Self Reflection 2

English 307 is a class I do not regret taking. The assignments we did, whether it was creating and finalizing our resumes and cover letters, or exposing ourselves to our future workplace environments and customs. Honestly, what I took most out of this course was developing a presentable and strong resume and cover letter. I realize and understand the significance of creating a strong first impression, particularly as they relate to gaining prospective interviews. As a senior, attracting and ultimately gaining a job in this competitive field is key, and I feel this class did a good job in preparing me for this; I feel confident in my chances of securing various interviews and job offers.

Equally enlightening and educational was the group meeting. As a native to the UAE, conducting and participating in this meeting honed and improved my ability to communicate with others and confidently express my input and recommendations without fear of ridicule. Presenting Burj Khalifa to the class as prospective engineers was likewise a significant learning experience; it taught me how to organize the various informational and structural components of the tower. As an engineer, knowing what information is relevant and knowing how to apply that information is significant. From this respect, I feel this class helped me improve.

If there could be any room for improvement, it would be encouraging and having more informal discussions between classmates. It was disappointing that only a few students participated. I understand the limitations of encouraging dialogue and fostering a collaborative atmosphere, but if that could be addressed, this class would be perfect. Overall, I really benefited from the class, and really enjoyed your enthusiasm and dedication to teaching us. Thank you.

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Burj Khalifa

1.     Foundation:

The foundation of Burj Khalifa is so important because if the foundation failed to take the load the tower will sink. (Burj Khalifa - RitchieWiki. 2012). They used 12500 m² of concrete in the construction of the foundation 54000 long ton of steel rebar. The concrete used in the foundation is a high dense, low permeability concrete. Also, a cathodic protection system was used in order to minimize the effects of corrosion (Burj Khalifa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).The foundation of this tower consists of 192 bored piles (Post, R 2010). It is 1.5 m in diameter and its deep in the ground to reach 50 m deep and the borehole was filled with viscous polymer slurry (Burj Khalifa - RitchieWiki. 2012)).The raft was constructed in four separate parts. In addition, the foundation is a “Y” shape in order to increase the wind resistance of the building (Jamal, H Design, Construction & Structural Details of Burj Khalifa). The geography of the ground was mostly soil and rocks which is generally loose to medium dense sand. Many methods were used to know the geotechnical of the site such as SPT sampling, double tube rock coring and they have done approximately 33 borehole drills to complete the geotechnical investigation (Post, R. 2010). The boreholes were made in 4 stages. First stage, 23 boreholes were made with depth of 90 meter. Second stage, 3 boreholes were drilled with cross-hole geophysics. Third stage, 6 boreholes with depth of 60 meter were made. Last stage, one borehole was drilled with depth of 140 meters.

1.     Fire safety:

One of the concerns that the engineers had was building a tower that can be safe for the people in cases of fire. The design was done in order they can evacuate people fast and be safe through any fire emergency. The stairs are made of concrete “which is an inflammable material “. Also, they Burj Khalifa has a serves elevator which can hold over 5000 kgs. To make sure people are evacuated safely, pressurized and air conditioned areas were made every 25 floors (Burj Khalifa Structural Elements | Fire safety) the fire system consists of fire alarm and sprinkler systems to help with putting down the fire. Each floor have its own independent system, in case of fire they can locate the specific floor and alert the floor immediately above and below, other floors will be only alerted at early stages (Writer, S 2008) Fire safety at height). In addition, in case of emergency a special team was trained for a fast rescue in cases of fire. The team is trained very well to face fire and natural catastrophes such as earth quakes and sand storms. The team is always ready for any emergencies onsite. (Lowe, A., & Badih, S 2010)

Conclusion

In conclusion, at first we talked about the architecture of Burj Khalifa, who was in charge of designing and construction and the interior of the tower. Second, we discussed the definition of wind tunnel testing, the major benefits of these tests and the wind tunnel used in Burj Khalifa. Third, we talked about the foundation used in Burj Khalifa , the shape of the foundation and the size of the foundation needed to be used and the condition of the soil in the site of Burj Khalifa. Afterward, we talked about the structural analysis of the tower such as the shape of the building and how the shape of the building play big role in resisting wind. After that, we discussed the exterior cladding of the building and the panels of the cladding and the design of it. Last, the fire system used in the landscaper and the emergency team reaction in case of any emergency. Burj Khalifa is an amazing Engineering achievement. The design of it makes it one of the most appealing and greatest looking skyscrapers. Regardless of how skyscrapers are built, Burj Khalifa will always have its mark in history in fields of engineering and architecture.

Self Reflection

Meetings are generally good and effective and they have many benefits, the main reason for holding a meeting is to share ideas and discuss them in face to face manner. They also allow people to share the progress of their work and it’s also a great way to explain complex issues.

The meeting was organized and each person did his role properly. I was a participant in the meeting, we discussed new ideas about the international college, and I gave the idea about the benefits and the appropriate way to implement it.

In the practice meeting we had more time to prepare for the ideas, and it was less stressful. The practice meeting was a good experience in terms of getting good feedback and helped us by learning from our mistakes.

As a manager organizing a meeting I would first make sure that all participants have an idea about the topic that is going to be discussed by providing a pre meeting documents that summarizes the topic. In the meeting I would encourage participants to share ideas, and always try to find solution to problems being faced.   

Minitues of the meeting

Minutes of meeting – LSEC N307

Date: October 30^th 2012         Time: start 12:15 – finish 12:35                    Place: J block – J 06

Topic: HCT International College

Present: Abdulla Mohamed (chairman); Ahmed Mohamed (minutes taker); Ali Mohamed; Khaled Jamal (participants).

Minutes:

1-     Welcome, Attendance, Note Taker.

·       Meeting started at 12:15

2-     International College:

·       Abdulla Mohamed introduced the idea of implementing International college in ADMC

·       Ali Mohamed pointed out the benefits of exchanging students

·       Khaled mentioned how this system will help in the future

3-     International college and Possible outcomes

·       Ahmed mentioned that it will be beneficial for students to compete with other nationalities

·       Ali stated some solutions on how to convince students to accept this system

·       Khaled said that it will improve their English skills

·       Abdulla emphasized on the communication skills when it comes to interacting with other nationalities:

·       Action item: Ali and Ahmed to survey the students about this system

·       Action item: Ali to give an orientation for students interested

·       Action item: Khaled to organize with Academic Services

4-     Recommendations

·       Contact another university that implements this system and get information

·       Abdulla proposed that the engineering supervisor should be noted with this idea

·       Decision will be discussed in upcoming meetings.

5-     Date of next meeting November 6^th 2012

Meeting: start 12:05 – finish 12:30

Agenda

LSEC N307               Agenda              Section: CGB

Date of meeting: October 30th 2012

Time of meeting: 12:15

Venue: J 06

Group members’ Roles:
Chair: Abdulla AlBaloushi
Minutes Taker: Ahmed AlQasemi
Group members: Ali AlRamahi; khaled AlMarri



Venue preparation: Snacks and Water
Topic: HCT international College
Agenda:
1-      International college definition
2-      Benefits of accepting multinationals to study in ADMC (exchanging)
3-      How to implement and progress with this system
4-      Issues resulting from this implementation and possible solutions
Objective:
Deciding whether to implement a multinational educational system to a local college            (ADMC) and take the education in the UAE to the next level.
+Action points:
-          Survey students with the system by giving out brochures (Ali and Ahmed)
-          Give an orientation for other students (Ali)
-          Organize with Academic services (Khaled)
-          Assign another meeting for finding results chaired by Abdulla

Letter

PO Box 6606

          Abu Dhabi

     Mob: 00971551236336

                                                                E-mail: H00214406@Hct.ac.ae

25^th September 2012

Obaid Al Murri

HR Manager

Al Jaber Transport & General Contracting LLC

PO BOX 73849

Abu Dhabi

Dear Mr. Obaid Al Murri

I am currently a student in the last year at Civil Engineering at the Higher College of Technology in Abu Dhabi. My degree is to be conferred in 2014, but, I would like to apply my skills in practice in your company through an internship.

My studies included subjects such as construction materials and structure of buildings. In addition, I am familiar with programs as AutoCAD to draw maps.

It would be my pleasure to work in your company in the Civil Engineering department. I would be pleased to apply my practical knowledge and be a beneficial part of your company. I would be happy to attend an interview with your company. I am free in the morning from Sunday until Wednesday.

Thanking you and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Ali Al Ramahi

Enc: