My internship with PWD

My summer internship at PWD was an expected experience because I have interned with PWD last summer too. I was interning under the executive engineer of PWD, Maintenance Department. The Public Works Department is responsible for the construction of infrastructure along with providing service to 24 ministries. It is one of eight executing organs in the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. It is also the Government's biggest construction agency. This project was under PWD with a motto to construct 08 nos SPS rooms including staircase and other miscellaneous repair works at Govt. Co-ed Sr. Sec School Nehru Nagar to provide more space to the existing school. This project would cater in fulfilling the basic fundamental right to education. Further in this era of modernization and sophistication, an engineer should also know the basic principles of construction which is highly required in many projects especially in developing economies like ours.

This project required basics of knowledge of civil engineering which was to be applied with the field knowledge while on site. Being in PWD, the basic area of focus was on contracts and tender. It involved various types of members and firms that were required to pool in when the contract was being issued. There are five classes of firms that can take part in the contract, starting from class V, moving up to class I and finally reaching class IA. Each class has its own power of picking up the contract of requisite amount that was being issued. For example, class V contractors cannot apply for the work of class IV, III, etc. After a tenure period of specific time, only licence can be upgraded from one class to another, along with completing specific number of workjobs. Before the tender is issued, the cost of work has to be decided, which is based on different kind of work. These include earthwork, RCC work, steel work, wood and PVC work, flooring, sanitary installation, primer and coating, and lastly finishing. Each work has been allocated a minimum expenditure that has to be spent on it. This is how the final tender is made keeping in mind the total cost of work.

Visiting the site was not a daily routine, but at least thrice a week was necessary. Before the execution of each work, I noted down all the necessary details. I monitored the work and progress regularly with the junior engineer. He explained me the work thoroughly and gave me the practical knowledge to be applied. The first day when I visited the site, I witnessed that an already existing school building was being extended due to lack of space. Due to the time constraint the structure that was being made was given the name, semi-permanent structure. The slab laid was not made up of RCC components. This was done to reduce the time and to avoid various permissions to be taken for a permanent structure. The structure was basically a load bearing structure having a spread footing foundation which is a type of a shallow foundation. It was a double storey structure with 8 classrooms on each floor with separate sanitary blocks for men and women. 

I wish to work with PWD on future because according to my experience it is more convenient than a private organization. 

And DMRC it was :D

Interning for a organization like the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was like a dream come true. The experience and the knowledge i take back is better than a million textbooks could have taught me. Seeing all the work being done on site , in reality, to stand in the scorching sun and be present when the workers slog for a day's meal, the feeling is like none other.

The four weeks of internship under a great industry guide was brilliant fun. It had it's perks but I was made to sweat out in the sun too. Travelling two hours to reach the site, on reaching I was made to strap on my safety equipment and marched onto the site with the person who were working under. Initially I learnt about the environmental concerns on a site and how DMRC being a strictly monitored organization had to be more wary about the considerations.

After learning all about the initial work being done on the site , I was familiarized with the machines being used . It was interesting to learn about the various helmets symbolized the hierarchy of the workers too. When I joined the for my internship inititally, the first level of the shaft had been dug up from where the TBM had to be launched. I was then explained the various methods of construction and why the secant piles were being used in that are. I learnt how to understand drawings.

After about three odd weeks the entire site was flooded due to the monsoons and all the work was put to a halt. The entire site there was atleast 4-5 feet of water and no place to walk. My industry guide refused to take me out in a weather like that saying it wasn't safe enough and it was horribly slippery so we should avoid it.

One of the most supposedly "interesting" moments was going down in the make-shift life (attached to the gantry crane) which seems as if it will fall apart the minute a slight breeze blows. I thought it will be slightly scary going down the 20m deep shaft in something as rickety and urealiable (though it's a 100% safe im sure) as that but i was down below before i could think. NOT as fun as i assumed it to be . Sigh!

Overall i loved my internship and would do anything to have the same industry guide again. I think the internship was more absorbing all because of my guide who had a gala time explaining and teaching all the minute details. It was better than what any book could have ever taught. NO DOUBT!!


Saanchi Singh
A2315810086

Internship at RITE

At the end of 6th Semester,we students at Amity University, Noida were supposed to complete Summer Internship as proposed in the curriculum.I had joined RITES Ltd.(Rail India Technical and Economic Services-A Govt. of India Enterprise) along with Mohd. Umar and Nilay Vats (my batch mates).Duration of the Summer Internship was around 6 weeks.It was overall a good learning experience.

The Project is located within the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia,New Delhi.The project involved construction of Hostel Accommodation for Boys/Girls in the University.The Project cost was roughly estimated out to be around 10 crores.RITES was holding the responsibility of PMC(Project Management Consultants) and the Construction was being carried out by 2 Contractors.The duration of the project was roughly 1-1.5 years.We were guided by both faculty guides as well as Industry guides who assisted us in every possible way.My Faculty Guide on behalf of Amity is Ms. Madhuri Kumari and my Industry guide on behalf of RITES was Mr. Mansoor. Both of them made my work easier and their guidance was very much helpful.

During the 1st week of the visit we were made to do some calculations based on what we have learnt in college.We were handed over the Plan/Drawings of the Project so that we could get a rough idea on what we are working on.The Next step involved was calculation of Carpet Area,Wall Area etc. by looking into the drawings.We were also introduced to various employees of RITES.Also we were taken to the Construction Site to observe the Area.When we reached the site we noticed that Site Layout/Levelling was being carried out. Levelling was being carried out with the help of a device called Dumpi Level.This process was completed within 2 days.Next up,the Layout was executed which involved marking of Boundary of area which is to be excavated.Layout is the marking up of all the essential boundaries so that excavation may be done.This was executed with as much perfection as possible as thew slightest mistake could have delayed/ruined the project.

The next 10 days were utilized taken up by workers for full Excavation of Site.The delay was due to some mismanagement.After the excavation it was time to level the ground as well as to give it a good finish.This was again accomplished with help of Dumpi level.Then,it was time for application of PCC(Plain Cement Concrete).PCC is a thin layer of Concrete that is applied on the base of the Foundation on which the Raft Foundation is to be laid out.The PCC was made in ratio of 1:4:8.Its important to mention that a lot of difficulties were faced during this stage as the concrete quality should have been upto the standards

After PCC was applied the next stage was Curing of PCC.Curing is the process of maintaining adequate moisture content so that concrete hardens.After curing,Layout of Columns was done with the help of Total Station.The Columns were of size 650mm*350mm. The raft foundation was laid out over the PCC(after the layout) with a clear cover.The Raft Foundation/Mat was of  16mm diameter. For the extra bars that were provided we had to look up in the Structural Drawings so as to make sure that construction is accurate and so that load is distributed properly and also so that the structure does not fail.

And so with the completion of Raft/extra bars the next process was positioning of the columns reinforcement.The Column reinforcement was erected properly along with proper positioning of Stirrups.The main process after this was Shuttering of both the Raft as well as Columns and mass concreting of both of them in a monolithic fashion.This process was quite frustrating and tough as it involved perfect timing,experience as well as harsh working hours as Concreting couldnt be done in day during which temperatures would reach 45 degrees.

This step was a milestone in the project as now the next steps were relatively easier.I would also like to mention that during this entire processes RITES was ensuring that the project was according to Indian Standards as well as stable and safe. Backfilling is the next stage which involved  filling the excavated area with excavated soil.Compaction was also done with help of rollers so that soil strength is restored to normal as much as possible.

Along with the Construction techniques we were also shared with information on Project Management as well as with Bill of Quantities.Office involved lots of paperwork and formalities.Thus overall my Internship was quite a big success as i was introduced to lots of things which i was not aware of.It gave me confidence in the field of Civil Engineering and I hope to gain more Knowledge in various other Civil Engineering Projects.

Ashutosh Pant

7CE-2

A2325110005

B.Tech-Civl+MBA

Great experience at L&T

As a part of my curriculum i did my internship with L&T which was a great experience. My internship was at one of their site at hauz khaz where they are constructing an underground metro station under the existing metro station. The other stations being constructed by them were IIT, Munirka, R K Puram, Vasant VIhar and Shankar Vihar. The duration of my internship was six weeks in which I learnt a lot on site as well as outside the site, and also met new people. I was putting up in Lajpat nagar with my friends so reaching the office would take 20- 30 minutes. We used to reach the office by 10 and leave anytime after lunch depending on the work. Weekends were off for us which gave us time to enjoy our vacations also.
The first day we met the project director and project manager who directed us as to how to proceed during our training. We were taken to the site where we saw laborers and engineers making faces and talking about us and made us feel so out of place. The first week was the most busy of all and we were introduced to all the staff at the site office. The only one question everyone had there was 'why did you "girls" choose civil?'. I would confidently tell them that it is because I am interested in this field, and on which people would de-motivate me about a girl doing civil engineering. It did not really affect me because i had heard enough of this and i was prepared for such questions. We went to site regularly for the first two weeks and observed the activities going on at the site. We would ask questions and the engineers were very cooperative in telling us everything we needed to know. We used to note down things so as to not forget them later on. Going on the site was the most interesting part as that is where i actually could apply my theoretical knowledge and understand things practically.
The construction of the metro station was it its initial stages, where the construction of guide wall was completed and construction of D-wall was in process. D-wall is the main boundary wall for the station which was about 36 meters deep. The construction of this wall was done from ground level so you couldn't see what was going wrong at the bottom which is a very big risk and cause problems later on. There are machines to detect defects at the bottom but there is some error always. There were many other small activities about which were told by the engineers at the site.The most important thing for L&T at the site was the safety of every individual at the site. Every one at the site has to wear 'Personal Protective Equipment' (which includes shoes, helmet and jacket) without these they are not permitted to enter the site.
But the frequency of going to the site reduced as there was not anything new at the site plus it as very hot. So we used to sit in the office and read the method statements and drawings. The engineers also taught us how to make Bar Bending Schedule whenever they got time out of their busy schedule. We also learnt a lot from the interaction with people at the office and got an idea of  professional life. Interning with L&T was a great experience as L&T is a very reputed company and all the employees are very helpful and comforting. We were given whatever help we needed from them. Time just passed away and the training got to an end, where we got positive feedback which motivated us alot. Thought the training is over officially but we are invited by the project director to visit the site any time  once the work progresses and new activities start. I am glad to this training and feel that there should be frequent visits to site or some practical exposure so that the knowledge doesn't go waste and we are in touch with latest technology and techniques. Such training will help us perform better in interviews and make us industry ready.
Vamica Butola
A2325110002

MY EVERLASTING EXPERIENCE AT ANTRIKSH

From where to start I mean after spending 6 weeks at construction site I am really feeling like I  have done something fruitful. Training session was just awesome. I really feel that training is an important part of engineering and is important for all the experience we came across during the training session. So I did my summer internship at ANTRIKSH ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION. My project during the internship was construction of non-tower basement slabs and raft foundation.

Previously I even don’t know what this non-tower means but on the very first day of my training my industry guide told me and explained me in brief about the project. First day was very interesting because there was a little of work for me I was treated like a new student who joined her college/school recently and everyone was introducing me with the project. The project was about for 1600crores. Actually it was a residential building construction whose basement is to be constructed under my project. Rest interiors of the flats are to be done. There was a system of attendance over there although I get to know about that system at the end of the training but each employee, worker or any other have to mark his/her attendance over there.

During the first week of my training my industry guide asked me about my learning experience in the college. I tried really hard to implement all my bookish knowledge practically at site. During 1^st week I was given the architect plan of the project and my guide explained me the whole drawing and after explaining he use to give me drawings of another tower and asked me to explain that to him. That is a kind of testing that whether I am getting all the things and not just nodding my head.

Then the excavation was done that took about one week and during this week my guide showed me the towers construction. This was the knowledge that we get only at the construction site that is the material or thing called ‘murga jalli’ in layman’s language, used when the wall cracked, the special kind of coating done on the wall for purpose of water proofing, all such things are not written in the books these are the one which one’s find at the site only. I find really interesting in learning such things from my guide.  

I saw the working of the batching plant and various other instruments. Then for leveling I was aware about the dumpy level only but after doing work I get to know about autolevel which is another instrument used for this purpose. Then my guide allotted me work of construction of boundary wall. I enjoyed that work thoroughly. For that firstly I have to mark points for the boundary line and that is done by theodolite, already used by me during my surveying lab in college. Then I instructed the workers what to do and what not, at that moment I really feel like I am a civil engineer like a head of everybody who knows everything.

At construction site I was instructed to wear shoes and helmet that is necessary for protection. I learned how to make columns, where to use round one and where to use the square one, construction of raft foundation, stirrups, reinforcement, and all those things that we have only studied in college but haven’t done practically. All the calculations that we have done we applied at the site and felt the difference the manipulations done at the site.

My industry guide helped me a lot throughout my training session. My project also includes that mechanical basement which will be constructed soon and my guide promised me that he’ll inform me. So I am really looking forward for that construction to take place and I visit the site again. I guess that 6 weeks experience can’t be expressed in just one single post. So at last I would say that I enjoyed my training and it was a great learning experience in ANTRIKSH ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION.

Neha Aggarwal

A2325110008

Summer Training @ I.C.T.

Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. (ICT), is a leading International Consulting Organization specializing in Highways, Structures, Airports, Urban and Regional Infrastructure Development, Water Supply, Water Resources Development and Management, Traffic and Transportation, Ports and Tourism, Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building, and, Socio-Economic and Environmental Impact Assessment.

People working there are very professional and they are very helpful as well. They had a department-wise schedule for us that we were supposed to follow from the very first day of our joining including our signature on the attendance sheet sharp at 1800 hrs. We were given an opportunity to learn as much as possible about “Transportation” and to make this journey useful for us, they made us visit five different departments over there.

 The first department to start with was Surveying Department. The basic or the key step to start any project in Civil Engineering is surveying. It is required in the planning and execution of nearly every form of construction.  In our case surveying was required for locating the various topographical features on the real ground and getting the coordinates using GPS technology for designing the highway alignment. We performed Traversing using Total Station. We had never used those instruments before. I feel so lucky that we actually used all those instruments.

The other week we headed for the Traffic &Transportation Department. That was one of the most memorable weeks of my life because there we got a chance to learn so many things about traffic that a common man cannot even imagine. In this department we did various kinds of studies and surveys related to traffic like number of lanes to be provided, type of interchanges in alignment of highway. An important part of transportation department is traffic engineering, which is phase of transportation engineering that deals with the planning, geometric design and traffic operations of roads, streets, and highways, their networks, terminals, abutting lands and relationship with other modes of transportation. Now days they are developing one software known as RADAR (Road Accident Data Recorder). In India, the cases of road accidents are increasing day by day. But due to the lack of information regarding the accident, we could never find out the actual reasons behind this. To prevent these cases this initiative is being taken. With the use of this software the data regarding any accident can be recorded efficiently for further use. During our internship in ICT, we saw the working prototype of the software tablets that are being tested in some parts of Delhi by Delhi police.

We were walking out of Traffic and Transportation Department and “Highways” Department was already waiting for us. Here we learnt about the designing vertical and horizontal alignment of highway and the factors governing the widening of road whether it has to be eccentric widening or concentric widening or when to adopt a bypass. The cross sectional element and drainage to be provided is based upon the number of lane for which a road is designed. Here we got see the latest software that are used for designing. I wish to become a professional in highway designing in the next coming 7 year.

We now entered in the PMG (Pavement Material& Geo-synthetics) department. This division mainly consults with the pavement design required for the particular project in ICT. The drawings prepared in ‘HIGHWAY DIVISION’ are then passed to the pavement division with all the traffic surveys data, based on that data and referring to the IS codes design of pavement is done. ICT has its lab situated at Faridabad near Delhi. We did all the tests which are necessary for design. Various lab tests like, testing of materials to be used for construction, soil testing on the field, water tests, bitumen tests, concrete tests etc., are really important for the construction purposes. ICT lab plays an important role in the functionality of the work properly as whole of the design is dependent upon the lab testing.

Then moved to our second last department which was Bridge Department. This was the most fascinating department for which I eagerly awaited but the designing part was beyond our scope since it requires lot experience and expertise. Therefore we did not get to learn very much. The guide there was extremely helpful and he still explained us about different types of foundation in bridges and different components of bridges.

And finally we entered into their last department and that was Quantity and Cost Estimation. This department in ICT is broadly concerned with contracts, measurement and costs on construction projects. The methods employed, however, cover a range of activities which may include cost planning, value engineering, value management, feasibility studies, cost benefit analysis, life-cycle costing, tendering, valuation, change control, dispute resolution, claims management, project management and cost estimation. The team comprises of various expertise in drafting and interpretation of contract documents, to settle issues, value the works fairly and regularly, project final costs, avoid disputes and ensure the effective progress of a project.

Thank you so much ICT for giving me such a great learning opportunity.  

 PULKIT SHARMA
 A2315810082

My experiences of summer internship

This summer I did my internship at Era Infra Engineering Limited. They are constructing the underground metro from a stretch of Jama Masjid to Kashmiri Gate. It has a approx. length of 2.1 kms. and from Jama Masjid to Kashmiri Gate there is one more station Lal Quila. It is a joint venture with the Russian construction company Metrostroy who is expert in tunnelling. Metrostroy  has done lot of tunnelling in the past U.S.S.R.and presently in Russia. Era hired the one another tunnelling expert from Thailand Terratec is the company which will provide the mould for the precast segment and Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). Terratec has there own employees who work day and night for assembling the TBM in the shaft. A launching shaft is constructed at Jama Masjid for the launching of TBM.

            I did my internship with my friend Drona. We were together from the day 1 of our internship. I had a great experience with him and he knows a lot about Delhi. After we finished the day on site, we used to explore the congested bylanes of the chandni chowk. The way people lives there , houses touching their roofs (you can go from one house to another by jumping from one roof to other),chaos all around ,mouth watering street foods like paranthas, chole kulche,jalebi,dahi bhalle,etc. during summer internship, summer was at its peak. I used to drink lot of water and while exploring the chandni chowk I come to knew about the “panchayati pyau”. I am very impressed by the people who do social service and provide free cold drinking water. In todays metropolitan cities,people do not care about others but these people do who is doing the social service. I visited some  places in chandni chowk like kinari bazaar, parathewali gali,nai sarak,etc.

During my summer internship I met some very nice and interesting people who know how to have fun at site. They know how to keep stress away and enjoy the working condition. Construction site is a place where you will not find some basic facilities like restrooms, cold drinking water etc. At site people are used to do the work in temporary offices and it is very difficult to do work when the temperature is around 45 degree Celsius. At site, I find lot of noise and sometimes it is difficult to listen to some other person. There is always a risk of life at site, so I always wear my PPEs ‘hard hat and safety shoes’. I used to have my lunch under a tree with my friend drona and it was a good experience. Civil engineers take lot of risks because launching shaft is 40 -50 feets deep and there is always a chance of accident whenever u go up and down.

I went to Mundka to see the precasting of tunnel rings which is going to be used during the tunnelling to give shape to the tunnel and bear the earth pressure. Tunnel is going to have the approx. diameter of 7 meters. There is going to be two tunnel one for the UP line and one for the DOWN line. At Mundka I had seen the huge gantry for uplifting the precast segment. It is a good setup. They have good technology like pneumatic vibrator for vibrating the concrete placed in the mould. Boilers which keep the temperature of the mould at 60 degree Celsius for fast drying of the precast segment. They are using the curing compound for the curing of precast segment.

ANURAG SINGH TOMAR
B.TECH(CIVIL+MBA)
A2325110006
7CE2