sri lanka engineering news slen... · sri lanka engineering news - may / june 2016 4 iesl news sri...

The Newspaper of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Vol. 52, No 03, May / June 2016Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper No. QD/53/News/2016

The Institution of EngineersSri Lanka

120/15, Wijerama MawathaColombo 7, Sri Lanka

Tel: 2685490,2698426, 2699210Fax: 2699202E.mail:[email protected]/[email protected]:http://www.iesl..lk

in this issue

•IESL Council 2015 / 2016......3•CPD Course on Project Management Professional conducted in Trincomalee.......3•Editorial...................................4•Notice to Associate ...............4 Members•Site Visit to Green .............6&7 Electric Energy Park at Curtin University•Intel® Educate Future.............8 Scientist Workshop•Prevention of Flooding by ......9 the Kelani river•Food for Thought for Future Engineers ...................9•Means of Escape Plan...10&11

PRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNER

IESL / JIY 2015 WINNERS WIN GRAND AWARD &THREE SPECIAL AWARDS FOR SRI LANKA ATINTEL INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE ANDENGINEERING FAIR 2016:

Contd. on page 3..

During the month ofMarch-April, Engineershad bitter experience

and faced heavy criticism fromthe general public, as well aspoliticians, due to island widepower cuts though our Engi-neers were able to restorepower supply within a very shortperiod.The failure of the power supply authority to maintain reli-able supply of electricity which Sri Lanka was proud of asone of the best in South Asia has been questioned by thecitizens, politicians, industrialists and all those who arekeen to forge ahead with the development agenda in thecountry.

The government appointed a six-member probe team toinvestigate the reasons for such power cuts and it is re-vealed that, according to news reports, little or no mainte-nance work had been carried out.

The IESL has given mandate to its Power Sector Commit-tee for the formulation of a set of recommendations toavoid such situations in the future with the knowledge andexperience of our own engineers in the field and that givesopportunity to our members to come forward and put for-ward their thoughts to action.

Further, that gives the very important message on the im-portance of maintenance of our infrastructures after con-struction. It is valid for all sectors; irrigation, roads, build-ings, water supply and all other sectors of engineering andit is a known fact that there is shortage of attention toperiodical maintenance of infrastructures. The allocationof necessary funds for periodical maintenance is of vitalimportance and it is our duty to convince higher authoritiesthe importance of maintenance of public properties as wellas educate the general public that without public supportengineers alone are not able to carry out sustainable main-tenance programs. Such sustainable maintenance programwould cut down the massive cost of rehabilitation worksand eliminate the heavy criticism by public on engineer’sworks.

Contd. on page 09....

TECHNO SRI LANKA 2016CEREMONIALLY LAUNCHED

The ceremonial launch of the Techno Sri Lanka 2016 was held at a function atthe Hotel Galadari on Wednesday, 22nd June, 2016 from 6.00 pm onwards inthe presence of a large audience comprised of Council members, Past Presi-

dents, sponsors, special invitees, guests, well-wishers, members of the organizingcommittee and IESL staff. Contd. on page 4....

The worlds largest high school science& engineering competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering

Fair 2016, a program of the Societyfor Science & the Public, announced its topwinners in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

IESL/JIY finalists have won Grand award &two special awards respectively at the GrandAward ceremony & Special Award Ceremonywhich were held today in USA at their 8th ap-pearance (2016).

Abishek S Gomes from Belvoir College Inter-national won the Grand award 3rd Place in cat-egory of “Embedded Systems” & Top Award

SRI LANKAENGINEERING NEWSEstablished 1906

Sri Lanka Engineering News - May / June 20162 IESL NEWS

IESL COUNCIL2015 / 2016

IESL - Annual Events Calendar2015 / 2016

Event Date Month Day Venue

1.Techno Stall Holder Forum 09 September Friday IESL Auditorium/ 122

2. Induction and Graduation 14 September Friday BMICH Ceremony (Committee

Room B) (Committee Room E – Tea)

3.Techno Exhibition 07,08,09 October Friday BMICH Saturday (SBMECentre) Sunday

4. Inauguration of the 14 October Friday BMICH Annual Sessions (Main Hall)

5. Annual Sessions Seminar 15 October Saturday BMICH (Mihilaka Medura)

6. Annual Sessions Site 16 October Sunday - Visit

7. Annual General Meeting 22 October Saturday IESL – Auditorium II

8. Techno Awards 28 October Friday Galadari Ceremony

Structural Design InstituteComprehensive Course on State-of-the-Art Com-

puter-Aided Modelling Practices and Techniques withCSI ETABS for Structural Analysis of

High-rise BuildingsWe are pleased to inform you that Structural Design Institute has organised atwo-months Comprehensive Training Programme on “State-of-the-Art Com-puter-Aided Modelling Practices and Techniques with CSI ETABS in StructuralAnalysis of High-rise Buildings” starting from basics to an advanced level.

Resource Persons :Eng. Dilina Hettiarachchi

Eng. Tharanga Pradeep, Eng. Balraj Kiriparan

Duration :Two-months

Time :Eight consecutive Saturdays (9.30am-12.30pm)

Course Outline:Fundamentals of Finite Element AnalysisElement Types, their Properties and ApplicationsGlobal Coordinates and Local Coordinates SystemIntroduction to ETABS, Modeling and Analyzing a Simple Four-storied Building.Modeling and analyzing a 10 to 15 storied building – meshing techniques,

diaphragmsImporting an architectural CAD planTransfer Floor, deflections;interpretation of analysis results for walls.Modelling and analysis of steel buildingsAssessment of Dynamic Response of a Building: P-Delta Effect for Wind Loads,

Time History Analysis and Response Spectrum AnalysisDesign Options and Reporting FacilitiesInterpretation of Results and Validation of Computer ModelsAnalysis of 30-storied building- Response Spectrum, Story Drifts, Base Shear,

Time History.

Course Fee : Rs. 20,000/= per monthVenue : No. 01, 33rd Lane, Bagatale Road, Colombo 03.Pre-requisite : Recommended to bring a laptop computer with ETABS

installedA set of comprehensive notes and a participation certificate shall be awardedfor the course participants. Limited seats available,reservation shall be on firstcome first serve basis.For more details contact: [email protected],

Structural Design InstituteThe Knowledge Base in Structural Engineering

Eng. Jaliya BandaraRepresentative MemberMember - MIE(Sri Lanka)

Eng. (Dr.) Sanjeewa WickremaratneRepresentative MemberMember - MIE(Sri Lanka)

Eng. P A Samira AnuradhaRepresentative MemberMember - MIE(Sri Lanka)

Eng. Ranjith GunawardanaChairman - Board of Trustees

AWAIT...IESL Induction and

Graduation Ceremony 2016to be held on 14th September,

2016 at the BMICH

Sri Lanka Engineering News - May / June 20163IESL NEWS

CPD Course on "ProjectManagement Professional",conducted in Trincomalee

The IESL EasternChapter conducted afive days CPD course

on "Project ManagementProfessional – PMP" inTrincomalee at P/BuildingsDepartment, conference hallon 04th, 05th, 11th , 12th &19th of June, 2016 with theparticipation of thirty (30)participants from differentdisciplines. The day of theinauguration on 04th June2016, the CPD CommitteeChairman, Dr. Kamal Laksiri,Eng. Madhawa Herath CPDCommittee member and

other officials from PMIColombo Sri Lanka ChapterPresident Mr. GaneshWijenayaka and ExecutiveVice President Mr. Shanakade Silva were present. Eng. S.Rajagopalasingam, ProvincialDeputy Director of Irrigationwas invited for this event as aGuest of Honour. Following the welcomeaddressed by Eng. L.Subhaharan, Co- chairmanIESL Eastern Chapter, CPDCommittee Chairman Dr.Kamal Laksiri delivered aspeech to the participants. Hementioned that, this is the firsttime that IESL has conductsuch a long term programmeout of Colombo and heappreciated the committeemembers of the IESL EasternProvince Chapter for the effortstaken to conduct the

programme. He also,mentioned, the effortstaken by the Eng. JayavilalMeegoda, IESL President(Elect) and Eng. MadhawaHerath who took theinitiative to conduct thisprogramme inTrincomalee. Further, heinvited to organize similar

programmes for theenhancement of theknowledge and skills of youngengineers to meet therequirements in thecompetitive world. Thereafterthe Guest of Honour, Eng. S.Rajagopalasingam deliveredthe key note address. The technical sessionscommenced on 04th and05th with Mr. Shanaka DeSilva conducting the sessionsand on 11th and 12th Eng.Madhawa Herath conducted.The final session wasconducted again by Mr.Shanaka De Silva on 19th ofJune 2016. It was a reallygood opportunity for allengineers who participated inthis Programme. Also itopened the eyes of theengineers to think about theircareer development andopenings in the markets.

of $2,000 from Synaptics, Incand First Award of $500 fromPatent and Trademark OfficeSociety for his novel invention“Wearable Device to Trans-late American Sign Language(ASL) into English”

Chamindu Jayasanka fromRajasinghe Central College,Hanwella won the Top Awardof $1,000, and an Americanflag and a framed copy of thefirst patent granted in theUSA from Patent and Trade-mark Office Society for hisunique project titled ‘‘Modifiedand Adjustable Crutches"

The opportunity to participatein the international competi-tion arose when they won theGold & Silver awards at the‘Junior Inventor of the Year-2015 (JIY-2015) competition,conducted by the Institutionof Engineers, Sri Lanka(IESL). The Junior Inventor ofthe Year (JIY) competition pro-motes creativity and ingenu-ity among school childrenfrom schools all over SriLanka who participate, ini-tially in awarenessprogrammes & preliminarycompetitions held at the pro-vincial level with the IESL pro-vincial Chapters, and proceedto the final JIY competitionheld at the IESL Headquar-ters in Colombo. Theirprojects are evaluated by en-gineers who have more than15 years of engineering & re-search experience.

The Intel ISEF provides a fo-rum for over 1750 high schoolstudents from over 77 coun-tries, to showcase their inven-tions. It is the premier sci-ence competition in the globe,exclusively for students ingrades 9 to 12.

Eng J Meegoda, PresidentElect, IESL said, “I am proudto say that JIY winners arecapable of competing andwinning at any worldstage.IESL has been organiz-ing the Junior Inventor of the

Contd. from page 1...

IESL / JIY 2015 WINNERS .....

Year (JIY) competition for thelast three decades,mentoring many students towin at an international level.IESL is very happy to be apart in this cultural changethat drives the next genera-tion of Sri Lankan studentsto be innovative”.This is the13thoccasion JIY winnershave won recognition at aninternational level during last09 years.

Every year winners of the SriLanka Science and Engineer-ing Fair (SLSEF),a partnership between theMinistry of Education, the In-stitution of Engineers, SriLanka, the NationalScience Foundation and Intelare sent to the Intel Interna-tional Science and Engineer-ing Fair which honors someof the worlds most promis-ing, rising student, innova-tors and scientists. ISEF fi-nalists are selected annuallyfrom hundreds of affiliatedfairs. Their projects are thenevaluated onsite by morethan 1,200 judges fromnearly every scientificdiscipline, each with a Ph.Dor the equivalent of six yearsof relatedprofessional experience inone of the scientific disci-plines.

You can also participate inthe Intel ISEF competitionand bring honour to motherSri Lanka by becoming a JIYwinner. JIY 2016 preliminarycompetitions will be held inthe months of July, Augustat the provincial level. Regis-ter today your inventions byvisiting the website http://www.iesl.lk/page-1653556

For more details, Pleasecontact organizing commit-tee of Junior Inventor of theYear Competition. (Mr.Maduranga – 071 3535329).


Sri LankaEngineering News

R & D byengineers

Research and Development (R & D), or research and tech-

nical (or technological) de-velopment (RTD), is a gen-eral term for activities in con-nection with corporate or gov-ernmental innovation. R&D isa component of Innovation and

is situated at the front end of the Innovation lifecycle.Normally, the R & D department of a company is headedby an engineer or staffed by engineers. This departmenteven can be out-sourced to a university or a researchagency. According to Wikipedia “In the U.S., a typicalratio of research and development for an industrial com-pany is about 3.5% of revenues; this measure is called“R&D intensity”. A high technology company such as acomputer manufacturer might spend 7%”. This is valideven in the Sri Lankan context, and some reputed com-panies own incubator cells in the University sector andsome even named as company labs in the university.

Why I decided to discuss this matter in the editorial isfor the serious concern; are we really spending enoughresources for R & D? I am really doubtful. One simpleexample is, if you refer the Engineer Journals of IESL forthe last 10 years, you will not find a considerable num-ber of papers from the industry. This situation is far be-low compared to developed countries. It also demon-strates the interest level of the Sri Lankan engineers onR & D activities. Recently in the Library and Publica-tions committee, this matter was discussed and someactive young members proposed to conduct a series ofseminars/workshops to enhance the technical writingskills of engineers. Most of the engineers feel that thereason for lack of technical writing skills among engi-neers is due to insufficient access to technical materialand hence no proper update in technical writing after theirgraduation. This is partly true, because, after the gradu-ation young engineers are serving 24/7 for their companyand they do not find time for technical updates. Otherobvious reason is the lack of interest.

I personally have observed new inventions or new waysof doing things proposed by engineers being now in goodshape in the industry. Sometimes, those have been evenproposed by trainees during their in-plant training. Unfor-tunately, those are in practice only and not discussedamong the engineering community. The avenue to pub-lish this is very clear; it is the Engineer Journal of IESL.Of course, it will be refereed and serious comments re-ceived. However, it has to be treated positively to de-velop their career.

I request the engineers to promote R & D in the industryand to start writing technical papers. It is the responsi-bility of IESL to organize necessary workshops/semi-nars for engineers targeting more technical papers forIESL annual sessions and the Engineer Journal by theengineers in the industry. This could be co-authored byacademics with their input, but not as a requirement foran MSc or MEng or PhD degree for their students. Thishas to be solely to upgrade the R & D skills of engineersin the industry and to elevate them to international level.Udeni [email protected]

Notice to Associate Members,NOVEMBER / DECEMBER PROFESSIONAL REVIEW (PR)

The deadline for receiving PR applications for the November/ December PR will be 30thOctober, 2016. However for your own benefit you are advised to make your application asearly as possible without waiting till the last date.

You are required to submit 03 sets of normal files prepared with under mentioneddocuments filled in order 1-11 as shown below. One file should contain originalapplication, original Log Book, and Experience Report Documents.

You are required to submit hard copies of Confidential Reports which is available on ourwebsite for proposers to fill & send to IESL with the application (The proposer’s confidentialreports have to be submitted in sealed envelopes)

1.) IESL Event participation Report :

Event Dates

Annual session

Annual seminar

Field trip

Memorial lectures

Events

Committee participation

•Please use a separate sheet

1.) Completed Application form2.) Birth Certificate3.) Degree Certificate4.) “B” Paper Letter (If passed)5.) 1st Appointment Letter6.) Log Book7.) Experience Report8.) CPD Report9.) Design Report/ Project Report (to be submitted separately)10.) Design Report/ Project Report (to be submitted separately)11.) Confidential Reports Received 1 2 3 4

All originals of Application form, Log book and Experience report in one file andthe other two to contain copies of these documents.

Contd. from page 1....

TECHNO SRI LANKA 2016Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Megapolis and Western Region Developmentgraced the occasion as the chief guest. The annual national engineering and technologyexhibition, is to be held for its 31st consecutive year on 07th,08th and 09th October 2016at the BMICH. The best of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka, this flagship event of the IESLbrings forth the latest in technologies, products, skills and best practices from the world overto its target audience and is a beacon for the transfer of technology towards scientific andtechnological excellence of the profession and related industry in the country.

The lighting of the traditional Oil Lamp and national anthem was followed by the President ofIESL, Eng. Wimalasena Gamage’s welcome address.

President Elect of IESL and Chairman of the Techno Sri Lanka 2016 Organizing Committee,Eng.Jayavilal Meegoda in his introduction speech explained the idea behind selecting thetheme "Engineering Excellence for a Smarter Planet" for this year’s exhibition and itsaim to promote smart and sustainable development in the country while inculcating theculture of innovation among school children and encouraging entrepreneurial startups espe-cially among young engineers.

Addressing the audience in what was tagged as the ‘Techno Talk’ Hon. Minister Ranawakapraised the selection of the theme; “ Engineering Excellence for a Smarter Planet” for thisyears’ exhibition by IESL for its reflection of the trend and times in the country’s developmentprocess and the opportunity for innovative thinking and vital role for engineers in it. Hedetailed the smart city concept within the Megapolis Development Plan and the strategiesbeing adopted to achieve various objectives and goals of the project.

The Question and Answer session that followed the speeches saw the Hon. Minister ex-plaining the opportunities arising for the country’s engineers in the various infrastructureprojects within the Megapolis Development Plan and Western Region Development Plan ofhis ministry. President Elect of IESL providing answers to what’s to be expected from theexhibition explained the focus this year on helping engineering entrepreneurial startups throughthe various steps to establish themselves as successful enterpreneurs.

The event was also the occasion to handover tokens of sponsorship for sponsors of theexhibition.The Vote of Thanks was proposed by Vice President of IESL, Eng. (Prof.) Mrs. NiranjanieRatnayake and this was followed by Cocktails with which the event concluded.


Site Visit to Green Electric Energy Park at Curtin University,Perth, Western Australia by Institution of Engineers,

Sri Lanka, Western Australia Chapter

Welcoming the touring party

In the chilly morning of theSaturday 18th June 2016,with the temperature hover-

ing around 7°C, about 20 en-thusiastic IESLWA membersgathered at the Green Elec-tric Energy Park (GEEP) ofCurtin University in Bentley,Western Australia as themonthly technical activity or-ganized by the Electrical En-gineering subcommittee ofIESLWA. Despite the high de-mand for the visit, the atten-dance had been limited to 20due to the space and otherlimitations of the facility. Aftergetting warmed up with tea,coffee and delicious snacks

A bird’s eye view of GEEP external installations

Keenly interested participants at the Polycrystalline PV array

Many more questions at the amorphous silicon PV array

organized by the Curtin Uni-versity, the tour party waswarmly welcomed by the Di-rector and the Concept De-signer of the GEEP laboratory,Dr. Sumedha Rajakaruna, aSenior Lecturer in the Depart-ment of Electrical and Com-puter Engineering. Being amember of the current execu-tive committee of IESLWA, agraduate of University ofMoratuwa and also being a lec-turer of recently graduated en-gineers, Dr. Rajakaruna was afamiliar face to many who at-tended.

After a brief introduction tothe overall facility, the tour-ing party was provided alengthy guided tour to eachof the outdoor renewableenergy installations. Due tothe rising installation of so-lar photovoltaic (PV) arrayson rooftops of residentialhouses, there was a keeninterest on the three differ-ent types of solar PV arrayson display. The three PV ar-rays featured the three mostcommonly used cell types,viz. monocrystalline, poly-crystalline and amorphoussilicon. All three arrays wereon 1-axis trackers tracking

the sun’s position from Eastto West, powered and con-trolled independently. Eachof the PV array could beconfigured into different se-ries/parallel connections toresult in suitable voltage/current ratings for the differ-ent types of electrical loadsapplied at the indoor teach-ing/research stations.

The intensity of solar radia-tion falling on the PV mod-ules and the backside tem-perature of the PV modulesare measured using sen-

sors mounted to the track-ing PV arrays.In addition,a full-scale weather moni-toring station could be seenatop a 11m tower makingreal-time measurements ofall the important weatherparameters such as tem-perature, wind speed, inso-lation etc. to correlate withthe renewable energy pro-duced by the varioussources. On the displaywere two wind turbines, onehorizontal-axis and one ver-tical-axis on 11m towerswith a dedicated anemom-eter also at 11m height.The down-wind type three-

bladed horizontal-axiswind turbine is rated at2.5kW with blade anglecontrol for power regula-tion. The 1 kW vertical-axiswind turbine also is of threeblade type and used adump load for power regu-lation and a short-circuitingbreaker to protect the elec-trical installation from over-voltages during high windspeeds. Both turbinesused Permanent MagnetSynchronous Motor(PMSM) generators.

A micro-hydro power stationusing induction motor as a gen-erator also attracted the atten-tion of many. A variable speedinduction motor driven pumpsimulated the high pressurewater of a natural hydro powerstation. The demonstrationmade it clear how the powergenerated could be fed to thegrid similar to a grid-connectedmini-hydro station and also howthe regulated power can be sup-plied to a small rural commu-nity such as in a stand-alonemicro-hydro station. The flow,pressure of water, speed of theturbine are all made availableboth through analog meters at

the site as well as digitally onthe computer network.

Another interesting feature ofthe lab was the hydrogen basedpower generating station. The1.2kW Proton Exchange Mem-brane (PEM) fuel cell stackcombines pure hydrogen withoxygen in air to produce elec-tricity, heat and water. The sup-ply of hydrogen can be throughthe feed from an onsiteelectrolyser decomposing waterinto hydrogen and oxygen orfrom commercial hydrogen

Contd. on page 7....


At the horizontal axis and vertical axis wind turbines

At the micro hydro and solar water pumping station

The electrolyser, PEM fuel cell stack and metal hydridecanisters

GEEP teaching stations

Demonstration of teaching stations

stored in small metal hydridecanisters. The power gener-ated can be used to feed di-rectly to the grid or to form aregulated stand-alone dc or acpower supply using dc/dc con-verter and dc/ac inverter. A pro-grammable 3-phase, 400V,

9.1kW resistive load bank thatcan simulate the load profile ofany real load and the 48V,320Ah lead-acid battery bankwere the other external facili-ties. These two pieces ofequipment were later demon-strated as key to forming astand-alone microgrid.

Having learnt about all the ex-ternal installations, the tourgroup was then given a detaileddescription and demonstrationof how the renewable energygenerated is used for teachingand research purposes at the

7 teaching stations and 4research stations insidethe GEEP building. At thethree teaching stationsdedicated for each solar PVarray, it was shown how thegrid-feeding of solar energyis made, how the batteries

can be charged throughsolar charge controllers,how such batteries canthen be used to form an is-land power supply, how thecharacteristics of solar PVmodules can be measuredelectrically under differentoperating conditions. At thewind power teaching sta-tions it was demonstratedhow the variable frequency,variable voltage ac is firstrectified and then convertedto grid frequency ac forgrid-connection.

The final demonstration washow a stand-alone ac microgridcan be formed using batterybackup and inverters. The 3x1-phase, 230V, 5kW back up in-verters worked in a master-slave arrangement to form the3-phase ac supply to the pro-grammable load and to receivepower from the renewable en-ergy sources and to charge/discharge the battery bank.The demonstration showed thesteady-state at each mode ofoperation and transients duringislanding and grid-resynchronization. The powersystem was thus shown to beoperated as either grid-con-nected or islanded.

The most attractive feature ofthe laboratory was its userfriendly design with all digitalmeasurements and custommade software. The worksta-

Three single-phase microgrid-forming back up inverters and switchboardat the middle of the photo.

tion computers displayedeach teaching stationgraphically with real-timeupdating power andweather data. Studentscould view the variations ofselected electrical orweather parameters on themonitor at different time/frequency scales, retrievehistorical data over manyyears, save data on Excelfiles or log real-time databy the click of a button forthe preparation of lab re-ports. The whole labora-tory was designed in apaperless approach withdata recording, analysis,report preparation, sub-mission, grading and feed-back all made in a digitaldomain.

Furthermore, the GEEP real-time data can be accessedremotely over the internet. Us-ing this facility and high pre-cision cameras and micro-phones installed, laboratoryclasses can be delivered toremote overseas campuses.It was reported that the regu-lar lab classes were deliveredin this manner in the last twoyears to Sri Lanka Institute ofInformation Technology(SLIIT) at Malabe, Sri Lankademonstrating its effective-ness.

The participants were of highpraise to Dr. Rajakaruna andto the IESL WA Chapter forproviding such a rare oppor-tunity to visit a unique stateof the art laboratory in renew-able energy.

Contd. from page 6.... Site Visit ....


The spirit of inquiry is anessential element increating the next gen-

eration of innovators. Promot-ing and nurturing that spirit ofinquiry among the students isthe primary goal of Intel® Edu-cate Future Scientist pro-gram. The program is aimedat enabling the next genera-tion of innovators to have anoutstanding grounding in sci-ence, technology, engineeringand math (STEM) throughcurricula, competitions andonline educational resources.

Intel Educate Future Scientistprogram curricula is designedto help teachers learn how tospark curiosity and foster thespirit of research & innovationamong students, even as theyunderstand the inquiry basedlearning approach to science,explore the scientific methodand learn how to guide stu-dents to prepare for – and suc-cessfully participate in –na-tional and international sci-ence fairs.

A two days workshop was or-ganized for science teachersfrom schools across SriLanka. 67 science teachersfrom different colleges partici-pated in the workshop. Mr. JMeegoda (IESL), Mr. Indika(Intel), representative fromNSF were present in the in-auguration of the workshop.

Intel® Educate Future Scientist Workshop Sri Lanka Foundation,Colombo, Sri Lanka July 4th & 5th, 2016

First day of the workshopwas completely devoted ofInquiry –based learning inclassroom and Using Scien-tific Method in teaching sci-ence as subject. Both thesessions were enjoyed bythe participants.

The sessions were demo-in-teractive and discussionbased. Teachers were en-gaged in healthy discus-sions through prompts. Thelearning form the sessionsenriched learning of teachersand exposed to the approachwhich can really make theirscience classes a happen-ing place.

‘This is very important work-shop for me as a scienceteacher. I learnt how to pro-mote my students in theclassroom. Build upon theknowledge of scientificmethod and how it should be

Mr. J. Meegoda, PresidentElect, IESL Sri Lanka in hisaddress to the participantsshared the objective of theworkshop and motivated theteachers to facilitate & guidethe students in promoting In-quiry Based Learning so astheprojects ideas of students’ willhave scientific method ap-proach. He also shared theguidelines for JIY 2016. Mr.Indika from Intel shared aboutIncubation Centers and howthese centers can be support-ive and helpful for teachers andstudents.

The workshop was aimed onencouraging the teachers tofoster a spirit of enthusiasmamong their students to-wards Inquiry Based Learning

(IBL), incorporate scientificapproach in teaching sci-ence in their classroom. En-couraging students to ex-plore the knowledge beyondconfined walls of classroom.To enhance the knowledgelevel and also inculcate 21stcentury skills and at thesame prepare themselves forshowcasing their scientifictalent through innovativeprojects by participating innational and internationalscience fairs.

followed in class.’- I P S WElapatha, MR/Warakapitiya, M.V

‘Inquiry based learning whichwas introduced in the work-shop is very important andvaluable for creating an in-ventor in a student. We candevelop the rationality of stu-dent brain by the use of In-quiry based and ScientificMethod.’ -K C Abeyrathna,Kadawath Central College.

‘It is very useful program forall teachers. We got moreknowledge on Inquiry basedlearning and teaching pro-cesses.- E H A G Bandara,Mayukapada CollegeMawanella.

Second day of the workshopwas focused on ‘PreparingStudents for Science Fairs’with theme as ‘From class-room to Science Fairs’. Tocompliment the theme ISEFparticipants 2015 & 2016from Sri Lanka were invitedand were f2f with teachers.Abhishek Gomes,Chamindu Jayasinka & P MLochana priud winners inISEF 2016 and Ms. Sanjuwinner in ISEF2015 had awonderful interaction withteachers. They shared andtalked about their journeyfrom Regional fair to National

fair and then ISEF. Theyshared how going to ISEF hascompletely changed their per-sonality and outlook towardslife. Listening from winners en-thralled teachers and moti-vated them a lot.

Post interaction with students,session on how teachers canhelp and support students inmaking the mark in National& International Fairs with spe-cial focus on ISEF. Teachersenjoyed the session and en-quired any possible confusionthey had on anything. Mr J.Meegoda, also came in be-tween the session and sharedin the detail the instruction andguidelines for 2016 JIY com-petition.

‘This workshop was a very suc-cessful one which will helpme to train my students forthis year JIY competition andhopefully for ISEF.’K G PBuddhiya Wijerathna, A/Manankattiya Sri SaranandaVidyalaya?

‘My students have partici-pated in Sri Lanka SEF in2013 but now after participat-ing in this workshop we havegot more scientific and sys-temic knowledge about howwe can prepare our studentsfor such kind of fairs. How canwe motivate students to be-come an inventor or scientist.Inoka Piyasinghe, T/ ThomasCollege(National School)Matale.

Workshop ended with valedic-tion ceremony. Teachers re-ceived their participation cer-tificates and a pen drive whichhad IEFS curriculum and ISEF2016 video.


PREVENTION OFFLOODING BY THE KELANI RIVER

DURING THE MONSOON USINGFREELY AVAILABLE WIND ENERGY

by Eng. A. L. G. Wijeyekoon (Membership No: M 378)

Introduction – A suggestedmethod is given in this shortpaper to prevent flooding of

the Kelani river during the mon-soon season using the freelyavailable wind during this time.The capital expenditure spenton it will amply repay over theyears when compared to theheavy damages it has causedto the livelihood and propertiesof people living in the areasnear the river. With globalwarming a key factor in thecoming years, it would be pru-dent to think of flooding anddamages caused by it espe-cially if a Megapolis is beingcontemplated here. Of courseit is assumed that proper drain-age of water from these areasto the river is carried out andmaintained, as the proposedmethod will only prevent theKelani from flooding.

Concept – During the time ofthe South West Monsoon thewind energy in the Mannar andPuttlam regions are high andit is proposed to use this en-ergy tapped via wind turbinesinstalled here to pump out theadditional water flow out at theestuary of the river with suit-able electric pumps installedat this location. As the waterlevel rises the pumps will startautomatically in sequence asindicated in the calculation.During normal times, the elec-trical energy generated by thewind turbines will supply powerto the grid and as the waterlevel in the river rises, thispower will be used by thepumps in a sequence to pumpout the excess water to thesea, thus keeping the levelfrom rising above a set figure.

Calculations – During thedry season the Kelani levelcan be taken at 5’ and thewater discharged as 880cusecs. At monsoon timesthe water level will rise to about7’ and the outflow around54000 cusecs. These figuresare taken for the calculationhere. However more accuratevalues may be taken from therecent heavy flooding that oc-curred and used to calculatethe power required with anadditional safety factor.

Therefore from the above fig-ures it will be necessary topump out about (54000 – 880)or 53120 cusecs of water tothe sea at the estuary to keepthe level at 5’ during monsoontimes theoretically. This wouldbe about 3,320,000 lbs/sec(62.5 x 53120) and if the wa-ter is pumped at a height of3’, the energy required will be9,960,000 ft lbs/sec ( 3 x3,320,000 ). This works out to9,960,000/550 = 18109 HP or0 .746 x 18109 KW which is13.5 MW.

Project -The above energyrequired can be obtained eas-ily from 7 Nos: 2 MW wind tur-bines which installed inMannar and connected to thegrid will give maximum perfor-mance during monsoontimes.

It is suggested that 7 Nos: 2MW pumps be installed at theestuary of the Kelani river andthe water pumped out to seaat a height of 3’ and to a dis-tance of about 50 yardsthrough suitably sized pipesfrom each pump.

One pump at a time shouldstart automatically for every3" rise in water level, thuspreventing the water risingto flood level which is takenin this example as 7’. In or-der to work out the powerrequired, it may be best touse the levels and flow rateobtained during the recentflooding, as then the num-ber of wind turbines andpumps can be ascertainedfor these values.

The wind turbines andpumps should belong to theCeylon Electricity Board, sothat apart from the mainte-nance of this equipment, nocost of running will be in-curred by the governmentsince the wind energy isfree. Also during normaltimes the wind energy sup-plied to the grid will be morethan ample to cover suchcosts.

It is roughly estimated thatcapital costs will be around25 to 30 million US Dollarsbut will be small when com-pared to the loss caused byflooding which can occurmore often annually duringto global warming.

Also as mentioned earlier,all drains and outlets lead-ing to the river in the area,should be cleaned andmaintained by the authori-ties concerned to preventthe disaster that occurredrecently. The project de-scribed will only prevent theriver from flooding.

Contd. from page 1... PRESIDENT’S CORNER.....PRESIDENT’S CORNER.....PRESIDENT’S CORNER.....PRESIDENT’S CORNER.....PRESIDENT’S CORNER.....

The IESL and our professionals worked hard with other professionals under the United Profes-sionals Movement on government proposed ETCA and were able to convince the them, gov-ernment and planning authorities, of the future repercussions of unplanned bilateral agree-ments on professional works performed by our own professionals. Now our own professionalEngineers and professional of other disciplines are part of the planning process. It is the bestopportunity for our engineers to formulate good action plans to utilize our talents and give theleadership in the development process in a sustainable manner.

Another milestone of IESL is that the government has decided to implement the RailwayElectrification and Modernization Project (REMP) with the assistance of Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB). Late great Engineer Eng. D. J. Wimalasurendra proposed railway electrificationwith his hydropower development project in 1918 and in 2008 the IESL appointed task forcesubmitted a very comprehensive report with experts of Sri Lanka Railway(SLR) and the CeylonElectricity Board (CEB). The dream has come to realization and now it is our duty as IESLmembers to join together and work hard to complete this endeavor for people’s benefit andeconomic development by transport sector as well.

All these events indicate to us that synergy of engineers is the best way to achieve our lostplace in the society. Therefore, on behalf of the IESL Council I urge all of you to come forwardwith different development proposals and the council is always with the members to promoteyour valuable proposals and to convince the government the value of the Engineers.

ACM Student Chapterof the University ofMoratuwa organized

a discussion with Eng.Arjuna Manamperi, an emi-nent speaker and a CouncilMember from The Institutionof Engineers Sri Lanka(IESL). The discussion un-der the topic “How engineer-ing undergraduates can workwith IESL for professional de-velopment” was held on the16th of June, 2016 at theSeminar Room of the De-partment of Computer Sci-ence and Engineering, Uni-versity of Moratuwa.

Eng. Manamperi started thesession by reflecting uponhis past industrial experi-ences and the passion hehad for Production Engineer-ing. As a fresh graduate fromUniversity of Peradeniya, hehad joined the state sectorfor a brief six-month period,before joining Walker Sons& Co. Ltd. while workingwhere he obtained the IESLCharter. Sharing over threedecades of experiences inSri Lanka and USA, Eng.Manamperi explained thevalue of taking calculatedrisks to define his career andthe variety of roles he playedin organizations as a trans-formational leader.

The next part of the sessionwas conducted in an inter-active manner where Eng.Manamperi explained aboutthe past heroes of IESL suchas Eng. B. D. Rampala,

Eng. (Dr) A. N. S.Kulasinghe, and Eng. D.J.Wimalasurendra. He askedfor the opinion of studentsabout their future ambitions.Most of the students had theidea of joining the industry.A few had the idea of con-tinuing their career as Aca-demics. He gave a broadercareer vision and explainedthe mission critical impor-tance of “Solving Sri Lanka'sproblems and doing valueadded work delivering prod-ucts, services, and intellec-tual properties to global mar-kets earning foreign ex-change”. Eng. Manamperielaborated on the difficulteconomic challenges SriLanka is facing and the dutyof young professionals toserve their country.

Eng. Manamperi explainedthe benefits of becoming anIESL member and the impor-tance of working with IESLfor the betterment of the En-gineering profession and ourcountry. During this part ofthe session, he showcasedmany of the digital resources(IESL news letter SLEN, En-gineer Journal, Videos, Pub-lic Lecture live streaming,etc.) that are accessible tothe public through IESLwebsite (www.iesl.lk), IESLFaceBook Page and IESLTwitter (@iesllanka and@iesl_mesc) and encour-aged the gathering to makethe best use of them andpromote them within theUniversity community. Hewas very emphatic aboutuniversity students contrib-uting to IESL publications,participating in IESL publiclecturers, and utilizing IESLphysical resources in col-laborative efforts that wouldsupplement students’ edu-cational experiences.

The discussion concludedwith a brief question andanswer session.

Food for Thoughtfor FutureEngineers

by Eng (Dr.) Chandana GamageChairman -

IT & Communications Engineering SectionalCommittee of the IESL


MEANS OF ESCAPE PLAN IN FACTORIESProposed by : Eng. L G Jansz

Deputy Commissioner of Labour (Tech.) andDeputy Chief Factory Inspecting Engineer

Industrial Safety DivisionDepartment of Labour

No. 97, Jawatta Road, Colombo -5. Tel: 071 4461670

28th April, 2016-International Safety Day

1.1 Introduction

1.2 The Practical Problems

1.3 Legal Requirements

1.4 Emergency Instructions

1.5 Conclusions

1.6 References

1.1 Introduction

This article has beencreated to assistthose who have re-

sponsibility for ensuring firesafety in factories and stor-age premises in Sri Lanka.The sections 39, 41 and 42of the Factories Ordinanceplace a duty on employers,managers, owners and oth-ers in relation to fire safety.The article may also be help-ful to all other persons witha role in ensuring fire safetyin factories and storage pre-mises.

Fire can pose a serious riskto the occupants of factoriesand storage premises.Some buildings or sites con-tain hazardous or dangerousmaterials or processes withthe potential for fire or explo-sion posing an additionalrisk to persons on, or in theimmediate vicinity of, thepremises. This article willassist owners, managersand staff to achieve a firesafe environment in their pre-mises and will also assist inachieving compliance withthe safety law.

Nobody expects a fire emer-gency or disaster – espe-cially one that affects themanagement, their employ-ees, and their business per-sonally. Yet the simple truthis that fire emergencies anddisasters can strike anyone,anytime, and anywhere.Management staff and em-ployees could be forced toevacuate the factory whenleast expects it.

The best way to protect man-agement staff, employees,and business is to expectthe unexpected and developa well-thought out fire evacu-ation plan to guide when im-mediate action is neces-sary. (U.S. Department ofLabor Occupational Safety

and Health Administration,[OSHA 3088], 2001).A workplace fire emer-gency is an unforeseensituation that threatensemployees, customers, orthe public; disrupts orshuts down operations; orcauses physical or envi-ronmental damage.

Fire emergency may benatural or manmade, firesand toxic gas releasesresult in bodily harm andtrauma. Design, construc-tion, protection, location,arrangement and mainte-nance of required exit fa-cilities should provide fireescape from all buildingserected, altered orchanged in occupancy(OSHA 3088, 2001).

It is advisable to have a fireescape plan to ensure thatthere are adequate fireevacuation procedures inplace, with additionalevacuation procedures fordisabled people. To helpidentify fire evacuation pro-cedures, evacuationroutes and the location offirefighting equipment tostaff and visitors, it is rec-ommended that floor plansare prepared and dis-played in prominent loca-tions (International Stan-dards Organization, [ISO23601], 2009).

In case of fire emergencyin a factory, first priorityshould be given to the livesof the employees. There-fore the employees have tobe evacuated immediatelythrough the fire escapeplan within a limited timeperiod to the “travel dis-tance” to a safe placecalled “assembly area” or“area of refuge”. Thereforeall factories, covered un-der the section 39 of theFactories Ordinance musthave an effective fire planin order to fulfill this objec-tive (Factories OrdinanceNo. 45 of 1942).

Further fire escape re-quirements for a factorybuilding shall be basedupon the type of use or oc-cupancy of the building,the occupant load, thefloor area, the travel dis-tance to an exit, and thecapacity of the exits(ICTAD Publication No:ICTAD/DEV/14, 2nd edition(Revised), 2006). Theother requirements re-

quired as per the (ICTADPublication No: ICTAD/DEV/14, 2nd edition (Revised),2006) are Every story of a buildingshall be provided with exit fa-cilities for its occupant load.· Vertical exits (stair-case or ramps) provided fromany storey above groundlevel may serve simulta-neously all storeys aboveground level and vertical ex-its provided from any storeybelow ground level mayserve all storeys belowground level.

Where different parts of afactory building or storey ofa factory building are de-signed for different types ofoccupancies or used for dif-ferent purposes at the sametime, the exit requirementsof the entire building orstorey of the building shallbe determined on the basisof that type of occupancy orusage having the strictestexit requirements, or the exitrequirements for each build-ing section shall be deter-mined separately.

The best way is to prepareto respond to a fire emer-gency before it happens.Few people can think clearlyand logically in a crisis, soit is important to do so inadvance.

Brainstorm the worst-casescenarios. Ask what woulddo if the worst happened andif a fire broke out in a fac-tory.

Once identified potential fireemergencies, consider howthey would affect manage-ment and employees and howto respond.

The purpose of escape plansis to help people orient them-selves in relation to theplanned escape route. In thisway, the escape plan comple-ments the facility’s safetyexit guidance system. Theseplans, which may be dis-played as signs in workplaces and in public areas,may also be used by fire, res-cue and medical teams, aswell as by intervention forcesin the case of terrorist attack(ISO 23601, 2009).

1.2 The PracticalProblemIt is a major concern in mostof the factories covered underthe Factories Ordinance in SriLanka, that either they do nothave the means of escapeplan in case of fire or they donot practice, display andmaintain the same.

Very few factories say theyhave means of escape planin case of fire, but are noteffectively maintaining andkeep them free fromobstruction. Due to thissituation most of theemployees are not awareabout the means of escapeplan in case of fire or what todo in case of fire emergency.

1.3 Legal RequirementsIt is a legal requirement un-der the sections 39, 41 and42 of the Factories Ordi-nance, the OccupationalSafety and Health legislation

Figure 1: Fire Evacuation Plan, Source: ISO Fire Evacuation Plan

in Sri Lanka, that the every fac-tory to which this means of es-cape plan in case of fire underthe FactoriesOrdinance applies shall be cer-tified by the Factory InspectingEngineer and all means of es-cape specified in the certificateshall be properly maintained andkept free from obstruction (Fac-tories Ordinance No. 45 of 1942).

Means of escape in case offire; under the section 39 ofthe Factories Ordinance No.45 of 1942

(1) Every factory to whichthis section applies shall be cer-tified by a Factory InspectingEngineer as being provided withsuch means of escape in caseof fire for the persons employedtherein as may reasonably berequired in the circumstancesof each case and, if any pre-mises with respect to which nosuch certificate is in force areused as a factory, the occupiershall be guilty of an offence andliable on conviction thereof to afine not exceeding twenty-fivethousand rupees, and if the con-travention in respect of whichhe was so convicted is contin-ued after the conviction, he shall(subject to the provisions of sec-tion 110 of the Factories Ordi-nance) be guilty of a further of-fence and liable in respectthereof to a fine not exceedingfive hundred rupees for each dayon which the offence was socontinued.

It shall be the duty of the Dis-trict Factory Inspecting Engineerfor every district to examine ev-ery such factory within the dis-trict and, on being satisfied thatthe factory is so provided as

Contd. on page 11 ...

Contents


Contd. fron page 10...

MEANS OF ESCAPE....aforesaid, to give such a cer-tificate accordingly. The certifi-cate shall specify precisely andin detail the means of escapeprovided, and shall contain par-ticulars as to the maximumnumber of persons employedor proposed to be employed inthe factory as a whole and, ifthe Factory Inspecting Engi-neer thinks fit, in any specifiedpart thereof, and as to any ex-plosive or highly inflammablematerial stored or used and asto other matters taken into ac-count in granting the certifi-cate. The certificate shall beattached by the occupier to thegeneral register maintained inthe factory.

(2) All means of escapespecified in the certificate asaforesaid shall be properlymaintained and kept free fromobstruction.(3) In the case of any fac-tory constructed or convertedfor use as a factory before thecoming into operation of thissection no offence shall bedeemed to be committed un-der this section by reason ofthe use of the factory duringany period that may elapse be-tween the coming into opera-tion of this section and thegrant or refusal of a certificateby the Factory Inspecting En-gineer after examining the fac-tory under this section, and ifthe Factory Inspecting Engi-neer refuses to grant a certifi-cate in respect of the factoryunless alternations are made,no such offence shall bedeemed to be committed whilethe alterations are being car-ried out in accordance with therequirements of the Factory In-specting Engineer.

(4) If, after the grant of acertificate, it is proposed tomake any material extensionor material structural alterna-tion of the factory premises orto increase materially the num-ber of persons employed in thefactory or in any part specifiedin the certificate, or to begin tostore or use explosive or highlyinflammable material in the fac-tory or materially to increasethe extent of such storage oruse, the occupier shall give writ-ten notice of the proposal to theFactory Inspecting Engineer.

(5) If the Factory Inspect-ing Engineer on receipt of thenotice mentioned in the lastforegoing subsection is of opin-ion that the conditions in regardto escape in case of fire will beaffected, or if at any time he issatisfied that by reason ofchanged conditions the exist-ing means of escape have be-come insufficient, he may bynotice in writing require the oc-cupier to make such alter-ations, within such period, asmay be specified in the notice.

(6) The occupier shall,within the period specified inany notice of the Factory In-specting Engineer under thissection, carry out any alterna-tions required by the notice,and upon their being carried outthe Factory Inspecting Engi-neer shall amend the certificateor issue a new certificate, andif the alterations are not so car-ried out, the Factory Inspect-ing Engineer shall, withoutprejudice to the taking of otherproceedings, cancel the certifi-cate.

(7) If it appears to an aFactory Inspecting Engineerthat the conditions in regard toescape in case of fire in anyfactory to which this sectionapplies are so dangerous thatthe factory or any part thereofought not to be used, or oughtnot to be used for a particularprocess or work, until stepshave been taken to remedy thedanger, he may make a com-plaint to a Magistrate’s Courtand the court may, on beingsatisfied of the matters afore-said, by order prohibit the useof the factory or part thereof,or its use for the particular pro-cess or work until such workshave been executed as are inthe opinion of the court neces-sary to remedy the danger.

When any works have been ex-ecuted in pursuance of suchan order as aforesaid, the Fac-tory Inspecting Engineer shallamend any certificate in forceunder this section in respectof the factory, or issue a newcertificate, as the case mayrequire.

(8) This section applies toevery factory (a) in which morethan twenty persons are em-ployed; or (b) which is beingconstructed or converted foruse as a factory at the ap-pointed date, or is constructedor so converted after that date,and in which more than ten per-sons are employed in the samebuilding on any floor above theground floor of the building; or(c) of which the constructionhas been completed before theappointed date and in whichmore than ten persons are em-ployed in the same buildingabove the first floor of the build-ing or more than twenty feetabove the ground level; or (d)in or under which explosive orhighly inflammable materialsare stored or used(FactoriesOrdinance No. 45 of 1942, pp.288-289).

Safety provisions in case offire; under the section 41 ofthe Factories Ordinance No.45 of 1942

(1) While any person iswithin a factory for the pur-pose of employment or meals,the doors of the factory, andof any room therein in whichthe person is, and any doors

which afford a means ofexit for persons employedin the factory from anybuilding or from any enclo-sure in which the factory issituated, shall not belocked or fastened in suchmanner that they cannot beeasily and immediatelyopened from the inside.

(2) Any doors openingon to any staircase or cor-ridor from any room inwhich more than ten per-sons are employed, and inthe case of any factoryconstructed or convertedfor use as a factory afterthe coming into operationof this section, all otherdoors affording a means ofexit from the factory for per-sons employed therein,shall except in the case ofsliding doors, be con-structed to open outwards.

(3) In any factory con-structed or converted foruse as a factory before thecoming into operation ofthis section, in which morethan ten persons are em-ployed in the same build-ing above the ground floor,any door, which is not keptcontinuously open, at thefoot of a staircase afford-ing a means of exit from thebuilding shall, except in thecase of sliding doors, beconstructed to open out-wards.

(4) Every hoist way orlift way inside a buildingconstructed after the com-ing into operation of thissection shall, subject ashereinafter provided, becompletely enclosed withfire-resisting materials, andall means of access to thehoist or lift shall be fittedwith doors of fire-resistingmaterials:

Provided that any suchhoist way or lift way shallbe enclosed at the top onlyby some material easilybroken by fire, or be pro-vided with a vent at the top.

(5) The Chief FactoryInspecting Engineer mayby certificate grant subjectto any conditions speci-fied in the certificate, ex-emption from compliancewith any of the require-ments of the last foregoingsubsection in any casewhere he is satisfied thatcompliance with those re-quirements is inappropriateor undesirable.

(6) Every window,door, or other exit affordingmeans of escape in caseof fire or giving accessthereto other than themeans of exit in ordinaryuse, shall be distinctivelyand conspicuously marked

by a notice printed in redletters of an adequate size.

(7) Where in any fac-tory more than twenty per-son are employed in thesame building, or explosiveor highly inflammable ma-terials are stored or usedin any building in which per-sons are employed, effec-tive provisions shall bemade for giving warning incase of fire, which shall beclearly audible throughoutthe building.

(8) The contents ofany room in which personsare employed shall be soarranged or disposed thatthere is a free passage-wayfor all persons employed inthe room to a means ofescape in case of fire (Fac-tories Ordinance No. 45 of1942, pp. 289-290).

Instructions as to use ofmeans of escape in caseof fire; under the section42 of the Factories Ordi-nance No. 45 of 1942.

Where in any factory morethan twenty persons areemployed in the samebuilding above the first flooror more than twenty feetabove the ground level, orexplosive or highly inflam-mable materials are storedor used in any buildingwhere persons are em-ployed, effective stepsshall be taken to ensurethat all the persons em-ployed are familiar with themeans of escape in caseof fire and their use andwith the routine to be fol-lowed in case of fire (Fac-tories Ordinance No. 45 of1942, pp. 290).

1.4 Emergency instruc-tions1. The employees shouldtake action if they dis-cover a fire

Immediately operate thenearest alarm call-point.

Attack the fire if possible,with appliances available,without taking personalrisks.

2. How will be peoplewarned if there is a fire

The electrical fire alarmsystem will sound on op-eration of the manually op-erated alarm call- point.

3. How the evacuation ofthe building will be car-ried out

Everyone in the buildingshould leave the buildingby the nearest exit and re-port to the assembly pointat the front of the building.

4. Identification of escaperoutes

All exit doors can be used asescape routes.

The staircase and routesleading to the front door areprotected routes.

5. Firefighting equipmentprovidedFire extinguishers are locatedin circulation areas and nearfire exit doors.

6. Duties and identity ofemployees with specificresponsibilities in theevent of fire.

On hearing the alarm:

All staff will lead visitors outof the building and assembleat the muster point.

Fire wardens will ensure:·Their areas are cleared ofpeople·Registers are collected onthe way out·The Fire Brigade is called.·A roll call is made toensure everyone is out.

7. Arrangements for thesafe evacuation of peopleidentified as being espe-cially at risk, such as con-tractors, those with dis-abilities, members of thepublic and visitors. ··Visitors: The host / em-ployee must take responsi-bility for any visitor they mayhave and ensure they leavethe building by the nearestexit.

·Contractors: must be giveninformation about fire proce-dures and leave the buildingat the nearest exit.

·People withdisabilities: Specific arrange-ments may need to be madefor those with disabilities.These arrangements may bemade with the assistance ofthe Area Health and SafetyAdviser.

8. How will the Fire Bri-gade and any necessaryemergency services becalled and who will be re-sponsible for doing this.

·On hearing the alarm safetyofficer will Dial 110 or and askfor the Fire Brigade or otheremergency service as appro-priate.

·Fire Wardens will call theFire Brigade in the absenceof safety officer (this may bebest achieved using a mobilephone).

Contd. on page 12...


9. Procedures for liaisingwith the Fire Brigade onarrival and notifyingthem of any specific risks,e.g. the location of highlyflammable materials.

Safety officer or other mem-ber of the Fire Wardens willliaise with the Fire Brigadeon their arrival.

10. The following ar-rangements and trainingis given to staff at thecentre:

·All staff: Fire Drills threetimes a year

·All staff: Fire briefing oncea year (may be in conjunc-tion with fire drill)

·Fire Warden training: fordesignated fire wardens

·Record of training to bekept within Fire ManualTraining to review on a yearlybasis and planned into bud-get (Kelsi. (n.d.). ExampleFire and Emergency Evacu-ation plan, pp. 2-3).

1.5 Conclusion

The effective and detailmeans of escape plan is avery much required for abuilding, specially for a fac-tory, industry or shoppingcomplex having multi storybuilding with large number of

MEANS OF ESCAPE....Contd. from page 11...

Printed by: Karunaratne & Sons (Pvt) Ltd, No 65 C, Thalgahawila Road, Midellamulahena, Horana.

occupant, occupied at a par-ticular time. The same willbe very much useful to re-duce the unsafe conditionsand unsafe acts during anemergency evacuation in abuilding.

If all the occupant in a par-ticular building can read, un-derstand and follow the pro-cedures of the means of es-cape plan effectively, theywill contribute not only re-duce the losses but also canhelp the emergency team todo a good job during an emer-gency. To fulfill the require-ment of means of escapeplan under the Factories Or-dinance, the legislative re-quirement in Sri Lanka, thesame to be certified by theFactory Inspecting Engineerand displayed at the conve-nient places at the factorybuilding to read and under-stand by employees in theirown languages and shall beproperly maintained and keptfree from obstruction.

According to the literature re-view, all the best and safepractices required to be fol-lowed for an effective fire es-cape plan during an emer-gency are included. The em-ployees can follow the sameeffectively, if they would haveexplained by conductingawareness programme andemergency fire evacuationrehearsals are done time to

time to upgrade their knowl-edge.

By completing the five keysteps in the Fire Safety RiskAssessment checklist (Fig-ure 2: Fire Safety Risk As-sessment) can identify andprevent the fire emergencyand disaster.

1.6 References·BS-ISO. (2009). BS-ISO-2 3 6 0 1 - I n t r o d u c t i o n -Evacusafe. Retrieved 12 31,2015, from means-of-escape:http://www.means-of-escape.com/sites/default/files/BS-ISO-23601IntroductionEvacusafe.pdf

·Labor, U. D. (2001).osha3088. Retrieved 12 31,2015, from osha: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3088.pdf

·ictad. (2006). FireRegulations. ictad.

http://www.ictad.lk/sub_pgs/publications.html·ilo. (1942).factories_ordinance. ilo.http://www.ilo.org/dyn/travail/docs/1684/1_factories_ordinance_i.pdf

·kelsi. (n.d.). Retrieved 1230, 2015, from kelsi.org:www.kelsi.org.uk/Example-Fire-and-Emergency-Evacuation-plan.doc

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