Internship Final Report Commented [AH1]: LOL Do over the whole cover page

Issa Grant And the border is dazzly

2018/09/27
ENGR 3002-ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Main Tasks .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Intended Learning Outcomes ............................................................................................................... 3
Completed Tasks ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Retaining Wall Design .......................................................................................................................... 4
Special Traffic Permit ........................................................................................................................... 5
Site Visits ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Bill of quantities................................................................................................................................. 10
Progress Report Meeting ................................................................................................................... 13
Conclusion/ Reflection........................................................................................................................... 15

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 Introduction
On the 5th of June, I commenced this internship at the Ministry of Works and Transport
Head office in Port of Spain. On arrival, I met with Miss Nafissa Rafik (an engineer in
the roads planning division). I was informed about the different branches of the highway
divisions which were beautification, road planning, road construction and bridges. I was
later assigned to the bridges department where I met with the bridge construction
engineer, Nicholas Dindial, was appointed as my industry supervisor. Mr. Dindial was Commented [AH2]: Take off highlighted sentences

later assigned as my industry supervisor.

Main Tasks
 Produce bill of quantities for bridges
 Restructure format of traffic permits
 Gain familiarization and verify calculations of the design process of retaining
walls
 Read design reports and observe drawings of projects to be visited
 Site visits to bridge construction sites
 Attend progress meetings

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 Intended Learning Outcomes
 Bridge the gap between theoretical study and the professional world Commented [AH3]: Whats up with the font change?

 Develop professional behavior and social skills

 Gain a deeper and more insight into what an engineer’s job entails Commented [AH4]: Note red

 Apply theoretical knowledge from the classroom to the workplace

During the period of this internship, theory learnt in the classroom manifested itself in physical forms
especially on site. For example, the concept of flownets and its related problems was witnessed on site
in the construction of the bridge located at Manuel Congo road. The issue arising was that because of Commented [AH5]: Remove highlighted

the flownet phenomena occurring resulting in the flow of groundwater made it difficult to pour the
concrete for the abutment. It was difficult to pour the concrete for the abutment at the site as a result
of the flow of groundwater due to flownets. To mitigate this issue a pump was installed to remove the
water away from the desired working area.

Another observation made was that theoretical work from the classroom matched the physical aspects
of the workplace. work done in the class and in the work place did not deviate by a lot. The similarities
were:

 The units used were the same (metric)

 Same codes used for design ( AASHTO)
 Soil tests conducted aligns with the same tests done at UWI

The differences that existed were:

 Paper sizes for drawings were larger to display more detail
 The formatting of the bill of quantities was formatted different from what was learnt in the
classroom. This variation included lump and provisional sums and works was classified in terms
of ancillary, preparation, concrete, steel, etc. instead of labour, material and transportation.
Profits were already included in the rates in this method.

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 Completed Tasks
Retaining Wall Design
Instructions to design an excel spreadsheet according to the AASHTO code specifications were given
taking into consideration soil characteristics and loading conditions. A retaining wall is a structure
designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil, when there is a desired change in ground
elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil. (Ching, F. D., Faia., R., S., & Winkel, P.
(2006). Building Codes Illustrated: A Guide to Understanding the 2006 International Building Code (2
ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.)

The design process and theoretical data was not necessarily new information as the theory was covered
in the Soil Mechanics 2 and Civil Design 2 courses in my degree of study. The main theoretical aspects of Commented [AH6]: Niceee

designed related to modelling the soil and retaining wall interactions based on Rankine’s and Coulomb’s
Theory. Simulation of all reaction forces was represented including horizontal and vertical reactions. To
mitigate risk of sliding and toppling a minimum factor of safety of 1.5 was applied. The Factor of safety
refers to the ratio of the ultimate strength to the actual working stress or the maximum permissible
stress. The task was relatively simple and required mainly reading and analyzing the AASHTO 2012 code
as well as applying Microsoft Excel skills. The task was completed in a relatively quick period of
approximately two weeks to design for all the scenarios described. Also 80 % was completed as the
design of piles was included in the task. This addition was then modified to read and analyze the design
process.

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 Figure 1 Design of retaining wall for service 1A

Special Traffic Permit

Instructions to redesign the template for special traffic permits and to provide a sample was given. The
issue with the old permits were that it was not clear on the distance and which roads the vehicles
traversed. As a result of miscommunication, fees based on distance traversed on the ministry’s roads
were either overestimated or underestimated. The new design for the permit included a map displaying
roads intended for traverse as well as the total distance, landmarks and vehicle information.

Figure 2 Original Traffic Permit Commented [AH7]: Crop the picture a bit more so you
can make the actual words bigger…. Note shape placed
around it (Blue rectangle)

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 Site Visits
During the site visit installation of the retaining structure known as gabion baskets at the B 2/10
Talparo Main Road, La Horqueta/ Talparo. This project falls under the Bridges Reconstruction Commented [AH8]: Check phrasing

Programme which was in the phase 2 Package C stage. Discussions with the engineer on site
revealed that gabion baskets are frequently used since they are less vulnerable to drainage issues
which may compromise the structural integrity of the wall. A geotextile fabric is also used along
with the baskets to keep out organic material which may penetrate. On the engineering drawings
provided some observations on the detailing that specified “Type A, Type B or Type C”, these
specifications indicate how the stones are to be packed in the baskets. The stones used were blue
limestone from Coosal’s quarry in Maracas St. Joseph. This material is used because it results in
the baskets having less air pockets (which prevents bulging when lateral forces are applied) and
is more compact.

Figure 3 Location map of Bridge B2/10 Talparo Main Road, La Horqueta/ Talparo

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 Figure 4 Gabion baskets installation at Talparo Bridge

At the Bridge B1/1 Maracas Royal Road, St. Joseph, refurbishing works were being conducted. Talking Commented [AH9]: Put in this comma here
to the engineer on site (Mr. Jerry Medford) revealed that the bridge was in the process of failing. The
vehicular load was removed to release the stress on the members. Some of the members needed to be
replaced as they began to reach plastic deformation. This can be observed in the picture below. The
engineer also revealed due to time and cost constraints, an orthodox method replacing the members was Commented [AH10]: Put in this comma here
adopted. Members were replaced without dismantling the entire structural system by installing temporary
members to support the system while removing and replacing members.

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Figure 5 Location map of Bridge B1/1 Maracas Royal Road, St. Joseph

Figure 6 Bridge B1/1 Maracas Royal Road, St. Joseph

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Figure 7 Plastic deformation of member

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 Bill of quantities
Instructions to design a bill of quantities for installation of a bridge at Guaico Tamina Road, Sangre
Grande were given. Scopes of works were divided into several sub categories (as seen in figure 8) such
as:

 Preliminary works
 Site preparation works
 Steel works
 Concrete works
 Ancillary works

Figure 8 Summary of bill of quantities of Guaico Tamina Road, Sangre Grande

The bill of quantities is defined as a tendering document prepared usually by an engineer (or anyone of
relevant authority) that provides quantities and rates of work identified in the drawings and
specifications in the tender documentation. The Bill of quantities assists tenderers in calculating

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construction costs for their tender. All contractors bidding to win a contract submits a bill of quantities
to the employer. The employer’s bill of quantities is compared to all the bidders’ bill of quantities and Commented [AH11]: You can even use the acronym BOQ
to be concise
usually the lowest bidder once the bid falls within a specified range of the employers estimate is chosen.
This will apply to all parts after this as well
Other factors such as quality of work, resources and reputation are also other important factors that
decide the winner of the bids.

The contractor tenders against the bill of quantities, stating their price for each item. This priced bill of
quantities constitutes the tenderer's offer. As the offer is built up of prescribed items, it is possible to
compare both the overall price and individual items directly with other tenderers' offers, allowing a
detailed assessment of which aspects of a tender may offer good or poor value. This information can
assist with tender negotiations.

Figure 9 Sample of bill of quantities completed

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Figure 10 Sample of bill of quantities completed

Figure 11 Sample of bill of quantities completed

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 Progress Report Meeting
On the 20th June, I attended progress meetings along with Mr. Anthony Joseph for three different
projects at Beston’s Head office located at #5 Poui View Road, South Valsayn, Trinidad, W.I. These
progress meetings were held every 2 weeks and this was the fourth meeting since commencement of
the project. The meetings consisted of representatives from the engineer (Beston Consulting Limited),
the employer (NIDCO), contractor (SIV Construction Services Limited and General Earth Movers Limited)
as well as a representative from the Ministry of Works and Transport. Information from the meeting is
recorded in the form of minutes which can be seen in the figure below. The minutes of the meeting is
useful to transfer information to persons who weren’t present at the meeting and contains data relating
planned physical progress to actual physical progress, and all events in the project within a specified
time frame. The meeting brought up issues such as non-conformance of PPE eyewear on sight, delay of Commented [AH12]: Insert last sentence here to say
everything about the minutes….. Also concise the sentence
installation of traffic light near site and weather conditions. Recommendations such as installation of about physical progress etc…
guard rails/ speed bumps instead of a traffic light to mitigate the risk of an accident was also brought up
in the meeting by the contractor. These messages conveyed in the meeting were also recorded in the
minutes of the meeting. The minutes of the meeting is useful to transfer information to persons who Commented [AH13]: This is implied when you said that
the information from the meeting was recorded in the
weren’t present at the meeting. minutes above
Commented [AH14]: Move this from here and insert
above

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Figure 12 Sample of minutes for progress meeting Commented [AH15]: Make this picture lighter using
format… That way the words can be better seen

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 Conclusion/ Reflection
The internship duration lasted approximately six weeks from 5th of June to 20th of July. The internship
brought a lot of insight to the daily operations of the working world, specifically, the engineering field. Commented [AH16]: Use your commas boy

Opportunities to practice what was learnt in the classroom to real life situations was greatly appreciated
and motivating. New skills such as developing a bill of quantities, comprehending tender documents, on
site-experience as well as solving minor engineering issues associated with drainage and flow of water
was acquired in the six weeks period. One situation in which a real life problem mentioned in the
classroom manifested on-site was the phenomenon of flownets when excavating near ground water and
river boundaries. A quick functional solution implemented was the installation of pumps in the
excavated region where the unwanted water was accumulating. This water needed to be removed to lay
the reinforcement and pour concrete for the bridge abutment. The ability to network and receive live
feedback from experts with years of experience in the field is expected to play a crucial role in my
development forward. I would like to conclude this report with gratitude and appreciation for allotting
me this opportunity to take part in this programme. Commented [AH17]: Lol cute

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