Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: The best insight, instant feedback, accountability. The all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: We are discussing technology.
Technology plays a role in almost every single thing that we do.
Joining us this morning to give us some insights, some guidance on technology and how we use it the right way, let's welcome to our program president, the association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago.
That's Carla Tribuhansingh. Good morning to you and welcome to our show.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Good morning. Thank you. You got the last name right.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: I tried. I've been practicing it all morning long, hoping that I didn't butcher it this morning. So I'm glad that my efforts paid off. Nice to have you with us here this morning. I see we have somebody else on the zoom. Is this gentleman joining our discussion as well?
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Yes, he is, actually. This is engineer Dexter Daniel. He'll be joining us to give his points of view as well.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Mister Daniel, good morning to you and welcome to our program as well.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: Oh, good morning and thank you for having us.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: This discussion this morning is one that you may think, well, technology, everybody know about technology and we familiar with it. Everybody has used Facebook and TikTok and that kind of thing. Why do we need to talk about technology? But the theme of the discussion is technology used the right way. That's an interesting spin on the entire thing. But before we get to it, let me allow both of you to familiarize the listener with you so they have a greater appreciation, understanding for your perspective.
Let's begin with you misses triple Hansing. Tell us about yourself, some of the things you're involved in.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: All right. So let me, let us, should we begin by telling you a little bit about what Abet is?
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. You go right ahead.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: So ApET actually represents the association of Professional Engineers.
Now, the PNP. APET is professional, right.
So we have been around for 65 years this year.
And just to let you know, I am the only female president of this esteemed institution.
So, the association of professional engineers, after a six year hiatus, we decided that we were going to have annual technical conference 2024, which was held at the Hyatt Regency on the 14th and 15 May. That was just last week. Yeah.
Now, you know the world is moving into the age of technology, right?
So the theme of the conference was Green, equitable, intelligent and integrated. And what we sought to do was integrate these themes in the, in the presentations to get the engineers and so who are presenting up to scratch with everything.
So there were lectures on green, there were presentations on SIDS, which is the small island, developing states. We had energy and energy related industries as well.
We had resilient, safe and inclusive engineering infrastructure, artificial intelligence and digitalization and manufacturing and processing. And of course, we had to speak about engineering education and ethical practice.
So that was what the annual technical conference was about.
Now, we had almost 200 attendees, and we had nine to twelve exhibitors. And these exhibitors included Powergen, they included Danny's enterprise, who's come up with a real innovative way of using own bitumen to stabilize pavement material. So we have some support from the technical arena. So it was very good.
Now, let me just.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Sorry, I didn't say anything. Go ahead.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: Yes. Okay, so let me just put a plug in there for Apet now. So aped, which again is the associate of professional engineers in Trinidad and Tobago, represents all of the engineers through Trinidad and Tobago. So we represent chemical, we represent electrical, we represent civil, represent mechanical, industrial. We also have some new branches like geotechnical and so geomatics. Sorry.
So we are the umbrella party. We, the old engineering disciplines. George R. And Tobago.
Our vision is to lead the advancement of the engineering profession in our nation through effective collaboration with our stakeholders.
As a matter of fact, at this conference, our stakeholders included UEN Utt, and our mission is dedicated to the development of engineers and engineering profession. So to achieve our mission, we promote the highest standards of professional practice and stimulate awareness of technology and the role of the engineering society. So that stimulation of the awareness of technology is where you began with our discussion.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's a perfect place to begin. Let's hear a bit about Mister Dexter Daniel, tell us a bit about yourself, some of the things you're involved in.
[00:05:52] Speaker C: Hi. So, just like engineer trabuhansing, I studied mechanical engineering and I've been a graduate for over 36 years now.
I was particularly drawn to the conference because of what I know it promises in terms of exposing all participants to new technology, current trends in learning and so on as well. It was an excellent opportunity to network with other professionals and colleagues in the field.
So I thought that the conference didn't, it didn't disappoint any one of us.
After a six year hiatus and having the conference possibly one of the best in the country at the Hyatt, I thought that all participants certainly got their money's worth.
From my perspective as a mechanical engineer and have worked in different industries and so on, I thought that meaning the presence of some of engineering greatness of the likes of engineering, the honorable Tony Gibbs out of Barbados, and some of the professors, Winston Street, Professor Clement Inbert and so on, I thought that was a really charged environment of being just in the presence and hearing some excellent, excellent presentations regarding engineering technologies. We could use the technologies appropriately for the best improvement of our infrastructure and basically about life in general. One of the first things I remember of learning in engineering in my first year is that engineering was a science that was designed to help society. It wasn't about empowering a person, but the benefits of engineering and properly applied engineering is for all of us, for societies and communities, and in this particular case, for Trinidad and the Caribbean. So, um, that's just a small plug in terms of phenomenal.
It is some, uh, some topics of ethics. And I thought ethics presented by Professor Winston Sweet was an excellent session because it targeted not just academics, but for business professionals and engineers. Actually, in his deliberations, he made a statement, and he has coined some wonderful phrases that you need to know what you should know, and you should know it very well. This is quite opposed to people making that excuse of, you don't know what you don't know. He said it the other way around. He said, you need to know what you should know, and you should know him very well. So that was just one of the topics that really had my fullest attention.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: We know that the field of engineering is broad.
It covers several disciplines. Under the heading engineer, you have chemical, mechanical structure. And the list goes on and on and on. And we've spoken to a number of people who've given us how vast this thing can be. We're here to talk about technology used the right way and how businesses can use technology to promote better business and see themselves making greater progress. Question, when it comes to engineering, how has technology impacted on the job of an engineer?
[00:09:36] Speaker A: But let me how has technology impacted at the job of an engineer? We talk a little bit about AI in engineering as we, as we progress. As a matter of fact, I can tell you that for this conference, we actually went to a platform that, you know, it was, we created an event management platform just for this conference that allowed us to do everything for the conference on that particular platform.
So we ourselves are moving into this age of technology.
But I'll tell you a little bit more about that in a bit. Let me just tell you a little bit more about the papers that were presented. So I'll create the picture to respond to your question.
So we dealt with the resilience of solar pv mounted, pv, ground mounted systems that was engineered.
We did a little session. We did sessions, actually on environmental impact assessment. We did traffic management for the ReMo, Uber center we looked at, well, part of this was streamlining the part of academic and professional qualifications. Now, remember, part of our objective is to mentor engineers as well. So all these things fell into place with that. We looked at syphonic wave energy and how that can be harnessed as another form of energy.
One of the major presentations for us was learning from failures 50 years over the in the country and counting. And this was in particular geotechnical failures and how some were addressed and so forth.
We spoke about fracture resistance of stone matrix as fouls. We spoke about how to remove ferrous material from water using natural products. This one was interesting, exploring the efficacy of biomaterials for ferrous removal from well water.
We spoke about amino acid production. So you understand where we're going with this thinking. And do you know that for just 75 million years, we could set up an amino acid production plant in Trinidad and Tobago? And, you know, amino acids in the health industry is the big thing, right?
Um. Yes.
No, I'm sorry.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: No.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: Yeah. So we also spoke about green hydrogen in the Caribbean, a sustainable energy transition. And we looked at energy efficiency through the utilization of low carbon cooling technology in small island developing states, and of course, resilient engineering infrastructure to mitigate land based pollution. So the papers were far and wide. They covered, like I said, the green equitable, intelligent and integrated theme. Yeah. And that paper by Professor Sweet was of particular interest because what it did is really a call to action on behalf of abet for the engineers. You know, one more thing I should mention to you in terms of technology. There was a presentation on formed bitumen stabilized pavement technology, a sustainable road building solution for small island developing states.
Yeah, sorry. I hope I'm not cutting your ground.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: No, you're not. Go ahead.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Yeah. So those were some of the themes of the conference, some of the presentations and the takeaways when you. The feedback that we got from the participants was extremely positive. They were happy for the forum that we could have met, because when engineers meet, there's a lot of networking, but there is a lot of knowledge sharing and building and growing with each other. You know, that was of particular interest.
Let me see if I can get some more. Let me tell you a little bit more about the use of the technology and what we did.
Just a minute. Right, right. Okay. So what we did, really, one of the objectives of this ATC 2024 was to promote investing in artificial intelligence, AI and renewables to engineer a more sustainable future for the small island's developing states through greater investments in artificial intelligence and renewables such as solar and green hydrogen in engineering processes, education and ethics.
So we looked at the areas of sustainable development for small island states. We look at energy and energy related industries, resiliency, inclusive engineering, artificial intelligence, digitalization, manufacturing and engineering, and education and ethical practice. And we actually had our honorable Penelope Beckers open the proceedings for us. And she spoke about the small island developing states in the caribbean region, and that they must prioritize engineering and sustainability to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, promote renewable energy resources, and foster resilient economies that are less vulnerable to external shocks.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: Yes.
Let's see how we can take the discussion into using technology. Now, in business, you spoke about AI and the influence that would have had on what's, on what we're seeing. Mister Daniel, would you like to add anything?
[00:15:40] Speaker C: One presentation that I was also particularly interested in was the presentation that it's a, it's called basalt fiber reinforcement, which was a new technology that would eradicate corrosion in concrete reinforcement. Simply what it is is that basalt is actually a new type of material. It is actually a non ferrous material source, comes from volcanic rock. And basically what it does, it would replace iron or steel bar in a high corrosion, high corrosive environments where there's reinforced concrete. And particularly those environments would actually be things like seawall constructions and so on. A typical seawall construction in riba would have to be replaced seven to ten years. However, if salt reinforcement is used instead of the reba, the expected life could actually be up to 100 years. This is a phenomenal change in how we do things when we accept and we apply the relevant technology of a building construction.
So that was one. I was, you know, I thought we, there could be tremendous savings in cost by using different materials.
[00:17:09] Speaker A: Yes.
Let me fill the question that you're asking by three points here. So, integrating climate risks into engineering designs must be the first order of business in building climate resiliency in all its facets and in all relevant sectors.
By leveraging AI algorithms, artificial intelligence algorithms, automation and data analytics, manufacturing agencies can optimize production processes, reduce waste and product quality.
And digitalization also enables businesses in small island developing states to access global markets, engage in e commerce, and participate in the digital economy, thereby diversifying our economies and creating new opportunities for growth and development.
This therefore places small island economies in a position to be catalysts in the global economy, irrespective of size.
So this is where we tie in the engineering and the trust towards the future in the engineering profession.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: We've been having a lot of discussions as a nation, about digitization and were moving into this realm where we go online for a lot more things than we do at this point in time. Banks have, I want to say, led the way in trying to encourage their customers to go online rather than going to an ATM or going to a counter. The government has been on a drive that they have intensified recently to take the citizen, when it comes to accessing government services, away from actually going to a building and to account and have to deal with a clerk to go online.
And digitization is a new buzzword in every single thing that we're doing. And many times when we have these discussions, we speak about the pros of digitization and how it's easier. You can sit in the comfort of your home and you can get things done rather than having to go out and. And all these things. But aside from the pros, which we've heard of on so many occasions, what are some of the pitfalls that we need to consider when it comes to digitization and using more technology or greater use of technology in the things that we do?
[00:19:43] Speaker A: You're talking about the negatives associated with digitization.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: Yes, I am. Because you need to be aware of the negatives so that you can prepare for them as much as you can. I mean, TSTT. And that data breach was a big example of how we are not prepared as a nation. And then we had Price mark right after that, where you had these double. And you can't help people from being skeptical. We have a population where a significant percentage, they don't even deal with traditional banks because they entrust them. So, so this move to digitization and greater use of technology, what are some of the things people need to be concerned about if, if they need to be concerned at all?
[00:20:23] Speaker A: Right. No, very good point. Because with technology, as with everything else, we do have the ups and the downs. So remember, with digitization, right, we have the advent of events such as identity theft. Just that, how you see the ability to actually crash a system from outside. We have the growth of cyber criminals, you know, but how we deal with that is we invested even more security measures and security levels because I continue, even with my, um, my logging to my unit from home, there is double encryption before I get through it. And so with the good also comes the bad. So, yes, so we need to be aware of those things, and we need to have the umbrella view so that we will anticipate whatever can come out of it and deal with it. Now, you're quite right. There are a lot of the older population who will not trust going on the phone to see what is in their bank account. But again, we have to be able to provide these levels of knowledge and security and assurance to our public that, yes, this is safe and we are ready for it in case we are attacked, quote unquote, by hackers, if the system should crash and that sort of thing. And not only that, remember, with the advent of COVID we learned that, listen, we have to have our business data stored in a place where should something happen and we crash, we are able to easily go back to that data and start. And you're not starting from scratch because, you know, would have in some remote drive somewhere, have your data stored. So you're quite correct. It's a lot of learnings. And with technology comes the good and the bad, you know, and this is as well, we have a lot of our engineers in different fields who are now cross functional and multifaceted. So, for instance, we have engineers who went to security, we have engineers who went to websites and all those sorts of things. So the engineers themselves have been developing themselves and presenting solutions to the country. Yeah, we have taken those things into consideration. Yeah.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: You can't get away from the benefits and the advancements that have been utilized by various sectors because of technology. I mean, you can sit with an architect who's an instructor, engineers, and you can go through scenarios that are on the computer that don't necessarily need to be seen in real life for you to understand what could or could not happen. And that takes planning and development at totally different level, when you can do all these things and troubleshoot them on a screen, as opposed to build something and wait and see if you go for long and that kind of thing. So we've come a long, long, long way. But I don't know. And it'd be interesting to get your opinions because you all are in the field. Do you think there is the appreciation or even take it further, even the understanding by the average individual citizen as to how much technology influences and impacts on every single thing that they do already? Because why? We have some people who say, see, me and our technology, we want nothing to do with that. I trust it. I never trust it. I believe in pen and paper and my bank book and whatever else, but really, technology is all around us. But do you think we have that understanding of, well, this is technology at use.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: And I think that definitely we do have that understanding. Now I tell you why. Remember long before COVID whenever you went into a bank line, right. I went to a credit union recently, and listen, I was in there for half hour in the line, you know, and therefore, I think that especially for people who may have traveled abroad and looked at systems abroad, the age of checking technology is like. It's refreshing, you know, it's like a new book that you've opened because here you have convenience.
You only would go to these institutions now if you have to go to the institutions, right? So we. So, yes, I think that the majority of the population, with the exception of a few, have embraced technology and we're moving towards it swiftly.
Listen, let me give you a prime example. When we do meetings now, you actually have an AI app that will take your minutes for you, you know? So, yes, I think that we are embracing technology, and with it, citizens need to ensure that they protect themselves. So what you do is you face the fear and you overcome the fear in using these apps and so forth, you know, and I think a lot of the companies, especially those who do business online, they have invested in the security measures to ensure that their customers are not compromised. So, yes, I would say that the majority of us, I hope you agree with me, have embraced it and are.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: Using it, you know, well, I'll tell you this. If we are to gauge the acceptance of technology through social media and how people use social media, we can say, well, everybody, they're good to go. Because a lot of people, when you speak technology, social media is the very first thing that they gravitate to, because that's. That's what they are exposed to. That's this, that's their bubble, that's their circle, that's their reality. I remember someone was doing a masters in communication, a friend of mine, and he came to me asking about, well, in the media and communication, and part of it, he had to put together a project about how he would market a certain thing, and all of it was on social media. So I asked him, well, if that is to be in Trinidad and this project that you're launching deals with the Trinidad and Tobago population, how are you catering for the people who are not on social media?
Because that's a market. We do have a percentage of people who they're not on social media. That's just the reality.
And he was stumped by the question because he, in his mind, he didn't think about it, because his reality is, everything is on the phone, everything's on social media, everything is technology.
And he totally ignored what could have been a potential market that would have seen great results. And it's only then when I said to him, well, your reality is not necessarily everyone's reality. And in proper planning, you have to put yourself in all the various scenarios to understand what people or how people accept information.
You are many people who still listen to the radio. They don't buy a newspaper. Yes, some people buy newspaper, don't listen to the radio. Some people just wait until 07:00 news, and at night they don't listen to anything else during the day, just don't have the time or whatever else. So there are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into consideration.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: Yeah. But I'm glad that you brought that point up because there must be balance as well, right?
[00:27:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: So, so, yes, I totally agree with you. We do have the people in this society who will stick to the tv and the radio. And you know what? Some people even go back to the newspapers because there's so much information there. Right. So what we have to, what we had to do for this instance, for this conference is actually strike a balance. So, yes, we were blasting on the tv, we were blasting on social media, Facebook and so forth, and we were also on the radio. Thank you for having us again. And then we reached out to our audience in the papers. I think we had one ad and, you know, and that's how it goes. But the majority was on our website. We directed people to the website. So I like what you're saying, because what you're saying is through, we need to embrace both. We need to pull the society along so that maybe the older, the younger generations, whoever is not on board needs to get on board and needs to see the bigger picture and a more balanced point of view. Because I tell you something, for this conference, we saw the importance of having a virtual aspect to it, and we were able to offer that in the last few days of the conference, you see? Yeah, yeah. I appreciate that point. Thank you very much.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: Definitely is the way, it's the way of the future. In days gone by, you would hear the saying that not being able to use a computer one day is going to be akin to not being able to read. And I think we are there in many instances because a lot of things that you have to do online, if you can't navigate on the Internet or using a computer, you're in a lot of trouble. And there are some things that you just can't do physically. Again, there are no forms, there are no avenues for you to go and fill out a form somewhere. You have to do it online.
Some time ago, I read a book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and he is one of those persons who speak to people about creating wealth and all these kinds of things, and the rich dad, poor dad series in it, he said that you need to keep yourself updated.
You need to keep abreast of the changes that happen around you if you are to be successful in any single thing that you do. Technology, and being aware of technology and keeping abreast of technology is the very same thing, you're going to be left behind. There are businesses who are now trying to find ways to put themselves and to have a digital footprint, because that's the way of the world. You are exposed now on the Internet to a world of customers, as opposed to just people who pass and see a sign on the street.
As we end our interview, because, unfortunately, we are out of time already, I allow both of you to underscore to our listeners the importance of technology and keeping up with technology. Go right ahead.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: Dexter. Say a few words, and then I'll do the closing. Thanks.
[00:31:00] Speaker C: Great. So, with technology comes some risk, and I think proper risk assessment and continuous risk assessment is critical to ensure that your technology works and it works continuously. Whether it's, whether it's Internet related, whether it's computer type of technology, risk assessments are critical and must be done continuously, must be maintained. Systems need to be maintained. They need to be designed for redundancy, and possibly 100% redundancy, so that if plan A fields, plan b comes in and there's a seamless transfer and continuous backup and resilience in whatever the system is designed to achieve.
I think also technology like, we are using it today because we are in three different locations.
So we have embraced technology. I think the country and the world has embraced technology more and more every day.
So I think that digital platform and all of these systems that are being created, obviously, they're going to be benefits. Obviously, they're going to be some risks, and we hope that the benefits are going to far outweigh all the risks. So I look forward to continuing to use technology on a daily basis and to see our society embrace it fully.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: Thank you. And just to supplement the point, remember, we have Alexa now, right? You walk into your home, and you see Alexa put on the music. You know, you have your phone where you can control your lights, so. Yes, definitely so. But before you let us go, let me just, um. Let me just speak a little bit more on the conference and the feedback that we've been getting from our people, and we'll close out there. Is that okay?
[00:33:05] Speaker B: We just have. You just have, like, about two minutes.
[00:33:08] Speaker A: 1 minute.
[00:33:08] Speaker B: Two minutes.
[00:33:09] Speaker A: Okay. So the conference provided an excellent opportunity for engineers to connect with others in the field and to stay updated on the latest research and trends. It was valuable especially for the young engineers to be engaging with people in their problem domain, discussing challenges and seeking advice which would lead to fresh ideas and insights for their work. It offered inspiration to advance careers and stay abreast of industry development, not just for young engineers, but for others who want to pivot their way in the areas. So engineering is critical to the small island and developing states. Engineering is essential for building resilient infrastructure, including roads, bridges and buildings that can withstand natural disasters like hurricanes and rising sea levels. These solutions are vital for transit, running sids to sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind power, reducing dependence on the imported fossil fuels, and enhancing energy security, you know. So, engineers, we thank you very, very much for the few minutes that you've given us, and we hope that it's been quite, quite educational and informative to the audience.
[00:34:21] Speaker B: Definitely. So, these interviews always give us an insight into things we use and we participate in every single day, but it tells us, well, you know, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye.
And I know that we were there with the conference and we brought our listeners all the information, and we want to thank both of you for being with us here this morning. Once again, the best insight, instant feedback, accountability.
[00:34:47] Speaker A: The all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
