Midterm

Based on your OWN experiences (NOT the web or other sources, but your OWN!)
write 12 human quality error detection and prevention cases. This means a total of 12
cases, and for each human error case you should discuss the (1) detection as well as
the (2) prevention aspects.

1) Restaurant service

While I was waitressing in a restaurant, one of the common mistakes made both by
me and my colleagues was providing the customer with the wrong information about the
dish. Reasons for that could be different: forgetfulness, stress, not knowing the menu
correctly. This mistake potentially is very dangerous for example, a person could be
allergic to an ingredient that was not mentioned.

Detection: having the dish with unexpected ingredients

Prevention: making sure all the waiters actually know the menu, understand the
cooking process, and are checked on their menu knowledge occasionally.

Image found on the web.

2) Texting/ snapping/ getting distracted while driving

A while back when I was in the car with my friend driving, we both got distracted by an
accident that happened to a motorcyclist on the opposite side of the road. My friend who
was driving did not notice a car in front of us stop suddenly and we bumped into it. We
were lucky: the speed was not high and there was no harm to any of us, only the car
was damaged slightly.
 Detection: not paying attention to the road situation, getting distracted by any events or
phone notifications.

Prevention: even though legally it I not allowed, people still use their phones while
driving. It is impossible to make getting distracted illegal though. In my opinion, the only
way to prevent that from happening is to raise the awareness while driving.

Image by myself. The result of the car accident described in the problem.

3) Energy waste

This is a common problem that we encounter on the daily basis. Forgetting to turn the
light off when leaving the room, leaving the AC, still charging the phone when it is on
100% already. But what shocked me most when I first came to America (it was in
summer) were stores that had their doors open in 80F while the AC was blasting inside.
I still see it as a complete waste of energy in a huge scale.

Detection: checking the lights, plugs, AC, etc.

Prevention: closing the doors in stores. Making sure the lights and electric appliances
are off before leaving the house. Raising awareness of energy saving among people.
 Image by NBC4 NY.

4) Mold

There is a small piece of mold in the bathroom due to improper care.

Detection: mold is a fungus that grows mostly in humid places like bathrooms.

Prevention: taking proper care of the place where the mold is most likely to occur.
Cleaning them regularly, treating it if needed.

Image found on the web, but I have encountered this problem before.
5) Regular Backups

Forgetting to back up important documents or files may cause lot of trouble. In most
cases they cant be retrieved back.

Detection: almost all businesses and people are using technology. To ensure that data
or work is not lost many of them use backups. Though the latest systems have
automatic backup for the data stored, they might not back up the data up to date.

Prevention: it is always good to back up files whenever the data is updated, for example
into the Cloud. Set up the automated backup.

6) Trash in the restroom at NJIT

Detection: the NJIT gym has a pretty big trash can. But the garbage bags which are
put inside it are not sufficiently big enough to utilize all the space trash can offers. This
leads to trash falling out of the bins. This is an human error which can be easily
detected and fixed.

Prevention: the Cleaning staff should have been aware of the situation that the trash
bag is improperly inserted when he or she cleans the trash can. And make sure this not
repeated again or trash-can is replaced.

Image by myself.
7) Food Waste

Detection: Food in many events is made in bulk. Many people dont see how valuable
the food is and for prestige issue they tell the caterers to make as much as possible.

Prevention: This can be prevented by checking the number of guests are going to come
to the event and according to that food should be ordered. If not, they end up losing lot
of money instead which can be donated to people who are in need of food.

8) Protecting case for phone/tablet/laptop

My Sony phone is several years old now, but I have had bad experience with my
previous phones. My last phone was accidentally dropped and the screen cracked a
little.

Detection: when you drop or damage your phone, tablet or laptop you end up losing lot
of hard earned money. Delicate electronic devices should be handled with care and can
be protected by using proper protection.

Prevention: A proper protecting case can save the phone/tablet/laptop in case when you
drop the device by mistake. Proper size of the protecting case should also be selected
by the user, sometimes loose cases cannot protect the device properly.

9) Battery Life of smartphones

Detection: today, smartphones have become part of everyone's life. Gone are those
days where we used to charge our mobile once and use to for days or probably for a
long time. Multi-tasking or constantly switching between phone calls, enternainment,
work and can suck the battery in our phones and make it unavailable when we really
need it.

Prevention: to have a long lasting battery life in your smartphone, there are few simple
methods to follow than can actually make your battery last a bit longer. Methods are as
follows:
Switch off the Wi-fi or mobile data when not needed.
Uninstall unnecessary apps
Turn Off GPS
Use Power Saving Mode

10) Bending/ damage of a charging wire

The connector is used for charging, another side of the connector is USB plug. This
connector is very useful, small piece and light weight, and portable to any place.
 Moreover, it can use with many various type of gadgets, for the Android smartphones &
for Tablets.

Detection: Unfortunately, the connector gets broken because dropping of the tablet
during charging time that made the pin bending. Even though the connector still works
but it need more time to charge the tablet.

Prevention: to prevent this from happening, one should beware about the place, keep
the tablet or phone in the safety area that hard to fall on the ground. Also dont allow
your kitties to chew it (this happened to mine before and the cable was broken )

11) Garbage disposal

In many developing countries, a system for proper garbage disposal does not exist.
People dispose of garbage without regard to where it is being dumped or whether any
articles can be recycled. This can lead to the spreading of diseases and unhealthy
environmental conditions.

Detection: although ignorance plays a huge role in improper waste disposal, a lack of
a waste management system or a system to educate people about recycling is also a
key cause. Pollution not only exacerbates epidemics, but also makes communities
inhabitable.

Prevention: it is important to ensure that people are properly educated about how to
dispose of waste and that a waste management system is implemented to collect
garbage. Recycling should also be implemented to reduce the carbon footprint.
12) Mosquito Repellent Spray

Detection: mosquito repellent sprays are chemical or naturally derived concentrations

that function to offer protection against a host of mosquito-borne diseases, such as
yellow fever, malaria, encephalitis, filariasis and dengue fever. While most commercial
mosquito repellent sprays provide adequate protection, they are associated with
numerous side effects, including mouth ulcers, nausea and blisters/burning and must be
used with caution. While mosquito repellent sprays are effective in protecting against
annoying mosquitoes, they have a number of disadvantages. Their effectiveness is
short-lived (lasts only a few hours) and they have undesirable solvent action and odors.
DEET-based mosquito repellent sprays are toxic upon ingestion and can cause coma,
seizures and even death.

Prevention: use mosquito repellent sprays sparingly and with caution. Use products
that state "USDA Reg." or "EPA Reg." on the label. Do not use formulas that contain
greater than 30 percent DEET on children. Read labels carefully and avoid products
that contain the banned chemical compound R-11 (2 butylene or 2,3,4,5-Bis). Do not
use mosquito repellent spray on scratches, cuts and broken skin. Do not spray directly
into face or apply near the mouth and eyes. Discontinue use if skin rash develops.

Social Networking Articles

1. The average company investing in food waste reduction will see a fourteen
fold return on their investment

Summary: This article briefs about a research, called champions 1.23, which was
contacted by a coalition of executives from government, corporations, universities and
civil society farmers union. The study was contacted in 17 different countries and
gathered data from 700 different companies and 1200 business sites. With the focus on
reducing food waste by 2030 at the retail and consumer level, reduces losses along
production and supply chain including post-harvest losses, research finds that 99% of
sites showed positive financial outcome companies. Further, article explains about how
UK government invested in food waste campaign to save tons of money in return.

My view: Food waste in developed and developing countries is a huge problem that
the world is facing right now. While many governments try to encourage their citizens to
reduce their food waste, private companies and businesses should become part of this
movement too. The study that researched more than 700 companies showed that
almost all of them had positive financial outcome after implementing food wast
reduction. Moreover, some companies made a 14 times return of every dollar invested
into the food waste program. Hopefully, these results can promote the food waste
reduction and make companies more interested.

Discussion link: https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!

topic/sonetw/b21wrke4mzA

2. Suspected NSA tool hackers dump more cyberweapons in farewell

Summary: this article talks about the hacking group- The Shadow Brokers and the
breaching of security through hacking tools of Unix and Windows systems. They are
suspected to be associated with NSA and they tried to dump their hacking tools online
when their bidding plan failed.
Nowadays, hacking is very common among individuals trying to use personal and
secret information to add to their own advantage. This has been made possible by the
numerous hacking tools which are available online and are easy to learn. It is due to the
existence of these hacking groups which try to make profit out of getting into others'
systems. The tricks used to remove or revert some data, without even letting the
message out that can show their system is being hacked, is putting major companies in
danger and putting concerns of security. Even though the attempts of The Shadow
Broker's to make money out of selling the tools was in vain, but they are still online after
they got dumped. Only one of these groups came to the attention, but who knows there
might be zillions of hackers out there. So, every initiative must be taken by the security
providers to get rid of their attempts.
 My view: I think that the situation this article describes is very disturbing. Considering
that literally everything (from fridges and AC to elections and electro stations) is
powered or controlled by computers, this security breach could be very dangerous. If
those farewell hacking instruments end up in the wrong hands the whole world can be in
danger.

Discussion link: https://groups.google.com/forum/?

utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/sonetw/IiQT7hbVTAo

3. How the Terrorists Won the Economy

Summary: This article talks about how U.S government, especially republican political
party, likes to implement less tax cuts for super rich and corporation and decrease
corporate regulation with increasing military spending would affect the U.S economy.
Moreover, it talks in details about how U.S government has allocated more money on
defense relative to other expenditures such as education, science, energy, healthcare,
transportation and so on. Also, it compares military budget to other nations and pin point
that U.S government has spent more money on war. Further, this article argues that
spending more money on war, which will never end, will weaken the U.S economy and
hurt Middle class and poor people since there is less allocated to other sectors.

My view: The article has got most of its economics right. But even if the author is
correct in saying that the "war on terrorism" is futile. This doesn't mean that the military
actions in the Middle East are completely pointless. It is my belief that the American way
of life is radically contrary to the way of life proposed by Quran. Due to the fact that the
two ideologies are in many ways opposites of each other. I don't think it would be
prudent to just leave the situation be in the Middle East as USA possesses an
existential threat to the ideology of life under sharia law and vise versa.Which means
that one would want to eradicate the other. So the USA government tries to make sure
theocracy doesn't come into the picture in Islamic countries.

Discussion link: https://groups.google.com/forum/?

utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/sonetw/a3P3khAFZWM