UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT

CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

H.T. SHAMEERA WIJESOORIYA

08/08/14

ACCESS ENGINEERING PLC

Access Towers

278 Union Place,

Colombo 02,

Sri Lanka

Work Period

09.12.2013 – 01.02.2014

Executive Summary This report details the skills and experience I gathered during my time working as an intern at Access

Engineering. As an intern I was appointed as a Junior Engineer at the Rehabilitation of Labugama and

Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant Project. The project was designed to rehabilitate two essential but

deteriorating water purification infrastructures. During this internship I was able to apply my learnt

academic knowledge in practical situations as well as gather a vast array of methods and processes that

was only possible to be learnt through working on site. It was a gateway towards becoming a

professional civil engineer.

Acknowledgements I would like to convey my deepest gratitude for Mr. Palitha Wanigasundara who is the General Manager

at Access Engineering for giving me the opportunity to work as an intern at the Rehabilitation of

Labugama & Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant Project.

Furthermore I would like to express my valued appreciation to Mr. Saman Abeykoon who was the

Construction Manager at the project site. His invaluable guidance throughout the internship was

instrumental to my personal development and understanding of the field.

I would also like to thank all the other engineers, administration staff, technical staff, co-workers, client

representatives, sub-contractors and workmen for all of their support and cooperation. I would

especially like to appreciate the encouragement and assistance given to me by Mr. Prageeth

Arambegedara, Mr. Chathura Senadeera and Mr. Pathum Liyanage. Their counsel vastly helped me to

attain a variety of skills and expertise which has guided me to become a proficient engineer.

Finally I would like to thank all my lecturers and tutoring staff at the University of Auckland for providing

me with the knowledge and proficiency to conduct myself diligently at the workplace.

H.T. Shameera Wijesooriya

Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering,

University of Auckland,

Auckland.

Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1

Background ................................................................................................................................................... 2

Project Briefing ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Organisation Structure .................................................................................................................................. 4

Location ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

Site Layout ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

Scope of Works ............................................................................................................................................. 7

Personal Responsibilities ............................................................................................................................ 11

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 13

Table of Figures

Figure 1 - Location of Labugama Water Treatment Plant ............................................................................ 5

Figure 2 - Location of Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant ......................................................................... 6

Figure 3 - Site layout of Labugama reservoir and water treatment plant .................................................... 6

Figure 4 - Site layout of Kalatuwawa reservoir and water treatment plant ................................................. 7

Figure 5 - Labugama Reservoir ...................................................................................................................... 8

Figure 6 - Labugama Water Treatment Plant ............................................................................................... 9

Figure 7 - Kalatuwawa Reservoir and Dam ................................................................................................... 9

Figure 8 - Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant .......................................................................................... 10

Figure 9 - Labugama Access Bridge ............................................................................................................. 11

Figure 10 - External Audit closing ............................................................................................................... 12

Page 1 of 13

Introduction Access Engineering PLC is one of the pioneering engineering firms in Sri Lanka. The company was

established in 2001 as a subsidiary of the Access Group as its endeavour to enter the construction field.

It initially catered to the niche market for providing turnkey engineering services for gabion related

structures. Having established itself in this market the company expanded to providing engineering

solutions for a multitude of different sectors in Sri Lanka. The company has developed its expertise to

engage in works related to civil construction, electrical engineering, infrastructure development, marine

works, irrigation, land drainage, telecommunications and much more.

The Institute for Construction Training and Development (ICTAD) in Sri Lanka has awarded Access

Engineering with the highest possible national grade C-1 for the majority of its civil operations. This

grade provided by the ICTAD evaluates the financial capability, technical ability of staff, plant and

machinery, and expertise gained in relevant fields.

Out of the numerous projects that Access Engineering was undertaking, I was assigned to the

Rehabilitation of Labugama & Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant Project. The site was located in the

remote towns of Labugama and Kalatuwawa which are situated approximately 45 kilometres from

Colombo. When I was assigned to the project, the project was at its infancy. This was advantageous to

my experience gained as it would give me an insight into the operations in the early stages of a project.

The project was initiated through negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Hungarian

Export – Import Bank Pvt Ltd Company (Hungarian Exim Bank). Through the negotiations the Hungarian

Exim Bank agreed to provide financial assistance of 35 million Euros for use of rehabilitating the

deteriorating Labugama and Kalatuwawa water treatment plants. The project was negotiated to be of a

turnkey contractual architecture where the Water Works of Budapest PLC (Fovarosi Vizmuvek ZRT) was

nominated as the main contractor. Access Engineering was awarded the contract to be their local

partner to carry out the civil works of this project. The mechanical and electrical components of this

project were to be carried out by the Hungary based Betonút Service Provider and Construction PLC. The

National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) of Sri Lanka was in charge of completing this

project by the end of 2016 under the supervision of the Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage.

Background With the colonization of Sri Lanka by foreign nations, the dynamic of the local economy was rapidly

transformed. Sri Lanka had a village based agricultural economy, where local produce was just enough

to satisfy the needs of the local community. But with the colonization large scale export became the

main priority of the economy. In order to fulfil this objective large scale infrastructure projects were

implemented and the local communities of Sri Lanka slowly became acquainted with urbanisation.

What used to be a city mainly engaged with fisheries, cinnamon farming and small scale trade quickly

transformed into a commercial metropolis. Because of the strategic location of Colombo commercial

trade blossomed and the infrastructure was developed in order to sustain the growing population. The

Colombo district currently boasts of a population of over 2.3 million residents and a population growth

rate of 2.42%. The demand for potable water is steadily increasing with the rising population. People of

Colombo used water wells in the past to satisfy their water needs. But with the rapid urbanisation and

industrialisation of the area, sufficient land space and uncontaminated groundwater has been hard to

come by for the general population. Therefore it is essential that there demands are met through water

bearing pipes.

As the Government of Sri Lanka it is their responsibility to maintain an adequate supply to meet the

demands population of the people. In order to increase the supply of drinkable water and to maintain

Sri Lankan Standards for water quality new upgrades and new water sources need to be harnessed.

Under this development plan, the Labugama and Kalatuwawa water treatment plants were chosen to be

upgraded. The two water treatment plants account for over 25% of the water demand for the Colombo

city and its suburbs.

The Labugama Water Treatment Plant being the oldest treatment plant in Sri Lanka was built in 1886

under the suggestion of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII under the British colonial era. The

treatment plant was the incorporated into the Municipal Government in 1905 and then transferred

ownership to the NWSDB in 1978. It was Sri Lanka’s first water treatment plant and was an exemplary

showcase of engineering at the time of construction. The plant started to use chemicals and chlorine in

its treatment process in 1912 making Labugama a complete purification and filtering facility. It has been

in operation for nearly 130 years and even though its capacity has reduced, it is still functional. It was

designed to have a nominal production of 60,000 m3 per day, but at its current state is only able to

produce an output of 40,000 m3 per day.

The Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant was built in 1954 with the objective of providing the people of

Colombo clean drinking water. The Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant is a pristine work of engineering.

It has served the people of Sri Lanka for 60 years and is still capable of putting out a noteworthy output.

The Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant was designed to have a nominal production of 90,000 m3 per

day, but with its extensive years of service its capacity has diminished to a nominal output of 70,000 m3

per day. It is not just the capacity that has been affected over time. Rehabilitation works were once

carried out with Japanese assistance from 1985 to 1986, but the plant has gone through some wear

once more and is in need of repairs.

In both plants the working conditions and general cleanliness have deteriorated without sufficient funds

for maintenance. The technology utilised at the treatment plant is also outdated. The network of valves

and gates that divert the water flow has to be controlled manually. The treatment plant also uses a

laboratory testing as its means of monitoring the water quality as opposed to an automated system.

These factors make the daily operation of the facility tedious and costly. This rehabilitation project

intends to address all of these current problems the water treatment plant is facing.

Project Briefing Project : Rehabilitation of Labugama and Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plants

Location : Labugama and Kalatuwawa Reservoirs, Sri Lanka

Client : National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB)

Main Contractor : Water Works of Budapest PLC (Fovarosi Vizmuvek ZRT)

Civil Partner : Access Engineering PLC

Mechanical & Electrical Partner : Betonút Service Provider and Construction PLC

Project Commencement : October 21, 2013

Project Completion : October 21, 2016

Duration of Project : 3 years

Project Value : 35 Million Euros

Contract Structure : Turnkey

Organisation Structure

REH

AB

ILIT

ATI

ON

OF

KA

LATU

WA

WA

LA

BU

GA

MA

TR

ETM

ENT

PLA

NTS

PR

OJE

CT IN

TER

NA

L A

CC

ESS

ENG

INEE

RIN

G O

RG

AN

ISA

TIO

N C

HA

RT

Pro

ject

Man

age

r

Mr.

Dh

an

ushk

a M

una

sinh

e

Con

stru

ctio

n M

anag

er

Mr.

Sa

ma

n A

bey

koo

n

Site

En

gin

ee

r(L

abu

gam

a)

Mrs

. N

.TSa

lwat

hu

ra

Pla

nn

ing

Engi

ne

er

Mr.

Ch

atu

raSe

nad

eera

Surv

eyo

r

Saft

y O

ffic

er

Mr,

Ko

dik

ara

Acc

ess

De

sign

Te

am

Staf

f

Tech

nic

al O

ffic

er

Mr.

Ba

thiy

a H

era

th

Ad

min

/ P

urc

has

ing

Mis

s. R

aja

ma

nth

ri

Acc

ou

nta

nt

Mr.

Nu

wa

n N

issa

nka

Tech

nic

al O

ffic

er

Mr.

Pa

thu

m L

iyan

age

Qu

anti

ty S

urv

eyo

r

Mr,

Ru

wa

n B

an

da

ra

Pro

ject

En

gin

ee

r

Mr.

Ma

no

j Ja

yara

thn

a

Ass

t Q

uan

tity

Su

rve

yor

Mr.

Ch

an

aka

Her

ath

Mac

h

Co

ord

inat

or

Mr.

T. G

un

asek

ara

Tech

nic

al O

ffic

er

Mr

Ch

am

ind

ha

Tech

nic

al O

ffic

er

Sto

re K

ee

pe

r

Mr.

Bir

ty D

e S

ilva

Dra

ftsm

anA

sst

Acc

ou

nta

nt

Mrs

.A. W

ikra

mag

e

HR

Cla

rk

Mis

s. D

. Ma

du

wa

nth

i

Pu

rch

asin

g C

lark

Mr.

T.M

.K.S

Thila

kara

tha

Ass

t Q

A/Q

C

Mr.

Pra

gee

th N

alak

a

Sup

erv

iso

rSu

pe

rvis

or

Ass

t St

ore

K

ee

pe

rSu

pe

rvis

or

Sup

erv

iso

rSu

pe

rvis

or

Sup

erv

iso

rSu

pe

rvis

or

Sup

erv

iso

r

SAP

Imp

lim

en

tati

on

En

gin

ee

r

Mr,

Isu

ru P

erer

a

Trai

ne

e Q

S

Mis

s,P

uw

akp

itiy

a

Location The Labugama and Kalatuwawa water treatment plants and reservoirs are situated in the Colombo

district in the Labugama city. It is situated approximately 40 km from the city of Colombo. The reservoirs

are strategically located in the western province. One of its key features being that it is in a close vicinity

to the Greater Colombo region. The main advantage the treatment plant receives from this close

proximity is the ability to construct an efficient distribution lines. When the length of water distribution

is increased, costs associated with pipe laying and maintenance also increases proportionally. Therefore

much credit has to be given for the discovery of both the Kalatuwawa and Labugama catchment areas

which has a catchment that provides a suitable grade of raw water.

Much of the coastal area of Sri Lanka is of low elevation, therefore the altitude of the reservoirs and

treatment plants has led to a more sustainable process of water purification and distribution. The

strategic location of the treatment plants allows the entire distribution procedure to be conducted with

only the assistance of gravity. Furthermore both plants are able to operate with just the potential head

from the reservoir as long as the minimum operating levels of the reservoir are met. Pumps are not

required for the operation of the treatment plant.

Figure 1 - Location of Labugama Water Treatment Plant

Figure 2 - Location of Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant

Site Layout Figure 3 and Figure 4 provide details of the site layout of the Labugama and Kalatuwawa sites

respectively.

Figure 3 - Site layout of Labugama reservoir and water treatment plant

Figure 4 - Site layout of Kalatuwawa reservoir and water treatment plant

Scope of Works The scope of works included in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering components. As the local

partner of the civil constructions, we performed our tasks accordingly. The treatment plants had gone

through deterioration of its facilities and whatever repairs performed on them were low cost solutions.

Most of the main operation of the project was to replace, repair, upgrade and renovate the facilities.

Some additional facilities needed to be constructed as well in order to accommodate the increased

functionality of the plants. As agreed in the contract, the entirety of the project had to be done without

disrupting the water supply of the plants. In addition both treatment plants did not have a proper way

to discharge waste water. At its present state, would directly discharge the wastewater into the nearby

stream. To counteract these environmental hazard new methods of solid waste and wastewater

disposal systems were to be implemented

Labugama Water Treatment Plant Most of the administration and utility buildings had to be completely demolished and rebuilt. The

administration building, laboratories, storage units, workshops and garage feel under this requirement.

They were redesigned and were to be built with all the required modern accessories. Furthermore

several quarters were to be constructed for the long term use of the site staff.

Figure 5 - Labugama Reservoir

In the initial stages of the project when the existing road surface was being upgraded, as a heavy piece

of machinery was moving across the single access bridge to the site, it was noted that the bridge slightly

dipped in a few corners. Moreover the bridge pavement was deteriorated and that the substructure was

heavily corroded. As a safety measure it was decided to completely revamp the bridge structure. The

works related to it would provide it a new decking and supporting girders as well as jacket walls for the

abutments to prevent them from slipping under heavy stresses.

Out of the 15 slow sand filters that were initially installed, only 10 were in operational condition. The

rest were unable to deliver a satisfactory performance due to malfunctioning of the mechanical system

and lack of assembling component since the spares are out dated. It was deemed more efficient and

cost effective to completely replace this system with a new rapid sand filtration system. These will be

constructed systematically as to avoid disrupting the water supply. There were still some works to be

done on locations such as the intake well, aerators, sedimentation tanks and clarifiers but they were

merely minor repairs.

Figure 6 - Labugama Water Treatment Plant

Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant The Kalatuwawa plant was in much better condition at the commencement of the project. Much of its

works were renovations. The main technical improvements to the plant were in the rapid sand filters. A

few filter units were inoperable while some were not delivering the required quality in purification.

These units required major renovations which required improvements to the filter medium.

Figure 7 - Kalatuwawa Reservoir and Dam

Besides this the other feature that required improvements was the chemical storage and distribution

systems. Chemicals such as chlorine and alum need to be stored and safely regulated into the

purification system. The existing facilities were not sufficient to meet the desired quality and safety

standards. Minor upgrades to the storage and mixing units needed to be performed while the entire

distribution network had to be revamped.

Due to the proximity of the two treatment plants most of the duties of the operating staff were shared

between the two plants. Due to the topographical features of the two sites the Kalatuwawa site was

chosen to accommodate most of the staff. There were multiple staff quarters already built at the site

but most of them were in a near unusable state. All these facilities needed to be upgraded so that it met

the desired quality standards. Additionally a few temporary buildings had to be built such as the

engineers offices, project offices and storage units.

Figure 8 - Kalatuwawa Water Treatment Plant

Personal Responsibilities

As a Junior Engineer at the project I was assigned a multitude of duties and responsibilities. Through the

experiences I gained I was able to both be involved with direct construction as well as the management

sectors of the project. During my work period the main item on the projects critical path was the

construction of the access bridge. The bridge was the first piece of major construction taking place at

the Labugama site besides the construction of a small gabion wall. I was assigned complete supervision

duties for this undertaking. The construction of the bridge was subcontracted and my tasks included to

help manage their operations, quality control and supplying the required materials duly. Here I had to

cope with a host of different problems. Even though there was a design for the jacket wall footing, as

proper ground investigations the design had to be altered accordingly. The soil in front of the abutments

was filled with large boulders. The presence of these boulders weren’t accounted for in the design

therefore it was my responsibility to make sure they were removed and disposed appropriately. Since

the bridge ran over a stream a lot of environmental safeguards had to be implemented as well. My tasks

here ranged from directly cooperating with the subcontractor to perform the works, to formulating bar

schedules, obtaining the steel requirement, ensuring worker safety and even having to coordinate with

the design teams.

Figure 9 - Labugama Access Bridge

Secondly I was requested to work closely with the incumbent Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Department. As a junior engineer I was provided a scope into their daily activities. The design of the

works that were to be performed a lot of concrete works. As manufacturing all of the concrete on site

would be ineffective we had to ensure that we had a good source of concrete delivered to the site. The

company owned a concrete batching plant approximately a half hours drive from the site. Working with

the rest of the department it was our responsibility to ensure the quality of the delivered concrete. The

concrete not only had to achieve the desired strength, but we also had to ensure that the concrete

maintained sufficient workability at the point of delivery especially during hot weather conditions. Being

part of the QAQC department allowed me to participate in actual concrete block testing noting the

proper test procedures.

Figure 10 - External Audit closing

As the project was in its early stages, the management was still establishing its quality, health and safety

procedures. I was introduced to the standards such as OHSAS and ISO as well as safety protocols such as

HIRA. I was assigned to a team to help update the HIRA register which required us to note down all the

relevant hazardous situations that could occur during the works and identify possible mitigating

procedures. The efforts we put in were validated as our site was chosen for an external audit during my

internship where we passed the audit with great praise.

Conclusions From this work experience I was able to attain a number of skills that a capable engineer should attain

and also the knowledge to go along side it. I have a gained a better understanding to work with my

peers and to work with 3rd parties such as clients, consultants and subcontractors. I have been able to

successfully build relationships with them and use them instrumentally to perform the required works.

This experience has contributed towards improving my work ethic and also to take pride in my work as a

professional engineer.