O-Engineers

5th issue, Dec 2017

Learning and Guiding

 (editorial)
Let's Talk
It is an honor for me to share views of different
engineers in front of our readers, this platform is
growing day by day and we are receiving multiple
suggestions for improvement daily, most of our en-
gineers are interested in contributing about their
own stories in every edition but we do not want to
limit this platform(magazine) for biographical pur-
poses, that is why at editing session we select the
suitable stories among the best available received
stories. we also will include the tutorial section
from January 2018, we will include the tutorials of
ETAP, Digsilent,PSCAD and other Power software'
tutorials. hope this will help us and we will learn the
new technology with the help of our own resources.
Thank you all for being with us in this journey of
learning
 Contents

Page 0 Feedback Page 1 China Pakistan

Economic Cor-
ridor
Page 18 Commonwala

Page 22 12 guidelines for successfully engaging a

Chinese EPC

Page 34 The Misconception of Training & Devel-

opment in the Construction Industry

Page 41 I Quit Page 46 Engineer

Making Dif-
ferences
Page 47 Book for this month
 Feedback

Nice work, please assign one separate section for ca-

reer development. (Engr. Suhail Ahmed)

Good Work, i will contribute some topics from my

field. (Engr. Imran Shamim)

adorable efforts, keep moving (Engr. Ashok Bhatta)

Please Improve graphical work. (Engr. Saleemullah)

Add Technical news section. (Engr. Habib Al balushi)

0
Research and authored by
Engr. Naveed Ahmed Unar
On April 21, 2015, Paki- billion US dollars to Pakistan
stan became an important sig- since 2002.
natory to Chinas One Belt One The CPEC ensures coopera-
Road Initiative as it signed a tion in civil nuclear energy,
historic agreement with China space and maritime technol-
on China Pakistan Economic ogy, counter-terrorism and
Corridor (CPEC) plan worth defense.
46 billion US dollars. The plan The China Pakistan Eco-
has now exceeded 62.5 bil- nomic Corridor is a mesh
lion US dollars and is intended connecting Gwadar port in
to extend further. According the southwestern region in
to this agreement, China will Pakistan to Chinas north-
provide 37 billion US dollars western autonomous region
in investment for electrical of Xinjiang. A network of
power generation projects up railways and pipelines to ex-
to 16400 MW. Loans based on ecute power generation and
concession up to 10 billion US infrastructure projects by
dollars will be invested on in- means of an economic path-
frastructure development. Chi- way on the Arabian Sea.
nese government and banks The corridor would trans-
China Development Bank and form Pakistan into a center
the Industrial and Commercial of economic empowerment
Bank of China Ltd. will lend and regional connectivity
to Chinese companies, which and provide China with a
will invest in projects as com- shorter and cheaper route for
mercial enterprises. The CPEC trade with Asia, the Middle
spending exceeds that of the East, Europe and Africa.
USAID, which has given 31

1
The investment aims at strengthening Pakistans ailing econo-
my and is designed on the parameters of Pakistan Vision 2025
which is devised by Planning Commission of Pakistan and ap-
proved unanimously with the support of the Executive Com-
mittee on National Economic Council (ECNEC).
While on Chinese
part, the plan is a
flagship program projects will give China
of Chinas One Belt
One Road Forum direct access to the Indian
that includes Silk Ocean
Road Economic
Belt and 21st

Century Maritime Silk Road. Chinas aim is to forge silk road

land and sea routes to markets in the Middle East and Europe.
The projects will give China direct access to the Indian Ocean
where it will touch Sir Creeks controversial boundary line.
This tendency of infiltration has caused consternation in the
board rooms of unseen FOEs establishment. CPEC project is
brainchild of China and was launched by Chinese President
XI Jinping during his visit to Pakistan in April 2015. Around
fifty-one agreements were signed out of which thirty-one were
linked to this corridor. In the recently held Belt and Road Fo-
rum in China, where the Prime Minister and the Chief Min-
isters from Pakistan gathered in Beijing, six new agreements
were embedded as part of the China Pakistan Economic Cor-
ridor including Gwadar Airport, East Bay Expressway and
Havelian Dry Port in Pakistan.

2
President Mamnoon Hussain of
Pakistan with his Chinese Coun-
terpart
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor connects Gwadar
port in Southwestern Pakistan to Chinas northwestern auton-
omous region of Xinjiang consisting of 300 km from Gwadar
to Kashgar. According to Firstpost report,

This is the biggest overseas investment by China announced

yet and the corridor is expected to be operational within three
years and will be a strategic gamechanger in the region. The
project also aims to improve intelligence sharing between the
countries.

As per The Guardian report,

The Chinese are not just offering to build much-needed in-
frastructure but also make Pakistan a key partner in its grand
economic and strategic ambitions. The project provides China
direct access to the resource rich Middle East region via Ara-
bian Sea, bypassing longer logistical routes currently through
the Strait of Malacca.

According to Bloomberg,
Energy security is a key concern for China, as it is the worlds
biggest oil importer, and oil pipelines through Pakistan would
cut out ocean travel through Southeast Asia.

As stated by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua

Chunying,
The corridor will survive as a driver for connectivity between
South Asia and East Asia.

11
Major projects under the corridor umbrella
are enlisted as follows:

12
China aims at con-
structing oil storage
and refinery at Gwa-
dar port so that the
oil gets transported
to its Xinjiang Ui-
ghur Autonomous
region through a
network of roads
and pipelines. This
will indeed pave the
path to ensure goods
movement to inside
China without opting
for Strait of Malacca.
According to cer-
tain speculations and
thoughtful reckon-
ing, the US or India
might try to block
the Strait of Malacca
and instigate break-
out in the region.
Iran has also shown
keen interest over
CPEC portfolio to
attach the Iran Pa-
kistan Gas Pipeline
project with China
presenting it as

13
14
a general interest between the three countries.
Having said that, China has expressed concern that some
separatist groups in Xinjiang may be collaborating with in-
surgents in Pakistan, and has expressed a desire to strengthen
security ties. The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban, Jamat Ul Ahrar
and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in association with the Islamic State
militant group in Afghanistan have claimed responsibility
for attacks on some Chinese nationals including workers and
tourists in Quetta and Mazung in Balochistan. The Express
Tribune reports that Pakistan has deployed 12000 security
personnel to protect Chinese workers in the corridor. Cur-
rently more than 12000 security officials are deployed for the
protection of over 9000 Chinese workers in Pakistan.

Munir Akram, former Pakistan Ambassador to the UN writes

in his semi-monthly column in Dawn Newspaper,
Cross boarder FOEs are patronizing terrorist groups to at-
tack soft targets in Pakistan particularly, Balochistan. Paki-
stan must take diplomatic moves to exert pressure on India to
investigate links between TTP and the militant Islamic State
group, and the relationship between TTP and intelligence
agencies of India and Afghanistan. Chinas emergence as a
global economic and military power offers a historic oppor-
tunity for Pakistan. It must be grasped with both hands. The
CPEC project is critical, economically and strategically for Pa-
kistan. If pursued with vision, the opportunity can encompass
investment in all sectors of Pakistans economy, rapid mod-
ernization of Pakistans defense capabilities, stabilization of
Afghanistan, and creation of an economic network under the
One Belt One Road initiative integrating Pakistan with iran

15
Iran, the GCC, Central Asia and Russia.
Militant separatist regimes are being engineered in Balo-
chistan that are the Balochistan Liberation Army and Jun-
dullah, that have carried out bombings. These banned outfits
have carried out the bombings and are evidently mentored
by India. Another important aspect of CPEC is that it passes
through the Azad Kashmir, one of the areas that has been un-
der sheer conflict between India and Pakistan. Munir Akram
writes,
Cross Boarder FOE is maintaining regular shelling along
the LoC in disputed area . Pakistan must keep its nerve and
should take account of Indias comprehensive strategy by por-
traying it as a terrorism sponsor while it sponsors TTP and
separatism in Balochistan.
In the first week of June, elite IS leadership was gunned down
in Mastung in an intelligence led operation as quoted by
Weekly Dawn. The operation was designed as a reaction to an
in-detail report regarding abduction of two Chinese language
instructors from Quetta on May 24. A week ago in the same
month, twenty-eight people were martyred when a suicide
bomber exploded himself on the convoy of Senate Deputy
Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri in Mastung. It
could well have the premier intelligence led operation against
a terrorist outfit since 2015.
Wu Zhaoli, Assistant Research Fellow at the National Institute
of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
in his article published in global times, argued that security
concerns are a critical cause which helps to determine the
path of this corridor.
Another debate that has risen over the period of time is

16
whether CPEC projects are loans or Foreign Direct Invest-
ment. We have been economist commentators referencing
CPEC to the East India Company. On the other side, we hear
meaningless repetitive remarks showing gratitude towards the
initiatives. This is almost obfuscating whether it needs foreign
direct investment or not.
In this regard, Moazzam Hussain author of the book, Put-
ting Pakistan Right: Standpoints on the War on Terror, En-
ergy, Transit Corridors and Economic Development writes a
column in Dawn Newspaper titled as, Chinese investment
where he concludes that overwhelmingly the CPEC funds fell
within the definition of FDI. He further states in the same ar-
ticle,
As a developing country, Pakistan is going to need tens of bil-
lions of dollars of investment to build power generation and
transmission capacity.
In summary, it can be concluded that although Pakistan had
probably a rather feasibly impossible alternate in terms of
Build Operate and Transfer (BOT), therefore, it opted for
an easily accessible, practically motivated and strategically vi-
able option in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Pakistan simply cannot afford to standstill nor can it prosper
without an inrush of investment paraphernalia if it aims at
securing its place amongst the top twenty-five economies and
emerge as an economic leader in the world market by the end
of 2025. This is indeed a roadmap towards historic inclusion
in the Group of 20 (G20) in 2030.

17
Commonwala
Engr. Qazi Arsalan Hamid

18
Farman is a nice guy, he studied electronics at Mehran Uni-
versity, he asked me via email about our Entrepreneur pro-
gram, I invited Farman to meet me during my visit to Paki-
stan, when I met with him I found him causal and introvert,
we discussed his plans for startup, and with his permission I
want to put his story in front of you, Farman told Arsalan, I
am not a job guy, I want to do something different, I want to
develop my own business app and website from which I can
trade something which is Need not luxury, I investigate
what is the requirement of common people, housewives, on
the job peoples, teachers etc. today, I talked my family and my
relatives, then I started assembling the business idea, I thought
most of the business will be ex-
pected from housewives, as they
are totally occupied with the I can trade some-
home business but they also have thing which is
a need of clothes, eligible tutors,
better schools for their children, Need not luxu-
pick and drop for their children, ry
etc. so I started working on it I
surveyed different shopping malls and talked to different
shopkeepers about their designs and available cloth materi-
als, most of them not interested but few of them give me com-
plete details as they are interested to increase their sells, then
I talked different lady tailors, few of them are ready to give me
rates as again they are ready to expand their business, also I
talked to different family relatives, they also show their inter-
est to work for me at very low rates, most of my friends sisters
and mothers ready to work for me at very low rates, and

19
when I match the rates of tailors with them, it is about 40 to
60% less with quite good expertise.

Right now, sir, we are in process of application and web devel-

opment, from where you can select designs and style of your
clothes, then we will contact customers, and after taking com-
plete dimensions from them (if they are ok to define on phone
it is good, else we will visit them with lady sales representa-
tive )assure them within three days we will deliver the order if
it is under 3000 PKR, more than 3000 PKR order we will ask
for a week, we will do the complete buying after taking 50%
advance , and rest will be paid on delivery), for tutors we will
show about 40 profiles with complete details on our websites,
who would be available after complete talks with parents and
our administration.

Farman stopped his talk here and tell me, we want to intro-
duce many new things which will be need of the time but not
luxury, I forwarded his complete business written plan to our
Carpediem society of learners, and now waiting for approvals,
I wish Farman good luck as he is doing something different,
he is working on needs, we will support them because he and
his website and application commonwala will generate job in
Pakistan.

20
12 guidelines fo
Chinese EPC
Engr. Irfan Akhter
or successfully engaging a
(Source: AWP)

1. Develop a management framework at the initial outset

of the project to ensure key strategic issues are addressed
through all phases of the project.

Projects involving Chinese EPC contractors must establish a

framework at the project kick-off to make sure all key strategic
issues are highlighted and that they can be addressed as part
of the Project Execution Plan. In particular, the framework
will capture opportunities and risks, and will provide sufficient
time to adopt and develop a strategy based on the specific cir-
cumstances of the project, and must be in place prior to award
of the EPC contract.

Important issues include:

*. Providing information on the governmental commitments

and stakeholder engagements that have to be met as part of
the project execution
*. Regulatory and organisational structure
*. Appropriateness of frontend engineering and contract
modelling (strong consideration of key performance indica-
tors is critical)
*. Environmental and social impact and sustainability man-
agement
*. Health and safety
*. Local content
*. Schedule development, reporting and progress measurem-

24
-ent requirements, preferred vendor and subcontractor lists,
standards and specifications against which work must be de-
livered.
*. Cash-flow and money management protocols
*. The need for early preparatory work
*. Compulsory requirements regarding design criteria and
specifications
*. The need for an independent review engineer

2. Chinese EPC contractors, and a projects surrounding com-

munity, can significantly benefit from strong health and safety
policies and procedures. EPC contractors must embed a great-
er health and safety focus in their organisational culture, at
least in the context of the project.
Any project must have outstanding safety performance and an
incident-free record to be a success. All injuries, illnesses, ac-
cidents and environmental incidents are preventable. Compre-
hensive systems for managing health, safety and environment
(HSE) and security need to be established and implemented
on the project to achieve this goal.

A health, safety and environment (HSE) plan needs to be de-

veloped for the environment and risk profile of each specific
project. Particular attention should be given to the following
areas, where Chinese EPC contractors benefit most from ad-
vice and support:

*. Making health, safety and environmental protection a per-

sonal value that guides behaviour, actions and decisions

25
*. Meeting legal and moral obligations to keep people safe and
protect the environment and community
*. Managing risk during construction, commissioning and op-
erations
*. Selecting, training and assessing competency of managers,
supervisors, HSE personnel and all other personnel
*. Facilitating consultation, including internal HSE communi-
cations, field HSE meetings and toolbox sessions
*. Managing documents and records
*. Field execution, including of site-specific HSE management
plans, travel arrangements, fitness for work and commission-
ing strategies
*. Change management
*. Preparing for and responding to crises and emergencies
*. Analysing incidents and behaviour, including in the areas of
medical services, occupational health and hygiene, and reha-
bilitation

3. Conducting design reviews and production-line quality in-

spections in China before delivery can significantly improve
an assets whole-of-life effectiveness.

A procurement quality support hub based in China can pro-

vide Pakistani customers with excellent solutions that deliver
gains in the areas of cost, schedule and quality. Management
oversight should cover the entire supply chain, beginning with
strategic advice on which materials to source from China and
proceeding to procurement, inspection, expediting, warehous-
ing, export shipment and related logistics.

26
The increased concerns associated with Chinese procurement
are typically more than offset by significant capital-cost sav-
ings. Experience has shown that it is prudent to reinvest some
of those savings into managing and mitigating the risks, cap-
turing further benefit for the project.
It is extremely beneficial to develop a strategy for managing
the risks involved in procurement, based on a rigorous and
structured process. This ensures that focus is maintained on
capturing and recording information needed to resolve issues
related to schedule, quality and cost.
Each procurement event is unique, and while general prin-
ciples may be applied, it is essential to identify, quantify and
manage the particular risks associated with individual pro-
curements. It is important to consider the possibility of co-lo-
cating engineers in contractor offices to assist with on-the-job
design reviews, procurement and manufacturing processes
approvals, and quality interventions.

4. The establishment of front-end engineering and contract

modelling is critical to ensure that key project details are fully
established before the contract is awarded.

Determining the correct contract modelling and definition,

and the preparation of contract documentation for the EPC
engagement, can be crucial to a projects success Failure to for-
mulate the contract correctly can cause misalignment of the
assets construction design, execution and operational needs,
which are all critical.

27
Advisory activities that support formulation of the contract
can include the following:
Assessment of the contracting and contract-engagement mod-
el
Establishment of quality and performance requirements
Establishment of the strategy for project delivery and an asso-
ciated, detailed schedule
Establishment of requirements to be met in supporting con-
struction activities in areas such as safety, mobilisation, camp
requirements and standards, social interfaces, regulatory com-
pliance, reporting, quality, warranties and contract compli-
ance management
Procurement establishment and appointments
Whole-of-life cost planning and analysis, integrated with de-
sign
Establishment of stakeholder relationships

5. Chinese EPC contractors benefit from support in develop-

ing a project-execution plan and
working in accordance with its requirements.

A Project Execution Plan (PEP) and associated project plans

(quality; health, safety and environment, etc.) should be de-
veloped for the execution component of the project, based on
proven methods and techniques.

Such a plan should detail responsibilities and implementation

strategies for all tasks that need to be performed to deliver the
project. It becomes a valuable tool to assist in

28
project execution that is completed and delivered according to
the baseline schedule and within the budget.

Chinese EPC contractors may not be familiar with this way of

working to a defined PEP, so such a plan must be requested in
the engagement contract and then the contractor will need to
be supported in working to it.

6. Establishing a sound approach to project logistics is critical

to the projects success.

The logistics capabilities of Chinese firms are generally excep-

tional, as their country has been refining the export of goods
for decades. Nevertheless, when working with Chinese EPC
contractors, a considered approach to establishing logistics
and office services, such as communications based on the
work methodology and actual conditions on the ground in
Pakistan, becomes another critical success factor.

The establishment of a sound approach to logistics and work

methodology is important to successfully working in remote
locations and managing large numbers of deliveries. The in-
frastructure to be provided on-site, and how best to arrange it,
must be planned to support the proposed methodology for the
project.

7. The capabilities of Chinese EPC contractors need to be sup-

plemented with environmental-management capabilities and
an appreciation of requirements.

29
Chinese EPC contractors need significant support in the man-
agement of environmental risks to ensure sustainable develop-
ment and good stakeholder relations. Effective environmental
management reflects responsible business practices that meet
the expectations of the global marketplace, and environmental
programs must be designed in a way that ensures integration
of environmental goals and due diligence with a companys
overall management system. This improves environmental
performance and helps manage risk.
Project teams have to establish life-cycle environmental solu-
tions in areas including conducting environmental feasibility
and baseline studies, negotiating environmental authoriza-
tion processes, and mitigation and management planning. It
is particularly important to seek support with environmental-
compliance monitoring in line with local and regional legal
frameworks, as well as with International Finance Corpora-
tion (IFC) and World Bank requirements.
The integration of environmental considerations with engi-
neering solutions reduces the impacts of projects from the
planning stage, optimising environmental and economic
performance, and reducing project risks and liabilities. With
assistance in the adoption of appropriate project-delivery ca-
pability, support systems, and processes, project owners em-
ploying Chinese EPC contractors can achieve timely delivery
of a technically complex program of environmental, social and
health impact assessment (ESHIA) studies.

8. The management style of the client must be adapted to

match the diverse cultures involved in the project.

30
The right leadership style is vital in working with Chinese
EPC contractors. To build confidence and trust with the client
and the EPC simultaneously, management must be profession-
al, fair and proactive, and provide timely resolutions to issues.
Therefore, an understanding of Chinas culture, hierarchical
organization structures and approaches to problem-solving
are essential. The management team should provide guidance,
mentoring and structured oversight that helps build the rela-
tionship between the owner and the EPC contractor and sup-
ports the project objectives.

9. Because Chinese EPC contractors often prefer to introduce

Chinese design and construction standards, they may need
support in adopting and following standards proven, used,
and even required in regions such as South Asia, the United
States, Australia and Europe. Use of these internationally rec-
ognized standards can improve project outcomes.

The construction standards adopted for a project can have

a significant effect on capital and future maintenance costs.
Adopting the wrong standards and construction methods at
the outset can significantly increase a projects whole-of-life
cost (total cost of ownership).
If Chinese standards are to be used, it is important to assess
the possible effects on project delivery outputs and operational
costs.
It can be great to a clients advantage to conduct an independ-
ent design review to check designs produced by contractors
and vendors, as well as to establish an approval process

31
for materials to be used in the construction of the project. This
review must start early in the construction phase to ensure
correct standards are incorporated into the contracts techni-
cal documentation.

10. Adequate management and supervision of construction

are required to ensure smooth, timely completion, as well as
quality and compliance to design.

Chinese EPC contractors reach their best performance poten-

tial under skillful management and supervision. Contractual
obligations should be enforced so the contractor has the great-
est possible opportunity to meet or exceed their performance
targets.
The inclusion of local content requires an experienced inter-
face between Chinese contractors and local workers to rec-
oncile different expectations in the areas of culture, language,
behavior and professional conduct. The EPC contractor and
management team have to work together to meet overall pro-
ject objectives and resolve non-conformances before they
evolve into adversarial situations.
It is also important to ensure that Chinese site-management
and supervisory personnel are given the proper mandate, in
line with their roles and responsibilities, to make decisions on-
site.
This prevents delays in waiting for the authority to proceed in
a certain manner and allows change to be managed effectively
as it arises on-site.

32
11. Establishing a project steering committee can significantly
improve communication between the client and decision-
makers in the Chinese EPC contractors organization.

A steering committee made up of senior management, sen-

ior technical advisory staff and the EPC contractors senior
management team provides a level of support that ensures
the project and client receive the required corporate attention
and have a mechanism for giving feedback. This can help to
overcome the issue that in Chinese organizations, lower-level
managers are not always empowered to make decisions or
may be reluctant to do so, necessitating contact with senior
management to resolve issues or expedite progress.

12. To ensure the continued operational success of the asset, a

construction closure, commissioning and operational hando-
ver review should be established, in which outcomes should
be compared with the project-execution plan.

Once complete, a project should be handed over to opera-

tions in a state of design compliance that is fit for purpose.
The works should have reached a level of completion defined
in the contract. A comparison of the engineering work with
the breakdown structure from the PEP, and with the interface-
management planning process, should confirm that all items
have been addressed and that the proposed technical packages
are complete.

33
 The Misconception of Train-
ing & Development in the Con-
struction Industry
Momtaz Alsolh, Author of "Bread without Butter"

34
35
In this article, I shall try to explain the importance of training
and development in the construction industry. I have chosen
the construction industry as my experience relates to this in-
dustry in particular but what I am about to write about could
be applicable to other industries as well.
I must say that I have managed to survive in the construction
industry for over 25 years. It was not easy to survive in such
an industry especially in the GCC region.
I am one who has always believed in continuous improve-
ment. I was in love with ISO (International Standardization
Organization) and spent many hours reading about it. My ad-
miration for the quality management system made me excel
in this field that I ended up writing my own policies and pro-
cedures for the departments that I was managing. That was a
skill that I have inherited over the years. This skill came from
my belief that policies and procedures should be strictly ad-
hered to for an organization to remain successful.
ISO dictates that any organization should promote innovation
and continuous improvement. ISO also stresses the impor-
tance of training and development for all employees and la-
borers and this for an organization to remain competitive, safe
and healthy.
Sadly, after having worked for several organizations (in several
regions in the GCC region), I have noticed that the majority of
construction companies follow the same ideology when it
comes to training and development. This is only true for those
that do offer internal or external training, to begin with as
many construction companies do not offer any training what-
soever.
36
The construction companies that do offer internal or exter-
nal training and development courses offer them to the top
management, the senior managers and the senior staff only.
This is particularly valid for office staff. They forget that it is by
empowering the lower echelon of the organization chart that
a company shall grow and excel. This is where the misconcep-
tion comes from concerning the construction industry. It is
important to believe that each and every employee is an asset
to any organization. All form one pyramid and if one shakes
then all could shake and the pyramid could fall into pieces.
During my long career in various construction companies, I
have never seen any training or development given to office
staff such as Estimation Officers, Purchase Officers, Procure-
ment Officers, IT Staff, Data entry Officers, Secretaries, Ac-
counts Officers, Administration Officers, HR Officers, Docu-
ment Controllers, Office Boys (trade should be changed to
Hospitality Officers), Cleaners (trade should be changed to
Hygiene Officers), Security Officers and so on.
In many instances, I felt obliged to offer training & develop-
ment courses myself to some of the staff that worked directly
under my supervision but never did the top management no-
tice such courses or never did anyone show gratitude for my
efforts.
I admit that at the construction sites, internal training courses
are given on health and safety to construction staff (foreman,
chargehand, acting charge hand etc.) and laborers but these
internal courses are usually given in one or two languages only
and the majority never understand what the courses are about
due to not understanding the spoken language (it is to be

37
noted here that some of the laborers don't know how to read
or write). Internal courses at the construction sites should be
conducted by arranging translators to translate in the most
common languages available. It is the right of each and every
laborer to understand the health and safety instructions that
are given as in the absence of understanding such instructions
this could be detrimental to the laborer's health and safety
and could be the direct cause of incidents at site. This matter
should be considered in risk management.
I must also admit that other staff at site are never given any
internal or external training. Such staff include but are not
limited to: Project Managers, Construction Managers, Site En-
gineers, Quantity Surveyors, Cost Controllers, QA/QC Offic-
ers, Draftsmen, Architects, Site Administration Staff, Logistics
Staff, Storekeepers (including store Staff), Warehouse Officers
or Controllers, Timekeepers, Camp Bosses, Camp Staff, Secu-
rity Staff etc.
The funny part is that internal and external Auditors never
point out that lack of training or inappropriate training is a
major risk. I believe that everyone in the organization chart of
any company and this no matter for what industry it belongs
to should have an equal chance to internal and external train-
ing & development.
Some might ask: who deserves such training & development
more?
The answer is: all site staff and all site laborers should be of-
fered internal training on health & safety with no exceptions.
For external training & development courses, such courses
could be offered to those that have the highest marks in the

38
employee performance review forms (in their appraisals) and
this no matter the category or trade. This is the main reason
why everyone in the organization chart (from top to bottom)
should be fairly and justly appraised.
I believe that time has come to reinforce the right of train-
ing and development of all staff and laborers of all categories
in the construction industry. Such training courses should be
conducted in a modernized manner taking into consideration
the latest developments in the construction industry and for
this reason any internal training course should be well pre-
pared in a professional manner using the correct technology
to deliver the course and this in the correct language of the at-
tendees.
It is to be noted that any reputable company that operates in
the construction industry should have a yearly budget (an al-
located sum of money) for external training & development
requirements.
For internal training, I believe that every construction com-
pany already has the required talent that could conduct effec-
tive training and development courses. It is not a mistake that
a CEO for example gives a particular training course to his /
her staff. Other senior staff could follow his / her example and
with time this could become best practice. This could also save
money on external courses as the in-house talent can in many
cases serve the purpose if the courses are designed and pre-
pared professionally and correctly.
Last but not least, I believe that any Labor Law should stress
on the right and importance of training & development espe-
cially for those that work at construction projects (on site).

39
Important hope: I am still praying to almighty Allah (God)
to see the light of the fair and just 2016 Labor Law in all GCC
countries.

Important reminder:

There is a saying that goes like this: Forgiven is the one that
has warned!

Tatashok, the clock is ticking (Tatashok is a name that I have

created to combine the names of two of the largest bus manu-
facturers in India). I will do what is necessary to ban your
cheap buses that come without air-conditioning. The own-
ers of these bus manufacturing companies are inhuman. The
day shall come when almighty Allah (God) shall punish you
for having allowed the suffering of millions of Laborers (and
Farmers) in the GCC region and elsewhere around the world
as well. Laborers (and farmers) come from all religions / races.
Take a healthy decision! Yes, it can be done. Do not befriend
the devil!

40
I Quit
by Engr. Qazi Arsalan Hamid
Suicide, I think is the easiest option anyone applied on him
or herself to get rid of the guiltiness, fear of loss etc. nowadays
the biggest issue with the mankind is the joblessness due to
technical advancement, robots replaced us in automation in-
dustries, manufacturing lines, computer works, etc. right now
the biggest victim of the technical advancement is technical
workforce. To reduce running costs by cutting jobs, entrepre-
neurs are ready to invest chunk of money in terms of capital
investment by buying robotic manufacturing lines, at the end
of day it is all about profit and there is no limit of profit, even
you read in previous days One restaurant in Multan employed
Robotic waitress(She later accept Islam after complaints and
started wearing hijab) instead of regular human waiter, is it af-
fected our society ?
yes offcourse just imagine if we reduce jobs what will hap-
pened! Then there will be chaos . for case study just see and
read the events of the 1980s in Mumbai India when some
corporations closed their operation and fired their employees
what happened, that unemployment caused turmoil in India,
and Bombay gangs (D-Company etc.) got birth.
We need to understand that why not our governments putting
caps on the profit margin of shark type companies and entre-
preneurs, why profit of brands like Facebook and LinkedIn is
greater than a number of countries annual budgets, job pro-
duction from these companies are much less than most of the
government and private corporations of the world. Most of
the companies are not ready to pay taxes to their government
you saw that in Panama and paradise leaks, how this greed of
profit will end no one knew, but if government put caps on the
42
profit margin and instruct private companies to maintain Man
Power: Robot employer ratio, then there may have balanced
the unrest in young and unemployed workforce, else we need
to be ready for not religious terrorism but unemployment ter-
rorism.
Suicide or I Quit moment is the extreme turn in life of any
knowledge worker, as per associated press Engineering is
among 5 top profession in which suicide rate is high in Amer-
ica, remember I am talking about AMERICA which is the 1st
world and superpower country, in India and Pakistan that
may be on top as in our society the issue is that we got job on
the basis of
References (about 80%)
On your university Good Grades (which is impossible for
an average student due to many reasons like domestic issues,
the bad body language of the teacher, biases etc. )
Monopolies (Most of the organization clearly mention that
we need engineer from specific universities)
And many other minor and major points
Our this session is dedicated to engineers like AIZAZ Ali , I
was shocked when I heard engineer from the precious univer-
sity like NUST committed suicide due to joblessness, I have
some questions in my mind?
Whose fault is it?
Why not in 5th or 6th semester, university includes sub-
jects like career counseling (Pre and Post Graduation)
Why not final year projects and thesis will get the place in
different exhibitions and conferences?
What is the role of industrial liaison department of NUST?

43
 Why not anyone points out the ineffective role of engineer-
ing bodies like PEC in Pakistan for graduation trainees pro-
grams?
And there are many questions which we need to ask but
leave them for a while as questions are lot but answers are lim-
ited and sometimes inattentive from authorities
Aizaz committed suicide due to joblessness, although he was
graduate engineer, this engineering education is itself full
of stress, most of the student committed suicide when they
failed to get even admission in universities, it is my advice to
parents please reduce the stress level on their children about
career development through medical and engineering educa-
tion, look Tendulkar is not engineer, rahat fateh ali khan is not
doctor, junaid jamshed was not a pharmacist nor Muhammad
younus or aqeel kareem dedi or abdusattar edhi was a rocket
engineer, please parent reduce educational stress level of your
children.
I just read one BBC report regarding a 17-year student of Kota
town of Rajasthan, she was at acute pressure and stress due to
college and study centers, remember study center or coach-
ing center is another level of extra education coat which only
destroying the creativity of student bright mind. She urged
in her suicide letter to government about shutting off these
coaching or tension centers. You can measure the stress level
from above mention event, now just think about aizaz, he was
under stress treatment for 1 year as per sub-inspector Wali
Mohammad's investigation. Another turn in the investigation
is that one of the aizazs friend informed that Aizaz's mother
is the principle of one leading school of the nation and his

44
head of the department in HITEC university Taxila, his fa-
ther told this joblessness made AIZAZs mentally sick. Aizaz
was a mechanical engineer with ambitions but no references,
no one was their for his councilling at hard time, what hap-
pened is simply explained? Our educational institutes became
the industry, and they are producing a lot of engineers and
government is not willing to work in job creation sector, then
where these energetic fresher will get adjusted they definitely
opt for the I quit track after losing any help from peers, par-
ents, universities, regulatory authorities etc.
Last but not the least let me tell you we engineers are the big-
gest hurdle in freshers way of career development, we are not
willing to counsel, communicate or help our fresh lot. We are
just to do our job and we will remain doing same.

Note:
I am still researching on this subject, as this subject is not
limited but required lot of work and restructuring sugges-
tions.
I am also afraid of the lack of acceptance of this issue from a
society where we neglect the base of the problem, we all need
to address the issue as per our limitation.

45
 Engineer Making
Differences

Jignesh Parmar has com-

pleted M.Tech (Power System
Control), B.E(Electrical). He is
member of Institution of Engi-
neers (MIE),India. Membership
No:M-1473586.He has more
than 16 years experience
He has more than 16 years experience in Transmission
-Distribution-Electrical Energy theft detection-Electrical
Maintenance-Electrical Projects (Planning-Designing-Tech-
nical Review-coordination -Execution). He has published
numbers of Technical Articles in Electrical Mirror, Elec-
trical India, Lighting India,Smart Energy, Industrial
Electrix(Australian Power Publications) Magazines. He wants
to Share his experience & Knowledge and help technical en-
thusiasts to find suitable solutions and updating themselves on
various Engineering Topics.

46
 Book for this
month

The result of the au-

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After a short introduction
to the viscoelastic behav-
ior of fiber reinforced
plastics, the text goes on
to review in detail the concepts of static, fatigue and creep
strengths in polymer composites. An applicationoriented
approach is adopted such that the concepts developed in the
book are applied to reallife examples.
Indispensable information for materials scientists and engi-
neers working in those industrial sectors is concerned with
the development and safe use of polymer compositebased
products.

47
[email protected]