Table of ContentsCertis Group Pivot to TechnologyWork EnvironmentReflections on Generic Life SkillsReflections on Technical Knowledge and SkillsReflections on Strengths and WeaknessesWeaknessesReflections on Choice and career development Incorporated on 1 June 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, Certis Group has always been recognized as CISCO, the leading physical security provider in Singapore protecting key installations and a key player in Singapore's cash ecosystem. As a member of the global security community, Certis CISCO has been admitted to the International Security Ligue since 2008. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Certis Group focuses on technology Certis CISCO's workforce safety services have been redesigned with service excellence frameworks and intelligent operations technology powered by Certis Technology's patented solutions that enable them to consistently deliver exceptional services and satisfy their customers . With the advancement of technology and the evolution of security threats, Certis Group has transformed itself into an innovative partner focused on operational technology that offers complete end-to-end security services, from physical security to cybersecurity. This is made possible by strong security technology that leverages and enhances operations capabilities. During the 16-week link from April 4 to July 20, 2018, two members of the 4-person project team were on site, attached at Certis Technology's Polcam project department to analyze and collect the data needed for the project. The other two team members remained at the Certis (Commonwealth) office to assist with paperwork. During the liaison period, the reporting office was at Certis Cisco's West Hub training academy along Science Center Road. Work Environment As the nature of the work requires staff to be on site to carry out physical checks as opposed to a normal office job, I am expected to travel from site to site. The sites differ in that I am usually sent to HDB (Housing Development Board) links and Hawker Centres. A company vehicle is used for transport and the team usually consists of a maximum of 3 people. I join the other intern (my classmate -Malcom) and a colleague. My colleague drives the vehicle and supervises us on the work that needs to be done at different sites. When we are not gathered for pre-check, I am separated from my classmate and we both follow other colleagues to conduct BAT (the police officer joins us at different sites to pass the site cameras). The purpose of this internship was to assist the Polcam project to: Demonstrate a systems thinking approach to decision making and problem solving Collect, analyze, interpret and present information using the software Model and simulate business processes for improvement Improve productivity and carry out innovationImprovement of the Polcam project in HDB/Linkways In the Polcam project (police camera for short) there are many teams. Teams such as site survey team, office administration team, testing and commissioning team, installation team, etc. For the entire 16 weeks of the internship program, I was assigned to the testing and commissioning team. The team is also commonly known as the pre-inspection team. The pre-check team is responsible forhelp identify any defects/errors before the police officer (customer) carries out the check. The police officer will cross-check the checklist and see if the site passed the "test". Some problems encountered may be incorrect configuration of video loss settings, camera focus is unclear, video footage shows frame drops. The team is provided with a checklist form, the checklist form helps to check for faults in a very systematic way. The staff carrying out the preliminary check will cross-check the checklist to identify any errors. If the error is simple to fix, the precheck team will go ahead and fix the problem. Issues include: refocusing the camera's AF point, changing the frame rate recorded by the camera, using motion detection software or not, video loss settings, NVR settings, etc. If the site has been checked thoroughly by the pre-check team, the next police officer will examine the site. This check conducted by the police officer is known as BAT. If the police officer has checked the site and passed it, the site is considered completed. However, if the site does not meet all the quality requirements provided in the checklist, the official will "fail" the site and ask the pre-check/initial installation team to revisit the site to resolve the issues. The checklist is a very important part of the whole system as it has reduced a lot of time for the polcam project. While it can be argued that it actually only saves 3-5 days of approval time, however when it spans across almost 5800 sites, it actually saves a significant amount of time. Attached in Appendices A/B it is shown how the entire Polcam testing and commissioning team works and how using the checklist helps to save valuable time. When I am not assigned to the pre-check team, I am assigned to return to the office at Certis Cisco West Training Academy Hub. In the office I am assigned different tasks than other colleagues in the office. Some office work includes initializing hard drives, changing NVR settings, and configuring the IP address for the NVR. Reflections on generic life skills The World Health Organization in 1999 identified five core cross-cultural areas of life skills: decision making and problem solving; creativity thinking and critical thinking; communication and interpersonal skills; self-awareness and empathy; and manage emotions and deal with stress. I would like to reflect on how I dealt with emotions and stress. Many life skills were learned in the two weeks during the internship program. While overall the internship was a great and eye-opening experience, there were definitely many aspects of the work environment that weren't so exciting. Since I am always in demand on site, there are many times when the site location is very far from my home address. Although I am generally open to travel, it is very difficult to meet on time early in the morning. For example, there may be times when I should meet the team at Choa Chu Kang at 9am. Since I live in Hougang, the travel time to reach the site is very long. So I had to wake up early in the morning to start my commute early so that I could get there on time. In most cases, the sites are quite far from the MRT stations/bus stops. So I have to spend some time searching online for the best travel optionto reach the site. Dealing with the constant stress of trying to reach the site on time while traveling in a crowded MRT/bus during morning rush hour is very difficult. To cope with the stress, I realized that it wasn't realistic to be on time every day. I talked to teammates to give me some time if the site is far from MRT station. I believe that although it is very troublesome to get up early every morning to find out where the site is, I am sure that there is some time to be had from this experience as well. Thanks to constant travel I have arrived in places where I normally would not have set foot. An important moment is when my colleague introduces me to the famous food stalls in the neighborhood during lunch time. Having said that, I got to try different types of food available in every part of Singapore. The workload while working can be very tiring. In addition to constant travel from site to site, I am also required to perform some labor-intensive tasks. This includes carrying screens, ladders and tools. When I adjust the focus of the camera, I also have to climb the ladder to higher heights so that I can move the focus lever to change the focal point. Many times I will sweat due to the hot temperature. Overall, although it was strenuous and taxing on the body, I felt it was something of value. Considering that cameras are part of national security, I'm happy to have played a role in this operation. I have also developed a certain form of empathy, I understand that polcams play a very important role in ensuring the safety of residence in the area. Visiting different sites, I met many members of the public. They told me about how Polcam will play an important role in ensuring the safety of the neighborhood. With the recent increase in the use of electric scooters, many residents feel unsafe while walking on pavements from their HDB to the bus stop. The polcam will be able to capture footage of any accidents/crimes in an unfortunate event, so because of this I have learned to show some empathy for the residents. Work ethic is not defined by passion, but rather by consistency. It has been proven that people who don't like their jobs tend to slow down more. It is difficult to do otherwise, especially when the material is of no interest to the individual, but someone with a great work ethic will get the job done fully despite a lack of passion. In a career, just like in life, there will be many things that aren't perfect. Being and staying positive is the key to getting the most out of any situation. The best thing about my internship was the nature of the work and the amazing, versatile, diverse employees I got to meet. As an intern, there was a more relaxed nature to the job and work environment. I was able to use it to my advantage; I could communicate with colleagues effectively without having to worry about normal corporate jargon. Thoughts on Technical Knowledge and Skills When it comes to this job, you need a lot of technical knowledge and skills. Since all tasks are performed on a computer, IT knowledge is an advantage. Even though I am not taught how to change IP addresses or change NVR configurations, my colleagues were very patient and did their best to teach me how to work on the IT problems I encountered. In addition to going to sites with the pre-control team, there were days I spent in the West Hub Cisco office. In the office I learned how to initialize hard drives and change the IP addresses of NVRs. Although they were not difficult to do, however, because there were so many of them, I had to sit at the desk anddoing the same thing repeatedly throughout the day. It is very "boring" since the steps are all the same and there are little variations in each of them. However I felt that this was also another important aspect of the Polcam project as it could have a significant impact on the whole project. In a sense, cleaning hard drives means providing more available hard drives to replace faulty hard drives at sites. Configuring NVR IP addresses helps reduce time for installers when they are on site so they don't have to spend valuable time configuring IP addresses when they can spend their time going to other sites to do more installations. Aside from the technical knowledge and skills, there are also soft skills that I have acquired. Adaptability is another skill I'm happy to add to my resume. Adapting to different environments is an essential feature that most jobs want when searching for a candidate. Adaptation is a skill that involves being open to new ideas and concepts, working independently or as part of a team, and carrying out multiple tasks or projects. The internship at the Certis facility was really overwhelming with all the information I was given, but with time I was happy that I was able to adapt to the workflow and acquire it as a resume builder and personal skill. Along with adaptability, I learned how to solve problems too. When faced with difficulties/problems during working hours, I will have to solve them, even if it means going out of my comfort zone. Some ways I have troubleshooted were when I had to fix an NVR that had been placed really high, usually the team leaves the site and proceeds to another site. I will however try to find other things to lean on to reach the NVR. For example, I will ask hawker stall owners if I can borrow their ladder so I can climb up to set up the NVR. Reflections on Strengths and Weaknesses Over the course of the last 16 weeks, I have discovered new strengths and weaknesses that I feel like I never even knew about myself. I believe my personal strengths lie primarily in enjoying listening to others and being thoughtful and kind when forming relationships with other people. I also take responsibility for my actions and welcome feedback from others. Being a great listener will help me be very receptive to customer concerns. This way I could be a better student of business process and systems engineering who can learn not only from lectures but also from real life situations and concerns that others will express. Furthermore, my strength in accepting input from others can help me a lot in interpersonal communication because this would be more conducive to successful teamwork in the future. I have found that I am a very resilient person. When faced with new problems, I will do my best to solve them. However, because I don't give up easily, it may take a little longer to complete a task as if it were completed by someone else with prior knowledge. However, I feel like there is no harm in learning something new and trying it until I finally understand how to do it. Weaknesses Based on my teammates' observations, they all commented that I am not a very tidy person. I am a very messy and rather careless person. When I handle data that needs to be very precise, I can't finish effectively because I'm not meticulous with my work. So how can I compensate.