SRI LANKA

Established 1906

ENGINEERING NEWS
The Newspaper of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Vol. 48, No 02, March/April 2013
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper No. QD/24 /NEWS/2013

The following article was first published in 'The Sunday Times' of 31st March 2013.

PRESIDENTS CORNER
istory was made with the inauguration of the first ever IESL District Centre in Kegalle on 9 th March 2013 and the holding of the Professional Review Examinations Part B for the first time in the provinces on 19th March 2013. Both measures are in line with the promises I made in my inaugural speech of bringing IESL to its membership. I also had the privilege of ceremonially unveiling the proposed site for the IESL Northern Provincial Centre building in Kilinochchi on 29th March 2013.The event was attended by Hon.M. Chandrakumar, MP, Jaffna District, Mrs R. Kethieeswaran Government Agent for Kilinochchi, Prof. N. Kandasamy Coordinator for the Engineering Faculty of the University of Jaffna, Mr. S.Nageswaran Divisional Secretary among more than 50 guests. I congratulate the Chairman, Executive Committee of the IESL NPC, Eng. Suntharakumar, upon whose request the land was allocated by the government. It comes at a critical time when the Engineering Faculty of the University of Jaffna is being established at Killinochchi and demand for professional service by engineering academics and students at the faculty are expected to add to that by practicing engineers in the province. The land has been fenced and access road built through a Building Fund established by the Executive Committee of the IESL NPC on a proposal made by Eng. S. Ruthralingam. On the national front I am pleased to have enabled the IESL to share the limelight of the opening of the 1st phase of the Mahinda Rajapakse International Airport at Mattala by participating in a media interview on the subject and based on which articles of prominence were published in national newspapers coinciding with the opening of the facility by His Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapakse. Sri Lankas second gateway to the world, the airport is expected to open up new opportunities for the countrys aviation industry, business, trade and tourism sector. Together with the International Cricket Stadium, Convention Centre, Harbor, emerging Economic Zone and International IT Park it's expected to make the region prosper. At the International level a delegation of the Institutions of Machanical Engeneers (IMech E), led by its President, Prof. Isobel Pollock paid a courtesy call at the IESL and held discussion on areas of mutual interest. I am pleased to have inked a sponsorship agreement with a private sector company in support of the Junior Inventor of the Year (JIY) Programme of the IESL. The finances required to successfully conduct this years competitions that encourage creativity and innovation among school children are expected to be partly met by this sponsorship. The IESL JIY is affiliated to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the worlds largest pre-college celebration of science and engineering. Several IESL JIY winners of the past years have had the opportunity to participate in the Intel ISEF held each year in the United States of America and win prestigious awards. At a more personal level I would like to highlight the plight of the final year undergraduate of the University of Moratuwa, Roshan Seneviratne who was severely injured during the incident that occurred at the university premises on 16th The Institution of Engineers January 2013. Doctors treating Sri Lanka him had recommended surgery to insert a Titanium plate to his 120/15, Wijerama Mawatha, fore head. This surgery will cost Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. about Rs.800, 000 (eight hundred thousand rupees). Tel: 2685490, 2698426, 2699210 Fulfilling its duty towards the Fax: 2699202 engineering community and E.mail: ed@sltnet.lk / iesl@slt.lk future engineers, IESL stepped Website: http://www.iesl.lk forward to support the fund raiser with a donation of Rs.100, 000. However more needs to be In this Issue done and I take this opportunity to appeal to the engineering Get To Know the IESL. community to extend their Provincial Chairmen...............3 support. Details are found in the Editorial..................................4 special appeal published Unsafe Bridge in elsewhere in this issue.
Talawakelle............................5

IESL's First Ever District Centre Inaugurated in Kegalle

Eng. Renuka Weerasri, Editor IESL Kegalle District Centre

he Chartered Engineering body in Sri Lanka, The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) is the representing body of all the Engineering disciplines in Sri Lanka. The Institution operates from its headquarters in Colombo while providing the engineering related professional, social and other services through provincial centers located in the main President IESL, Eng. Tilak De Silva,addressing districts in all the other the audience. provinces. In order to further improve these activities & services provided by IESL, all the Engineers in both public and private sectors and those engineers residing in Kegalle, organized to establish a District Centre of IESL in Kegalle with the support and blessings of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Center and the headquarters of IESL. Forming District Centres is a concept of Eng. Tilak de Silva, the President of IESL. Contd. on page 10...

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SRI LANKA Celebrating outstanding achievements and accomplishments in the practice of Engineering

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2013

CALLING FOR NOMINATIONS/APPLICATIONS
IESL, the apex body of the Engineering Profession in the country, invites nominations / applications from its eminent members of repute who are role models of professionalism and excellence in the practice of engineering in their own specialist areas, and from engineering enterprises, for the recognition of outstanding achievements and accomplishments in the engineering field.

Award Categories:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Eminence in Engineering Award Excellence in Engineering Awards for Individuals Excellence in Engineering Awards for Organizations Engineering Entrepreneur Award Award for Excellence in Engineering Journalism Young Chartered Engineer Awards Chartered Engineer Awards Social Responsibilities and Environment Award Engineering Heritage Award Outstanding Engineering Education Award

For Eligibility Criteria, Nomination/Application Guidelines & Forms:

Visit website: www.iesl.lk or Call: 2698426 Ext. 232, E-mail :dir.pub@iesl.lk CLOSING DATE FOR NOMINATIONS / APPLICATIONS:28th JUNE 2013

Nomination/Application forms should be returned under sealed cover with the name of the Award marked at the top left hand corner of the envelope, by registered post to: Executive Secretary The Institution Engineers, Sri Lanka 120/15, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo -07

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

2 IESL NEWS

FORTHCOMING ANNUAL EVENTS CALENDAR 2013

Event
Memorial Lecture

Dates

A Short Course in Reinforced Concrete Design (Based on BS 8110)

Suitable for Technicians, Technical Assistants, Inspectors and Engineering Assistants. COURSE CONTEXT a. Design of Slab b. Design of Beam c. Design of columns d. Design of foundations Commencement June 2013 Duration 3 months Weekend classes Venue in Colombo For Registration Contract 0112582939 Mail address design_vkb_679@yahoo.com

Dr. Ray Wijeyewardene Monday - August 22, 2013 Induction and

Graduation Ceremony Friday August 23, 2013

Engineering Excellence Tuesday- September 24,

Awards Ceremony 2013

E O E Pereira Memorial Friday September 13, 2013

Lecture

D J Wimalasurendra
Memorial Lecture

Tuesday - September 17, 2013 FridaySunday October 11-13, 2013 Tuesday- October 15, 2013, Saturday - October 18, 2013 Sunday - October 20, 2013 Monday -Wednesday, October 21-23, 2013 Thursday -October 24, 2013

Techno Exhibition Inauguration of the

Annual Sessions

FEISCA Seminar Annual Field Visit Presentation of

Technical Papers

Presentation of
Technical Papers by Young Members

Dr. A N S Kulasinghe
Memorial Lecture

Friday -October 25, 2013 Saturday -October 26, 2013 Friday-November 01, 2013

Annual General
Meeting

Techno Awards
Ceremony Note:

Associate Members who wish to apply for the Professional Review, are strongly advised to attend all Memorial Lectures and keep a record of the attendance for any future reference.

INVITATION TO CONSULTANTS
Consequent to receiving several requests from members of the Institution, the Council has decided to prepare Conditions of Contract for engineering projects. It is proposed to prepare a series of contract documents and specifications that can be used in different types of engineering projects. This type of documents is presently not available for reference by the construction industry. The preparation of the documents referred to above is expected to be completed within three months and members who are willing to serve in the panels that will prepare the documents concerned are kindly requested to apply for same. All discussions and meetings related to this work will beheld at the headquarters of the Institution and the members who re appointed to serve in these panels will be required at short notice to attend all such discussions and meetings that will be held at frequent intervals. Please forward your application to the Executive Secretary with the words APPLICATION - CONSULTANTS FOR THE PREPARATION OF SPECIFICATIONS marked on the top right hand corner of the envelope containing the application.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

IESL NEWS 3

The Distinction between Leader and Manager.

by Eng Jayantha Ranatunga
ost of those who answered the question 5 of the section B paper 2013 March have failed to describe the correct difference between the manager and leader. Many of them have misunderstood that the leader is a super or better manager. They mostly blame the public sector seniority based system for the promotion of executives to manager designations. Therefore they believe only a few will ever become leaders (or better managers as per their understanding). The manager staffing, and by controlling they hold, deep in the creativity and imagination are What is disturbing is most of accepts reality; the leader and problem solving. By psyches, of chaos and order. permitted to flourish. the young engineers who got contrast, leading an Managers embrace process, In the end, we need to be it wrong have had the investigates it. organization to constructive seek stability and control, good at leading first and occasion to learn The manager has a change involves setting a and instinctively try to resolve managing second, the why management as part of their short-range view; the leader direction (developing a vision problems quickly and the what, then only, the undergraduate training, has a long-range of the future and strategies sometimes before they fully how and the when! management development at to achieve the vision), understand a problems IESL, and some even at perspective. aligning people, and significance. Leaders, in In summary MBA. It appears that these The manager asks motivating and inspiring them contrast, tolerate chaos and fundamental differences, well how and when; the leader to keep moving in the right lack of structure and are This table summarizes the known to management direction. willing to delay closure in above (and more) and gives asks what and why. thinkers for over a century, order to understand the a sense of the differences The manager has On this topic, Jim Estill were never taught to them. issues more fully in this way, between being a leader and Accordingly the fault by and his or her eye always on the posted this great quote on Zalenznik argued, business being a manager. This is, of large is not with those bottom line; the leader has his blog, CEO Blog Time leaders have much more in course, an illustrative Leadership citing a classic youngsters. his or her eye on the horizon. article from Harvard common with artists, characterization, and there scientists and other creative is a whole spectrum I too feel guilty for setting this The manager Business Review by question which attracted Abraham Zaleznik in 1977 thinkers than they do with between either ends of these imitates; the leader nearly 176 of them in that discusses Leaders vs. managers. Organizations scales along which each role need both managers and can range. And many people originates. answering it. Most of them Managers: leaders to succeed, but lead and manage at the were ignorant of the fact that The manager developing both requires a same time, and so may such a difference even accepts the status quo; the The difference between existed. Therefore I thought managers and leaders, he reduced focus on logic and display a combination of leader challenges it. it is my duty to write this wrote, lies in the conceptions strategic exercises in favour behaviors. of an environment where The manager is the note. Henry Fayol a French mining engineer in the 19th century wrote extensively describing the roles of manager. In the 20th century Warren Bennis, John Kotter, Peter Drucker and StephonCovey identified the difference in the roles of Leaders and Managers. This becomes further clear when one reads about the lives of some of the wellknown leaders such as, Lord Buddha, Akbar the Great, King Asoka, King Dutugamunu, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, and General Kobbakaduwa.Even the likes of Adolf Hitler and Maru Sira, though misguided, were also leaders. Warren Bennis, in one of his books, On Becoming a Leader describes his view on the differences between managers and leaders as follows: The manager administers; the leader innovates. original. The manager the leader maintains; develops. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager is a copy; the leader is an classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.

Subject
Essence

Leader
Change Leading people Followers Long-term Vision Sets direction Facilitates Personal charisma Heart Passion Shapes Proactive Takes Breaks Uses New roads Seeks What is right Gives Takes

Manager
Stability Managing work Subordinates Short-term Objectives Plans detail Makes Formal authority Head Control Enacts Reactive Minimizes Makes Avoids Existing roads Establishes Being right Takes Blames

The manager does

Focus Have Horizon Seeks Approach Decision Power Appeal to Energy Culture Dynamic Risk Rules Conflict Direction Truth Concern Credit Blame

things right; the leader does the right thing. Another influential thinker who has written on the distinction between management and leadership has been Harvard Prof John Kotter, an electrical engineering graduate from MIT who authored the book What Leaders Really Do. John Kotter makes the following observations: Leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. Most U.S. corporations today are over managed and under led. Strong leadership with weak management is no better, and is sometimes actually worse, than the reverse. Management is about coping with complexity. Without good management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic Good management brings a degree of order and consistency. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change More change always demands more leadership. Companies manage complexity by planning and budgeting, by organizing and

Seminar Series of Student Chapter at Peradeniya

sent by Eng. W R M U Wickramasinghe The Student Chapter at Peradeniya Engineering Faculty organizes a series of Seminars for the benefit of Engineering undergraduates. The first talk of the series was delivered by Eng. S.B. Wijekoon on 12 February 2013. The topic was Ethics for Engineers. On 20 March 2013, Dr. Jayalath Edirisinghe made a presentation on CV Writing and Facing Interviews for the benefit of the Final year students, who will be looking for career opportunities in the near future.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

4 IESL NEWS

Sri Lanka Engineering News

IESL TOASTMASTERS CLUB

A Point on Art of Communication for Budding Professional Engineers!
by T M Susil Hewawasam CC
ost of the young graduate engineers present their information in the form of Auto CAD designs, Project Proposals,Project Reports etc. Majority of these are in hardcopy formats. It is the responsibility of the senior engineer, to present these to higher authorities; generally such interactions with higher management are associated with verbal briefing on the subject. The presenter must be confident on the subject, as well as the arrangement of specific points which he or she is going to convey. If not, the message will not be communicated effectively. The above is just an example to illustrate the possessing of presentation skills to be articulated by all level of engineers. Young graduate engineers too would develop as Engineering Managers in years to come. So, the competency in public speaking is the jewel in the crown of the career of any engineer.In todays article, an area which hinders ones speech without his or her knowledge will be discussed. As novices, many of us may have experienced this during our speeches in front of an audience. In the last paragraph, you will be shown a direction in which you can march to find resolutions to below described area, and many other hardships you face in public speaking. When an individual has been requested to deliver a speech to an audience strange to him or her, this person would feel like a fish out of water, or in common terms, he or she experiences trembling fingers, shaking legs and dried throat. If you too have felt similar to above, identify these as symptoms of nervousness; which means one is nervous of making a speech in front of an audience. Below paragraphs would disclose basic reasons for that, and best remedies. There are few reasons for being nervous of speaking in public. One reason is the fear of rejection of information during the speech. One would think that he is not well dressed and as a result not smart enough to face the crowd. What happens if you are criticised in front of everyone, is another reason for nervousness. This syndrome is not limited to public speaking; nervousness can occur at the beginning of an examination, an interview, or a recital too.By studying the causes for nervousness, understanding the reasons for it and gradual working for controlling it can give immense advantages in public speaking. It is a bit difficult to an individual to listen to his own speech while it is being conducted. So, there we need to have someone who can listen to our speech, and observe our body movements during the delivery of speech. Upon completion of the speech, the observer can give us valuable comments on various aspects of our speech. This is the best way to review our performance during the speech. Nervousness can be controlled by practising following tips as much as possible. Know your material or subject Know the Audience Relax Visualize yourself giving your speech Concentrate on the message not the medium Nervousness is always there irrespective of ones experience in public speaking. In short, even an experienced speaker feels nervousness at the beginning of a speech. What matters to the successes is the level of controlling the nervousness at the beginning and delivery of the speech. With proper instructions and guidance, a speaker can develop skills for controlling nervous behaviours at the beginning and during the delivery of the speech. Just to give an example, one can ask a question from the audience. To reply the question, audience may take few seconds. During this time gap, the speaker can tactfully accustom to the situation, finally he can negate the nervous feelings. As I mentioned at the beginning, now I am showing you the direction that you have to march in to improve your communication skills. It is seeking a Toastmasters Club and to participate in activities of such a club. Toastmasters club is a society where all members are assembling to improve and further improve their communication skills and leadership skills, and they are also volunteering to help other club members to improve and excel in said skills. A few of the variety of activities adhered to in the agenda of a toastmaster club includes speeches, impromptu speeches, speech evaluations etc. For leadership tracks there are many roles, and few of them are topic master, grammarian, timer etc.
Coming back to the elaboration on nervousness, any speaker's sign of nervousness is assessed during the evaluation of the relevant speech. The evaluator usually quotes the part of the speech where the speaker has shown nervousness, and definitely suggests methods to improve. Sometimes he would demonstrate an alternative for you to learn. Not only on nervousness, there are many other areas where an evaluator gives comments; vocal variety, gestures, eye contact are few of them. The evaluation in Toastmaster clubs has got inherent features. All the evaluators are club members. They do all evaluations in an environment which is very conducive for learning, sharing of thoughts, and suggestions for improvements etc. All the members of toastmaster clubs maintain excellent inter-personal relationship practices.

Decline of Library usage at IESL

Greetings for a Happy and Prosperous Hindu and Sinhala New Year!

ecently it was found that the IESL library has been used by (an average) twenty five users per day. It should be noted that this average number goes up to 25 because of weekend users, mainly the students of College of Engineering. This leads to a conclusion that the engineers do not use the IESL library may be due to lack of reading materials or/and mainly due to internet facilities. Wikipedia explains this As technology becomes increasingly available and digital information expands on a daily basis, academic library use is on the decline. Research libraries on college and university campuses are finding that gate counts and circulation of traditional materials are falling at many college libraries across the country, as students find new study spaces in dorm rooms or apartments, coffee shops, or nearby bookstores. Therefore, the point I am talking here is globally acknowledged. However, this has to be looked at from a different angle. How many engineers are normally visiting IESL? They sometimes visit IESL (annually) only to pay the membership fees. Now, it is also not needed as the online payment system is there. If the engineers who visit IESL for any reason could visit the library and could propose improvements, it would be a great contribution to IESL. I personally feel that the library facilities can be improved if our engineers do request to purchase new books, journals and propose improvements etc. Why dont you write to IESL regarding your requests? Always do remember that IESL is ours, if your requests are not properly addressed, please raise your voice. Eng (Dr). Udeni P. Nawagamuwa nawagamuwa@gmail.com

Sponsorship for JIY Programme

he JIY 2013 programme was provided financial sponsorship by M/S Acecam (Pvt) Ltd. An MOU was signed in this regard between the company and the IESL on 20th March 2013 at 4.00 p.m. at the IESL. Eng. Tilak de Silva, President-IESL, signed on behalf of the IESL while Mr. Ruwan Manchanayaka- Director, signed on behalf of Acecam (Pvt) Ltd. In return for their financial sponsorship M/S Acecam (Pvt) Ltd will get the opportunity to promote their product, SolidWorks Education Edition Software.

So for a young engineer, if you need to be proud of your profession and if you need to practice high command of communication and leadership skills, there is a clear way for that. This way is toastmastering; by marching along this way you can become a confident engineer in front of an audience!. All members of IESL and non member engineers too can taste the benefits of toastmastering by stepping in to any of IESL Toastmaster Club meetings which are usually held on every second and fourth Thursdays of every month. (The writer is the Vice President, Public Relations of The IESL Toastmasters Club. He works for the Alumex Group as the Group Manager- Engineering. He has got the First degree and a Masters degree in Engineering. He is an Associate Member of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. He can be contacted via mobile phone 077 3868134 or e-mail hwisusilk@gmail.com)

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

IESL NEWS 5

IESL Contributes to University of Moratuwa Final Year Undergraduates Surgery

The Pioneer of Road Construction in Sri Lanka Major Thomas Skinner ( 1804 1877 )
by K.D.Dumindusena

T
President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Eng. Tilak De Silva handing over the IESL contribution towards meeting the cost of surgery to the injured final year undergraduate of the University of Moratuwa, Roshan Seneviratne. inal year undergraduate at the University of Moratuwa, Roshan Senevirathne was severely injured during the incident that occurred at the university premises on 16th January 2013. Doctors treating him had recommended surgery that will cost about Rs.800, 000 (eight hundred thousand rupees). Fulfilling its duty towards the engineering community and future engineers, the IESL has stepped forward to support the fund raiser with a donation of Rs.100, 000/. However, more needs to be done towards helping him meet the full financial requirements for the surgery. For those willing to support raising the lacking Rs. 350, 000/=; his details are as follows: Account Holder : W.A.R.I. Senevirathna, Address: Roshan, Sampath Mawatha, Padalangala, Account Number: 8468514, Branch: Bank of Ceylon, Katubedda University Branch

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SRI LANKA Competition on

here are few, dedicated and devoted persons who had served towards development of this island during the rule of European nations in the last four centuries. One such English gentleman left his mark in history but not much is known about him in the modern era. He lived in this country for a period of fifty years and served for the well being of the people of this country. Thomas Skinner was born on May 22, 1804 in St. John City of New Foundland in United States of America. His Father was an Officer of the British Army. His mother died in his childhood. He went to England with his father in 1811 and entered the school in Fastbury of Doshedshire for his studies. He could not succeed in his education but wanted to travel, by sea, in search of new countries. Thomas Skinner came to Sri Lanka in 1819 to see his father. He joined the British Army in then Ceylon as a Second lieutenant although his father wanted his son to continue with his education. His first task as an army officer was accompanying a regiment of machine gun soldiers from Trincomalee to Colombo via Kandy at his fifteen years age. He could successfully complete his first duty in British Colonial rule and he was praised by the British Governor, Sir, Edward Barnes for his bravery as a young boy. After the taking of the Kandy Kingdom under British administration, and after the rebellion in 1818 Colonial rulers wanted to link Colombo and Kandy by roads so that British Army could be easily reached. The Governor, Sir Edward Barnes selected Major Thomas Skinner as the suitable person for this task and assigned him for the construction of road network in the country. His first task was to construct a road from Colombo to Kandy. During that time, there was lack of good roads besides footpaths for travelling purposes. His service was devoted to the construction of roads net work in the up country. He was given 200 native labourers for the construction works. He surveyed the lands and prepared maps for road constructions for the first time

Eco Efficient Water Infrastructure for Sustainable Development / Management

Experiences gained from Integrated Water Resources Infrastructure Development /Management in Sri Lanka

Session 2012/2013
Sponsored by

St. Anthonys Industries Group (Private) Ltd.

(MANUFACTURES OF ANTON PVC PIPES AND FITTINGS)
Two competitions will be held this year for the award of certificates and cash prizes. The competition soliciting original Technical Papers on research and case studies are accepted from members of IESL who are above 35 years. There will also be another competition for members who are 35 years and below on 01 October 2013. This competition is open to members of IESL and final year students of Faculties of Engineering of Universities in Sri Lanka who are student members of IESL or who obtain such membership before submitting their technical papers.

AWARDS & PRIZES

ABOVE 35 YEARS ON 2013.10.01 First Prize Second Prize Third Prize Rs. 50,000/= Rs. 25,000/= Rs. 10,000/= 35 YEARS AND BELOW ON 2013.10.01 First Prize Second Prize Third Prize Rs. 25,000/= Rs. 15,000/= Rs. 5,000/=

The members (Fellows, Members, Associate Members, Associates, Companions and Students) who wish to participate must obtain the application forms from IESL and submit bio data & full Technical Papers to reach the Executive Secretary, Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, No. 120/15, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07 on or before 28th June 2013. Further information could be obtained from the Chairman, Steering Committee on Water Resources Development of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, on Tel: 072- 3421493 or Publicity Officer-IESL 011-2685490, 011-2698426 or 0112699210, ext - 232, 207, E-mail: dir.pub@iesl.lk, ieslpub@gmail.com , Fax :0112699202 Note : Forms and Guidelines could also be downloaded from the IESL Website, www.iesl.lk or obtained from the IESL Secretariat.

in this country. The first transportable road was completed from Colombo to Kandy in 1820 under the guidance and supervision of Major Thomas Skinner. The Englishmen, including Major Skinner had to face risky and perilous challenges with malaria epidemic, threat of elephants and other wild beasts while clearing jungles for roads in the hill country. Sometimes, as a hunter, he had to kill elephants and other animals in the jungles. However, he loved the beautiful environment of this island and was fond of trees and creepers in jungles. His services for the roads constructions in this country are mentioned as follows in historical documents. The Kandyan convention of the March 1815 by which the island of Ceylon was ceded to his Majesty the King of England heralded an era of remarkable progress in the Island. Within nine years, the great Kandy road was commenced by Sir Edward Barnes the Road maker (1824 1831). When he resigned from the government in 1831 there were carriage roads connecting every town of importance. Much of this progress was due to the courage and endurance of Major "Thomas Skinner" (Ceylon Railway by G.F.Perera) The history of road making in Ceylon from the times of Sir Edward Barnes the Road Maker and his indomitable associate Major Skinner are the romance and incident of the old coaching days should form a separate essay. (Ceylon Railway by G.F.Perera) Major Thomas Skinner had to work in duties of several positions like Surveyor General;Head of Civil Works Department and Accountant and Civil administrator. He did his duties in any position efficiently and effectively

Contd. on page 10...

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

6 IESL NEWS

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

IESL NEWS
The follwing article was first published in 'The Sunday Times' of 10th March 2013.

CEREMONIAL COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS OF IESL-NCP CENTRE BUILDING

sent by Eng. C.S.Lokubarana (NWS&DB, Anuradhapura) - Editor - NCP Centre.

aking another step towards inproving the services rendered by the IESL North Central Province Centre it has commenced construction work of their own centre building. The Centre expects to complete the building in two stages. Estimated cost of the stage one is rupees Million 18.5 which is to be raised through fund raising activities and sponsorships. Ceremonial commencement of construction works of the building was held on 31 st January, 2013 in the land aquired at Puttlum Road, K o r a k a h a w e w a Anuradhapura. (Opposite The Palm Garden Village Hotel.) President IESL, Eng. Thilak de Silva attended this event as the chief guest and laid the foundation stone at the auspicious time. Eng Rohana Mithra AGM CECB and Eng. C.K.B. Senevirathne Deputy Chief Secratary (Engineering) participated as guest of honor who also participated in the laying of foundation stone. To mark the event several trees were planted by guests and members representing different organizations. After laying the foundation stone Eng. J.A.D.R. Sujith kumara, chairman of NCP centre delivered the welcome speech.

An artists inpression of the proposed building

Eng. Thillak De Silva addressing the oudience at the occasion.

The foundation stone for the building being laid by the President, IESL.

Contd. on page 12...

Name board of the proposed building site being unveiled by the IESL President.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

8 IESL NEWS

BSE NEWS Building Services Engineering Sectional Committee requests your support
by Eng. D U Amarasinghe Committee Member-BSESC

he Building Services Engineering Sectional Committee (BSESC) has identified many shortcomings and lapses in the practice of Building Services Engineering (BSE) in Sri Lanka and it is working towards overcoming these deficiencies and uplifting the quality of facilities and services in local building construction industry. To achieve that BSESC has already taken steps to;

Recognised places for Training of BS Engineers BSESC is in the process of identifying and evaluating the institutions that can provide necessary training for engineers who intend to professionally qualify as Chartered Engineers of IESL in BSE discipline. Field visits BSESC recently conducted two field visits giving the opportunity to building services engineers to acquire knowledge on technological applications, maintenance issues etc., in various building services. Field visit to World Trade Center on 2nd March 2013 Engineers who visited the Twin Towers of WTC were able to study how the design and maintenance of various building services and facilities in this large commercial building is done. BSE sectional committee is grateful to Eng. Indradeva Mendis & Eng. Prasanna Narangoda and staff for making the visit a success. Field visit to the Building of Nikini Automation Systems Pvt Ltd. 16tth March 2013 BSESC Members experienced the automated, energy efficient and environment friendly building developed by Nikini Automation Systems Pvt Ltd. This building is a show piece of real blend of passive controls and modern technology. BSESC is grateful to the MD Mr. Upendra Weerasuriya and his staff for making the visit a success.

for the development and revision of specifications for Fire Detection and Protection Systems associated with Buildings. BSESC embarked on this task on a request made to the IESL by ICTAD in connection with the updating of fire regulations and codes of practice by ICTAD. The working group has come up with a final draft after several sessions of deliberations. Revision to SCA 8Specification for M & E works A working group of selected BS Engineers and subgroups including experts are currently working on the revision of SCA 8 that was published 10 years back by ICTAD. CPD course on Plumbing A short course on Plumbing is under preparation and the details will be announced soon. Please Log on to www.iesl.lk. Get together of BS Engineers- 2013 A get together of BS Engineers was held on 31st March 2013 at Paradise Beach Hotel-Negombo. An Annual Get-together is being planned to promote goodwill and friendship among the BS Engineers and their families. BSESC appeal all practicing engineers to be a volunteer for making pathway to prospective carrier in BSE.

1. Promote BSE in the local construction sector by creating awareness on the importance of BSE among building developers and the professionals involved in planning, design and construction of buildings. 2. Publish a directory of the Corporate Members of IESL who are competent to practice BSE and deliver their expertise knowledge. Building Development Regulations of the Urban Development Authority stipulate the requirement of BS engineers certification for certain building categories. 3. Contribute to regulatory bodies by assisting in preparing and updating of BSE related regulations, specifications guidelines etc. 4. Contribute to professional development of BS Engineers by conducting CPD courses, workshops, seminars and technical and management lectures etc. 5. Make available the BSE related text books, codes of practice, guidelines, specifications and standards etc. in liaison with the IESL library. 6. Acquire due recognition of BS Engineers in the industry and as well in the society.

Field visit to World Trade Center

Eight engineers participated in the day field visit on 16th March 2013 to Nikini automation building at Kirulapana organized by BSESC. This 4 storied building has 800 m2 of floor area for office and technical facilities. It consumes only 22 kw which is delivered from 32 kw PV power plant. Net metering system of CEB has made it possible to gain 5000kwh in credit Building capsules are designed to shade the solar heat gain while allowing sun light into the working area. Shading outside the automated louvers ideally controls solar heat gain.

The installation done by Nikini is designed for longer run while maintaining solar power conversion without reducing efficiency for 4 years.

The building is a good example to energy efficient design well suited to local climate. Registration of BS Engineers with IESL and UDA Corporate Members of IESL who are qualified in the various specialties under BSE discipline have been selected for enlisting in the IESL Directory of Building Services Engineers-2013. These members become eligible as Qualified Persons under the Building Development Regulations of the UDA. Working group activities for updating fire regulation A working group of selected BS Engineers has dedicated their valuable time to contributing their knowledge and experience

Occupancy and light sensors eliminate the need for many manual switches while internal LED lighting saves energy.

VRV type A/C s are also inverter driven and maintain 25 o C room temperature.

Recent Activities
Knowledge Sharing Lectures BSESC started short technical lectures at the end of its monthly meetings as value addition so that the expertise knowledge is shared among all participants.

Field visit to the Building of Nikini Automation Systems Pvt Ltd. 16th March 2013

Get together

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

IESL NEWS 9

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SRI LANKA

What does a Web Browser do?

by Eng.Tharindu Weerasinghe [MSc.Eng, BSc.Eng(Hons)]

Competition
on

Water Resources Development and Management Future Challenges

Role of Engineering meeting Future Challenges of Water Resources Development / Management in Sri Lanka

n the contemporary

Session 2012 / 2013

Sponsored by

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

We are pleased to announce that arrangements are being made for the forthcoming Competition on Water Resources Development sponsored by IWMI towards the Annual Sessions of IESL in October 2013. The prizes will be given for the two best Technical Papers under the above mentioned theme prepared for this competition by Associate Members & Corporate Members of IESL. Jointly authored papers will be accepted, provided at least one of the authors satisfies the above criteria. Papers must be original and demonstrate the authors knowledge and experience of the subject. The award winning articles will be published in the journal, Engineer of the IESL. Water is a vital input in industrial, energy, tourism, recreational, navigation, agriculture, forestry, livestock and fishery sectors. As water scarcity grows, competition among sectors and users, and between the human needs and the environment intensifies. Effective and efficient water management is therefore a prerequisite for sustainable socio-economic development. The paper can address extraction, storage, distribution, use and disposal issues in any economic sector. It should illustrate how engineering and technology is applied in increasing productivity, in balancing supply and demand of water and/or in reducing water pollution and protecting freshwater ecosystems. Preference will be given to papers of an empirical and analytical nature based on primary and/or secondary data although papers addressing topical issues through conceptual development may also be forwarded.

society, with the v a r i o u s technological influences, even a 3 year old kid would know the term Web Browser. Due to the fact that internet is pretty close to many families, children know that they need a web browser to surf internet. But most of them and also most of the general public are not aware of the functions of a web browser beyond the fact that it shows us web pages that are requested by us.This article will give a simple overview of web browsers. But please note that there are many complex aspects of web browsers when it comes to completing its main objectives. Web browser is a software application that enables retrieving, presenting and traversing information in the internet as well as in web servers that host web based software applications via private networks. These browsers are sometime called as clients as they act as a client or interface between the user (you and me) and backend (server side). Famous web browsers are: Internet Explorer for Windows Safari for Mac Opera, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox for many platforms and also there are many others too. Brief History: The very first web browser was created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1990. It was then called Worldwide Web and later renamed Nexus.In 1993, web browser technology was innovated by Marc Andreessen with the release of Mosaic (later Netscape), the worlds first popular browser, which made the World Wide Web system easy to use and more accessible to the average person.

Andreessens browser sparked the internet boom of the 1990s but the introduction of Mosaic in 1993 allowed the world to experience one of the first graphical web browsers which led to an explosion in web use (Reference/ Source: Wikipedia) Function in brief: A web browser preliminary knows the language, i.e. HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). That means a web browser sends and retrieves data (communicate)by using the above protocol. Most of the modern browsers know protocols like HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure), FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Objectives of a browser in a nutshell: Retrieval of information upon request by the user Rendering the information retrieved. (Allow the users to view the information) Access other information (When users click on other links) So, the function starts with user giving the needed URL. What is a URL? It stands for Uniform Resource Locator, which is most commonly known as the web address. Example URL is http:// www.dailynews.lk/2013/ 02/21/main_News.asp The prefix of the URL or the first set of strings stands before the colon mark (:), is called the U niform R esource I dentifier or URI, that determines how the URL will be interpreted i.e. what is the protocol that should be used for communication (when it comes to the term communication, a web browser always act as communication interface between the user and the server which are located in two different places, So this communication is called the c l i e n t - s e r v e r communication). In the above example,it is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) which is the most common protocol. Browser will send the request to the relevant server which host the web page and then retrieve it.

If it is a LAN (Local Area Network) of an organization or institution then most probably they have proxy server before their network is exposed to the outer world (i.e. Internet), So, in those cases the request sent by the browser is accepted by the proxy server (which should be already configured in the browser) and if the proxy server has the particular web page in its cache then it shows it. So, after having retrieved the information (which are HTML Hyper T ext M arkup L anguage) and other associated content (image files, formatting information such as CSS, etc.), those information are sent to the browser s layout engine (which is in-built with the browser) to transform them into a readable and visible information. This process is called rendering. What is a web browser engine? (or layout engine/rendering engine) A web browser engine, is a software implementation (normally built-in with the browser) which absorbs marked up content (e.g. HTML, XML, image files, etc.) and formatting information (e.g. CSS, XSL, etc.) and displays the formatted content where the user can read and visualize the information in a lucid and palatable way. This engine is embedded not only in web browsers but also in e-mail clients, ebook readers or other applications that need the displaying (and editing) of web content. Typically engines may wait till all data are received before rendering a page, or may begin rendering before all data is received. That differs with the engine design technology. Browser engines of famous web browsers: Trident - MicrosoftInternet Explorer Gecko - Mozilla Firefox Presto Opera

AWARDS & PRIZES

(A) (B) Rs. 45,000.00 - For members of IESL over 35 years of age on 01 October 2013 Rs. 30,000.00 - Engineering graduates holding membership of IESL and 35 years of age and below on 01 October 2013007

Intention to participate in this competition should be intimated to us along with your bio-data & the full Technical Papers on or before 28th June 2013. IESL form IWMI/1 obtained from the IESL should be used for this purpose. Further information could be obtained from the Chairman, Steering Committee on Water Resources Development of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, on Tel: 072- 3421493 or Publicity OfficerIESL 011-2685490, 011-2698426 or 011-2699210, ext- 232 , 207, E-mail: dir.pub@iesl.lk, ieslpub@gmail.com, Fax : 011-2699202 Note : Forms and Guidelines could also be downloaded from the IESL Website, www.iesl.lk or obtained from the IESL Secretariat.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

10 IESL NEWS
The President of IESL in his speech expressed his gratitude to the organizing committee for working with the organizations like the police and requested to support those organizations with the Engineering knowledge for the betterment of the society and further he pledged that he would support to start member services initiated by the district centre in future. Eng. Jaliya Bandara, the Regional Manager of Sri Lanka Telecom was elected as the founder chairman of the centre and in his speech he expressed his willingness to work both with the society and to provide the member services more effectively. As a social initiative of the elected chairman and also as the chairman of the Young Members Section of IESL, a scholarship to fund for the whole duration in the University was awarded to student Buddhika Sampath from Hettimulla Bandaranayake M.V. who was the district first in math stream in the last advanced level examination with the support of NDB Bank Kegalle branch.

Contd. from page 1...

IESL First Ever...

The inauguration was held on 09th March 2013 at the Salika Inn Hotel in Kegalle. Eng. Tilak de Silva, the President IESL, attended as the Chief Guest. Eng. (Prof.) S. Pathirana, the former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya participated as the Guest of Honour. Also the SSP of Kegalle Mr. Priyalal Dasanayake, the President of the Bar Association of Kegalle Mr. Rajan Ranatunga, Additional District Secretary, Mr. A b e y w i c k r a m a Wanasooriya & Dr. Sisira Wickramaarachchi representing Chief Executive Officers Association (CEOA) of Kegalle, the Principal of Hettimulla Bandaranayake M.V., Mrs. H. T. Dayawathi and the Manager of National Development Bank, Mr. Nalin Jayawardena participated as special invitees. After lighting the traditional oil lamp, Eng. Ajith Abeysooriya delivered the welcome speech. Eng. (Prof.) S. Pathirana delivered the guest lecture. In his speech he requested the new centre to be formed to focus more in the area of innovation as the formation of the centre was itself a creative innovation.

What is Insurance? Things that all Engineers should know about Insurance.
Interviewed by, Eng. M. K Chandrasekera/Lusail City/Qatar 19th September 2012 Questions and Answers This Article is based on a discussion held by me with the well-known Insurance Consultant/ Loss Adjuster/Presenter, Eng. Sreenath Bandula. Amarasekera C Eng. via Skype. Q: What is Insurance? A:It can be generally described as an economic device for reducing and eliminating risk through the process of combining a sufficient number of homogeneous exposures into a group in order to make the losses predictable for the group as a whole. Q: What is risk as understood in the Insurance practice? A: It could be described as a condition in the real world in which there is possibility of loss. In another way it refers to the property/asset insured or the peril insured against as applicable to insurance practitioners. Q: I did not understand what you meant by peril A: Peril is the cause of loss. Usually, an Insurance Policy covers a number of perils. Q: How does one quantify the Risk? A:Risks applicable to a Policy is determined by applying the law of large numbers or in other words the probability analysis. In the Insurance companies there is a group of professionals called Actuaries whose job is to analyse the risks applicable to each policy and to determine the Premium to be charged for the Policy to provide covers for the identified risks. Q: What do you mean by a Premium? A:It is the payment the Policy holder is asked to pay for an Insurance Policy. It can be a periodic payment or once and for all payment.

Eng. Jaliya Bandara, Founder Chairman of the IESL District Centre - Kegalle

Q: Are any types of Risks Insurable? A: No. Depending on the Clients brief, the Insurer will assess the Insurable risks and inform the Client what and what risks could be covered depending on the Premium he/ she is prepared to pay. Q: Could you elaborate it a little more? A: Insurance Policies cover the types of risks which are sudden and unforeseeable. For example, if you are a known heart patient the Insurer may not insure you against death due to a heart attack. However, a healthy person will be insured against sudden death due to heart attacks. Client is required. Insurer expects the Client to answer all questions given in the Application form, truthfully. In case of doubt, when a Claim is made, Insurer will deploy Investigators to verify if there were any wilful non-disclosures in the Application. Q: Insurance Companies? Do they perform a social service or operate with profit motives?

Contd. from page 5... The Pioneer... and was praised both by the British government and public. Mr. Skinnner made valuable contribution for the transportation in Sri Lanka by making the network of roads connecting every major town in the island during his service under the British Colonial administration. He had been appointed to the post of Road Commissioner of Ceylon by the Governor in 1841. He retired from public service of Sri Lanka in 1867 under British Colonial administration. After his retirement, when he was leaving the country, the civil chieftains and general public of the country made a thanks giving ceremony and praised his service for the development of the country. An important fact is that, he had only secondary education and not much professional training and had only army training, but he had the ability to construct roads as would an eminent in technical profession. After his retirement while he was in England, he wrote a book named Fifty Years in Ceylon , in which he explained his experience and information related to the economic, political, sociological and geographical situation that prevailed in the country during nineteenth century. He was awarded CMG honour by her Majestic the Queen. He was also honoured by awarding the membership of St.Micheal and St.George in 1869. After his retirement he lived happily in England for about ten years in the evening era of his life. He died on 24 July 1877 in England. Sri Lanka is indebted to him for his services rendered for development of the country.

A: They are business companies with profit and growth motives. Q: If they operate on profit motive, how can a customer obtaining an Insurance Policy expect a fair deal? A: That is a good question. Fair deal is limited only to what they agree to cover in the Policy. They will never compensate your full loss. Compensations will be always subject to excess and exclusion Clauses indicated in the Policy. Q: What do you mean by Excesses and Exclusion Clauses? A: Excess is a specified amount indicated in the Policy. Client will agree to absorb this amount by himself. From each Claim, the Insurer will deduct this amount when making payments. Justification for doing so is, because the expenses incurred by the Insurer to process a Claim of small value will be out of proportion ompared to the value of the damage assessed. Exclusion means an exempted risk indicated in the Policy. The exclusion clauses are given as attachments to the standard Policy Formats .For example, a Policy issued for a motor vehicle which is fully insured may contain an exclusion clause for damages caused due to floods. Client may simply assume that since his vehicle is fully insured, he could claim the damages caused to his vehicle due to a flood. But the reality is that it is not, unless you have obtained flood cover by paying an additional Premium. Contd. on page 11...

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

IESL NEWS
Contd. from page 10.... accept money and issue a Policy signed by them. Company pays them the standard Brokerage fee of 3%. They are also allowed to keep the money and the Policies issued by them for a specified period without handing over to the Company. In Sri Lanka, up to recently, the Brokers were allowed to keep the money and the papers for six months. This period has been recently reduced to 2 months, after insured parties made claims based on such policies while the company was unaware of the existence of such policies until the time the Claims were received. Q: That means there is hot competition among the Insurance Companies for business? A: Yes, of course. Currently there are about 24 Insurance Companies in Sri Lanka. All of them try for the most rewarding deals. There have been many incidents of Insured parties having been taken for rides by the cut throat Policies promoted by the Marketing representatives or issued by some of the brokers. Q: In such backdrop, as a layman, what factors should one consider before going to a particular Insurer? A:.One consideration would be to go by the declared Rating of the Companies. It will give an idea of the stability of the Company. However, there is no guarantee that the best rated Company will give the best policy due to prevailing price war among the Companies. In the end, the loser will be the party who obtained the Cover as the Company could reduce the amount paid by using of some hidden Clauses that they had introduced to compensate the lower premium charged. It will be good for you to read the Draft Agreement. These Agreements are deliberately printed in very small font. However, you should try to read it in full and ask a lot of questions from the persons you deal with, at an Insurance Company, before you obtain the cover. Once you sign the papers and make payments,you are restricted by the Clauses in the Policy. Q: Once you obtain an Insurance cover against a certain risk can you rest assured that any loss caused due to incidents covered by the Policy could be recovered from the Insurer?, A: No. No. You have to check the Policy to see what protective/preventive action you are required to take, to safeguard the Insured Asset from the named Perils. If you neglect this, your chances of getting fair compensation may not be realized. Q: If some damage was caused to the Insured Assets due to an occurrence which could be classified as sudden and unforeseen as defined in the Policy, what is the procedure you should follow to get a Claim? A: First and foremost, you should inform the Insurance company of the damage as soon as possible. You should not disturb the damaged asset, until inspected by the investigators sent by the company, unless there is danger to someones life or safety. You will have to obtain the services of a qualified/competent person to work out the cost of the damage estimated together with any supporting evidence(for example the rainfall records, in the event of a flood damage) and submit a Claim to the Insurer in accordance with their prescribed forms. The Company appointed investigator (Loss Adjuster) will eventually come to inspect the damaged asset. He will ask pertinent questions to which candid answers should be given. He may collect original construction drawings (if any available with you), does surveys, take measurements, photos etc. interview the witnesses if any. Make inquiries from the statutory authorities like the Police, Meteorology Department etc. Q: How will a Loss Adjuster make a fair estimate of a Loss? A: As per my answer to your previous question, when the Loss Adjuster visits the Site, he will collect the necessary information. This entire information gathering will have to be done in one visit. At times, the Insured parties will refuse to give even the available details. At times the Loss Adjuster will have to make risky manoeuvres such as climbing to unsafe heights without any personal protection attire, to creep into dark places, hollow towers, underground basements etc. Since you will have to go to all kind of odd places near and far and sometimes abroad you cannot pre plan anything. Whenever you go to faraway places like Seruvila, Kilinochchi, Mannar etc. you will have to rough out. In my case, very often, irrespective of the distance, I try to complete the information gathering as quickly as possible and return on the same day Fortunately, I have a reliable driver, who is my assistant and the companion.. When I go to Resorts in Maldive Islands, soon after I disembark in Male, I will fly by seaplane or get a sea ride by speedboat to the destination. Those are very risky trips. Same day or the following day I do as much work as possible and return on the following day. Some Clients attempt to mis-lead us and try to hide some evidence. They also make highly inflated Claims. In the case of damages to roads under construction, caused by Landslides etc., by the time you reach the damage site, all the debris has been removed and the road cleared for traffic without leaving an evidence of the damage. In such cases, the Loss Adjuster will have to ask for ask for available records such as pre-damage survey cross sections, if any, design cross sections and current cross sections etc. to make an estimate of the extent of damage. If the damage is within the design excavation section which the Contractor was anyway required to remove under the Contract, then we could recommend compensation for debris clearance only. Other difficult exercise is the determination of the value of the asset at the time the damage occurred. Since the Asset is seen in the damaged form, Loss Adjuster will have to develop a replica of the Lost / damaged Asset by way of Drawings and Sketches. He will have to then prepare a Bill of Quantities of the damaged parts. Then derive rates for each Bill Item and Value the Loss. In some of the Policies, the value will have to be the depreciated to the present value at the time of loss. In some other Policies, it should be the replacement cost. However, the replacement will be only to bring back the asset to the pre-damaged condition, without involving any modernization. All this is not very simple. In some policies, the loss of business too is covered. It will need another study. Next step is to find whether the cause/s is/are within the named Perils in the Policy barring any exclusion clauses. In a way it is similar to the role of a forensic doctor. In some

11

What is Insurance?...
In addition, the Policy will have clauses to ensure that the Insured will take due care of the insured asset and take all precautionary measures to avoid or minimize the damages caused due to a particular occurrence. In short, the term fully insured is totally misleading. Q: What do you mean by an occurrence? A: Anoccurrence is defined as a happening that progresses and ends within a certain period of time. To suit different Perils, the Policy will specify the durations of occurrences. As an example, the damage caused by a flood might be linked with the duration of a rainfall event. You can make only one Claim for the damages caused due to the specified duration of the occurrence. Q: What are the roles of the Insurance Agents, Marketing representatives and the Insurance Brokers?? A: An Insurance Agent is a person or an entity who will get a briefing from a party requiring an Insurance about his need is and then explain about the types of covers available. They will assist in the paper work, payments and also will deliver the Policy to you saving your time. For their service, the Insurance Company will pay a commision to them. However, whether you go through an Agent or directly deal with the Company, the Premium charged by the Company from you will be same. Marketing representatives are those who go to the doorsteps of the prospective Clients and convince the Clients to accept a particular package at a negotiated price. When Reps working for several companies visit the same Client, they try to beat each other by offering discounts. An unsuspecting Client who may agree to the lowest premium deal, may suffer in the end, since those cut price Policies will invariably have some exclusion Clauses to limit the compensation. Insurance Brokers are those acting with the authority of Insurance Company. They could negotiate a package,

countries there are Engineers called Forensic Engineers who have specialized in this field. In some Insurance Policies certain very common Perils are placed within the exclusions. For example in the landslides which occur in roads under construction, Items such as debris clearance are in the exclusions). Hence the Insured will not get any compensation although they have to incur a large sum of money for restoration work. Q: Will the Insurer accept the Loss Adjusters report in Toto? A: Never. They have their in house staff who will scrutinize the Loss Adjusters Report thoroughly and seek various clarifications. Not only that. When the claim values are large, even the Insured parties sometime retain experts when they find the amount recommended is less than their expectations. In fact, the Claim preparation too is a very complicated process, which could be handled only by competent persons. There were many instances where I was required to defend my Reports against cross examinations by hordes of expatriate Claim Consultants, in the number of cases I handled, especially in those related to damages caused to holiday resorts in Maldive Island Q: Are there any compulsions by the Insured party to boost up the Loss estimation? A: Why not. But, if you want to earn the reputation of the Insurers to ensure that you get assignments from them, 100% integrity is required. They have various sources to check how you act in handling the given assignments. If you get one black mark from even a single case, you will loss your good will built up with the other companies too. The expectation of the Insurers is to get out of a Claim by paying the smallest amount of compensation but without losing their customers. When the Claims are submitted by valued customers, at times they go to the extent of making ex gratia payments even when the Claims could not be paid in accordance the agreed Policy conditions. To be contd. on the next issue...

Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2013

12 IESL NEWS

IMechE Delegation Pays Courtesy Visit to IESL

Contd. from page 7... In his speech he praised the support and commitment of the members in North Central Province and said that it is the main reason which prompted him to take such a huge challenge. He also thanked the IESL Head Office for their assistance and guidance and thanked specially the president of IESL for his participation in the event even with his busy schedule. Then the president of IESL addressed the gathering. He pledged full support of his and the mother centre to make this project a reality. Further he appreciated the activities being carried out by the centre and stated that he expects other centers to follow and construct their own center building. He also shared some future aspiration of his regarding the development of IESL and thanked the executive committee of NCP centre for inviting him to the occasion. Around fifty members representing different organizations participated in this event.

CEREMONIAL COMMENCEMENT.....

delegation of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) led by its President, Prof. Isobel Pollock paid a courtesy visit to the IESL on April 04, 2013. The IESL delegation for the meeting was led by Eng. Tilak de Silva, President, IESL and consisted of Eng. Lasantha Kulakuruarachchi,Eng. T K G Ranasinghe, Eng. A N P Wickramasuriya, Eng. S T Perera. The discussion focused on areas of common interest to the two Institutions.