PROJECT

HANDBOOK
(XBTP4106)

Faculty of Science and Technology Bachelor

of Occupational Health and Safety Management with Honours

Faculty of Science and Technology

CONTENTS
Introduction

Requirements of Project XBTP 4106

Learning Outcomes ..

Suggested Areas for Study ..

Project Evaluation for Proposal and Final Report and Monitoring .

Implementation of Project XBTP4106

Starting your Project

Format of the Report

Guidelines for Preparing Project Report .

Submission of Final Report .

Guidelines for Submission of Final Report .

Appendices .
Appendix 1

10
10

Appendix 2

11

Appendix 3

13

Appendix 4

19

Appendix 5

20

Appendix 6 (a) ..

21

Appendix 6 (b) .

22

Appendix 7 ..

23

Appendix 8 ..

24

Appendix 9 ..

25

Appendix 10

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Faculty of Science and Technology

GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FIRST

DEGREE PROJECT (XBTP4106)
Introduction
It is well recognised that project paper is an important component of the first-degree
curriculum. Students are required to take the project paper towards or at the end of their
studies. Basically, a project paper aims to train students to conduct a small-scale research
activity. More importantly is to train students to search to establish a concrete problem
statement. The project also provides an avenue for students to improve their presentation
skills and gain experience in the discussion during the presentation of the findings.
The course consists of 6 credit hours and it is a compulsory course for the Bachelor of
Occupational Health and Safety Management (BOHSM) with Honours programme.

Requirements of Project XBTP4106

1. Students must obtain a CGPA of 2.00 and above before registering for this course.
rd
2. Students registering for the course must be at least in their 3 Year of study and
above can register for the Project.
3. Students must complete the project within TWO consecutive semesters. The
proposal has to be submitted in the first semester of the project work and the final
complete report in the second semester. Students who fail to submit the proposal
and final report will be given a grade F. Student should submit their progress and
final project report adhere to the deadline proposed by the faculty. Kindly refer to
MyVLE.
4. To repeat, a student needs to register for the project in the following semester.

Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
1. Identify an appropriate and manageable scope of study.
2. Identify and apply a suitable research method to conduct the project/research.
3. Demonstrate ability to connect theories they have learned with practice.
4. Integrate OSH knowledge in management discipline
5. Produce professional quality writing

The following are some guidelines to assist you in the management of your project.

Suggested Areas for Study

The scope of the first-degree project is program dependent. The project titles
cover a wide range of topics to meet the course objectives. Project topics can be
proposed by the students or the supervisors concerned. But the faculty needs to
evaluate the topics on their suitability.

Students can select any field for the project based on Table 1.
Table 1: Suggested Areas for Project Implementation
Field
1) OSH Management Systems
2) Safety and Health Programmes
3) OSH Improvement and Innovations
4) Occupational Health
5) Occupational Safety (SELECTED TITLE)
Note: Refer to Appendix 1 for the registration form of Project.

Project Evaluation for Proposal and Final Report (Project XBTP4106)

& Monitoring
In order to facilitate the monitoring of the project by the supervisor, a student will need to
communicate with his/her supervisor. This can be done through a face to face meeting or
email. Table 2 shows the marks distribution for Proposal and Final Report.
Table 2: Marks distribution for Proposal and Final Report
Chapters
%
Proposal
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Methodology
Proposal
Final Report
4. Data Analysis and Findings
5. Discussion and Recommendation
6. Mechanics of Writing
Writing style, language use
and grammatical accuracy
Overall presentation
Final Report

10
15
15
40%
25
25
10

60%

Implementation of Project XBTP4106

1. Faculty will appoint supervisor for each student based on the selected field.
2. Student will be informed of their supervisor through FST announcement.
3. The attendance of the student in the first face to face meeting with the supervisor
is COMPULSORY.
4. Students must meet to discuss their projects with their supervisors at least TWO
(2) times per semester. During any discussion, the student needs to bring along
the Students Log Book. The supervisors comments are to be recorded in the Log
Book. At the end of the meeting, the student must also get his supervisors
signature as evidence that the meeting was conducted.
5. The time, date and venue of the meeting are to be selected on the basis of a
mutual agreement between the supervisor and the student. All meetings should be
conducted at the nearest Learning Centre.
6. Project title must be discussed and agreed upon by the supervisor. If the students
are unclear about the requirements of the project, they must consult the supervisor
again or the respective programme coordinator.
7. Changing the project field must be within ONE month of the first semester and it
must be discussed and agreed upon by your supervisor. Students will be required
to fill in a form (in Appendix 7) and to submit to the faculty.
8. Supervisor will assist and guide the student to prepare the Project Proposal and
Project Final Report according to the format given by the
faculty.
9. Submission within TWO semesters
For students who are able to complete within TWO semesters by following the
deadline of submission for that particular semester, the grade will be announced
in the same semester. If students fail to complete within the stipulated time a
grade F will be given and students need to re-register the overall course/project.

Starting your Project

STEP 1: Project Title and Problem Identification
Your choice of topic should be governed by: a) your interest b) adequate resources/data
of the project c) time frame of project implementation (2 semesters) d) area/topic chosen

Faculty of Science and Technology

has previously been well researched by others (can check or refer to the recent related
online journals).
Research/project starts with a case or problem that requires a solution. This part is the
most crucial element. As a start of your project, you need to write your problem
statement. Problems of a research/project can be identified by: a) reading newspaper,
from television, radio on the current issues related to your chosen field b) browsing
through recent journals through OUM digital library, magazines or books c) having a
discussion or communication with your employer, colleagues on issues related to your
work d) field observation.
Introduction gives a brief overview of the topics or subject area research that you have
chosen. It can include the problems with past research/project and the current research
aims to identify or solve the problems. You need to justify the importance of your
project/research in this part. In short, your introduction should have the following item
(Ahmad, 2001):

Historical development and current importance

Main purpose of the research

STEP 2: Literature Review
You can start your literature survey by browsing the online journal on your chosen topic.
Literature review contains cited articles or books related to your topic. The articles should
be arranged in such a way that you can build up your cases in a smooth manner and
connecting from one article to another. A literature review should demonstrate the
background theories of your topic, should identify the strengths and weaknesses of
previous research. You should be writing a critical evaluation of what other people have
done on the same area/topic that you have chosen.
For more information on writing a literature review, you can browse the url below:
http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/literature
STEP3: Research Methodology
Research/project methodology focuses on the details of the instruments that are suitable
to be used for the data for the project. For example, you may want to use questionnaires,
observation or interviews depending on what type of research you have chosen either
quantitative or qualitative and also on the research is all about. Your methodology should
contain your research/project design.

Faculty of Science and Technology

STEP 4:Data analysis and Findings

As you reach to this point of your project, usually you can start off by checking your
data, briefly describe the analyses used. For example, using statistical method such as
descriptive statistics, i.e. frequencies, means, standard deviation etc. Data presentation
can be in the form of graphs or tables and should be numbered accordingly. Your raw
data or any software output can be inserted in the appendices.
STEP 5: Discussion and Recommendation
This is an important section and it demonstrates your ability to integrate the results from
previous chapter. It should also include implication of the results and recommendations
for future work to be carried out where appropriate. Limitations of your study (small
sample size, limited number of companies or occupations etc.) can also be mentioned
here.
STEP 6: Writing your Abstract
An abstract is a self-contained, short summary describing the contents of the paper which
enables a reader to understand the result and the application of the study. Components
vary according to discipline; it should contain the scope, purpose, methodology and
results of the work. An example of an abstract as in Appendix 9.

Format of the Report

The report must be prepared to a professional standard. Below is the brief description of
the items:

Title Page

Table of Content
Listing all the chapters, sub-topics and page number

List of illustrations

List of photographic plates, if any

Acknowledgement
Refer to sample in Appendix 6

Faculty of Science and Technology

Declaration
Refer to sample in Appendix 5

Abstract

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Research/Project Methodology

** Proposal Submission
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Findings
This chapter can be broken down into more than a chapter depending on your
length of results and discussion.

Chapter 5: Discussions and Recommendation

Bibliography
Information obtained from books or journals must be referred to in the text by a
reference number.
It is recommended to use APA (American Psychological Association) citation
style. Please refer to the url below:
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm

Appendices
Data, charts, diagrams or illustrations that is relevant to the report that was not
inserted into the body of the report.

** Final Report Submission (Chapter 1 to 5)

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

Guidelines for preparing Project Report

It is very important for students to follow carefully the guidelines for preparing the
report.
The following items are to be observed in preparing the project report:
a. Number of pages:
Content of approximately 40 pages (about 20 30 pages for Proposal and
10 pages for Final Report).
b. Page set up:
Set the page margins with an offset of 1 inch (or 2.5 cm) from the top,
bottom, left and right. All text, figures and tables must be within this area.
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Faculty of Science and Technology

c. Paper size:
Use only A4 size white paper. The report should be printed on one side of
the paper.
d. Font type:
Times New Roman, size 12
Line spacing:
1.5 spacing between lines and triple spacing between paragraphs.
e. Front cover:
Hard cover, color: blue (OUM corporate color)
f. Numbering format for headings:
The sections and sub-section in the report must follow the numbering
format below:
1.0
Main heading
1.1
Secondary heading
1.1.1 Third grade heading..and etc.
g. Illustrations:
All the charts and diagrams may be hand or computer drawn and must be
properly inserted at the relevant sections of the report.
h. References:
The source of information or references should be placed at the end of the
report in numbered order. Please use the APA writing style for your
references.

Submission of Final Report

Student must submit their final report to the supervisor according to the schedule
date given by the faculty. Please check the dates under the faculty announcement
in MyVLE.

Failing to submit the final report on time (as per the schedule), zero marks will be
awarded for the whole course.

Guidelines for submission of Final Report

a)

ONE copy of printed report with Soft cover binding to the supervisor.
Forms to be submitted:
Project Proposal Evaluation form (Appendix 2)
Project Final Report Evaluation form (Appendix 3)
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Faculty of Science and Technology

b)

Confirmation Form of receiving Project Proposal (Appendix 4) and

Project final report (Appendix 5).

ONE copy of printed final report with Hard cover binding (COLOUR:
BLUE, OUM CORPORATE COLOUR) and ONE soft copy (CD and
casing) to the Learning Center (LC). Please write the following on the CD
casing:
Name
Matric No
Programme
Learning Centre
Project Title
Supervisors Name

Format for the cover page and side page samples, please refer Appendix 6(a) and
Appendix 6(b).
Sample of Declaration Page in Appendix 7
Sample of Acknowledgement in Appendix 8
Sample of Abstract in Appendix 9
Sample of Change of Project Field in Appendix 10

Appendix 1
REGISTRATION FORM: PROJECT (XBTP4106)
Bachelor of Occupational Health and Safety Management with Honours

Date
Student Name
Matric No
Learning Center

Postal Address

Contact Number

1/8/2016
NACHIMUTHU A/L PERUMAL

590330086023001
SRI RAMPAI LEARNING CENTRE
44, JALAN SG 9/26,
TAMAN SRI GOMBAK,
68100 BATU CAVES,
SELANGOR.

(House):
(Office):
(Handphone):
[Email]:

03 61897976
03 26176000
0193884512
p.nachi@yahoo.com

Please tick ( X ) for the selection of the project field below:

1. OSH Management Systems
Proposed Project
Field

2. Safety and Health Programmes

3. OSH Improvement and Innovations
4. Occupational Health
5. Occupational Safety

* to be completed by the faculty

Supervisors Name

Note: Please fill in the form and fax to 03-5510 3977. For any inquiries, please email at
amalia_fadhlina@oum.edu.my.

10
10

Appendix 2
Evaluation Form (Proposal)
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (FST)
Student
Name:
Matric No:
Project Title:
Learning
Center:
Supervisors
Name:
Contact No:
Email:

Mark

Code

Project Introduction, Background and Problem Statement (5%)

_/5

Faculty of Science and Technology

Supervisors Comments

Research Objectives, Questions/hypothesis (5%)

_/5

Supervisors Comments

Literature Review (15%)

_ / 15

Supervisors Comments

Methodology (15%)

_ / 15

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Faculty of Science and Technology

Supervisors comments

TOTAL MARK

_ / 40

Student Signature:
Supervisor Signature:
Date:

Appendix 3
Evaluation Form (Final Report)
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (FST)

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Faculty of Science and Technology

Student
Name:
Matric No:
Project
Title:
Learning
Center:
Supervisors
Name:
Contact No:
Email:

Data Analysis and Results (25%)

_ / 25

Supervisors Comments

Findings and Discussion (25%)

_ / 25

Supervisors Comments

Writing style, Language use and grammatical accuracy (5%)

14

_/5

Faculty of Science and Technology

Supervisors Comments

Overall Presentation(5%)

_/5

Supervisors Comments

TOTAL MARK

Student Signature:
Supervisor Signature:
Date:

15

_ / 60

Faculty of Science and Technology

Assessment Rubric for Project

Dimension
(A)
Project
Introduction,
Background and
Problem Statement

Allocation of Marks
1
Very brief project introduction.

Good project introduction.

Background information somewhat

Background information is relevant

relevant but does not provide a

clear lead-in to the research
problem.

Problem statement not articulated

clearly and hardly
supported/justified by theory and/or
past research.

(B)
Research
Objectives and
Questions/
hypotheses

24

and provides a clear lead-in to

research problem.

Problem statement articulated

clearly but only fairly.
Supported/justified by theory and/or
past research.

1
Research Objectives and
Questions/hypotheses are not
focused.
Hardly provide any direction for
measuring relationship between
variables.
Hardly any alignment between
research objectives, questions
and/or hypotheses.

2-4
Research Objectives and

Questions/hypotheses are focused.

Provide some direction for
measuring relationship between
variables.
Some degree of alignment between
research objectives, questions
and/or research hypotheses.

16

5
Good project introduction with

supportive evidence and substance.

Background information is very

relevant and provides a very clear
lead-in to the research problem.

Problem statement articulated very

clearly & well. Supported/justified
by theory and/or past research.

5
Research Objectives and

Questions/hypotheses are highly

focused.
Provide very clear direction for
measuring relationship between
variables.
Total alignment between research
objectives, questions and/or
hypotheses.

Faculty of Science and Technology

1- 5
(C)
Literature Review

(D)
Methodology

The number of empirical studies

being reviewed is inadequate.

Articles reviewed are out dated and
hardly relevant to the focus of the
study.
Hardly any critical analyses of
theory and/or past research
The review indicates little
understanding of the research topic.

6 10

11 15

The number of empirical studies

The number of empirical studies

being reviewed is adequate.
being reviewed is more than
Articles reviewed are relevant to the
adequate.
focus of the study but somewhat out Articles reviewed are current and
dated.
very relevant to the focus of the
Some critical analyses of theory
study.
and/or past research.
Ample evidence of critical analyses
The review indicates fairly good
of theory and past research.
understanding of the research topic. The review indicates very good
understanding of the research topic.

2-4

Somewhat appropriate research

Appropriate research design that

Very appropriate research design

design that is capable of addressing

only some of the research
questions.
Rather vague description of the
research sample, sampling
techniques and data collection
procedures.
Justifications for the use of the
methodology are not presented and
discussed.

capable of addressing most of the

research questions.
Clear description of the research
sample, sampling techniques, data
collection procedures and methods
of data analysis.
Justifications for the use of the
methodology are presented but not
adequately discussed.

that is capable of addressing all the

research questions.
Very clear description of the
research sample, sampling
techniques, data collection
procedures and methods of data
analysis.
Justifications for the use of the
methodology are presented and
adequately discussed.

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Faculty of Science and Technology

(E)

18

9 17

18 25

Data Analysis &

Results

Results are somewhat inaccurate or

Results are presented correctly but

Results are presented correctly with

(F)

18

Findings &
Discussion

incompletely presented.
Data analyses are appropriate but
inadequate to address all the
research questions.

The discussion may be incomplete

or partially/not clearly connected to
the results. The connection with
other sections is vague.
The findings presented are mere
repetitions of the results without
appropriate interpretation.
Implications, recommendations and
directions for future research are
not drawn from the research
findings.
Limitations of the study are
irrelevant.

the interpretation, though accurate,

is brief.
Data analyses are appropriate but
only adequate to some of the
research questions.

accurate and detailed interpretation.

Data analyses are appropriate,
extensive and sophisticated, and are
adequate to address all the research
questions.

9 - 17

18 - 25

The discussion soundly interprets

findings and is connected with
the findings and is carefully
connected with other sections of
other sections of the report such as
the background, problem statement,
the report such as the background,
research questions, instruments and
problem statement, research
results.
questions, instruments and results.
The findings are either superficially The findings are judiciously
discussed or not discussed in
discussed in relation to theory and
relation to theory and findings of
findings of past studies cited in
past studies cited in literature
literature review.
review.
Implications, recommendations and
Implications, recommendations and
directions for future research are
directions for future research are
carefully drawn from the research
drawn from the research findings.
findings.
Limitations of the study are relevant Limitations of the study are
and adequately described.
relevant and extensively described.
The discussion interprets the

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Faculty of Science and Technology

(G) Writing

Style,
Writing style and language use are not
Language Use
apt for academic writing.
& grammatical Many grammatical errors that impede
accuracy
communication.

(H)
Overall
Presentation

24

Writing style and language use are

Writing style the standard language

apt for academic writing.

Some grammatical errors that
impede communication.

1
The abstract is missing, incomplete or
inaccurate.

The presentation format including the

graphics is at a minimum level of
acceptability, though at times messy and
confusing.

Citations are rather incomplete or

inaccurate and provide little avenue to
check the validity of the information
gathered.

Organisation of the chapters are lacks in

use are very apt for academic

writing.
Hardly any grammatical errors that
impede communication.

2-4

The abstract summarizes the study

by mere lifting key sentences from

the final project report.

The abstract concisely

summarizes the study.

The presentation format including

the graphics demonstrates
authors attention to detail,
neatness and care.

All sources are cited accurately to

demonstrate the credibility of the
information presented.

Chapters are well organised with

logical sequencing. Ideas are
clearly developed with adequate
support.

The presentation format including

the graphics is acceptable.

Most sources are cited in a proper

format to enable accuracy checking.

Chapters are somewhat loosely

organised but the main sections still
stand out. Ideas are clearly stated
but at times not clearly developed.

logical sequencing and ideas are not

clearly developed.

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of Science and Technology

Appendix 4

Faculty

CONFIRMATION FORM OF RECEIVING PROJECT PROPOSAL

INSTRUCTIONS
1. This form must be filled by student when submitting the Proposal to respective
supervisor/administrator.
2. All the information given must be true and correct.
STUDENT NAME

MATRIC NO.

PROGRAMME
NO. TEL

:
:

SUPERVISOR NAME

E-MAIL

PROJECT TITLE

I declare that I have received the students Project Proposal:

1 copy Proposal report (soft cover binding).
Students Signature
Date :

Supervisors/Administrators Signature
Name :
Date :

--------

-----Students copy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONFIRMATION OF RECEIVING PROJECT PROPOSAL

Student Name

Matric No

I declare that I have received the students Project Proposal:

1 copy Proposal report (soft cover binding).
Supervisors / Administrators Signature
Name :
Date :

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of Science and Technology

Faculty

Appendix 5

CONFIRMATION FORM OF RECEIVING PROJECT FINAL REPORT

INSTRUCTIONS
This form must be filled by student when submitting the Project final report to respective
supervisor/administrator.
2. All the information given must be true and correct.
1.

STUDENT NAME

MATRIC NO.

PROGRAMME

NO. TEL

E-MAIL

SUPERVISOR NAME:
PROJECT TITLE

I declare that I have received the students Project final report:

*Please tick ( ) to select one of the following:
1 copy Project final report (soft cover binding)
1 copy Project final report (hard cover binding)
1 softcopy (CD)
Student Log Book
Students Signature
Date :
--------

Supervisors/Administrators Signature
Name :
Date:

----Students copy -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONFIRMATION OF RECEIVING PROJECT FINAL REPORT

Student Name :
Matric No

I declare that I have received the students Project final report:

1 copy Project final report (soft cover binding)
1 copy Project final report (hard cover binding)
1 softcopy (CD)
Student Log Book
Supervisors / Administrators Signature
Name :
Date :

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Faculty of Science and Technology

Appendix 6 (a)
COVER PAGE (HARD COVER / SOFT COVER)

EVALUATION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (OSH)

PERFORMANCE IN THE ORGANISATION
(NOTE: PROJECT FULL TITTLE)

SUHAILA BINTI ABDUL HAMID

(NOTE:NAME AS STATED IN IC)

FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
2013
(NOTE: THESIS SUBMISSION DATE (YEAR ONLY))
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Faculty of Science and Technology

Appendix 6(b)
SIDE PAGE (HARD COVER)
O
U
M
S
U
H
AI
L
A
BI
N
TI
A
B
D
U
L
H
A
M
ID
B
A
C
H.
O
F
O
H
20
13

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Faculty of Science and Technology

Appendix 7
Declaration
I declare that this project report entitled XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is the result of my
own work except ascited in the references. The project report has not been accepted for
any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature:
Name: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Matric Number: XXXXXXXXXXXX001
Date: XXXXXXXXXX (Date of Submission to Supervisor)

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Faculty of Science and Technology

Appendix 8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and

appreciation to my supervisor, XXXXXXXXXXXXX guidance, patience and
invaluable advice throughout this project.

I also would like to express my appreciation to my family and friends for

their endless support whenever I face problems. Without the mentioned parties, it
is impossible for me to complete this project report successfully.

THANK YOU.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (STUDENT NAME)

Feb, 2013 (MONTH, DATE OF COMPLETION)

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Faculty of Science and Technology

EXAMPLE OF AN ABSTRACT

Appendix 9

The project will implement a multi-agency, public-private effort to create safe visitor
access, rehabilitate existing recourse damage, and reconstruct trails in a premier, heavilyused, rock climbing and hiking area located within a quarter-mile of the Peter Norbeck
Scenic Byway (State Highway 244).
Located within close proximity to the byway, nationally designated for its scenic
qualities, the Wrinkled Rock Climbing Area provides byway travelers ready access to
recreational opportunities to take in the scenic beauty of the area by providing access to a
variety of climbing and easy hiking opportunities to view amazing rock formations and
beautiful scenery. To enhance the byway traveler experience, this project will a) improve
vehicle-pedestrian highway safety; b) provide for hiker and rock climber safety and
education; c) provide for natural resource protection/rehabilitation/education; and d)
provide a unique get out of the car and walk byway experience. This includes the
provision of an off-highway, family-safe, parking facility from the byway that serves as a
trailhead to the climbing and hiking area, and the development and dissemination of
consistent resource protection and education messages from all partners across agency
boundaries.
This project benefits the byway traveler by providing safe, stable, hiking trail
opportunities free of visible natural resource damage that wind between towering
rock formations and large diameter ponderosa pine trees, provides opportunities to view
or climb alongside rock climbers practicing their sport, catch a glimpse of local wildlife,
and foster appreciation for and stewardship of the byways resources.
This is a good example because it:
Is simple and well-focused
Summarises specifically what the project will do
Establishes a clear relationship to the byway and its intrinsic qualities
Describes what the benefit to the byway traveler will be
Provides a clear description of how the project will connect the byway traveler
from the byway to the recreation

26
26

Appendix 10
CHANGE OF PROJECT FIELD: PROJECT (XBTP4106)
Bachelor of Occupational Health and Safety Management with Honours

Date
Student Name
Programme
Matric No
Learning Center
Postal Address

Contact Number

(House):
(Office):
(Handphone):
[email]:

Old Project Field &

Title

New Project Field

Reason
Students Signature:

Date:

Supervisors Approval
---------------------------

Name:
Date:

Facultys Approval
------------------------------------

Dean/Programme Coordinator
Date:

Note: Please fill in the form and fax to 03-5510 3977. For any inquiries, please email at
amalia_fadhlina@oum.edu.my.