March-April 2014

EngineeringFailures

From Highland Tower

to Chernobyl

Opinion ....................05

Feature ....................06

Events......................14

Calendar 2014 .........18

To place your advertisement bookings please contact either:

Advertising Rates

Reader Spectrum

Parvin [email protected] 336 6871

DeCalais Sdn BhdG-1-1 Plaza Damas, 60 Jalan Sri Hartamas 1,Sri Hartamas, 50480, Kuala LumpurTel: +603 6201 0725; Fax: +603 6201 0756

Published bi-monthly, the publication aims to lead National Engineering and is a platform for its members to advance and promote the science and profession of engineering and technology.

MySET is read by readers and decision makers that come from a full spectrum of disciplines from engineering, architecture, quantity surveying and other engineering and technology professionals which include technicians.

With the Malaysian government in encouraging and facilitating R & D, provision of venture capitals and tax breaks, its readers serve to facilitate R & D and technological innovation that will produce new materials, systems, structures and processes that supports the country’s development efforts and harnessing these for industry, business and commerce.

A Publication of the Malaysian Society for Engineering and Technology

Size/Color Rates

Back Cover RM1,980

Inside Front Cover RM1,700

Inside Back Cover RM1,550

Full Page Color RM1,450

Half-Page Color RM1,030

Series discounts are available on request; please contact us to find out more.

Media Kit 2014/2015MySET is the official publication of the Malaysian Society for Engineering and Technology and is distributed free-of-charge to its members.

Readership10,000

ClassificationArchitecture/Engineering/Information & Communication/Other Allied Professionals/ Property/Quantity Surveyors/Technicians/ Technologist/Students

MySET Secretariat:Tel: +603 8946 6451; Fax: +603 8946 6481Email: [email protected]

March-April 2014 ET

Editorial BoardAdvisorProf. Dato’ Abang Abdullah Abang Ali

Chief EditorAssoc. Prof. Dr. Suraya Abdul Rashid

Co-EditorsAssoc. Prof. Dr. Siti Mazlina Mustapa Kamal

Council MembersPresidentProf. Dato’ Abang Abdullah Abang Ali

Deputy PresidentProf. Dato’ Dr. Abdul Hakim Juri

Vice PresidentsIr. Asst. Prof. Ahmad Bin Tamby KadirProf. Engr. Dr. Ishkandar BaharinProf. Dr. Rosnah Mohd YusuffProf. Dr. Wan Mohammad Wan AbdullahIr. Zulkifli Ahmad

Secretary GeneralProf. Ir. Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor

TreasurerRahman Wagiran

Ordinary Council MembersIr. Azlan Abdul AzizAssoc. Prof. Dr. Jamel Bin OthmanProf Dato' Dr. Mazliham Mohd Su'udProf. Ir. Dr. Mohd Azraai KassimAssoc. Prof. Dr. Suraya Abdul RashidProf. Dr. Wan Mansor Bin Wan MuhamadMohd Hisham Bin Ali Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Din SubariTn Hj Zaharuddin Saidon

Contact UsMySET SecretariatMalaysian Society for Engineering & Technology.Level 2 Block A Faculty of Engineering.Universiti Putra Malaysia43400 UPM Serdang Selangor,T: +603 8946 6451; F: +603 8946 6481E: [email protected]: www.myset.org.myFB: www.facebook.com/groups/myset/

Publishing & Advertising ConsultantDeCalais Sdn BhdG-1-1 Plaza Damas60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala LumpurT: +603 6201 0725; F: +603 6201 0756E: [email protected]: www.decalais.com

DisclaimerViews expressed are not necessarily those of MySET. MySETtakes no responsibility for the consequences of any actiontaken based on any information published in ET and neithershall it be held liable for any product or service advertised inthe same. No part of this publication may be reproducedwithout the permission of the publisher.

SurayaAssoc. Prof. Dr. SurayaAbdul RashidChief Editor

Editor’s NoteDear MySET members,

Welcome to the March-April 2014 (issue 22) ET Magazine.

In this issue, we feature an Opinion Column from our very own Prof.Dato’ Abang Abdullah Abang Ali entitled ‘Engineering Failures: FromHighland Towers to Chernobyl’. Following the same theme, the FeatureArticle also written by Prof. Dato’ Abang is entitled ‘Engineering ADisaster-Prone World: A Professional Response’. These interestingarticles highlight the types and causes of disasters, response tocasualties and mitigation to further mishaps, rebuilding andrehabilitation, public awareness and government involvement as wellas education, training and research. We cannot avoid natural disasters,but man-made disasters are avoidable. At the end of the day, when theroot cause is bad attitude, cutting corners, greed or even coercivepower, then the disaster is really a tragedy for mankind.

We feature a couple of workshops in the Past Events section. Firstly, aone-day workshop on Complex Problem Solving conducted by Prof. Ir.Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor which is the fourth in its series andattended by 21 participants from eight local institutions of highereducation. Secondly, the Strategic Planning Workshop: MySET WayForward which was attended by MySET Council members. The purposeof the workshop was to get together to review MySET’s vision andmission, to review our accomplishments and to strategise the best wayforward to catapult MySET as a learned society which represents theentire engineering fraternity including technologists and technicians.

Don’t forget to check out future events especially the Seminar onTechnicians and Technologists in May 2014 and the World Researchand Innovation Convention on Engineering and Technology (WRICET)to be held in November 2014.

ET

Highlight4

March-April 2014ET

MySET helps Pakistan& Bangladesh JoinWashington Accord

MySET President Prof. Dato Abang AbdullahAbang Ali and MySET Secretary General Prof.Megat Johari Megat Mohd Nor were recently

appointed to undertake a Nomination Visit to Pakistan forthe Washington Accord which benchmarks engineeringdegrees at the international level. They represent Malaysia,a full signatory of the Washington Accord.

During the one-week visit to the Pakistan EngineeringCouncil (PEC), they studied the engineering degreeaccreditation system and practice under the PEC andvisited a public and private university to assess Pakistan’sreadiness to join the Washington Accord. Based on theirNomination Visit Report, Pakistan was accepted as aProvisional Signatory of the Washington Accord recently.

In a similar effort, MySET President and a MySETmember, Prof. Dato Mohd Saleh Jaafar, Deputy ViceChancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia at that time,

undertook a one-week visit toBangladesh to assess Bangladesh’sreadiness under the Institution ofEngineers, Bangladesh (IEB). Basedon a Nomination Visit Reportsubmitted by them to WashingtonAccord, Bangladesh was alsoadmitted to be a ProvisionalSignatory.

Currently, Prof. Megat Johari andMySET Council member, Ir AzlanAbdul Aziz are involved in mentoring

programmes and have undertaken anumber of mentoring visits toPakistan while in the process ofassisting them to achieve the fullsignatory status. Prof. Megat Johariand Ir Azlan have both served asDirector at the EngineeringAccreditation Council (EAC) of theBoard of Engineers, Malaysia (BEM)and are well versed with therequirements for acceptance as aWashington Accord full signatory.

Here is a great opportunity for you to engage with the entire industry by contributing articles to the new Engineering & Technology (ET) magazine and to show your support to MySET!

We are inviting members to contribute articles from a broad range of content – news, feature articles, technical and scientific papers, book reviews, travelogues, to name a few. The Editorial Board of Engineering & Technology (ET) aims for the magazine to be an enjoyable read for members while adding value to your profession.

This is a great chance to publish your work. It is also an avenue for you to share your thoughts about what interests you in your career, how you have developed in the industry, the challenges and solutions, share your personal aspirations that will encourage the next generation of profession and your interesting travels around the country, the region or even abroad.

Articles should preferably be about 1,000 to 1,200 words in length with interesting photos/figures to make your article exciting, attractive and meaningful. Article can be written in either Bahasa Malaysia or English.

You are welcome to submit your article and photographs to:

The Editorc/o MySET SecretariatMalaysian Society for Engineering & TechnologyLevel 2 Block A Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia,43400 UPM Serdang Selangor,T: +603 8946 6451; F: +603 8946 6481 E: [email protected]

ENGAGE & CONTRIBUTE

Fast population growth coupled with rapid urbanisation hasbeen cited as a reason for the hectic economic andinfrastructure development in many developing as well as

developed countries. Fast track construction at very competitivecosts of buildings, hospitals, schools, factories, bridges,highways, power stations and electricity distribution systems,water treatment plants and sewerage disposal systems hasresulted in a construction boom not without casualties in theprocess.

Engineering structures and systems have their own fair shareof successes and failures. Engineering failures can occur as aresult of natural as well as man-made disasters. Earthquakes,tsunamis, strong winds and floods can bring about buildingcollapse and the breakdown of utilities and are largelyunavoidable unless we are prepared to pay the relatively highcosts of mitigation. Man-made disasters, on the other hand, arelargely avoidable when care is taken in the design andconstruction of engineering structures and systems.

We rejoice at sky-scraping towers, extra-long spanningbridges, mind-boggling space explorations, huge ships thatcrisscross the oceans and more efficient nuclear powergeneration. We enjoy the convenience of modern living with theluxuries that go with intelligent gadgets and smart facilities thathave become common place in many cities. We have come toexpect better health care, efficient transportation andcommunication, and nationwide Internet access, thanks toadvances in engineering and technology.

But we are also constantly reminded of the Highland Towercollapse in Malaysia, the Tay Bridge disaster in Dundee, Scotland,

the Columbia Shuttle explosion in the US, the sinking of theunsinkable Titanic in the Atlantic and the Chernobyl Nucleardisaster in Ukraine. And this list goes on. In Malaysia, we regularlyhear of the ever-falling ceiling of a hospital and the ever-slidingslopes of many hillside developments.

Engineering failures are not totally avoidable when man triesto innovate, and in his haste puts his limited knowledge to testwithout proper care. Human factors and design flaws are cited asreasons for many engineering failures. The Tay Bridge wasreportedly designed without sufficient consideration to windloading in Scotland. The Titanic was built with little knowledge ofmetallurgical science and the Highland Tower was built on anunstable slope with improper drainage upstream. Reasons forfailures can vary from lack of knowledge in analysis, design andconstruction to questions of ethics during construction ormanufacturing.

Reactions to engineering failures can be equally varied. Inmany advanced countries, failures are openly discussed andpublished in the hope to learn lessons from the failures and avoidfuture mishaps. There was an enquiry on the Tay Bridge collapse;was it really because of the lack of wind loading consideration, orwas it a design and construction inadequacy? The President ofthe Institution of Civil Engineers then was appointed as a memberof the enquiry team.

In some other countries, discussions on failures are moresubdued and at times highly confidential. Often the result of theenquiry, if any, is not published for public knowledge or comment.Hence no lessons are learned, leaving the construction industryto possible repeats of the failures.

Prof. Dato’ Abang Abdullah Abang AliPresidentMalaysian Society for Engineering & Technology

EngineeringFailuresFrom Highland Tower to Chernobyl

March-April 2014 ET

Opinion 5

Abang Abdullah Abang Ali,PresidentMalaysian Society for Engineering & TechnologyEmail: [email protected]

EngineeringA Disaster-Prone WorldA Professional Response

Global Scenario

The suffering of various communitiesacross the world ranging fromunderdeveloped Africa and Asia to

seemingly safe and fully developed places suchas Europe and Australia from various types ofdisasters are real issues of concern for many,including governments. Climate change andglobal warming, although they have not beenconclusively proven as the main cause of theincrease in sea level and freak weather, havenevertheless motivated many to resort to awider application of green or sustainabletechnologies. Major storms, flash floods andheavy snowfalls in Europe that causedisruptions to road and rail transport, as well asextremely hot and dry weather in Australia thatbrings in forest fires, are severe hydro-metrological disasters not unknown nowadays.Persistent dry seasons in Africa are expandingthe deserts and causing untold hardships andfamine to many communities on the continent.And large temperature fluctuations are causingsevere heat waves in other parts of the world.

Man-made disasters arising from humannegligence or irresponsible actions have alsoincreased over the years. Building collapse,traffic accidents and power plant explosions aredwarfed by human suffering as a result ofunending wars between nations and internalconflicts. We have records of the two worldwars killing and displacing millions of people inthe past and costing billions of dollars. Buttoday, despite the demise of the cold war, thereare nations still hell bent on invading othercountries in pursuit of oil and other naturalresources. The current wars in Iraq andAfghanistan have killed thousands of innocentcivilians in addition to those involved in thefighting, and the cost of this war, which somepeople called the Third World War, can easilybreach the trillion dollar mark at the rate thingsare going. This has resulted in untold sufferingof the young and aged despite calls for conflictsto be resolved through diplomacy. Indeed,man-made disasters cost more in terms ofhuman suffering, loss of life and long termdamage to a country’s economy. War andinternal conflict lead to breakdown and collapse

There is aneed to

understandthe types and

causes ofdisasters and

plans tomitigate

them

Feature6

March-April 2014ET

But today,despite the

demise of thecold war,there are

nations stillhell bent on

invadingother

countries inpursuit of oil

and othernatural

resources

March-April 2014 ET

Feature 7

of social, political and economic structures. And theseare sometimes accompanied by natural disasters,which compound their complexities. Inevitably,agriculture and food production are major casualties,bringing about food shortages and even famine.

There is a need to understand the types andcauses of disasters and plans to mitigate them. Withan increase in world population, there is anunavoidable tendency for communities to move todisaster prone areas. Settlements are built in floodplains, knowing well that floods will occur duringspecific return periods. And farming communitieschoose to find fertile volcanic grounds, which may besusceptible to earthquakes and volcanoes.Overgrazing and cutting down of trees may be aninvitation to the growth of deserts in some arid areas.

Types and Causes of DisastersThere is a need to understand the various types of

disasters that can happen in every country of the worldto assist in the mitigation and response planning forthese impending disasters. Governments, agenciesand communities can enhance their preparedness tominimise the effect of these disasters. Escape routesfor floods, tsunami and volcanic eruptions can easilybe planned in advance for many communities indisaster prone regions.

Disasters can be classified under natural and man-made disasters as follows:

a. Natural disastersNatural disasters include flood, storm, drought,earthquake, tsunami and volcano. Flood, stormand earthquake appear to be the major naturaldisasters today, with floods in many parts of theworld, storms capable of uplifting everything intheir paths and earthquakes of higher intensities.

b. Man-made disastersMan-made disasters include war, internal conflict,explosion, gas leak, chemical spill, structuralcollapse, fire and transport accidents. Of late, wehave witnessed various wars, internal conflicts andoil spills of mega proportions that can cost lives aswell as irreparable damage to the environment.

Apart from purely natural disasters, that are not theresult of man’s misadventure, most disasters can bemitigated. Causes of disasters can start with humanfactors arising from the question of morality or ethicsto failures in planning, design and construction. It canalso be due to extreme conditions as well as materialflaws. It has always been the result of human greed for

material wealth and power that wars and internalconflict were fought. And it has also been due toexcessive profiteering that we get substandardstructures and machines that can fail in service.

MitigationEngineers with their good technical education and

training are well positioned to assist in disastermitigation work. A proper use of design andconstruction standards would ensure that buildings,bridges, dams, power plants, machines and otherengineering products are safe for use and shall notresult in disasters while in service. Codes of practicebuilt from knowledge and experience can providegood guidelines in planning, design and constructionto ensure built environments are safe for use.

However, changing scenarios, such as increasesin traffic loading and stronger winds and earthquakeshaking can result in potential failures if design andconstruction standards are not regularly updated toreflect changing times. Regions known for low windloadings and free from earthquakes in the past are nowexperiencing an increase in the occurrences andintensities of these natural phenomena today.

And peaceful nations with rich natural resourcesmust brace themselves for invasions by the mightiernations should they find their resources indispensible,lending credence to the saying might is right.

Awareness of the suffering inflicted by thesedisasters would be a good first line of defense inmitigation efforts. Engineers must take the lead ineducating governments as well as the common peopleof the folly of going to wars and fiddling with nature.Engineers can explain the devastation that is in storeif we do not mitigate the disasters.

ResponseIn the event of a disaster, there is a need to have a

rapid response team on site to attend to the casualtiesas well as to mitigate further mishaps. A landslidewould require an experienced geotechnical engineerthat is knowledgeable on slope stability to assess thepossibility of further movement of the slope after alandslide, which would endanger the rescue personnel.An explosion in a chemical plant or nuclear facilitywould require an expert in the relevant field to adviseon how to tackle the fires and to determine the risk offurther explosions, as well as the ensuing healthhazards. The response is needed quickly to minimiseloss of damage and property. The response team mustbe properly trained, have clear standard operatingprocedures and be supported by specialised expertsand sufficiently equipped for the disaster at hand.

Feature8

March-April 2014ET

In the United States, the Federal Emergency ManagementAuthority (FEMA) has developed a good plan for disastermanagement or mitigation. FEMA has developed a NationalResponse Framework (NRF), which provides the guidingprinciples that enable all response partners to prepare for andprovide a unified national response to disasters andemergencies. It establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response [1].

RedR, an international federation of national accreditedRedR organisations, exists in order to provide suitably trainedand experienced personnel to relief agencies in order to helpthem relieve people from the debilitating conditions that occurwhen disasters disrupt the normal pattern of life. Each RedRorganisation maintains a register of experienced personnelfrom which operational agencies (governmental, non-governmental and international) can obtain the skills that theyrequire to improve their response in disaster relief. RedR doesnot act in an operational capacity but serves to enhanceinformation-sharing and coordination between organisationsin disaster preparedness and emergency response; increaseunderstanding of the roles and capacities of partnerorganisations; maintain regular contact between these; andsupport the exchange of technical information, examples ofbest practice and the strengthening of preparedness andresponse capacity [2].

Rebuilding And RehabilitationRebuilding and rehabilitation work is increasing all over the

world today. With the number of major disasters fromearthquakes and tsunamis to wars and major industrialaccidents, there is always a need for engineering agencies,

organisations and companies involved in rebuilding andrehabilitation work after a disaster. Emergency housing, waterand energy supplies are also in demand. Planners, architectsand engineers must be ready with designs for short as well aslong-term housing, as there is urgent need for shelter for thosedisplaced by disaster in the short term, and a need for waysand means for these unfortunate souls to put their lives backtogether in the long term.

Rebuilding work in areas affected by earthquakes andtsunamis such as Bam in Iran and Aceh in Indonesia havebeen hampered by lack of expertise and experience in dealingwith rebuilding on a large scale with limited budgets. Work inwar torn areas such as Afghanistan and Iraq and the recentexample of a blockade by Israel of the people of Gaza areexamples of rebuilding under limited resources. Rebuilding ofschools and recreation facilities for children is importantbecause children all over the world have been affectedemotionally by these tragedies. Training on how to buildearthquake resistant housing, for example, is important forseismically active regions.

A typical disaster response phase consists of immediaterelief, reconstruction and recovery. International agencies andnational governments typically provide emergency assistancein a top down manner that reduces affected people to victimsand passive recipients of aid. This might lead to dependencyupon external help by affected communities, which can carryover to the recovery stage.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UnitedNations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Servingboth developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a

March-April 2014 ET

Feature 9

neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiateagreements and debate policy. FAO helps developingcountries and countries in transition modernise and improveagriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure goodnutrition for all. Since its founding in 1945, FAO has focusedspecial attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. Rwanda, forexample, was engulfed by a holocaust in 1994, which resultedin the death of 800 000 people, the flight of more than 2 millioninto neighbouring countries and the displacement of 380 000in camps within the country. The conflict threatened to leadto widespread famine. Since the beginning of the crisis in1994, several FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessmentmissions have visited Rwanda. These missions assessed foodsupply difficulties, evaluated the food and nutritional status ofthe population and estimated seasonal requirements forcereal imports, including food aid [3].

One of the most serious consequences of many years ofcivil war in Afghanistan has been disruption of agriculture anda sharp decline in food production. FAO, supported byfunding from the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and other donors and with the support of NGOs activein the country, has been helping to restore sustainableagricultural production through a programme for integratedcrop and livestock production. Technical information istransferred to farmers at village level through demonstrationand training, with farmers selected from within the communitytaking the lead [4]. The role of agricultural and food engineersin assisting communities affected by disasters in increasingtheir agricultural and food production capacities cannot beoveremphasised.

The blockade on the Gaza Strip has now entered its fourthyear. The intense closure policy, coupled with the governmentof Israel’s recent military operation, has had a devastatingimpact on the lives and livelihoods of 1.5 million Gazans,pushing them further into poverty and aid dependency. Byattempting to isolate Hamas, the government of Israel and keyinternational donor governments and institutions have in factisolated the people of Gaza. The current situation cannot beallowed to persist. Israeli, Palestinian and world leaders mustabide by their respective legal obligations to take concreteactions to end the collective punishment of Gazan civilians bysecuring the full and immediate opening of all the Gazacrossings. Israel's blockade of the territory continues toprevent supplies, including construction materials, fromcrossing into Gaza. Billions of dollars are required forrebuilding of Gaza [5]. The recent aid flotilla campaign, inwhich a number of Turkish aid workers were killed by theIsraeli army, has indeed awakened the world to the sufferingof the people of Gaza.

UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency forPalestine Refugees in the Near East) provides assistance,protection and advocacy for some 4.7 million registeredPalestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and theoccupied Palestinian territory, pending a solution to theirplight. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntarycontributions from UN member states. A generation ofPalestinians have been born and lived to old age in therefugee camps and this cannot be allowed to continue.

Engineers with their goodtechnical education and training

are well positioned to assist indisaster mitigation work

Continue on Pg12

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Mon

Yearly Planner

AUGUST

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

JULY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

JUNE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

MAY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32nd Council Meeting 33rd Council Meeting

Nuzul Quran

Hari Raya Puasa

Submission to Authorities

National Day

YDPA's Birthday

Bengkel Keselamatan dalam Bangunan & Makmal

Labour Day

Wesak Day

Seminar for Technicians & Technologists

SEPTEMBER1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

OCTOBER

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

NOVEMBER

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

DECEMBER1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

34th Council Meeting 35th Council Meeting

Birthday of Sultan Selangor

Christmas

International Conference on Agricultural and Food Engineering (CAFEi2014)

World Research & Innovation Convention on Engineering & Technology (WRICET 2014)

Malaysia Day

International Defence and Security Technology Conference (DSTC2014)

Power-GEN Asia 2014

Hari Raya Haji

Deepavali

Awal Muharram

Feature12

March-April 2014ET

Public Awareness and GovernmentInvolvement

There is a need to enhance public awareness in themitigation of disasters and on the need to respond todisasters. Communities must develop action plans fordisaster response to minimise casualties as well as to enablecommunities to get back their lives. Governmentaldepartments and bodies must have standard operatingprocedures to reduce response time.

The experience of Katrina, which affected residents ofNew Orleans, is a good example where for reasons onlyknown to the US government, relevant bodies were slow toact, and to date, not much has been done to enable thepeople to return to their damaged homes. The most recentexample is the US government’s slow response to the BP oilleak in the Gulf of Mexico, when to date, BP has failed to plugthe leak despite several attempts. Effort to contain the spillfrom reaching the shores and affecting the fishing industrywas at best slow.

The much-publicised UN Millennium Development Goals(MDG) aims to promote poverty reduction, education,maternal health, gender equality, child health, environmentalsustainability and global partnership, and to combatHIV/AIDS by 2015. These world development challengeswould be meaningless if member countries themselvesindulge in promoting disasters all over the world. In fact somegovernments are reluctant to give disaster-warningmessages, which would help potential victims to bracethemselves.

Education, Training & ResearchDisaster management studies must be offered to

engineers, technologists, technicians and allied professionalsin order to prepare them for work in this disaster-prone world.Full-scale undergraduate as well as postgraduate degreeprogrammes should be actively encouraged. Courses suchas Engineer and Society should not limit itself to topics onethics and sustainability only, but should include topics ondisaster management. R&D can assist in developing toolsand technology in disaster management and help in thetraining of those involved in emergency response in the eventof a crisis or disaster.

SummaryThe increase in occurrences and intensities of natural and

man-made disasters today requires engineers, technologists,technicians and allied professionals to provide leadership inthe area of disaster management in an effort to assistaffected communities all over the world. It is recommendedthat the engineering fraternity help:

a. Create an awareness of the increasing occurrence andseverity of various types of disasters today.

b. Develop tools and technologies and revise engineeringand construction standards for mitigating disasters.

c. Educate the next generation of engineers, technologists,technicians and allied professionals in disastermanagement, which includes mitigation, response andrebuilding.

d. Encourage and support the formation of international,regional and national bodies to assist in disastermanagement.

...there is always aneed for

engineeringagencies,

organisations andcompaniesinvolved in

rebuilding andrehabilitationwork after a

disaster

ET

Continued from Pg9

Event14

March-April 2014ET

One-Day Workshop onComplex Problem Solving15 February 2014

The One-Day Workshop onComplex Problem Solving (CPS)which was held on 15 February

2014 is the fourth series of the CPSworkshop conducted by Prof. Ir. MegatJohari Megat Mohd Noor. Theworkshop is jointly organised by theMalaysian Society for Engineering &Technology (MySET) and the MalaysiaJapan International Institute ofTechnology (MJIIT-UTM).

The Washington Accord, at itsmeeting in June 2012, had evaluated allits signatories’ graduate attributes(programme outcomes), knowledgeprofile and complex problem solvingaccording to its own statements. This is

part of the continual improvement process tostandardisation. As a result, all signatoriesincluding the EAC are expected to addressthose characteristics explicitly. Although notexplicit, the issue of complex problem solvingwas discussed at various previous workshopsthat addressed the issue of complex problemsolving with the expectation that institutions willapply and be prepared for the process of theEAC accreditation.

A total of 21 participants from eight localinstitutions of higher education attended thisworkshop.

March-April 2014 ET

Event 15

Event16

March-April 2014ET

Strategic Planning Workshop: MySET Way Forward16th February 2014,Marriot Hotel Putrajaya

Aworkshop called the ‘Strategic PlanningWorkshop: MySET Way Forward’ wascarried out in February. The workshop,

held at the Marriot Hotel Putrajaya, was chairedby MySET’s President, Prof Dato AbangAbdullah Abang Ali and attended by MySETcouncil members. The purpose of the workshopwas to get together to review MySET’s visionand mission, to review their accomplishmentsand to strategize the best way forward tocatapult MySET as a learned society whichrepresents the entire engineering fraternityincluding technologists and technicians.

The workshop began with a brainstormingsession where specific goals for the societywere identified. The list of goals was thenclassified into categories. The exercise revealedfive generic goals for the society. It was decided

March-April 2014 ET

Event 17

that out of the five goals, MySET would focuson the three goals with utmost importance.Reengineering, Leadership and Visibility hasbecome MySET’s tagline for 2014 in reflectionof the goals prioritised. These three goalswere identified as MySET’s core focus underthe management of the current councilmembers (term 2012-2015), led by Prof. Ir.Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor, Ir AhmadTamby Kadir and Associate Professor Dr.Mustafa Din Subari respectively. A time frameof one year has been given to respectiveleaders to carry out their strategies. Hopefullythis focused initiative will lead to morefocused efforts to achieve overall objectives.

Calendar 201418

March-April 2014ET

MAYSeminar on Technicians & TechnologistsDate: 22 May 2014Venue: Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya

JUNEBengkel Keselamatan dalam Bangunan danMakmalDate: 12 June 2014Venue: Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya

AUGUSTSubmission to AuthoritiesDate: 18 August 2014Venue: Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya

NOVEMBER 2014World Research and Innovation Conventionon Engineering & Technology (WRICET2014)Date: 25-26 November 2014Venue: Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya

SEPTEMBERPower-GEN Asia 2014Date: 10-12 September 2014Venue: KLCC Kuala Lumpur

International Defence and SecurityTechnology Conference (DSTC2014)Date: 24-25 September 2014Venue: Palace of Golden Horses

NOVEMBERInternational Conference on Agriculturaland Food Engineering (CAFEi2014)Date: 24-26 November 2014

Future Events 2014

MySET as Co-Organiser / Endorser