Personal Commitment : Eoc
Added on 2020-10-22
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EXPERIENCE REPORT
Personal CommitmentEoc 1: Dealing with Ethical issuesClaim 1From June to September in 2018, I worked as a Project Development Engineer forShier of Wyndham and East Kimberly (SWEK) in Western Australia. I was involved withimplementation of 2017/18 state government funded black spot programme recommendation.SWEK has identified a street with Kununurra district centre under black spot programme thatis needed to be improved. During the safety auditing, SWEK identified problem of theBandicoot Drive, which was a poor illumination at night time. This enhanced the highpedestrian and vehicle accident rate at night time. SWEK got the service of Ansel TechnicalElectrical consultants to design the street lights for the street. They used to visit the site anddesigned street lights as per the standard guidelines. I made coordination with designer, Horizon power (Western Australia ElectricityPower authority) and SWEK to implement this recommendation. When I received the designof street lights, I reviewed the design at site. I noticed that some street lights were closed to abalcony of an apartment in Bandicoot Drive. I noticed that this installation can challenge theprivacy of the occupant in the apartment. Under following ethical guidelines such as:Engineers Australia (EA), 1.3 Respect the dignity of all persons, 4.1 Engage responsibilitywith the community and other stakeholders (Be sensitive to the public concern), and 1.1 actappropriately, and in a professional manner, when you perceive something to be wrong.Therefore, I instructed electrical design consultant to revise the design of particular locationin the view of my finding. I highlighted my management in future safety auditing of the streetshould account ethical aspect as well.Moreover SWEK received several feedbacks from people for poor illumination atRiver Fig Avenue which is close to the main shopping area of Kununurra. It was also raisedby SKEK planning department in their frequently safety auditing of the city centre. I raisedthis matter with Ansel Technical Electrical consultants to accelerate the design of the avenue.Then I prepared necessary application with comply with design and raised Purchasing Orderwith Horizon power to get the necessary material and implement the design as soon aspossible. There I followed the ethic guideline of EA, 4.1 Engage responsibility with thecommunity and other stakeholders (Be sensitive to the public concern). Claim 22
Between November 2004 to December 2007, I worked in the North-East Region ofAfghanistan as the Regional Engineer for United Nation Office for project Services(UNOPS). During this period I implemented 24.5 km asphalt surfacing of Imam SahibConnector road including 35 Culverts and floodway. We implemented this project on thebehalf of USAID (United State Agency for International Development). I had selected acontractor in order to implement the project as per USAID and UNOPS guidelines. After theContractor commenced demarcated the right of way for the road corridor, my nationalengineers reported that a farmer had cultivated wheat in some portion of the land within theproject limits. I immediately visited the site with municipal council officers and noticed thatthe road corridor had been clearly encroached. The Wheat fields were ready to be harvested,but the Contractor was about to commence clearing and grubbing on this land. When I metthe farmer, he accepted that he had encroached on demarcated land and requested me toconsider delaying of the works by two weeks, allowing him to harvest the crop. I realised that, though the Contractor was legally allowed to start work on the land inquestion, but it could have been an ethical issue if we did not let the farmer to harvest. Idiscussed this with the Contractor's Project Manager and municipality officers to checkwhether he can proceed with the farmer's requirement without compromising the progress ofthe works. Contractor agreed to delay the works in that particular area and utilised hisresources for works in another section with no additional client cost. Farmer was very happyfor our solution to the problem. I also advised my national engineers to immediatelyinvestigate any other activities by residents that could potentially delay the progress of theworks. Finally, I discussed this matter with the Municipal Council to prevent such thingsfrom happening in the future, by maintaining appropriate level of communication withlandowners, in particular of the legal implications of such actions.Project was completed well ahead of the schedule and contractor was very happy withhis outcome of the project. As a regional team leader, I assisted contractor to achieve thistargets technically and logistically in different ways. At the opening ceremony of the project Ireceived a very expensive handmade rag from the Contractor, but realised that accepting agift from the Contractor could be an ethical issue. Code of Ethics of Institute of Engineers SriLanka (IESL) stated that 'Engineers shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities, directly orindirectly from contractors or their agents', and UNOPS code for Employees as well.Therefore, I convinced this ethical practices and principles, bound to contractor and declinedhis gift.3
Eoc 2: Practise CompetentlyFrom March 2001 to Oct 2004, I worked for Toa Corporation (Japan) as a CivilEngineer in the Pulau Tekong Island development project ($1.2 billion, Singapore) inSingapore. Toa was engaged in the off shore land reclamation using sea sand and basicinfrastructure development in the reclaimed land such as access road, terminal building,jetties and rock revetment of new reclaimed boundaries.Works carried out by me, included developing conceptual designs for rock revetment,internal road network and data processing for volume calculations for reclaimed land and siteinspections. Within two weeks of my commencement in Toa, I was assigned to study GlobalPosition System (GPS) based software’s for survey data collection, processing, design andvolume calculation. I followed training from Trimble (Singapore) for GPS related softwareHydroPro Naviedit and Theramodel. These software’s were capable of surveying datacollection in land and water (including seabed) and generate contour plans, cross sections andvolume calculations. They were capable of real time tide correction for hydro surveying. Igenerated contour mapping for the offshore area and calculated the volume of sea sandrequired to fill the sea up to 2.5 m above the mean sea level (MSL). I was aware that I hadvery limited exposure to NaviEdit, and Theramodel during previous work experiences andnew exposure. Therefore, whenever I had some free time, I followed built-in tutorials toincrease my understanding of the command, tools and technique and efficient handling of thesoftware. I kept good contact with Trimble (Singapore) technical coordinators/ trainers andgained some clarification from them. I discussed complete survey to shear the knowledgewith them. Within few months, I gained good knowledge of these software’s, ensuredefficient generation of information and plans for trailer suction hopper dredgers for dumpingthe sand at right location.Throughout this engagement, I tried to keep my competency levels high, utilised myexperience and knowledge whilst applying engineering principles to resolve engineeringproblems. I produced designs that compliant with standards and guidelines, like BritishStandards (BS), Singapore standard etc. Utilised all the available resources such as AutoCADand Land Development. I voluntary participated in the Eco sounding survey training withTrimble (Singapore) and involved others in it, when my work was less demanding. It gaveme the confidence of conducting Hydosurvey of sea bed using Eco sounder and GPSsoftware. I followed necessary manuals and learned the process of instrument calibrationbefore starting any survey of sea bed. This gave more stability toToa when Hydro surveyorswere absent, as a viable option to cover any urgent survey due to my malty skill. My overall4
knowledge of surveying and data processing software made me an expert in the field. I couldidentify any kind of potential problem within the survey data and analysed the reason forsuch poor data collection. With my knowledge of engineering principle and calculation Ibecame a good volume calculator using Hydropro and AutoCAD. I was able to transfer somedata between these two programme using DFX (Drawing interchange format) or CSV(Comma Separated Value) format of survey data in both the software’s. The experience Igained for volume calculation enabled me to work as a team member of Toa Corporationinternational tendering team. When they quote for significant international tender I workedlong hours according to the requirement in tendering work. I studied the effective use of MSExcel for simple programming and summarise and presentation of quantity extract from othersoftware such as AutoCAD, NaviEDIT and Theramodel.To enhance my report writing and presentation skills, I voluntarilyparticipated in theToa staff development activities, including one ISO 9001 quality assurance workshop inMalaysia as well. My employer maintained a system database that recorded the technicalskills of each employee. In addition to updating this system, I also maintained a spreadsheetthat recorded trainings and workshops that I participated. I underwent performance reviews inevery 6 months during this employment, which helped me in assessing my competency andperformance against those required by the employer to fulfil my duties effectively andefficiently. Through this process I was able to identify the areas I was under performing andneeded improvements.As an example, during my first 6 months review, I recognised lack of experience andcompetency in handling work scheduling for tender submission. I discussed possible ways toimprove my competency level in MS Project with Project Manager. He agreed to arrange atraining course in MS Project for me at the earliest possible opportunity. I set an agreed targetof achieving required competency in MS Project within 3 months. After participation in thetraining, I was able to practice the skills I gained in real business and was successful inachieving the required competency within given time frame for tender submission. As a CivilEngineer, I worked within my field of expertise. Whenever I had issues or concerns inincorporating inputs from other disciplines, such as survey, design code and geotechnicalengineers, I sought advice from the relevantparties. The majority of my works involvedincorporating design engineering requirements, which created more challenging situations. Imaintained very close liaison with the senior design engineers who were very helpful andmade me understand their requirements which were needed to be incorporated in my designs.5
It also helped me in enhancing my knowledge in the field of design and geotechnicalengineering, including 3D modelling, volume analysis and the tools used in the industry. EoC 3: Responsible for Engineering ActivitiesBetween November 2004 to December 2007, I worked in the North-East Region ofAfghanistan as the Regional Engineer for United Nation Office for project Services(UNOPS). During this period, I was involved in Design and construction of 8 district centreroads in thought out North-East region of Afghanistan. I was the team leader for technical,logistical and Administrative matters. The donor of the programme was USAID and projectswere delivered according to American Association of State Highway and TransportationOfficials (AASTHO) standards and Ministry of Public Work (MoPW) Afghanistan. Projectfocused on development of internal roads network and drainage structures in city cantersusing DBST and Concrete pavements construction. Enhance the efficiency of internal roadnetwork, appearance, positive environmental aspect by avoiding dust and mud during thedifferent weather condition were some of the output expectation of these projects. These roadprojects were very challenging due to remoteness of locations and lack of experience ofcontractors.During the first month in this project, I performed community and stakeholdersconsulting for the projects. I acquired data of the topographical survey that was completed bythe third party. Based on these data design that were performed by road design team ofUNOPS head office in Kabul according to AASTHO, MoPW standard. It took nearly year tofinalise the design in Kabul office due to limited design resources and final approval fromUSAID. When I received the preliminary design, I reviewed them to identify potential issuesand recommend necessary adjustments for some sub projects. UNOPS programme managerdelegated me more responsibilities to amend the design as per site requirements, due to mylocal knowledge, previous involvement in the design work and data collection. I noticed thatthere were some locations that were needed to be revised to contain the construction workswithin the right of way. Moreover some other developments implemented by anotherimplementation agency without proper coordination with municipality officers were clashwith our original design due to design delay. I recognised that there were a few adjustmentsthat needed to be done through a quite complex process to resolve, including re-communityconsultation and assessment of construction delay and cost implications.The procedure I followed during the design revision included following steps.6
Firstly, I amended the geometric design of the district centre to suit the present siteconditions. During this step, I consulted and sought advice from the city municipality,local community, government officers, regional USAID representative and otherrelevant stakeholders.I prepared a short report, including community consultation outcomes, a riskassessment and cost variations. I also documented the field notes and designcalculations for each proposed design change and modified the designed drawing asrequired.Then, I forwarded the final revised drawings, report and supporting information to thesenior design Engineer for his final comments and approval.The proposed changes were accepted by the programme manager subjected to a fewchanges. I took more responsibilities of these changes as head office team and was busy with another 6 regions of Afghanistan to ensure my projects starts on time. I got the soft copies of AutoCAD drawings and did necessary changes by myself. I ensured maximum utilisation of fund allocation of each subproject. Scope changes of some projects save some money and I moved this money to provide additional cover drain slabs with in the city limits. I obtained necessary templates, documents from Kabul Office and completed theBOQ for all sub projects with regional team. I ensured and reviewed all quantities myselfbefore finalising BOQ. I prepared all tender documents according to UN procurementguideline and got approval from procurement department. I performed tendering processeswith my regional team and evaluated bids as per procurement guidelines. Evaluation processwas little bit complicated as it was needed to becomplied with both UN procurementguidelines and some donors interest. Donor, USAID wanted to award all jobs for localcontractor and ban any bituminous product or construction materials from Iraq. Mostlybituminous product comes to Afghanistan from Iraq as it share borders with Afghanistan. SoI took advice from procurement department in order to comply with USAID requirementsand our procurement guidelines. I managed to get approval for selected contractor with in theapproved time lines and budget without significant problem. We started the projects on timeand manage to complete them as per USAID and UN financial discipline guideline. Imanaged to complete the projects in advance, on budget with various challenges such asincompetent local contractor, volatile security and natural calamities such as flood in severaldistrict centres.7
EoC 4: Develop safe and sustainable solutionClaim 1I had completed the South Australia general construction induction CPCCOHS1001with TAFE SA. This training is required for anyone who wants to visit or work on site and inthe construction industry. It outlined me the general workplace health and safetyrequirements for all work on site, and an appreciation of safety requirements required withinmy design. I had also completed site specific and internal safety inductions such as FortescueMetals Group Ltd (FMG) rail induction for Solomon rail spur project and Hansen Yunckensite induction for new Royal Adelaide Hospital project etc. Moreover I had completedRIIWHS205D and RIIWHS302D, traffic control and implementing the traffic managementplans.From June 2012 to Jan 2013, I worked in Solomon rail spur project for Lucas Totalcontract solution (LTCS) as a project engineer. One of my main responsibilities was to ensurethat adequate safety and environmental protection measures were in place. Whenever Iobserved or was reported of any kind of safety or environmental issues, I immediatelyadvised the Site safety coordinator to provide adequate measures at the earliest possiblewithin the in place hazard reporting structure with supporting information, includingphotographs, to take appropriate actions as per the project safety guideline. Any failure toabide by safety and environmental requirements was considered very seriously in this project.The project involved extensive earthworks with 0.2 m – 2.5 m rail embankmentconstruction across traditional aboriginal land. Even though LTCS placed plastic barricadingtapes alone the railway alignment, I noticed that the people were trespassing the barricadesoften. This raised a serious safety concern with heavy machineries' moving at the site. Idiscussed this matter with site safety officers to established adequate signage. Moreover, Ipaid attention to educate the community with community lesson programme and reviewed theadequate safety crossing across the railway aliments. I further discussed this matter withsafety coordinator with hazard report and explained the need of an appropriate measure toprotect local people from potential hazards. Later, LTCS installed warning signs and installedplastic barriers, temporary fences at some critical sectionsAll construction works had to be confirmed to the Handbook of Environment Control(HEC), to the approved environmental management plan of Client, Fortescue Metals Group(FMG). I ensured that adequate silt control measures were in place as per the HEC, to preventadjacent lands from siltation. I realised that there was a risk of siltation in the event that thetop layer of the embankment fill left un-compacted overnight, particularly when rain occurs8
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