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

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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

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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

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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.

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