CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION

As an undergraduate of the University of Motatuwa I would like to say that this training

program is an excellent opportunity for us to get to the ground level and experience the things

that we would have never gained through going straight into a job. I am grateful to the

University of Moratuwa and NAITA for giving us this wonderful opportunity.

The main objective of the industrial training is to provide an opportunity to undergraduates to

identify, observe and practice how engineering is applicable in the real industry. It is not only

to get experience on technical practices but also to observe management practices and to

interact with fellow workers.

It is easy to work with sophisticated machines, but not with people. The only chance that an

undergraduate has to have this experience is the industrial training period. I feel I got the

maximum out of that experience. Also I learnt the way of work in an organization, the

importance of being punctual, the importance of maximum commitment, and the importance

of team spirit.

The training program having three destinations was a lot more useful than staying at one

place throughout the whole six months. In my opinion, I have gained lots of knowledge and

experience needed to be successful in a great engineering challenge, as in my opinion,

Engineering is after all a Challenge, and not a Job.

3.1 Loadstar (Private) Limited

The 3 months training that I received at Loadstar was great experience for me not only on

technical terms but also in terms of interaction with other workers. I learnt a great deal on

applying the knowledge I have gained at the University. Learning something from books and

lectures is nothing like having firsthand experience. At Loadstar I got to apply my electrical

engineering knowledge and Programming knowledge. The company gives the full freedom

for the trainee to get a sufficient training. The trainees are allowed to ask and do anything

relevant to the training. Engineers are always very enthusiastic on giving us the best training

48 | P a g e

experience. The employees do not think of their designation but only on the work to be done.

Teamwork has been excellent and all of them are like best friends, even with lower ranked

employees like Drivers, Office aids. And also they are most often at the sites with all kinds of

employees. Everyone was friendly from top to bottom. Employees are busy with their work

but they always help us to improve our knowledge.

A drawback I see in Loadstar is that it has many health hazards. Employees are exposed to

large amounts of dust. When inhaled, these particles can cause serious lung disease. Even

though there is a rule to wear protective masks, employees do not do so most of the time.

They should be urged to wear protective gear and lectured on negative consequences of not

wearing them. Also unlike in CEB where the safty is measured by the number of accidents in

a given time period, in Loadstar, it is the number of deaths that is shown.

I attached the copy of the Certificate obtained by Loadstar (Pvt) Ltd. Refer Annex G

3.2 Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB)

As an Electrical Engineering Undergraduate, I think the best place where Electrical

Engineering can be observed and experienced is the CEB. It’s a huge organization spreaded

all over the country with a large amount of electrical applications. The Ceylon Electricity

Board can be described as an organization that is very close to the people of Sri Lanka. The

loyalty of the CEB is directly connected with people. So the employees of CEB have a great

responsibility to perform their tasks in the best possible way. During my stay at CEB, I got

that experience and the feeling of responsibility. It was a great experience.

Engineering personnel of the CEB are people that have a lot of experience. All of them were

willing to help us and very enthusiastic about our training. They have a vast knowledge about

the fields they are work with. So it was easy to learn from them.

During my training at Kelanitissa power station, I observed large amounts (possibly

thousands of tons) of Iron and copper sold at a very cheap price. Then buyers sell those

valuable materials to other countries at cheap prices. I think it is a huge disaster. We must try

to fulfill our own needs with our own hands. Raw materials are there, the technical

knowledge is there. So we need to produce what is needed for our country with our own

49 | P a g e

hands. Every Sri Lankan citizen has a sole responsibility in building our own nation.

Engineers should initiate and lead our country into sustainable development.

I was very lucky to be at the Kotmale Power Station, which is one of the major power

stations in Sri Lanka. I gained a lot of knowledge there. Offering Power stations like

Kotmale, Victoria to trainees is a very good trend because these destinations are must for a

trainee.

I also observed a very sad situation during my training at CEB. There are thousands of

brilliant minds in Sri Lanka and sufficient materials, but most of the projects in Sri Lanka are

outsourcing. In my opinion this affects the inflation in Sri Lanka and the unemployment. The

government and minister should establish a company with private act to make all the

equipment needs to Sri Lanka.

CEB is a very large company with more than 14000 officers. Therefore there are lots of

inefficiencies and losses in CEB. An act is introduced to the parliament by the minister of

power and energy. It is proposed to divide generation, transmission and distribution into

different companies. Also renewable energy plants must implemented in all over the country.

3.3 Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt.) Limited (LECO)

During my training at LECO I was able to develop myself in many aspects both technical and

non technical. I was placed at Wattala depot, Kelaniya Branch, Engineering division and

System Control Division of the company where I was able to cover a lot of areas regarding

power distribution.

In the depot I got a unique experience with a huge breakdown. My entire day was spent at the

breakdown site along with the maintenance and breakdown crew. The repairs went on until

about 10’clock in the night. I learnt from them how repairing was taking place. This really

was a valuable and enjoyable experience for me. There was much to learn from everyone

who worked there. After the repairs were done, we lit up the city. I remember that day, It was

such a happy moment and a great experience for me. The next morning I had to do a

presentation on what we have learnt during the week. I did the presentation without any

50 | P a g e

preparing, using only the photos from my phone taken at the breakdown place previously. All

the engineers appreciated my presentation. Employees at LECO are very enthusiastic about

training us and giving us the appropriate knowledge.

I had my last two weeks of the training at the Engineering division & System Control Center

of LECO. When I trained at the Engineering Division I learnt about GIS, GPS system,

procurement procedure and engineering designs. In the system control center I learnt about

how the system is controlled when there were interruptions.

I got four weeks of training at the LECO. We did presentations about what we had learnt in

the field every Friday at LECO in front of experienced engineering panel. I think it was really

helpful to build up our engineering knowledge.

51 | P a g e