The Internet of Things (Source : Wikipedia) - Rewritten by Nik Zafri

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing Internet infrastructure. Typically, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that goes beyond machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and covers a variety of protocols, domains, and applications.

The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like a Smart Grid.

Things, in the IoT, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, automobiles with built-in sensors, or field operation devices that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue. Current market examples include smart thermostat systems and washer/dryers that utilize wifi for remote monitoring.

According to Gartner, there will be nearly 26 billion devices on the Internet of Things by 2020. ABI Research estimates that more than 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the Internet of Things (Internet of Everything) by 2020.As per a recent survey and study done by Pew Research Internet Project, a large majority of the technology experts and engaged Internet users who responded—83 percent—agreed with the notion that the Internet/Cloud of Things, embedded and wearable computing (and the corresponding dynamic systems will have widespread and beneficial effects by 2025. It is, as such, clear that the IoT will consist of a very large number of devices being connected to the Internet.

Integration with the Internet implies that devices will utilize an IP address as a unique identifier. However, due to the limited address space of IPv4 (which allows for 4.3 billion unique addresses), objects in the IoT will have to use IPv6 to accommodate the extremely large address space required. 

Objects in the IoT will not only be devices with sensory capabilities, but also provide actuation capabilities (e.g., bulbs or locks controlled over the Internet). To a large extent, the future of the Internet of Things will not be possible without the support of IPv6; and consequently the global adoption of IPv6 in the coming years will be critical for the successful development of the IoT in the future. 

The embedded computing nature of many IoT devices means that low-cost computing platforms are likely to be used. In fact, to minimize the impact of such devices on the environment and energy consumption, low-power radios are likely to be used for connection to the Internet. Such low-power radios do not use WiFi, or well established Cellular Network technologies, and remain an actively developing research area.However, the IoT will not be composed only of embedded devices, since higher order computing devices will be needed to perform heavier duty tasks (routing, switching, data processing, etc.).Companies such as FreeWave Technologies have developed and manufactured low power wireless data radios (both embedded and standalone) for over 20 years to enable Machine-to-Machine applications for the industrial internet of things.

Besides the plethora of new application areas for Internet connected automation to expand into, IoT is also expected to generate large amounts of data from diverse locations that is aggregated and very high-velocity, thereby increasing the need to better index, store and process such data.

Diverse applications call for different deployment scenarios and requirement, which have usually been handled in a proprietary implementation. However, since the IoT is connected to the Internet, most of the devices comprising IoT services will need to operate utilizing standardized technologies. Prominent standardization bodies, such as the IETF, IPSO Alliance and ETSI, are working on developing protocols, systems, architectures and frameworks to enable the IoT.

Intelligence

Ambient intelligence and autonomous control are not part of the original concept of the Internet of Things. Ambient intelligence and autonomous control do not necessarily require Internet structures, either. However, there is a shift in research to integrate the concepts of the Internet of Things and autonomous control,with initial outcomes towards this direction considering objects as the driving force for autonomous IoT. In the future the Internet of Things may be a non-deterministic and open network in which auto-organized or intelligent entities (Web services, SOA components), virtual objects (avatars) will be interoperable and able to act independently (pursuing their own objectives or shared ones) depending on the context, circumstances or environments.

Embedded intelligence presents an "AI-oriented" perspective of Internet of Things, which can be more clearly defined as: leveraging the capacity to collect and analyze the digital traces left by people when interacting with widely deployed smart things to discover the knowledge about human life, environment interaction, as well as social inter connection and related behaviors.

Architecture

The system will likely be an example of event-driven architecture,bottom-up made (based on the context of processes and operations, in real-time) and will consider any subsidiary level. Therefore, model driven and functional approaches will coexist with new ones able to treat exceptions and unusual evolution of processes (Multi-agent systems, B-ADSc, etc.).

In an Internet of Things, the meaning of an event will not necessarily be based on a deterministic or syntactic model but would instead be based on the context of the event itself: this will also be a semantic web. Consequently, it will not necessarily need common standards that would not be able to address every context or use: some actors (services, components, avatars) will accordingly be self-referenced and, if ever needed, adaptive to existing common standards (predicting everything would be no more than defining a "global finality" for everything that is just not possible with any of the current top-down approaches and standardizations). Some researchers argue that sensor networks are the most essential components of the Internet of Things.

Building on top of the Internet of Things, the Web of Things is an architecture for the application layer of the Internet of Things looking at the convergence of data from IoT devices into Web applications to create innovative use-cases.

Complex system

In semi-open or closed loops (i.e. value chains, whenever a global finality can be settled) it will therefore be considered and studied as a Complex system due to the huge number of different links and interactions between autonomous actors, and its capacity to integrate new actors. At the overall stage (full open loop) it will likely be seen as a chaotic environment (since systems have always finality).

Size considerations

The Internet of objects would encode 50 to 100 trillion objects, and be able to follow the movement of those objects. Human beings in surveyed urban environments are each surrounded by 1000 to 5000 trackable objects.

Space considerations

In an Internet of Things, the precise geographic location of a thing—and also the precise geographic dimensions of a thing—will be critical. Open Geospatial Consortium, "OGC Abstract Specification" Currently, the Internet has been primarily used to manage information processed by people. Therefore, facts about a thing, such as its location in time and space, have been less critical to track because the person processing the information can decide whether or not that information was important to the action being taken, and if so, add the missing information (or decide to not take the action). (Note that some things in the Internet of Things will be sensors, and sensor location is usually important. Mike Botts et al., "OGC Sensor Web Enablement: Overview And High Level Architecture") The GeoWeb and Digital Earth are promising applications that become possible when things can become organized and connected by location. However, challenges that remain include the constraints of variable spatial scales, the need to handle massive amounts of data, and an indexing for fast search and neighbour operations. If in the Internet of Things, things are able to take actions on their own initiative, this human-centric mediation role is eliminated, and the time-space context that we as humans take for granted must be given a central role in this information ecosystem. Just as standards play a key role in the Internet and the Web, geospatial standards will play a key role in the Internet of Things.

A Basket of Remotes

According to the CEO of Cisco, the remote control market is expected to be a $USD 19 trillion market. Many IoT devices have a potential to take a piece of this market. Jean-Louis Gassée (Apple initial alumni team, and BeOS co-founder) has addressed this topic in an article on Monday Note, where he predicts that the most likely problem will be what he calls the "Basket of remotes" problem, where we'll have hundreds of applications to interface with hundreds of devices that don't share protocols for speaking with one another.

There are multiple approaches to solve this problem, one of them called the "predictive interaction",where cloud or fog based decision makers will predict the user's next action and trigger some reaction.

For user interaction, new technology leaders are joining forces to create standards for communication between devices. While AllJoyn alliance is composed the top 20 World technology leaders, there are also big companies that promote their own protocol like CCF from Intel.

This problem is also a competitive advantage for some very technical startup companies with fast capabilities.

AT&T Digital Life provides one solution for the "basket of remotes" problem. This product features home-automation and digital-life experiences. It provides a mobile application to control their closed ecosystem of branded devices;

Nuve has developed a new technology based on sensors, a cloud-based platform and a mobile application that allows the asset management industry to better protect, control and monitor their property.

Muzzley motd controls multiple devices with a single application and has had many manufacturers use their API to provide a learning ecosystem that really predicts the end-user next actions. Muzzley is known for being the first generation of platforms that has the ability to predict form learning the end-user outside World relations with "things". 'my shortcut' is an approach that also includes a set of already-defined devices and allow a Siri-Like interaction between the user and the end devices. The user is able to control his or her devices using voice commands;

Realtek "IoT my things" is an application that aims to interface with a closed ecosystem of Realtek devices like sensors and light controls.

Manufacturers are becoming more conscious of this problem, and many companies have begun releasing their devices with open APIs. Many of these APIs are used by smaller companies looking to take advantage of quick integration.

Sub systems

Not all elements in an Internet of Things will necessarily run in a global space. Domotics running inside a Smart House, for example, might only run and be available via a local network.

Frameworks

Internet of Things frameworks might help support the interaction between "things" and allow for more complex structures like Distributed computing and the development of Distributed applications. Currently, some Internet of Things frameworks seem to focus on real time data logging solutions like Jasper Technologies, Inc. and Xively (formerly Cosm and before that Pachube): offering some basis to work with many "things" and have them interact. Future developments might lead to specific Software development environments to create the software to work with the hardware used in the Internet of Things. Companies such as ThingWorx,Raco Wireless,nPhase and Carriots and EVRYTHNG are developing technology platforms to provide this type of functionality for the Internet of Things.

The XMPP standards foundation XSF is creating such a framework in a fully open standard that isn't tied to any company and not connected to any cloud services. This XMPP initiative is called Chatty Things. XMPP provides a set of needed building blocks and a proven distributed solution that can scale with high security levels. The extensions are published at XMPP/extensions

The independently developed MASH IoT Platform was presented at the 2013 IEEE IoT conference in Mountain View, CA. MASH’s focus is asset management (assets=people/property/information, management=monitoring/control/configuration). Support is provided for design thru deployment with an included IDE, Android client and runtime. Based on a component modeling approach MASH includes support for user defined things and is completely data-driven.

RAGAM MANUSIA HARI INI - SKETSA NIK ZAFRI

Assalaamu'alaikum wbr dan selamat sejahtera.

Manusia hari ini memang sangat suka percaya perkara yang belum dapat dipastikan kebenarannya. Dakwaan dan akuan sememangnya sangat suka dilakukan tetapi menunjukkan tanda-tanda yang menimbulkan kecurigaan dan keraguan. Berawaslah dengan perangkap yang dibina nampak seperti rumah yang cantik. Ramai sudah yang menjadi mangsa perangkap seperti ini. Akhirnya bila sudah gugur di medan perjuangan, barulah sedar bahawa usaha selama ini adalah mengikut ilusi dan nafsu - kerana selama ini disangkakan ianya adalah perjuangan menegakkan kebenaran. Berawaslah wahai sahabat-sahabatku. Segala yang bersinar dan berkilat itu bukan semestinya ada harga. Hanya jauhari yang mengenal manikam.

Hari ini, saya lihat dan ada pengalaman tersendiri iaitu kebanyakan manusia yang suka mendakwa diri mereka lebih dari segi rohani atau jasmani atau kedua-duanya itulah manusia yang ingkar, jahat hatinya, suka berilusi, mendapat publisiti murahan dan buruk akhlaknya tetapi manusia spesi ini sukar untuk kita kenali kerana luarannya nampak begitu cantik sekali.

Berikut adalah antara peristiwa-peristiwa lucu :

1) Ada satu orang ni mengaku dirinya jutawan besar atau hartawan besar tetapi bila saya jumpa, saya lihat dia minum air sejuk jer kat Hotel 4 bintang (mulanya kat McD). Saya mengerling sekali imbas pakaiannya - tuxedo dengan tie...jadi rasa saya lain macam sikit tapi saya teruskan jua. (Nota : Tuxedo, biasanya dipakai dengan 'bow' dan bukan 'tie' kecuali jenis-jenis tuxedo tertentu yang mirip kepada lounge suite)

Lepas tu boleh lagi 'berlagak kaya' tu. Saya pun duduk dan pesan air sejuk dan mulalah dia membuka 'drawing' lapuk, kertas kerja yang lapuk dsb. dan mulalah bercakap besar. Menteri semua bertemu dengannya. Dalam hati saya, "mengalahkan Eli Najem nih".

Kemudian bertanya saya, "tak order makan ke?" - saya jawab sinis "tak perlu, kita nak discuss jer kan"

Kemudian dia dah boring dan mula bertanya "You nak buat ke tak nak buat projek ni?"

Saya pun jawab "You yang call saya atau saya yang call you?" Terus dia diam. Kemudian mood dia dah hilang, dia bangun dan bersalam dengan saya, terus keluar.

Semasa dia menanti di lobby, saya order 'medium rare sirloin steak' dan 'mixed fruit juice'. Sengaja saya tunjukkan padanya yang saya tengah makan dan dia ternampak di celah-celah cermin.

Sehingga sekarang tidak lagi saya bertemu dengannya.

-------------------------

2) Kisah kedua - seseorang datang dari luar KL - sememang saya dah kenal dgn manusia ini tetapi tidaklah rapat dengannya. Macai politik la ni - kira-kiranya.

Dia kata kat saya, dia ada projek sivil yang boleh dia masuk bertemu dengan PM. Dari 'first impression', saya sudah tahu - ada 'something wrong' dia ni.

Lalu saya terus mengikutnya ke Putrajaya tetapi saya yang memandu. Saya buat-buatlah macam tak kenal Putrajaya dan JPM. Sepanjang jalan, dia 'hint' saya bahawa 'saya kena bayar duit' baru boleh jumpa PM. Lalu dia membawa saya merata-rata tempat sampai tersesat ke sana sini. Saya masih diam. Masa tu, mulalah dia sms la, call kawan la dll.

Lalu ternampaklah dia akan JPM (Parcel B) - (chewah, konon-kononnya tahu la ni) Lepas tu dia suruh saya berhenti kat tempat parking dan berjalan kat pengawal. Saya tergelak kecil dalam kereta melihat dia berjalan terus ke dalam sehingga pengawal kena panggil suruh daftar. (Dia suruh saya nanti dalam kereta dan saya mengikut je sebab nak tengok sejauh mana 'permainannya')

(Info :  Parcel B adalah Kompleks JABATAN PM dan bukannya PEJABAT PM (kat Parcel A) - macamana pula saya tak tahu, saya terlibat dalam pembinaan semenjak 'pecah tanah' lagi akhir 90-an)

Saya lihat dia menuju ke D7 iaitu JAKIM. Lepas dia 'hilang dari pandangan', lalu saya menelefon seorang kawan di PEJABAT Perdana Menteri dan juga di JAKIM. Kedua-dua rakan bertanya saya, mereka tak kenal pun kawan saya ni malah bertanya kat saya :

"ini mesti Nik ni nak mengena orang - saya tahu lah perangai Nik ni..ini mesti orang nak 'pau'...aaah biar, dia tak kenal lagi siapa Nik ni"

Akhirnya muncullah kawan saya ni datang ke kereta, saya cepat-cepat tutup telefon. Lalu dia datang ke kereta memberitahu saya bahawa 'contactnya' perlukan 'wang saguhati' sebanyak RM400.00 kalau 'nak projek'. Saya tidak tahan lagi nak tergelak, lalu saya paksa dia naik ke kereta dan saya terus ke Precint 9 tanpa sebarang ragu-ragu. Sehingga dia hairan tengok saya macam biasa di tempat itu.

Setelah tiba di restoran mamak kegemaran saya, selepas memesan makanan, saya dengan terus-terang memberitahunya dengan nada yang bersahaja bahawa tempat yang dia pergi itu adalah JAKIM dan Jabatan Perdana Menteri - bukan Pejabat Perdana Menteri serta saya memberitahunya bahawa saya terlalu biasa dengan Putrajaya ni. Dia hanya diam dan akhirnya meminta saya menghantar ke stesyen komuter Kajang.

Sehingga hari ini, dia amat hormatkan saya.

-------------------------

Cukuplah dengan 2 kisah lucu ini. Masih banyak kisah lucu saya nak kongsikan agar kita jangan mudah percaya.

Saya ni bukannya apa sebab macam-macam manusia dengan karekternya ni...

Ibarat kata pepatah 'mat salleh' - saya ubah sedikit..

"It's this kind of business people who gives us (the genuine businessmen) a very bad name"

Walaupun begitu, seorang rakan pernah berkata 'wasting our precious time' jer...tetapi saya ni kadang-kadang 'kesian' kat mereka ni...They want to be someone, they want to be heard and seen, but the way they are doing it is so WRONG.

Siap ada 'pengikut' lagi tu...memang lucu. Yang 'memimpin' pun lucu, tetapi yang 'pengikut' lagi lucu. Yang saya hairannya, 'ada juga yang percaya tuh'...tak boleh kenal permata dgn kaca.Samalah kesnya dengan pengikut ajaran sesat.

Tetapi yang menjadi mangsa - yang paling saya kesihan tu. Habis semua duit mereka ditipu. Kalau yang ajaran sesat tu, habis harta dengan isteri pun dijualnya...MasyaAllah.

Jadi patutlah kalau kita kongsi pengalaman masing-masing semoga menjadi panduan. Janganlah percaya pada dakwaan, gunakan mata hati yang bersih untuk menilai, bukan mata hati yang dibutai oleh benda yang haram tetapi cuba dihalalkan dan dijustifikasikan.

One lie if told a thousand times will eventually becomes the truth...

E-SASTERA-HESCOM

E-Sastera Malaysia is the only; if not the earliest; portal in the SEA Region promoting 100% literary works in Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) especially poetry in the cyberspace. It is founded by Professor Dr. Irwan Abu Bakar along with Mdm Hasimah Harun - his wife and other inspiring people in the industry who supported the brilliant idea. 

E-Sastera is open to all walks of life - regardless of country, nationality, race, religion, age etc. (if you are interested in literature especially if you are shy to show your talent - poetry, essay etc. - this is the place you should be considering)

What surprises me most is the fact that Professor Dr. Ir. Wan Abu Bakar is a Professional Engineer cum Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering in the leading university in Malaysia - University of Malaya (UM) - basically a technical person having genuine enthusiasm in the field of literature.

http://umexpert.um.edu.my/papar_cv.php?id=AAAJxnAAQAAAF9gAAl (The founder's technical portfolio)

I am one of the earliest associate in early 2004 by suggesting and contributed a Challenge Trophy dubbed as E-Sastera HESCOM Award a.k.a. Nik Zafri's Challenge Trophy - the main prize for the best cyberspace literary works on e-sastera.

The rest is history. They become a registered association (Malaysian E-Literature/Arts Activist Association - Persatuan Aktivis E-Sastera Malaysia), publishers, making headlines in the media etc - basically geared towards becoming a major empire of cyber literature enterprising - drawing the attention of big names in Malaysian literature such as Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka (Malay for The Institute of Language and Literature) (abbreviated DBP) is the government body responsible for co-ordinating the use of the Malay language in Malaysia and Brunei) and famous & legendary poets, writers, GAPENA (National Writers Association), corporate sectors etc.

Visit : http://www.esastera2u.com/ for more info

HIERARCHIES - ORGANIZATION AND ORGANIZED CRIMES - NIK ZAFRI

Credit : Association for Retired Intelligence Operatives of Malaysia (on a need to know basis and declassified analysis)

A good management hierarchical structure will always put PEOPLE FIRST. A good boss will always address himself in an official letter as "WE" but the final signatory is him. When there are major legal problems happening in the top management , it is always the good boss that will surrender first!

It is a well known fact that the 2nd tiers are sometimes the 'UNLUCKY' ones, they worked so hard for the top management and with a minimum wage pay, becoming punching bags from 'top and bottom' - they are the ones who are absorbing all the pressures and they are the ones who usually suffer!

But in most cases today - when there are major legal problems,  the blame will go right to the bottom, because the 1st hierarchical 'lip-service' structure' chooses the 2nd pyramid (the organized crime structure) making all the people below be blamed because of the top management problems.

The 2nd pyramid - a typical organized crime structure or a cult ring, will always put the bosses or cult leaders on the top especially the 3rd and the last tiers - they will always fight to defend the top bosses even hide the identities of their leaders - there is also ample opportunity for the 2nd tier to be in the first tier when the boss retires or dies. 

When there is a problem from the top tier, it is always the last tier will take all the blames. (the same goes to the first hierarchical structure that choose the 2nd pyramid as their MO)

It is a well-known fact that the 2nd tiers are the LUCKY ones, they are simply thinkers, brainchilds, 1st class hackers etc. Less work but lots of play. They are very well-paid and the bottom tiers and the crime lords will bow to them as if they are deities. They will dictate terms and conditions, living lavishly with posh cars and bungalows etc.

If something goes wrong on the top, they are the ones either : 

a) Betray their bosses and cooperate with the authorities under 'special protection program' or

b) Sneak out quietly, fly overseas and let the boss suffer in jail.

If the authorities wish to crack the crime ring, they must first take away the first and 2nd tiers, not the 3rd and the 4th. If this is done, then the whole system will break down. If the authorities merely attack the 3rd and the 4th tiers, there will be new tiers constructed as the real brains are in the 2nd and 1st tiers.

If the good bosses wish to make their organizations grow further, the personnel/workers/support staff must first be looked at. 

They must also give way to the 3rd tier to make it to the 2nd tier. Most important - via a job-rotation or some other equivalent program, the top management can ensure security to the the 2nd tier going to the top - not leaving them behind or put them in a freezer.

The 2nd tier must be 'well-guarded' and given special attention - otherwise they might join the organized crime structure and be more lavish than their previous and current bosses.

(Something to ponder - from me Nik Zafri).

CONSTRUCTION - ISO 9000 CERTIFIED - SO WHAT? IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED.... (NIK ZAFRI)

These are part of my training slides for ISO certified company (using a high-impact approach). Further enquiry on the training, please e-mail nikzafri@yahoo.com (genuine RFQ only!)

QUALITY CONTINUOUS JOURNEY – WHAT ELSE CAN BE IMPROVED?

Introduction/Refresher

1.0 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Definition for Quality: 

• Fitness for Purpose (Internal and External Quality Control - 50%) and 

• Client's and Internal Satisfaction (Internal and External Quality Assurance – 50%) - Both QC and QA have respective specifications to be fulfilled – combined both = Quality Management System (QMS)

Common Challenge 1

The word “Quality” on Manual, Policy, Procedures etc. should not be narrowed only to the Quality Department or Management Representative.

Quality is always a shared commitment.

Then Quality Manual, Quality Policy, Quality Procedures are to be deemed and understood as your Company's Manual, your Company's Policy, your Company's Procedures.

Rationale : to avoid 'finger pointing'

Common Challenge 2

Quality, Health and Safety, Security, Environment - Domino Theory – One tile fall, so will the others – ALL IS REQUIRED

Once again, the same as Common Challenge 1 – not to be narrowed to a certain department e.g. Safety & Health and Security is a SHARED COMMITMENT thus making them your Company's Manual, your Company's Policy, your Company's Procedures.

Rationale : to avoid 'finger pointing'

BRANDING :

THIS IS THE WAY YOUR COMPANY WORKS!!!

COMMON ERROR

Your Company is Certified NOT Accredited (by ISO....)

CERTIFICATION BODY – A body that issued the certificate according to the nature of business – e.g. SIRIM QAS, DET NORSKE VERITAS, LLOYDS, SGS ETC. 

ACCREDITATION BODY - A Body that accredits the scope of business/industry in order to qualify the certs issued by the certification body (Accredited Certification Body) e.g. – DEPARTMENT OF STANDARDS MALAYSIA (DSM), UNITED KINGDOM ACCREDITATION SERVICE (UKAS), ANSI-ASQ – NATIONAL ACCREDITATION SERVICE (US) ETC. (MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION (MOSTI)

OTHER KNOWN EXAMPLES

Education

INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING MALAYSIA (CERTIFICATE PROVIDER – PHD, DEGREE, DIPLOMA IN ???) MUST BE ACCREDITED BY MALAYSIAN QUALIFICATION AGENCY (MQA) – USED TO BE CALLED LAN. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Competency and Skills

COMPETENCY BASED INSTITUTION (CERTIFICATE PROVIDER – SKM 1 – 5 IN ???) MUST BE ACCREDITED BY NATIONAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE (MLVK) – MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES

2.0 DOCUMENTATION

2.1 Quality Manual

- Common Error : Do it make sufficient reference to the Laws, Regulations, Standards etc.? e.g. This Manual is developed by taking into account the following Laws, Regulations, Standards as far as is applicable:

a. Occupational Health and Safety Act 1994

b. Environmental Quality Act, 1974

c. The International Safety Management Code (ISM) – an International Management Code

for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention,

d. Petroleum Mining Act, 1966

e. ISO 9001:2008

f. OHSAS 18001: 2007

g. EMS ISO 14000 : 2004

WHY?

This is :

a. To assure the Client's that every measure has been taken to customize the documentation to support contractual requirements.

b. To ensure a stringent enforcement

NOT A GREAT CHALLENGE : TO INTEGRATE QUALITY, HEALTH & SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT (HSEQ) MOST OF YOU HAVE DONE IT!

CHALLENGE 1 : CERTAIN CERTIFICATION BODIES VIA ADEQUACY/ COMPLIANCE/SURVEILLANCE ASSESSMENTS - TENDS TO TREAT QUALITY AS A SEPARATE ISSUE - (ISO 9000), HEALTH AND SAFETY A SEPARATE ISSUE (OHSAS 18000), ENVIRONMENT A SEPARATE ISSUE (EMS ISO 14000)

CHALLENGE 2 : THE RESPONSIBILITY SPELLED OUT IN PROCEDURES COMPARED TO JOB DESCRIPTION, DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES. INTEGRATE BOTH IN THE JD! NO OVERLAPPING!

CHALLENGE 3 : METHOD STATEMENTS VS JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS – INTEGRATE OR NOT TO INTEGRATE?

3.0 MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY

What is RESPONSIBILITY? What is COMMITMENT?

Simple Formula

A) RESPONSIBILITY + COMMITMENT = ACCOUNTABILITY

Responsible for WHAT?

- Budget, Plant and Machinery, Conducive Working Environment, Transportation, ICT etc.

Commited to WHAT?

- ensure implementation of The LAW, Quality, Safety, Security, Environment, Standards, Customer Requirements/Specifications, Vision, Objectives, KRA-KPI, Balance Scorecard etc. 

ACCOUNTABLE to providing resources to ensure smooth operation from start to end.

So - the equation : 

   ACCOUNTABILITY 

+ RESPONSIBILITY 

+ COMMITMENT 

--------------------

= LEADERSHIP

-----------------

LEADERSHIP of WHAT?

PEOPLE

Common Error

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, KEY RESULT AREAS, BALANCE SCORECARDS, DEPARTMENT/UNIT OBJECTIVES ARE OF DIFFERENT PLANETS – NOT LINKED TO ONE ANOTHER - OBJECTIVES SHOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH KPI, KRA, BALANCE SCORECARD ETC. (CASCADING PRINCIPLE – PETER DRUCKER – MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES) 

4.0  TRAINING

5.0  PLANNING, OPERATION, PROCUREMENT, CONTROL (PRODUCT REALIZATION)

5.1 Planning

You have proper scheduling – CONGRATULATIONS - with all the Critical Path Method (CPM) – Pert Analysis, Gantt Chart etc. GOOD! 

Improvement: The RED BAR to indicate CPM on every activity

Additional explanatory notes are REQUIRED besides than depending on the data inputs from the software. This is WHERE Quality comes in with the experience of Data Analysis and Improvement to be made! Thus the CPM should also take into account quality setbacks based on experience running a project. Hence will improve the timing accuracy 

THIS CAN BE REFLECTED IN THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT/PROGRESS REPORTS

Common Error 1

AUDIT? – A SCHEDULED & PERIODICAL ASSESSMENT ON THE OVERALL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – BE IT QUALITY, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT

INSPECTION? – A ROUTINE UNSCHEDULED ASSESSMENT ON PRODUCT & WORKMANSHIP (PROJECT) - CONTRACTED

SIMILARITY : BOTH CAN ISSUE NON-CONFORMANCE REPORTS (NCR) /CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUEST (CAR)

CHALLENGE

DO CLIENT REQUIRE PROJECT QUALITY (OR HSEQ) PLAN? OR PROJECT EXECUTION PLAN (IF YOU ARE IN THE CONSULTING/DESIGN CAPACITY) OR YOU JUST DEPEND ON THE CONTRACT SPECS OR IF THE CLIENT DO NOT NEED IT – WHY DO IT? (PROACTIVE VS REACTIVE!)

6.0 MEASUREMENT ANALYSIS AND IMPROVEMENT

DO YOU MEASURE COST OF QUALITY

(IS IT STATED ANYWHERE IN THE NCR?, SITE DIARY, LOGS - INTANGIBLE COST)

PREVENTIVE ACTION :

DO YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT PAST DATUM OF WASTAGE CONTROL, POSSIBLE REPAIR ETC (CONTINGENCY) - TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN THE FUTURE COSTING/BQ? 

QUALITY CAN HELP IN MAKING YOUR CONTINGENCY COST BETTER. ANALYSIS OF DATA, CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT PROPOSAL FROM THE MANAGEMENT REVIEW MEETING - CAN BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN DOING FUTURE COSTING AND BILL OF QUANTITIES.

E.G. BUFFER STOCK – WHERE DID THE DATA CAME FROM?

CONCLUSION

QUALITY IS A CONTINUOUS JOURNEY.

DO NOT BE IN THE COMFORTABLE ZONE.

YOU’LL KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS WHEN YOUR COMPANY STARTS DIVERSIFYING FURTHER!

(well...THEY MIGHT!)

Kawalan Emosi dan Psikologi Pelabur dalam Meramal Pasaran Saham – NIK ZAFRI

Nota/Penafian : Artikel ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis sebagai berkongsi pengalaman kembali (setelah jatuh) membuat pelaburan di pasaran saham.

Kita sering melihat rancangan, segmen berita, wawancara dan lain-lain yang memaparkan perangkaan yang menunjukkan pembetulan dalam pasaran (market correction) tetapi adakah ini satu perkara yang penting perlu kita ketahui?

Saya melihat perubahan mendadak dalam cara kebanyakan penganalisa atau peramal pasaran mencuba sedaya-upaya untuk meramal pasaran saham. Apabila saya meneliti setiap komen, analisa, ramalan yang diberikan – kebanyakannya (bukan semua) – tidak pasti dan sifat ‘playsafe’ atau ‘tunggu dan lihat’ – menjadikan semua pendapat yang diberikan hanyalah teori semata-mata.

Izinkan saya berkongsi sedikit pandangan holistik saya mengenai pasaran saham dan kenapa saya bertanggapan bahawa percubaan untuk meramal pergerakan pasaran saham kadangkala membazir masa dan sumber.

Pertama – kenaikan dan penurunan pasaran saham. Ini kerana pasaran adalah di mana ‘pembeli dan ‘penjual’ bergabung.  Apabila terdapat ramai ‘penjual’ dari ‘pembeli’, maka harga akan turun.  (apabila 'pembeli' ramai dari 'penjual', maka harga saham akan melambung tinggi)

Sebabnya : Dari pengalaman saya sendiri, saya melihat, kadangkala pelabur lebih dipengaruhi perasaan berbanding dengan logik. Apabila bertindak mengikut perasaan, maka pasaran akan menjadi tidak stabil. Maka sebarang ramalan akan menjadi buntu. Sebaliknya jika pelabur bertindak secara logik, maka pasaran juga berpotensi menjadi stabil.

Kedua - Menghabiskan masa terlalu lama di hadapan skrin untuk meramal pergerakan pasaran saham kadang-kadang boleh dianggap sebagai ‘membazir masa’. Adalah lebih baik, kita tumpukan 80% dari masa berkenaan dengan membaca bahan-bahan yang menambahkan pengetahuan pelaburan dan 20% diberikan terhadap skrin.

Ketiga - Pelabur berpengalaman akan tahu bahawa trend sering menunjukkan bahawa bulan Ogos, September (terutamanya September) atau Oktober, akan berlaku sesuatu yang mampu mengubah pergerakan saham, antara lain ialah : 

• Peperangan (terutamanya peperangan yang berlaku secara mengejut)
• kesan asimetrik yang berasal dari luar negara (negara yang dipanggil ‘negara maju’) yang mengalami hutang negara yang sangat besar atau kadar faedah Rizab Persekutuan menjadi terlalu tinggi)
• kadar pengangguran yang sangat tinggi (tandanya : apabila pembayaran gratuiti atau bonus pada 2-3 bulan sebelumnya ‘terlalu tinggi’)
• kenaikan sumber tenaga secara mendadak, seperti petroleum dan diesel (minyak mentah termasuk minyak tanah) - apa yang ganjil ialah fenomena ini diikuti dengan kenaikan bahanapi yang lain seperti arangbatu, hidro dll TERMASUK alternatif seperti minyak sawit dan tenaga solar (saya pun hairan kenapa? - tetapi saya seperti bersedia untuk menghadapi suasana berkenaan)
• kenaikan harga barang makanan secara tiba-tiba, (tidak semestinya kenaikan barangan terkawal seperti gula dan minyak masak sahaja)
• kenaikan kos sara hidup (Contohnya kenaikan nilai hartanah selaras dengan kedatangan pelabur asing)
• nilai projek contohnya pembinaan yang dijalankan terlalu tinggi dari kebiasaan (mungkin pelabur terkejut, jika saya katakan bahawa, nilai projek yang tinggi BUKAN disebabkan oleh kenaikan harga bahan binaan tetapi kerana faktor dalaman seperti pembaziran, kerosakan yang tinggi tanpa kawalan, kemalangan di tempat kerja dan juga rasuah!)

Dan banyak lagi tanda-tanda lain – ada juga trend yang berlaku secara domestik (dalam negara) dan bukan berasal di peringkat antarabangsa.

Hal-hal yang disebutkan di atas juga menyebabkan pasaran menjadi ‘volatile’. Maka pelabur kadangkala banyak bergantung kepada maklumat dalam internet dan tidak lagi memeriksa kesahihan maklumat berkenaan. 

Kadangkala ada maklumat yang bermotifkan spekulasi untuk memanipulasikan psikologi pelabur bagi menjual atau membeli (berawaslah)

Pendekata, tidak ada sebarang pelaburan yang boleh dikategorikan sebagai ‘sempurna’.  Ianya bergantung kepada proses dan kebarangkalian.

Sebenarnya, salah satu faktor kejayaan saya sendiri (secara peribadi) ialah semua sumber yang pernah saya pelajari atau rujuk perlu digabungkan dengan pengalaman saya sendiri. Dengan kata lain, saya sendiri mencipta teknik pelaburan yang tersendiri dan tidak terlalu bergantung kepada bahan-bahan yang ‘bersepah’ di internet atau mengharapkan analisa dan ramalan pasaran pakar.

Apa yang penting kepada saya ialah meninggikan kebarangkalian untuk mengambil tindakan yang betul (kerana saya juga tidak kebal dari melakukan kesilapan). Tindakan yang betul ‘berulangkali’ akan meninggikan lagi kebarangkalian untuk saya meraih keuntungan berbanding berulangkali tindakan yang silap akan meninggikan kebarangkalian saya mengalami kerugian yang besar.

Jika diperhatikan betul-betul, semuanya bergerak dalam satu kitaran. Ada yang naik dan ada yang turun (begitulah sebaliknya)

Setiap kali adanya ‘bullish’, maka ianya akan diikuti dengan ‘bearish’. Begitulah sebaliknya.

Setiap kali berlakunya pembetulan (correction), maka akan datang pemulihan (recovery)

Walaubagaimanapun, bukan perkara yang senang untuk meramal dan mengawal pasaran saham. Ramai yang kecewa apabila perkara ini berlaku.

Tetapi yang pasti, pasaran saham adalah peluang keemasan untuk menjana pendapatan sekiranya pelabur menggunakan teknik dan strategi pelaburan yang ‘matang’ (persediaan untuk ‘untung dan rugi’ dalam pelaburan)

Jangan terlalu beranggapan bahawa pasaran saham merupakan cara ‘rahsia’ untuk menjadikan anda seorang yang kaya kerana ‘cita-cita’ itu kadangkala akan menjadi ‘illusi’ dan anda pasti kecewa melihat hasilnya. Jika anda beranggapan begini, maka anda juga menjadikan diri anda sebagai ‘spekulator’ dan anda setaraf dengan mereka yang berjudi atau menikam loteri.

Pasaran saham bukan tempat spekulasi atau perjudian – ianya adalah perniagaan yang mempunyai ‘untung dan rugi’ dan bukannya ‘untung’ semata-mata atau ‘rugi semata-mata'

No, You Can't Use Fund Flows To Predict Stock Market Movements

DON FISHBACK, BETA ODDS SEP. 30, 2010, 5:11 PM

I suppose I could leave it at that, but perhaps a little explanation is warranted.


There was an article on Business Insider today that told of a formula for market success. It was based on “following” mutual fund flows. When fund flows are positive, go long a broad-based market index, such as SPY. When fund flows are negative, go short the SPY.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Almost one year to the day, I wrote about the same thing!

Here’s a link to the post titled Busting Yet Another Market Myth (Please refer to the author's official blog )

There were actually two parts to last year’s post. One part dealt with what happened to the stock market after the broad-based indexes rose more than a given percentage above their long-term moving averages. The second part dealt with what happened to the stock market after mutual fund flows of stock funds were positive or negative.

I showed that from the period beginning in 2007, a terrific strategy would have been to do the non-contrarian thing and follow fund flows. In other words, the conclusion the Business Insider contributor reached was correct based on the data period analyzed.

Importantly, I also showed that had you selected a different time period, the results would have shown the exact opposite! In other words, following fund flows would have proven to be disastrous. You would have completely missed out on a huge market rally.

What’s more, in my analysis, I did not go short when fund flows were negative as the Business Insider article suggested. Had you also gone short when flows were negative from 1984 to 1990, would have been catastrophically wiped out!

Bottom line, there is no evidence that, when measured over an extended time period, mutual fund flows predict gains and losses.

Author's Blog : http://www.donfishback.com/index.html 

This article originally appeared at Beta Odds. Copyright 2014.

SAYA MENYATAKAN SEMBAH SOKONGAN TITAH PERKENAN DYMM TUANKU SULTAN SELANGOR

OUR HEARTS, THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS WITH THE FAMILY OF THE VICTIMS

AL-FATIHAH TO ALL MUSLIM VICTIMS

Time for fireworks: Dow tops 17,000!

By Melvin Backman  @ CNNMoneyInvest July 3, 2014: 1:19 PM ET

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

 

U.S. stock markets closed at 1 p.m. Thursday, but they got the fireworks going early. The Dow finally hit 17,000!Many see it as just a psychological threshold, but it's a level U.S. stocks have never seen before, and it comes a mere six months after the Dow crossed 16,000.

 

All three major indexes closed higher Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at an all-time high of around 17,068 (up nearly 1.3% for the week). The S&P 500 also closed at a record level, hitting 1,985 for the first time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rounded up the week up 2%.

 

Here are the highlights of a great week:

 

Jobs Bonanza: A strong June job reports drove the optimism in the stock market. The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%, down from 6.3% in May. That was much better than economists or Wall Street expected.

 

Treasuries react to jobs report: The bond market is moving to sell after the jobs report and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's comments yesterday that the central bank will not use interest rates to pop any potential bubbles in the markets. Bond yields are up to 2.64%, a sign of the improving economy.

 

Gold investors area bit skittish, with the precious metal's price dropping nearly 0.75% to around $1,321 an ounce.

 

Bow Wow -- PetSmart stock spikes: PetSmart (PETM) shares were howling at the moon, up 12.5% after hedge fund Jana Partners announced a 9.9% stake with intentions of exploring a sale of the company.

 

In other moves, embattled clothiers American Apparel (APP) and Lululemon (LULU) traded higher. Shares in the two are finished nearly 5% and almost 3% higher, respectively. There's a lot of news around American Apparel, where Reuters reports that former CEO Dov Charney has handed off his stake to hedge fund Standard General. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that former Lululemon chair and founder Chip Wilson is trying to take the company private.

 

Intel (INTC, Tech30) shares are up 20% so far this year, making it the second best performing stock in the Dow.

 

PCs aren't dead! Intel is soaring

Independence Dog: It's also fun to note that Nathan's Famous (NATH) hot dogs, sponsor of Coney Island's annual July 4 hot dog-eating contest, is a publicly traded company. The stock is down slightly Thursday, but it's up over 7% so far in 2014 and has truly been a "top dog" in recent years.

Overseas Markets: European markets are were higher in afternoon trading, with the FTSE 100 up more than 0.7%. Asian markets were mixed, and Australia's stock market jumped a nice 0.7%.