Industrial Training Day 4 & 5

DAY 4 - 8 April 2010
It's was a very quiet day today. All the supervisors and the project team had meetings to attend to. Firstly, it was with the JKR people. Then later that evening they had a coordinators meeting. So basically I was left on my own. After going through some drawings and plans, I decided that since I had nothing else to do, I'd start on my report. Well, at the end of the day, I manage to finish 2 parts of the report. So at least I did get something done for the day.

DAY 5 - 9 April 2010
I accompanied the M & E engineer along with the mechanical consultant to the site for inspection and testing. But before I go on, although I'm majoring in electrical engineering, the work here also includes mechanical aspects. Therefore, throughout my internship here, not only will I be exposed to the electrical aspects of construction, but at the same time exposed also to the mechanical side of it as well. So for today, the inspection done was mainly on the sanitary plumbing system. As can be seen below, the M & E engineer goes along with the consultant to inspect the work done before further work is carried out.

After the inspection was done, they carried of the testings. The first test was the leakage test. Basically, it's to check if there are any leakage within the pipe itself. One end of the pipe is blocked. Water is then poured into the pipe until it's filled up. The water level is then marked. After about 2 hours, the water level is checked again to see if there is any decrease. If there is not, then the pipe has passed the test. If there is a decrease in water level, then further inspection needs to be carried out to determine where the leakage is.


The second test carried out was the flow test. Its purpose is to make sure that there is a steady flow in the pipes that lead out into the manhole via the gully trap. For this test, water is poured into one end and the flow is monitored at the other end.

Industrial Training Day 1 - 3

I know I've been a bit late in updating my blog with regards to my training. To be honest, I'm not really into blogging. But have to do it anyway, at least for the next 3 months till the end of my internship. So anyway, here are my updates on my IT so far.



DAY 1. It was a pretty easy day for me. Reported for duty at the project site. Met up with En Rashidi, the Civil & Structural Engineer since the Project Engineer was on leave that day. I was then brought to the office where I was introduced to the QA/QC officer, Ms Leena and there after shown my work desk. Not to bad since I have my own work desk. Like I said, first day was pretty easy, not much work to do. I just found out about the project and the particulars of the company and the people-in-charge.



DAY 2. Second day was more interesting then the previous day. I met up with the M & E Engineering, En Khairul who will be my supervisor here. He gave me a more detailed briefing about the project and the electrical works that are being carried out. Later that day, I went to have a look at the site accompanied by En. Khairul. Just before the day ended, I was able to meet up with the Project Manager, Mr. Eric Tan to discuss matters with regards to my internship here.


The pics above are actually the earthing works being carried out at the site.

This is called a riser, where the electrical cables to the building go.

DAY 3. Didn't do much outside at the site today. Did more of office work. Examine new electrical plans that were brought in from HQ.

Into The Unknown with Adrian Silvester : Industrial Traning @ Kuala Rompin, Pahang

Tomorow I shall begin my 3 month stint of industrail training under Mudajaya Corporation. The project here is the build a hospital to cater the health needs of the rakyat in this area.

The town of Kuala Rompin is about 22km from the Johor border town of Endau or approximately 45 minutes from Mersing. From JB, it's approximately 200km through the old and winding road. The journey from JB on that single carrige road takes about 3 to 4 hours at times. I however, manage to get here in 2 and half hours. I myself have no idea how come it took so fast to reach when my previous trip took near 3 and a half hours. It's a small town, more of a kampung area. No tall buidings or any big shopping complex in the area. It lies along the Mersing-Kuantan road. And since it's not a highway, with no street lights like on the highways, the roads tend to be rather quiet at night. Even now at 8pm, the town has become rather quiet. Unlike Kajang or JB. Broadband in this area doesn't have much coverage. Thankfully I was able to find a cyber-cafe so that I can kep up with the happennings around the world.

On the bright side, the beach is very close to where I'm staying. And the Endau-Rompin National Park is about 30 minutes drive away. Plus the jetty Pulau Tioman is perhaps around 45 minutes south from where I am. I haven't ventured to these places yet, but hopefully in the coming weeks, I will get the opportunity to do some exploring.

My training starts tomorrow morning. Am not sure what exactly I'll be doing. So will have to see what's in store for me for the next 3 months when I meet with the people there in the morning.

So until next time, I'll sign out now.

Sir Adrian

A Legitimate Way of Protest but...

In light of the recent Gaza crisis which is still ranging on, certain quarters in Malaysia have come out to voice and show their support for Palestine. Before I go any further in this article, let me stress that I am not in favour of any forms of aggression by any country to solve their problems. Any differences between civilised countries should be settled through diplomatic negotiations and not through bombs and military action. As such, I do not support Israel's military campaign on Gaza, nor do I support Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. I do not and will not support any war no matter in which part of the world.



Coming back to my point. One of the ways Malaysians have come out to protest against this uncivilised problem solving method is to call for a boycott on all Israeli and American products. Take note of the word all as that will be one of my key points of argument. One notable university in central West Malaysia through a well-known club also did their part in organising a boycott. Flyers were passed around and a campaign to boycott Israeli products and products of its allies was held during the week. However, though I complement them on their efforts, what struck me most was the companies and products that they were asking us to boycott:

If you look carefully at the cut-out of the flyer above, you'd notice some familiar products. Apart from the well-known products like McD, KFC, Coke and Pepsi, do you notice other popular companies like Intel, IBM, 20th Century Fox, CNN and Nestle? Now, I'm not saying that doing a boycott is wrong. Boycotting is a legitimate way of protest. But what I'm saying is that we should be mindfull of the products or companies that we choose to boycott. What do I mean?

Take Intel as an example. This club is calling for a boycott of Intel. Do you think thats a wise idea? For one, Intel is a major investor in Malaysia. Two, the majority of laptops and computers use the Intel microchip. Three, a number of students studying in that university are under Intel scholarships. Heck, I know of one who went to sign the scholarship contract last Friday. So by calling for a boycott, they are telling us not to purchase or use anything affiliated with Intel. That would mean not using our laptops/computers (we have to change to AMD) and students giving up scholarships. Do you think Intel will say "Oh no, Malaysians are boycotting us. We have do something to avoid the boycotting, if not we'll lose business and have to close down"? In my view, all Intel will say is "Boycott us? Its up to them. Worse come to worst, we'll just bungkus our company here, take out all our investments from Malaysia, and dump it in another country. Whats the big deal?" And who are the ones that will be affected? If Intel closes down, it will be the employees that will suffer, our own people will lose their jobs.

Remember I said "all American products"? Well, one such product we are called to boycott are the golden arches, McD. Amazingly, I went to one a few days ago, and guess what, they still had quite a number of customers. Think about it. If everyone in Malaysia were to boycott McD, do you think McD will suffer big time? The true people who will suffer are those whose lifes depend on having a job at McD. Take away McD, you take away their income, food and means to support their family.

Refering to the cut-out above, if we were to really follow the boycott, we wont be using our laptops, no Levi's jeans, no Kotex and no Maggi mee. There'll also be no movies because among the boycott products are 20th Century Fox and Disney. And we can't drink Milo since we're suppose to boycott Nestle. Oh yes, those of you who use Nokia handphones, find the nearest trash can and put it in there. And one more, if you're an Arsenal supporter, better look for another club to support my friend. Because you're to boycott Arsenal since they are promoting Israel as their number one tourist destination.

One of my friends even made a joke about this boycott. As above, one of the products that they are asking to boycott is Kotex. Well, then what are women going to use? He suggested that they use diapers. Then, they can use it as a 3 in 1, to urinated, pass-motion and monthly period. Just a joke ok. No hard feelings.

I'm not saying that by not adhearing to this boycott, I'm supporting Israel. I condemn what Israel is doing. But what I'm saying is that we should choose wisely what to boycott. Although we don't depend on products like Coke and Kit-Kat for our lives, a lot of companies that are associated with the US have big local investors and a large number of local employees. If I have to choose between boycotting to show my support for the Palestinians but cause local businesses to close down, or not boycott certain products and allow locals to sustain a living, I choose the latter.

My prayers and sympathy's are with all in the Middle-east, Israeli and Palestinian. I pray that this brutal, barbaric and uncivilised actions will stop and that they will experience peace once and for all. One way that we, here in Malaysia and other countries, can help is to pray, donate if we want to and be in solidarity with them regardless of race and religion. Boycott if we want to, protest if we want to, speak out if we want to but in everything we do, be sure that it does not jeopardise our own lives here.

Peace to all.

Sir Adrian, over and out.