Mwesigye Samulah BU/UG/2019/0044

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF POLYMER, TEXTILE AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

A REPORT ON INDUSTRIAL TRAINING HELD AT ROOFINGS LTD ( Plot 126, Lubowa Estate, Entebbe
Road P.O.Box 7169, Kampala, Uganda Tel: (+256) 0312 -340 207)

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FROM 8th JANUARY 2023 TO 7 MARCH 2023.

COMPILED BY

MWESIGYE SAMULAH

BU/UG/2019/0044

Contacts: 0701737809

Email:[email protected]

Supervised by : Mr.Musinguzi Alex.

A REPORT SUBMITTED AS PARTIAL FULLFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

IN POLYMER, TEXTILE AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING.
Mwesigye Samulah BU/UG/2019/0044

DECLARATION
I MWESIGYE SAMULAH, a student of Busitema University Faculty of Engineering under the

Department of Polymer, Textile and Industrial Engineering hereby confirm and certify that the

information in this report is the right and original account of what I studied during my internship

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training from 8th January, 2023 to 7 March 2023 at Roofings Ltd and it has never been submitted

by anyone anywhere or applied in any advanced institution.

Signature: ...…………………………………………………………………

Date: ……………………………………………………….…………….
Mwesigye Samulah BU/UG/2019/0044

APPROVAL
This Industrial training report has been submitted for examination to the department of Textile and Ginning

with the approval of the following supervisors.

Field/industrial Supervisor

Name…………………………………………..

Signature ……………………………………………

Date…………………………………………………..

University supervisor

Name…………………………………………..

Signature ……………………………………………

Date…………………………………………………..
Mwesigye Samulah BU/UG/2019/0044

DEDICATION
I dedicate this report to my family ,uncle Mugume, th late uncle Evan ,the late uncle Julius Kitinisa for the

endless support both spiritually and financially.I also dedicate it to my beloved lecturers for the effort made in

finding us a training place here at Roofings ltd .May God bless you.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am deeply grateful to the management of Roofings limited for the opportunity to have my internship

training here at Roofings limited. Iam also very grateful to my trainers, mr.Ojok Martin,Mr.Bwire

Francis ,Eng.Gilbert and the different machine operators for giving me there undivided attention and time

during the training

Great thanks to the Polypipes section at Roofings limited for the knowledge they gave me, love, hospitality,

encouragement and guidance.

Am also thankful to the management of Roofings limited for giving me such a chance to train with

Roofings

God Bless you.

Mwesigye Samulah BU/UG/2019/0044

ABSTRACT
This piece of work stipulates the setting of the training profile held at Roofing limited Plot 126, Lubowa Estate,
Entebbe Road P.O.Box 7169, Kampala, Uganda Tel: (+256) 0312 -340 207

The chapter one points out the introduction, background, location and the administration structure of
Roofings limited together with the objectives of industrial training for an engineering student.

Chapter three contains the challenges faced, recommendations and conclusion

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
The company was established in 1994 following licensing facilitated by the Uganda Investment Authority. The
company has installed capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes of steel per year and in 2008 was producing about 100,000
metric tonnes annually. In February 2011, Roofings secured funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC),
an arm of the World Bank, totaling US$25 million for expansion of production facilities. This was in addition to a
syndicated loan of US$64 million obtained from a consortium of six (6) Ugandan commercial banks obtained in
December 2010, for the same purpose. When all of the planned expansion is completed, the company's exports will
more than double to over US$130 million annually. The company's products are exported to Rwanda, Burundi,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Southern Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. Location The main factory is located on 39
acres (16 ha), at Lubowa, Wakiso District, on the Kampala-Entebbe Road, approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi),
south of Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the largest city in that country. New premises have been acquired at
Kampala Industrial and Business Park, at Namanve, also in Wakiso District to house new steel mills belonging to
Roofings' subsidiary company, Roofings Rolling Mills Limited (RRML). It is expected that once the new facilities are
brought on-line, employment at Roofings Limited and Roofings Rolling Mills Limited will triple from the present 1,000 to
about 3,000, since RRML is expected to employ about 2,000 people. In addition to the factories and offices at Lubowa
and Namanve, the company maintains warehouses and attached sales offices at the following locations:

Arua Park

Plot 13/13A, Wilson Road

P.O.Box 7169, Kampala, Uganda

Banda

Plot 62, Mukabya Road, Banda

P.O.Box 7169, Kampala, Uganda

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Jinja

Plot 4 to 6 – 6A, Spire Road

P.O.Box 7169, Jinja, Uganda

Mbarara

Plot 208, Block 1 Kashaari

Mbarara Municipality

Channel Lane

Plot 2, 5th Street, Industrial Area

P.O.Box 7169, Kampala, Uganda

Ownership Roofings Limited is a privately owned company. The detailed shareholding in the stock of the company is
not publicly available at this time.

Figure 1: roofings limited logo

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Vision: It has its Vision as we strive to be the largest manufacturer of steel products through
having professionally trained work force, working as a team and providing the highest quality
steel products to the population of the East African Community and the region while
conserving the environment and adopting modern technology.

Mission: It also has its Mission as to continuously increase the market share and satisfy
customers requirements through a quality based approach that meets the needs of
employees, shareholders, suppliers and the community.

Company Objectives
The company started under the following objectives;
● Create a dedicated and self motivated workforce with total integrity by continuously identifying and addressing
needs
● Enhance shareholders returns through maximizing efficiency and exploring new business opportunities
● Strive to satisfy the needs of the community by adopting a commitment towards a healthy environment and
use of modern technology

Purpose and objectives of Industrial training

● It enables a student have an execution of more informed judgment and accepting responsibility in the different
fields of study they are undertaking.
● Students also are able Recognize that financial and economic limitations play a more important role in all
Technology activities.
● On the other hand, Students who undergo Industrial Training get to know that understanding the formal and
informal relationships in an industrial organization promotes favorable human relations and teamwork.
Appreciating that engineering is an expanding field and that learning has no limitations.
● When students are taken through Industrial Training, they are able to understand that the problems
encountered in the industry rarely have unique solutions and gaining experience to select the optimal solution
from the many alternatives available.
● Industrial Training also helps a student to learn more about the accepted safety practices in the industry or
places of work for different professions.
● Students benefit a lot from doing Industrial Training, as they are also able to develop a sense of responsibility
towards society and communities they live.
● We can also note that when students go for Industrial Training, they gain in developing personality &
communication skills for future roles as Managers in their different departments.
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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
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Chapter 2:
Safety Hazards in Polypipes
Hazard Preventive / Corrective Action

Falling objects, for example; pipes, PVC Resin bags, ● Wearing protective gears , for example; helmet,
Calcium Carbonate bags among others safety boots
● Sensitizing of employees to take care when
dealing with the pipes, PVC Resin bags, Calcium
Carbonate bags among others
● Ensuring proper house keeping is maintained to
avoid occurences of incidences (near misses) or
accidents.

Dust especially in the mixing room ● Employees are equipped with nose respirators
● Extraction fans are placed on the mixing room
walls

Danger occuring from hydrostaticpressure tester, for ● Quality controller carrying out the hydrostatic
example; bursting of the pipe pressure test wears protective gear ( helmet,
gloves, safety boots among others)
● Testing is done under restricted conditions to
avoid incidences incase of bursting of the pipe
under test

Working in confined place, for example mixing room ●

Industrial trucks carrying material inside the company

premises.

Electrical shocks from short circuits

Slidng/falling of the workers due to slippery surfaces

Arrival.
Reported to the company on 11th January 2023 .i was taken around the company premises by the safety officer ms
Mwesigye Frankline.we visited different departments including HRC section,roofing section where iron sheets of
different kinds are designed,wire rods where nails are made section,PVC section.under PVC section ,PVC pipes are
made,HDPE and PPR pipes are made.
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PVC SECTION.
Visited the PVC section and was taken through by Mr.Bwire Francis,Mr.Ojok Martin and Mr.Gilbert.
Different pipes are produced under the pvc section which include HDPE,PPR and PVC of different sizes,pneumatic
pressure and functions.
Under HDPE ,
● pipes of 20mm-90mm outer diameter are produced to a length of 100m and coiled
● 110mm outer diameter are produced to a length of 50m and coiled.
● 125mm outer diameter are produced to a length of 6m or12m in straight length

The pipes produced have different pressure ratings and are given different color stripe as shown below

Pressure rating (PN) colour

PN-6 yellow

PN-10 green

PN-16 blue

PN-20&25 red

Standards used include;DIN(Germany standard), US-ISO(Ugandan standard), BS(British standard) and ASTM

Figure 2 :HDPE pipes PN 10 figure 3: casing and screen pipe.

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MIXING AND BLENDING OF PVC RESIN AND ADDITIVES

Here dry blending is used due to its low heat history,lower equipment,lower material costs and faster extrusion
rates.
High intensity mixers convert

PVC mixture contains the following

polymer(major raw material) Polyvinyl chloride resin

stablizer polystab(one pack)

lubricant Polyperse,steric acid,PE wax,Calcium styret

fillers Calcium Carbonate

pigment Titanium Oxide

colorant Industrial dye(blue or black majorly and any other color

according to the customer)

Stabilizers
When PVC is heated to 170~180°C, chlorine and hydrogen in the molecules are eliminated and release of hydrogen
chloride becomes evident. Once such decomposition starts, unstable structures are formed in the molecule, which
further accelerate HCl elimination and decomposition. As PVC is heated to soften during the extrusion or moulding
process, prevention of hydrogen chloride elimination due to heat and subsequent decomposition is required. The
stabilizer prevents such initial elimination of hydrogen chloride from PVC. Therefore, use of stabilizers (metal
compounds) is essential to prevent the chain reaction of decomposition. They can also impart to the PVC enhanced
resistance to daylight, weathering .

Lubricants
Lubricants are essential to reduce friction. Since friction can arise out of two separate processes, generally two
different types of lubricants may be required. The internal lubricants are those which reduce the friction arising out of
polymer chain slippage with respect to each other. External lubricants are those that help reduce friction between
metal surface and the polymer chains in contact with it.

Fillers
Major purpose is to reduce the cost of production.Since PVC has pores Calcium carbonate is added to fill up the pores
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MIXING PROCESS FOR PVC PIPES

Dry blending is used due to its low heat history,lower equipment envestment,lower raw material costs and faster
extrusion rates.
● Such high intensity mixers convert horsepower into mechanical energy.
● The high shear action of the mixing blends is responsible for uniform dispersion and thorough mixing.
● This type of blender can prepare batches, including the mixing and cooling, with relatively short cycles (10-15
min) and achieve excellent dispersion.
● PVC resin and additives in different ratios is heated to a point where residual moisture is driven off and the
mixture becomes absorptive and the mixing cycle continues to 120°C.
● Next, the blend is cooled to approx. 50°C and stored for further processing.
● The mixing and cooling processes is automated, and each cycle consumes 5-8 minutes.
● (equipment used included mixer(2),cooler,PVC and additives )

Figure 3:PVC resin and additives mixture.

DICHLOROMETHANE TEST(PN10 140mm 6m)

This aims at testing the geling or fusion of the material.It also tests how much damage will other chemicals found in
the soil cause. It aims mainly on the champher,outside and inside.
● Testing period-15-20minutes
● Testing temperature-20 degrees.
Procedure
● Dichloromethane is poured into the bath upto a certain level
● Piece of PVC pipe (50 cm) is lowered into the liquid on the champhered side and left for 15 minutes.
● After the 15 minutes the pipe is checked for the chemical attack on it.
● If a rough emery is found then means the attack occured.
● When the attack is on the inside then increase the barrel zone temperature.
● If it is on the outside then increase the die zone temperaturre.

HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE TESTING ON PVC PIPE (PN 10 110mm ,6m)

This is meant to test whether the pipe can take up the rated pressure
Procedure
● The pipe sample is clamped one side.
● It is then filled with water and the other side is also clamped.
● Connect the nozzle horse on top clamp and to the tester station.
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● Set the required pressure for testing from the tester (The set pressure =Pneumatic pressure *3.12).Set the
lower and upper pressure so that it works in range.
● Release the air using an outlet on the upper clamp and after fasten it so that the pressure starts building up to
the set pressure.
● Test duration is One hour .After the one hour if the pipe doesn’t bulge or burst then the pipe has passed.
● Tools used(PVC sample PN10,110mm,6m,4.5mm thick,clamps,Hydrostatic pressure tester,spanner,allen
keys)

PRODUCTION OF PVC FASCIA BOARDS ( )

Components of the mixture

Component function

Calcium carbonate filler

One pack Heat stabilizer

Titanium pigmentation

Polymond 1001

ACR Improve melt strength,avoid melt fracture and improve

the inner quality and surface lusture of the product.

Foaming agent (white) Reduce weight and prevent formation of sink marks

Steric acid Viscosity depressant,internal and external lubricant.

PE wax Reduce interparticle friction between granules and also

between the granules and the walls of the processing
agent.

PMA 175 improves surface finish and reduce sticking to hot

surface.

Brightening agent Absorbing light in the ultra violet and violet region and re-
emit light in the blue region.

Foam regulator Increase the melt strength of PVC so as to prevent from

bubble amalgamation to even foaming product.

Procedure
A fascia board extrusion line consists of a number of pieces of equipment.
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● An extruder converts the mixture material to a continuous tubular melt by extrusion through an annular die.
● The molten pipe then proceeds through a sizing or calibration box (which fixes its dimensions) .
● After it is cooled by water flowing on to it and vacuum cooling .
● After being cooled, the board passes via a haul-off to handling equipment for cutting into final lengths or
coiling.
● Printing device is inserted into the line to mark the extruded fascia board with specific details.(equipment used
include;Hopper,extruder ,haul off ,printer and water supply).

Upvc fascia board

PRODUCTION OF HDPE PIPES (PN-10,75mm*4.7mm )

Procedure.
● The polymer pellets are poured in the master bath (receiving container) and sucked into the silo by means of
the blower.
● The pellets are heated in the extruder by external heat supplied and the friction between the screws and the
barrel wall into a molten polymer .
● The joker is connected the main extruder to create a color strip that identifies the pneumatic pressure of the
pipe.
● The polymer melt goes through a regular shaped dye and through a calibration box with specified
measurements.
● The pipe goes through vacuum sizing tank for cooling and later through the spray tank for additional cooling.
● The cooled pipe is pulled by the haul off and later to the winder for winding into coils of 100m .
● Printing device is inserted into the line to mark the extruded fascia board with specific details.
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PRODUCTION OF PVC PIPES (160*3.2mm PN-04 light grey

6m)
● The mixture of pvc and the additives from the the silo is sucked into the hoper
● The mixture from the hoper moves to the extruder where it is heated to molten state by means of the friction
between the screws and the barrel walls .A vacuum is created inside the extruder to elimate all the oxygen to
prevent it from reacting with the chlorine.
● The molten polymer goes through a regular shaped die and sizing box with the required dimensions.
● The pipe from the die zone goes through the vacuum spray tank to remove the air and cooling .
● The pipe goes through the cooling tank with water for further cooling.
● The printer is positioned along the line to print the details
● The pipe is pulled by the hauloff which the communicates with the cutter to cut the required length.
● The pipe proceeds to the belling machine where the top part is inserted in the heater for softening and later to
the mandrel that widens it to attain the plain socket and later cools and is dismissed.

IMPACT STRENGTH TESTING ON PVC PIPE

This test aims at testing the resistance of the pvc pipe to shock .For Example when under ground and vehicles pass
on top.

Procedure.
● A pvc pipe sample is first frozen at zero degrees for one hour to make it brittle.It is then transferred to impact
tester to test its strength.
● The total mass of the striker is adjusted to the value appropriate to the pipe under test for example for the pipe
of diameter 160mm ,the mass of the striker is 3.70kg.
● The striker is allowed to fall freely through a height of 2m on to the pipe specimen which is centrally mounted
on the vee block support.
● For pipes of nominal size 10mm to 40mm are subjected to a single blow,for 50mm and above ,the pipe is
marked at different points.
● It is the positioned on the vee block with the marked side up,after striking the the pipe is changed to different
marked position until all the marked the points are striked.
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● Sufficient samples are taken from each batch and if non of them fails the pipes have passed but if any fails
then the pipes have failed and the extrusion process needs to be checked .(equipment used
include;freezer,impact strength tester,specimen)

Impact strength tester

Heat reversion testing PVC pipe

1. Oven method
● The specimen is placed in the oven and the time measured from the moment at which the oven regains a
temperature of 150 degrees celsius.
● The test specimen is kept in the oven for a time specified as follows.
Pipes of thickness > 8.6mm — 60 minutes
Pipes of thickness > 8.6mm but not greater than 14.1mm— 120 minutes
Pipes of thickness > 14.1mm — 240 minutes
● After the specified time, the pipe is removed and set aside to cool to room temperature.
● The specimen is marked along its circumference so that the two marks are 100 mm apart before it is put in the
oven.
● After the oven test, the distance between the two inscribed marks is measured and the percentage change in
length is calculated.
For PVC percentage error should not exceed 5%, PPR and HDPE percentage error should not exceed 3%.

2. Immersion method
● The test sample is of length 300mm at two points, 100mm apart.
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● The specimen is suspended in the heat transfer medium (mineral oil free from hydrocarbons) furthest from the
inscribed marks in such a way that both muarkings are completely immersed.
● Ensure that the specimen does not touch the side or the bottom of the bath.
● The specimen is immersed in the bath for the time as follows;
Pipes of thickness greater than 8.6mm — 15 min
Pipes of thickness greater than 8.6mm but not greater than 14.1mm — 30min
Pipes got thickness greater than 14.1mm — 60min
● After the test period, the specimen is removed from the bath, laid aside and allowed to cool to room
temperature.
● The length between the marked points is measured and the percentage change in length is calculated.

Threading borehole pipes (168mm X7.6mm PN09 BLUE

CASING/SCREEN - 3 Mtrs)
● This involves threading male and female parts using a lathe threading machine.
● The machine is driven manually using a steering wheel.
● The machine has a high speed steel which creates the thin wall before the threads are created .The pipe is
thinned upto diameter of 120mm ans 75mm from the end .
● After the threading steel is pulled forward or backwards depending on the threads being created either male or
female.
● The pipe rotates in one position throughout the whole process and is supported the other end by a support .
The thread thickness =2mm
pitch(distance from one thread to another)=4mm
Depth =2mm

Screening of borehole pipes (168mmX7.6mm PN09 BLUE

CASING/SCREEN - 3 Mtrs)
● After threading some pipes are screened. The sample is clamped on the scereening machine. The machine is
set to start and a set of blades starts to perforate at different intervals after the piperotates and is perforated on
another side until the whole pipe is screened.
● The screening machine is automatic.

Pipe wrapping (168mmX7.6mm PN09 BLUE

CASING/SCREEN - 3 Mtrs)
● The main aim of pipe wrapping is to protect the pipes with threads from damage during transportation.
● Due to decreased wall thickness on the pipe ends, they tend to break of crack during trnsaportation.
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● Also pipes are wrapped to protect dust from entering the threads since they shall not fit well with the dust
clogged on them.

Gutter Production
Mixing and blending for Gutter (mixer4)

The PVC resin is mixed together with additives and modifiers in respective ratios; added all into the mixer. Scrap is
added in case it is available, B.O.P is also added.
The mixture is heated upto 105 degrees celsius and then followed by cooling upto a temperature of 30 degrees
celsius.
Components of the mixture
- PVC resin
- Calcium Carbonate
- One Pack
- Titanium Dioxide
- Polyperse
Modifiers
- Polyaid - 1020
- Polymod - 1050
- Polymod - 1001
- B.O.P Oil

Figure 4:High speed mixer

Extrusion of gutter

● Before production, the extrusion line (Barrel and Die-Zone) is preheated or flushed for two hours in phases
between 120 - 160 degrees celsius.
● After flushing, the mixture is sucked from the hopper to the extruder and heated by means of friction between
the screws and barrel walls.
● The polymer melt proceeds to the die zone through the die box where it attains shape with the required
dimensions.
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● The gutter proceeds for cooling by water.

● It is then pulled by the haul off (puller) and cut to the required length by the cutter.
● A printer is stationed along the line to print the required information.

Figure: gutters

Figure: extruder

Chapter 3:
CHALLENGES,RECOMMENDATIONS,CONCLUSIONS.
Recommendations.

I would recommend the company to continue checking for new developments on market to better their best
production.
I would also encourage the company to increase on the number of workers to reduce on the work load on specific
employers.

Challenges.

The challenge faced is that some machine operators do not know the reasons why they do what they do therefore lack
technical know why.
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Limited opportunity to do hands on since some operators fear the wrath of the manager incase a trainee is found
operating.

Conclusions.

As I conclude i would like to thank the management Roofings limited for the opportunity under polypipes section.I also
the Textile and materials department for the efforts to ensure we get the best training places ,the knowledge and
resources availed to us.

Appendix.

Clamping the pipe for hydrostatic pressure testing

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Measuring the diameter of the pipe.