REGISTRATION PRESENTATION SPEECH

(i) Slide 1.

 Members of the Panel, Greetings.

 I am Avinaash Veeramah and as part of the requirements for Registration Stage 2, I am
here today to provide a brief summary of my training, which spanned from June 2017 to
September 2019.

(ii) Slide 2

 My presentation shall introduce my training environment along with an overview of my

duties carried out.
 It shall also cover my awareness of complementary duties and responsibilities which I
shouldered and which is normally associated with the traditional practice of civil
engineering before ending with some concluding remarks.

(iii) Slide 3

 I have carried out my training at two local consultancy firms, namely De Comarmond and
Associates Ltd and Luxconsult (Mtius) Ltd, with about 30 % of the training period spent at
De Comarmond and Associates Ltd.
 On average, my time utilization at these 2 firms is delineated by this pie-chart, with a
majority of the training period dedicated to Engineering Design and its associated duties.

(iv) Slide 4

 Coming to my training period, I have mostly been involved in small-scale residential,

commercial and sports infrastructural projects till now.
 As shown by this chart, I have had the chance to carry out a variety of tasks from
engineering design to basic project and contract management as well as the supervision
of Works.
 It is to be noted that I was assigned specific duties for different projects. For example,
there were some projects whereby I carried out design only or supervision only.
 I shall comment now briefly on each of these duties.
 Coming to Engineering Design, I have had the opportunity to deal with common materials
such as Reinforced Concrete and unreinforced masonry in framed and load bearing
structures respectively as demonstrated by Case Study I and II of my Professional Review
 Report. I have had a good experience in reading architectural drawings and work my way
up to viable structural concepts, from a technical and economic perspective.
 With regards to Engineering Management, I was involved in an NHDC Project at Chebel
and the upgrading of Auguste Volaire Stadium, where I assisted my Project Manager from
pre-tender to construction stage. I had the opportunity to be involved in the preparation of
document such as Tender Documents and Contract Agreement while also being able to
monitor the progress of Works and chairing site meetings whenever required. At the same
time, I had the chance to be the main point of contact for both the Employer’s and
Contractor’s Representatives.
 I was also encouraged to be involved in Contractual Matters such as the submission of
the Performance Security and Insurance Documents, requesting the Contractor to submit
a revised Programme of Works when the rate of Progress did not seem sufficient to meet
the time for Completion or issuing Payment Certificates.
 My involvement in Engineering Design and Management is further detailed in Chapter 4
of my Progress Report.
 Other engineering-related activities included the Supervision of Works on site with regards
to the quality of materials being incorporated in the Works and the quality of the Works
themselves. Materials’ testing, compliance with Technical Specifications, Health and
Safety and Environmental Protection were key attributes of my experience gained in the
Supervision of Works.
 Other cognate duties as carried out during my training period involved administrative
functions such as: writing correspondences, technical and management report writing,
producing cost reports, liaison with different project stakeholders, surveys amongst others
and even drafting structural drawings.

(v) Slide 5

 As explicitly pointed out to me during my training period by my Supervisors, my

engineering training should not be focused only on traditional practice such as design,
management and supervision but should also include complementary duties which are
now being considered as fundamental in the construction industry, especially with a
paradigm shift towards greener and more sustainable construction practices.
 Among these, the Health & Safety and Environmental Protection aspects, both from a
legal point of view, are critical and I have been fortunate enough to experience same on
the Upgrading of the Saint Francois Xavier Stadium project.
  In brief, there were two feature portal frames to be demolished on site and given the height
of the beams, the demolition process was considered to be a high-risk element. From the
scaffolding erected to the crane and its operator and the safety of the workers involved, it
was important to ensure that all risks were properly assessed as per legal provisions
before carrying out the Works.
 The aftermath of the demolition process was also a significant issue given that the site
was located in an inhabited area and it was deemed fundamental to mitigate the noise
and air pollution resulting from the demolition process.
 Besides health and safety and environmental aspects, I was also encouraged to attend to
the emergence of the digital working platform in the civil engineering industry which is
revolutionizing the way we currently work. As illustrated in the report, I had the opportunity
to carry out engineering design using propriety software such as Prokon and Staad Pro
and counter-checking same by manual calculations.
 Furthermore, some of my time during my training period has also been dedicated to
learning about new engineered products such as Penetron technology, Leromur Retaining
Walls or Macaferi walls through industry seminars or in-house presentations.

(vi) Slide 6

 To conclude, I can say that my training at DCA and LCM has enabled me to develop a
practical approach to the theoretical knowledge gained at the university.
 For example, at the university, you are only given a beam with the loadings and asked to
design it. It is only during my training that I have learnt how to work out a feasible structural
concept from scratch and then carry out design and the design and management of
projects should have a proper significance – technically and financially.
 Moreover, the training period has provided me with a continuous and independent learning
platform.
 My experience gained has also enabled me to take a step back and assess all the
responsibilities of an Engineer which can be overwhelming at times since there is virtually
no margin for errors and any shortcoming can be highly detrimental in terms of safety,
cost and time.
 Lastly, I can say with due confidence that engineering is a continuous learning and
process and this process does not stop at the end of my training period but the latter
serves as a platform for continuous development.
 This marks the end of my presentation and I thank you for your attention.