Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Engineering
July 2013 JURUTERA | 3
contents
COVER NOTE
Transformation of Malaysias Electronics Industry ................................................... 5
COVER sTORy
The Malaysian Electrical & Electronics (E&E) Industry
At an Infexion Point .............................................................................................. 6
E&E Industry from the Corporates Perspective .....................................................10
PREsidENTs CORNER
The Call to Refresh: IEM Must Remain Relevant ...................................................13
hisTORy Of iEm
The First Annual General Meeting of IEM ..............................................................14
fEaTuRE aRTiClEs
Wireless Handheld Meters for Increased Safety and Productivity
in Installation and Maintenance ..........................................................................15
LED Lighting: A Review of This Green Technology .................................................18
EVENT
Outstanding Young Malaysian Award .....................................................................22
ENgiNEERiNg digEsT 23
safE TEa TimE
Fruit for Thought .....................................................................................................24
PREss sTaTEmENT
Collapse of Ramp Linking to 2
nd
Penang Bridge ....................................................26
fORums
The Powers of E-Learning: Acquire CPD Points at Anytime, Anywhere and at
Your Own Pace ...................................................................................................28
Green Energy Potential in Palm Oil Industry ..........................................................31
Visit To Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Project Site in
Hulu Langat, Selangor ........................................................................................32
IEM Meets JKR ......................................................................................................34
YES KL Visits YES Pahang ....................................................................................35
glOBE TREKKiNg
Worlds Longest Suspension Bridge .......................................................................36
Call fOR NOmiNaTiONs 38
PiNK PagE
Temuduga Profesional ............................................................................................40
BluE PagE
Keahlian ..................................................................................................................41
themes 2013
31st Conference of AseAN Federaton of engineering Organisatons (2013)
Theme :ASEANCommunityCountriesonGreenInfrastructureImplementaton
Date : 10 - 14 November 2013 Venue: Jakarta, Indonesia
For more informaton, please contact the AFEO Secretariat Ms. BE Ooi at 03-7968 4010/
4018 or email to afeo@iem.org.my
AnnoUnceMent
August
Mentoring Engineers - The Way Forward
october
Young Engineers Section
september
Chemical Engineering
november
Oil, Gas & Mining Engineering
December
Facilities Management
Number 7, July 2013
the iNstitutiON OF eNgiNeers, mAlAysiA
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COVER NOTE
July 2013 JURUTERA | 5
Transformation of
Malaysias Electronics
Industry
since the inception of the Free Trade Zone concept
introduced by the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu in the
1970s, the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry
has taken root in Penang, and soon spread to
many other regions of Malaysia. Back then, our low
cost labour and political stability attracted foreign
investments in the manufacturing sector mainly in
making simple electronic devices. Today, E&E is the
leading component in Malaysias manufacturing sector,
contributing signifcantly to the countrys manufacturing
output (26.94 per cent), exports (48.7 per cent) and
employment (32.5 per cent).
While the growth of the E&E industry has been
spectacular, the rapid change of the industry, economy
and technology landscapes has prompted the
government to re-strategize and redouble its efforts
in facing growing competition from newly emerging
countries. The joint effort by the government and
industry is well-refected in the Entry Point Projects
(EPPs) supporting the E&E sector as one of the 12
national key economic areas (NKEA). The focus now
has shifted from repetitive mass production operation
to high skill, low-volume and high-value manufacturing,
and design and development activities.
Among some of the challenges that confront the
E&E industrys move to the next level are the parallel
development of a local industrial ecosystem, the
readiness of the available talent pool and a responsive
government delivery system. To accelerate the
transformation of the E&E sector, we must also have
to put in place a well-connected network of supporting
engineering services companies, especially SMEs.
Over the years, the Electronic Engineering Technical
Division (eETD) of the IEM has been actively promoting
networking among the stakeholders and professionals
in the E&E sector in Malaysia. A joint organization of
monthly technical talks by the eETD, universities and
industry has brought together the companies, experts
and government agencies to interact with each other.
We are hopeful the interaction will positively affect
the members and encourage them to drive forward
their career development as electronic engineers. We
would like to call upon all electronic engineers to come
together and join the Division to help bring about the
transformation that will contribute to the continued
success of the countrys E&E sector.
by Ir. Dr Hor Poh Jin
Chairman, Electronic Engineering Technical Division
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COVER STORY
| JURUTERA July 2013 6
The Malaysian Electrical & Electronics (E&E)
Industry At an Infexion Point
ElEctrical & ElEctronics (E&E) is
a major industry of Malaysia, which has grown
by leaps and bounds since 1972. The total E&E
export for 2012 was RM256.4 billion which
represents 36.5% of Malaysias total exports
and 59.3% of total manufacturing exports. The
E&E industry employs about 700,000 people
of whom 30 to 40 percent are engineers
and managers. Meanwhile, foreign direct
investments (FDIs) continue to grow while
Design & Development (D&D) and business
process operations/services have also grown
signifcantly.
However, with over 40 years of experience, the E&E industry
has come to a cross road, an infexion point. How do we position
the industry and move forward from here? We are neither cheap
nor expensive. Talents are limited. We want to move to high paying
jobs and high value added and high tech work. At the same time
we must be competitive. Lets take a closer look at these issues
concerning the E&E industry since its beginning up to its current
progress.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE E&E INDUSTRY
the Beginning of the E&E industry
1969 has marked a signifcant milestone in the history of E&E as
it is the beginning of the Electrical & Electronics (E&E) Industry in
Malaysia. As the Federal Government had revoked the Penang Free
Port Status, the unemployment rate at that time was around 15%
against the national average of 9%. The Chief Minister at that time,
Dr Lim Cheong Eu was faced with this challenge and he needed
to fnd a solution to create more job opportunities. Dr Lim had this
vision of setting up some industrial parks, known as the Free Trade
Zone (FTZ, now called Free Industrial Zone, FIZ) located in Bayan
Lepas, Penang. Subsequently, Dr Lim established the Penang
Development Corporation in November 1969 to promote the FTZ
and to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) with pioneer status
given. The labour cost was low at that time and this idea of FTZ
industrial parks was later extended to other states in Malaysia such
as Selangor and Malacca.
Dr Lim and his team made numerous trips overseas especially
to USA, Europe and Japan to promote the FTZ and many small
medium enterprises (SMEs) came to visit the FTZ. One of the
companies was Intel. Andy Grove, then CEO of Intel, visited the
location. There was heavy rain the night before. The picture shows
that his car was stuck in the mud as the road was not paved and he
had to roll up his pants to walk as he visited the site, which basically
was still a coconut plantation in the process of being cleared for the
use of the industry.
There was a leap of faith when the companies decided to start
up their factories in the Penang FTZ in 1972 although the site was
not even readied to be used. This decision marked the start of the
E&E industry in Penang and in Malaysia. The frst eight companies
that came to Penang FTZ were Advanced Micro Devices Products
Sdn. Bhd. (AMD), Hewlett Packard Sdn. Bhd. (now called Agilent
Technologies), Clarion (M) Sdn. Bhd., National Semiconductor
Sdn. Bhd. (now called Fairchild Semiconductor Sdn. Bhd.), Hitachi
Semiconductor (M) Sdn. Bhd. (now called Renesas), Intel (M) Sdn.
Bhd., Litronix Sdn. Bhd. (now called Osram Opto Semiconductors
(M) Sdn. Bhd.) and Robert Bosch (M) Sdn. Bhd. The good news is
all of the frst eight companies are still around and growing although
some were restructured or acquired with company names changed.
The Progress of e&e IndusTry
The following is an overview on the progress of the E&E industry for
the past four decades, namely from the 1970s to 2010s.
in the 1970s
Due to a few key reasons such as low labour cost, availability
of good engineers and technicians, competent architects and
contractors, as well as a business-friendly government, FDIs were
entering into Malaysia since early 1970s. Meanwhile, the support
to the new factories from local SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises)
had also started to grow.
Subsequently, as the companies gained experience, the local
senior managers and engineers who were hungry to learn more
and wanted more challenges had decided to convince their top
management to transfer the testing responsibilities. The corporate
leaders were hesitant to do this as they thought it would be too
diffcult for the Malaysian engineers. However, with their persistence,
the corporate leaders decided to assess the situation and asked
if the country had Masters and PhDs graduates in Science and
Engineering. The company advertised and more than 100 resumes
were received and they were passed on to the corporate leaders
for review. The corporate leaders were impressed that Malaysia not
only had MSc and PhD graduates from local universities but also
from other parts of the world, namely, England, Australia, Japan,
Taiwan and a few from the USA.
in the 1980s
Subsequently, since early 1980s, what had started as simple
testing facilities had progressed into the state-of-the-art testing
as Malaysians continued to demonstrate their capability and
competence in handling sophisticated testers which cost more than
US$1 million each. More local senior managers began to replace
Written by Y.Bhg. Dato Wong Siew Hai, Chair of Malaysian American Electronics Industry (MAEI), Honorary Governor, AMCHAM
COVER STORY
July 2013 JURUTERA | 7
the expatriates to head the companies and their operations. As the
growth of the E&E industry was getting stronger, there was a need
to drive productivity and this led to the start of mechanisation in the
factory where local SMEs played an active role and assisted the
Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) in improving their productivity
through mechanisation such as auto unloaders and auto indexing,
while precision tooling had kick-started in which the required tools
can be made locally.
Eventually, shortage of manpower and insuffcient time to
train workers led to the need of outsourcing the manufacturing
operations that started the setup of local contract manufacturing
which supported the growth of the MNCs. Meanwhile, a wage
spiral kicked in as companies headhunted for technicians and
engineers. To arrest this problem, the industry, together with the
government, proposed the establishment of a non-proft Penang
Skill Development Centre (PSDC) to assist with the training of
technicians, machinists for the local company and training the
direct workers to perform some of the basic technicians tasks,
under The Workforce Transformation programme which aimed
to enhance the knowledge and productivity of workers. The
PSDC was set up in 1989, followed by SHRDC (Selangor Human
Resource Development Centre) in 1992.
in the 1990s
As the MNCs gained experience, some companies began to set
up design and development centres. Malaysian engineers were
sent overseas, especially to the USA for training. Semiconductor
packaging development, manufacturing process development and
design activities kicked in, while the local SMEs were challenged to
go for full automation, that is, to develop automated equipment for
the MNCs. They took up the challenge and many were successful
in developing automated handlers and also for other applications.
in the 2000s
MIDA and the State Governments continue to attract other
industries beyond semiconductors. More investments were seen
in optoelectronics, medical devices, and solar cells. Also, some
existing MNCs started business process operations for Human
Resources, Finance, Information Technology, etc. Some of these
operations were supporting the region and some worldwide.
Diagram 1: Evolution of Electronics Industry in Malaysia
Limited proft and loss (P&L) responsibilities were also transferred
during this time.
The local contract manufacturing continued to grow to support
the MNCs. The SMEs supporting tooling and automation had also
gone global to support MNC factories located in other parts of the
world such as the Philippines, China and Central America. A few
of them became public listed companies. Also, more engineers
left the MNCs to become entrepreneurs to set up system design
companies.
From 2010 onwards
Malaysia is no longer viewed as a low-cost country and it is caught
in the middle-income trap. Labour-intensive operations are moved
out of Malaysia into lower labour cost countries. The factories have
moved from high-volume low-mix to high-mix low-volume operations
to stay competitive. There is a big drive to go up the value chain
into hi-tech, hi-value activities. The government is encouraging
more companies to set up D&D (Design & Development) centres
or expand the existing design centres, and to set up global
procurement centres, regional logistics centres, operational
headquarters and other high value operations such as companies
with P&L responsibilities. As such, many companies are doing so.
the challenges in E&E industry
Referring to Diagram 2 on the evaluation of the E&E Industry relative
to the value-added curve, manufacturing has the least value-added
while research and market exploration are of the highest value-
added. The assessment is that solar cell production is basically at
the bottom of the curve with mainly manufacturing, LED is slightly
higher up the curve with some design activities, EMS (Electronics
Manufacturing Services also known as contract manufacturing)
is higher up with design capabilities, supply chain and service
support, semiconductor with more design capabilities and product
development, and automation with nearly full capabilities from
market to design. As you can see, there is a lot more room to move
up the value chain.
From the 2013 survey of the Malaysian American Electronics
Industry members (MAEI), the growth of the D&D is in-line with the
direction of the government to go up the value chain. From the graph
below, the D&D expenditure has doubled from 2007 of RM1 billion
to RM2 billion in 2012. The number of D&D engineers has also more
than doubled from about 2,000 in 2007 to 5,500 in 2012.
The key challenge today is talent. We either do not have
Diagram 2: Evaluation of the E&E Industry in Malaysia
(Continued on page 9)
COVER STORY
July 2013 JURUTERA | 9
enough experienced engineers and/or the quality of engineers
is not good enough. The companies have indicated that they
could expand their D&D efforts faster if they could hire more
quality and experienced engineers. The education standard
needs improvement and English, both written and spoken, has to
be improved, as it is an essential business language especially
in the E&E industry as most manuals, specifcations, meetings,
equipment with interactive features are all in English.
The other challenge is to build the eco-system. With more
D&D work being done, the companies are looking for capable local
companies that can take on engineering challenges as they would
like to outsource some of the D&D work. Such capability needs to
be further developed.
Future Direction of the E&E industry
In terms of talent development, the government has taken the inputs
of the industry into account. They are encouraging more scientists
and engineers to study Masters and Doctorates through MyMSc
and MyPhD programmes. The Northern Corridor Implementation
Authority (NCIA) has set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for
Microelectronics operated by USAINS Infotech Sdn. Bhd. At this
E&E CoE, talents are being trained for microelectronic design.
There is an MSc programme with the Universiti Sains Malaysia
(USM) and the frst batch of MSc in Electronics Engineering has
graduated. It is also providing design engineering services to
the MNCs. Furthermore, there is Talent Corp attracting talents
back to Malaysia. As for expatriate talents, it is easier now to get
Diagram 3: D&D Workforce and Expenditure
employment permits and many of them are given residential pass
valid for 10 years.
strengthening the talent Pipeline through Education
However, the above will take time and it is still not suffcient to support
the industry now and in the future. Diagram 4 shows more work
need to be done in the area of education. We need to provide quality
education from primary to secondary. The university standards need
to be improved. The command of the English language is important
and must be improved. Last but not least, we need to encourage
more students to study science and engineering as the number of
students studying these two subjects has decreased from more
than 60% to currently at around 30%.
Establishing a strategic council for E&E industry
There is also a need to establish a strategic council that will consist
of mainly experienced leaders from the E&E industry working
with the government to develop strategies and directions for the
industry. This will be a joint public-private driven effort focusing on
strategic areas. The programmes will be supported for a longer-term
implementation. It will set goals and it will also look at streamlining
the government funding. One of the goals could be becoming a top
10 design centre in the world and the said council ought to think
about what will it take to achieve such a goal.
Building the Eco-systems
Even though Malaysia has had more than 40 years of experience in
the E&E industry, we have missed building the eco-system for the
semiconductor sector. However, we have the opportunity now to
build the eco-systems that are needed for green technology, LED,
solar, embedded systems and bio-medical devices.
nurture More local sMEs to be Global companies
with international Brands
There needs to be some strategic programmes to assist local SMEs
to grow and compete globally. The assistance could be in areas of
technology acquisition, product commercialisation, funding where
necessary, branding and setting up global networks and business
connections. On the other hand, we need SMEs that are hungry
enough and have the passion to innovate and want to be recognised
global players. Malaysia still has this dream that one day one of the
local companies will establish a globally recognised brand such as
Samsung, Apple or Nokia.
Diagram 4: Strengthen Talent Pipeline through Education
Diagram 5: Set Up a Strategic Council for E&E Industry
COVER STORY
| JURUTERA July 2013 10
e&e Industry from the Corporates Perspective
Interview Conducted by Reika Kua Kee Eng
in order to take a closer look at the issues highlighted by Y.Bhg. Dato
Wong Siew Hai in the previous article, The Malaysian Electrical
& Electronics (E&E) Industry At an Infexion Point, JURUTERA
also conducted interview sessions with Mr. Chris Kelly, the General
Manager of the Malaysia Design Center (MDC), Intel Malaysia; Dr.
Hari Narayanan, the Director of Engineering, Head of Penang R&D
Centre, Motorola Solutions Malaysia; Dr Kamarulzaman Mohamed
Zin, Chief Executive Offcer (CEO) of Silterra; and Mr. Dennis Au,
Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Support for Asia, Agilent
Technologies.
Electrical & Electronics (E&E) industry has experienced
extremely high growth over the last two decades. Such progress
has also led to various concerns in terms of suffciency of workforce
and talent, the contribution of MNCs to community and workforce,
and the collaboration with institutions of higher learning for constant
research and development of sustainable technology. Lets take an
in-depth look at these issues from the corporates perspective.
The ImPACT of globAl & regIonAl
ComPeTITIons To e&e IndusTry
Malaysia needs to continue to climb the value chain ladder and
increase the capability of its workforce to support this task. Despite
the growing cost of manufacturing in China and some manufacturing
returning to our shores, we should not be distracted from the need to
grow local R&D talents and to continue to innovate. Providing suitable
incentives to cultivate and encourage MNCs, both foreign and local,
as well as SMEs to develop world class technologies and products
from Malaysia is vital, suggested Mr. Dennis Au, Vice President of
Sales, Marketing and Support for Asia, Agilent Technologies.
He added, To achieve these objectives, we, as an MNC, need
to continue building an ecosystem of supporting suppliers and SMEs
in Malaysia. This deep-rooted eco-system will allow Malaysia to
not only compete regionally and globally but will also encourage
investments from overseas to take advantage of the countrys
capability, infrastructure and incentives.
According to Dr Hari Narayanan who is the Director of
Engineering and Head of Penang R&D Centre, Motorola Solutions
Malaysia, the electronic industry is rapidly changing and the ability
to evolve and innovate to stay ahead of the curve is key for any
technological company to become successful. It is imperative
for Malaysias electronic industry players to have a robust set of
strategies focusing on not just driving effciency in its operations and
cutting costs, but also the ability to be agile and nimble to move up the
value chain (e.g. in areas of design and development)
to complement its manufacturing base.
how well-reAdIed Are our
TAlenTs?
As Malaysia is pushed to move up the technology
value chain, how ready are our talents to
weather such challenges? According to Dr Hari
Narayanan, we have a capable workforce with
potentials in Malaysia. However, there is a need
to create the right environment and provide the
right strategic leadership to enable these talents
to meet the challenges.
Meanwhile, CEO of Silterra, Dr Kamarulzaman Mohamed Zin,
also shared the same opinion with Dr Hari Narayanan
that our talents should be readied to weather
such challenges, As shared earlier, most of our
talents are locals trained in local and overseas
institutions; and from that base of knowledge,
our company builds its intellectual capital and
assets through training, exposure and serving
the customers. We constantly encourage
our talents to further enhance their skills
and competencies through formalised
programmes as well as through unstructured
self-driven programmes for our team to
improve themselves. The role of management
here is to give the resources for it to happen.
Our industry is like that there is no sitting still.
In addition, Dr Kamarulzaman also highlighted
that integrated circuit (IC) design and fabrication actually sits at the
top of the value-chain of the electronics industry. The advancements
achieved in IC design and fabrication generally drive the innovations
in nearly all of the activities of human endeavour.
Adding to the above, Mr. Chris Kelly, the General Manager of
the Malaysia Design Center (MDC), Intel Malaysia commented, To
overcome the mismatch between industry needs and available talent,
Intel has been working with education institutions to ensure that
graduates are equipped with industry-relevant skills even before they
enter the workforce. For example, Intel and MDeC signed a MoU in
2009 to provide industry-relevant training courses to faculty members
of Malaysian universities to upgrade existing academic curriculum for
graduates. Intel is also a key partner in the CREST research institution
initiative.
Intel works very closely with MoHE, Northern Corridor
Implementation Authority (NCIA), various government agencies and
the universities to develop curricula that will advance innovation in
key areas of technology in an effort to increase the technical talent
in the country. Intel Malaysia, MoHE and MDeC have collaborated
to introduce its VSLI and TRIZ curricula to university professors to
integrate into their lessons. The curriculum development offers
training for faculty members to teach graduates and enhance their
technical and systematic innovative problem solving skills which will
be relevant to industry requirements. In addition, Intel has also worked
with NCIA to develop a programme to train unemployed graduates on
analog and digital design as part of the efforts to move up the value
chain through human capital development, enabling the Design and
Development growth for the nation.
At Intel, we value our employees and are always looking for the
right talent for the high-technology work we carry out. We hire on a
needs basis and as high-volume manufacturing is automated, the
priority for us is to move Intel Malaysia up the value chain to focus
on high-value activity such as design and development and R&D.
Our goal is for Intel Malaysia to be innovation-driven, in line with the
governments vision for the nation, added Mr. Chris Kelly.
Besides developing university programmes and opportunities for
graduate trainees, we also provide in-house training and development
programs for our employees. In our 41 years here in Penang, Intel
has employed some tens of thousands of people! We also work very
(Continued on page 12)
COVER STORY
| JURUTERA July 2013 12
closely with the government on its strategic initiatives like Talent Corp
to attract creative and bright individuals back to the local scene, said
Mr. Chris Kelly.
CollAborATIon wITh InsTITuTIons of hIgher
leArnIng
Both Mr. Dennis Au of Agilent Technologies and Dr Kamarulzaman of
Silterra agree that universities do play a role in
supporting technology innovation. However,
they also pointed out that collaboration
between major industrial players such
the related MNCs would certainly make a
difference and help bring more opportunities to
existing and future talents in the E&E industry.
The semiconductor industry has always been
one of the most R&D-intensive industries
today with strong traditional ties with the
Universities. Our collaboration with the
Universities, Polytechnics and Technical
Training Institutes are very extensive indeed.
We start with the academic personnel
themselves we open our doors to whoever
who are interested to spend their sabbaticals
with us, in the hope that by making our activities transparent to them
we should be able to bridge the gaps between industry and academia,
said Dr Kamarulzaman.
He further elaborated that Silterra has internship programmes
for graduates (locals and foreign) who want to embark on a career
in the semiconductor industry, and such programmes are organised
in collaboration with the different Government agencies (e.g.
programmes with UNIMAP, USM, UNITEN, UTEM, UUM, NCIA and
Talent Corp). Silterra has also invested and sponsored in various
research projects with the academicians. Some of these projects
lead to postgraduate qualifcation for our personnel. We provide
special and affordable services to the Universities and Academia to
use our Multi Project Wafer Services (MPW) for them to convert their
integrated circuit designs into actual silicon chips. Then, they would
able to discover whether the designs actually work or work reliably
according to specifcations. A true moment of discovery indeed,
highlighted Dr Kamarulzaman.
Agilent is also actively partnering with the government and
academia to cultivate and nurture academic excellence in science
and engineering by supporting initiatives to set up effective
laboratories with embedded educational kits that will enhance the
learning experience of the students. In addition, Agilent works closely
with universities to strengthen their curriculum at all levels, all the way
to PhD level, including developing and delivering competency specifc
programmes that their engineers can leverage on to enhance their
knowledge while they are working.
An example of a successful collaboration is the setting up of a
Knowledge Workers Development Center to deliver specialised
knowledge transfer and technology-sharing opportunities for post-
graduate students. To do this, we have set up comprehensive
programmes to equip public labs to develop hands-on competencies
in the felds of E&E, biotechnology and analytical chemistry, said
Mr. Dennis Au from Agilent Technologies. He continued, Beyond
education, we are also active partners in Malaysias newly established
CREST initiative. Here, we will help to identify key market orientated
research projects for local universities and research institutes.
For some of these projects, Agilent will also be an active research
collaborator.
KeePIng uP wITh The
exPeCTATIons of
THE WORkFORcE AND
cOMMUNITY
According to Mr. Chris Kelly, Intel
Corporation has a very strong
commitment to the communities
where they work and live in. We
have strong interest in supporting
education, environment and community
programmes that deliver the kind of educational and technological
advancement opportunities within our communities. This builds the
framework for our community programmes, but each initiative is
implemented and tailored to suit the needs of each unique Intel site.
Such emphasis can be observed through its conducts which have
earned Intel several recognitions. For instance, Intel has established
a stellar track record of corporate citizenship in its efforts among the
community. Intel Malaysia is recognized externally for its contribution
in the CSR space, including winner of the inaugural Prime Ministers
CSR Award in 2007, Community and Social Development Category,
and in 2009 for the Environment Category, with Honorable Mentions
in Education and Workplace Practices.
We have established several annual CSR programmes for the
environment and the community, such as mangrove tree planting,
Back-to-School programme, annual Hari Raya and Chinese New Year
Festive Cheers. The impact of our CSR efforts in the community has
been encouraging and we intend to step up. The spirit of volunteerism
in Intel Malaysia runs deep in the veins of our corporate culture. Over
50% of our employees volunteer in communities where they work and
live, highlighted Mr. Chris Kelly.
For Agilent, we see ourselves as one of the major players in
proliferating interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math (STEM) subjects in schools and universities. Interest in these
felds will go a long way to encourage future generations to embrace
science and engineering, and hence helping to ensure a continuous
pipeline of science talents to power Malaysia today and beyond.
Specifcally, we actively engage the local community with a wide
range of STEM-based outreach programmes that range from primary
schools to universities, emphasized Mr. Dennis Au from Agilent
Technologies.
According to Mr. Dennis Au, Agilents business model is based on
global technology leadership in our areas of interest. Our continuing
push to extend the technology boundaries in these felds will also be
felt as we introduce these into the local community through our local
workforce and technology outreach programmes.
word of AdvICe for buddIng engIneers
According to Dato Wong Siew Hai, the E&E industry will continue
to hire engineers for their growth and expansion in new projects and
responsibilities. If a graduates plan is to be involved in D&D, then
he or she needs to ensure that he or she gets a good foundation
in engineering principles including software knowledge. Although
grades may not sound important, the new engineer will likely be called
for an interview if he achieves a CGPA of 3 and above. If he has an
MSc or PhD, he will have an edge over others. The company now
also evaluates his soft skills, attitudes and areas of interests. One of
the areas they will look into is his ability to communicate especially in
English. If he cannot communicate his wonderful ideas, nobody will
understand him and then nothing will happen. Also, it will be good if the
engineer gets industrial experience through some form of internship
before he graduates, emphasized Dato Wong.
PRESIDENTS CORNER
July 2013 JURUTERA | 13
The Call to Refresh:
IEM Must Remain Relevant
TIME waits for no one we must keep up with the times in
order to remain relevant. When even a seconds wait while
surfng the Internet is frowned upon, it is unquestionably
important for IEM to remain relevant in our fast-paced
society.
Recognising this indispensable need to remain relevant,
I believe that the call to refresh IEM should be taken
seriously.
With IEMs strong framework, I believe that my effort
would be to refresh everything we have been doing in the
past.
Dont get me wrong for a learned society like IEM to
have lasted 53 years is quite an amazing feat. Many other
bodies might have crumbled in the sands of time. During my
presidential term I want to change the culture of IEM so that
we are not as conservative as we were before. It is time to
take risks. We need to innovate and change our approach
in doing things so that we remain relevant to the industry as
well as to our members.
I write as one who has seen IEM grow for over 34 years.
My roots in IEM go a long way back to 1978 when I was still
a drainage engineer in Johor. In a way, I had already set my
foundation in IEM many years ago. I have also been able to
encourage a lot of engineers who have the same mindset to
be active in IEM. A ship cannot run with only the captain on
board. If you are the captain and the sailors do not support
you, the ship cannot sail.
EvERyonE wIll bE hEaRd
Sailing in the same ship that is IEM, part of my plans to
refresh IEM is to ensure that everyone is heard. I believe
that everyone deserves to be heard.
One of the things I promised when I took over the
presidency is that I want to listen a lot before I can do
anything more. I have a lot of ideas about what I can do.
But before I go into the details of implementing these
refreshments, I must learn to listen.
To execute my listening plan, I have set a target to visit
all the IEM branches by the end of July 2013. So far, I have
gone to Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan and will be
covering Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak in the coming weeks.
In a turn of events, I found myself at the site in
Penang where the freak storm in June caused horrifc
damage. There, I met Ir. Addnan Mohd Razali the Head of
Engineering of Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang and past
Chairman of IEM branch and we discussed what could be
done to solve the damage and to prevent further damages
from occuring.
by Ir. Choo Kok Beng FASc
During my visits to the other branches, I will hold dialogues
with the members to inform and educate them further about
IEM.
Many members of IEM do not know what the institution is
all about. Many do not know how strong the institution is nor
do they know the opportunities they have within the institution.
For example, we have created an ideal platform for them in the
ASEAN Engineering Register (AER). They will be registered
with the AER and recognised all over the ASEAN countries with
a total population of 600 million people so they do not have
to restrict themselves to Malaysias population of 29 million
people.
I founded the AER in 1998 under the ASEAN Federation
of Engineering Organizations. The goal of AER is to have a
database of all engineers in the ten ASEAN countries. From
here, I hope IEM can facilitate the mobility of engineering within
the country.
lookIng bEyond
Realising the brevity of my presidency term, I have set my mind
to make as many positive changes as possible during my term.
As President of IEM, I only have a two-year term. That is all
the time I have to play this role. So I have taken the opportunity
to introduce a seven-year plan, rather than the usual fve-year
plan. The seven-year plan will bring IEM to the year 2020,
coinciding very nicely with the countrys goals Vision for 2020.
The call to refresh goes beyond IEM and the present time.
I believe that IEMs role is paramount in national development.
After being involved in the engineering fraternity for so many
years, I fnd that the only way that a nation can be harmonious
and peaceful is through the input of the engineering fraternity.
That is what we hope to facilitate.
Ir. Choo Kok Beng FASc with
Ir. Addnan Mohd Razali
Damage at the site
CongRaTUlaTIonS
The IEM would like to congratulate Ir. Choo kok beng for being
elected a Fellow of the Academy of Science Malaysia.
HISTORY OF IEM
| JURUTERA July 2013 14
The FirsT AnnuAl GenerAl
MeeTinG oF ieM
At the Inaugural Meeting held on 1 August 1958, members
of the IEM Council were elected to organise and carry
out the functions and activities of the IEM. Before the
end of Sessions 1958/1959 and 1959/1960, the Council
arranged to hold the 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM)
of the Institution on 23 April 1960. Accordingly, the election
process to fll Council vacancies for Sessions 1960/1961
and 1961/1962 was carried out in accordance with the IEM
Constitution and Bylaws before the end of the Session.
The 1st AGM was held on 23 April 1960 at 2pm at the
Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Engineering, University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, attended by 22 members (see list
attached). The meeting was called to order with En. Yusoff
bin Hj. Ibrahim at the Chair.
Confrmation of the Minutes of the Inaugural Meeting
The minutes of the Inaugural Meeting was circulated among
the members. Mr. Chin Fung Kee proposed that the minutes
be adopted. His proposal was seconded by Mr. Tong Kay
Chor. The minutes was unanimously adopted.
The Councils Report
Honorary Secretary, Mr Lau Foo San, reported on the
progress of the Institution since the Inaugural Meeting.
The Institution was offcially registered with the Registrar
of Society, Malaya, on 1 May 1959 (Ref. PMM51/59). In the
meantime, contacts were established with other international
engineering institutions, for example ICE, IMechE, IEE etc.
There were good responses from engineers to join the
IEM and IEM already had members in every State. The
Institution aimed to encourage engineers to come forward
to serve the nation during its formative years.
There were 48 members for the years 1959-1960,
comprising Members (2), Associate Members (24),
Associates (2) and Graduates (20).
Among the activities organised were site visits to
Klang Gate Dam and Bukit Nenas Purifcation Works. The
following site visits had been planned for April July 1960.
14 May 1960 - Microwave Station
4 June 1960 University of Malaya
9 July 1960 Malayan Film Unit
The Inaugural Dinner to celebrate the formation of IEM
was initially planned for 23 April 1960 but was postponed to
16 July due to the demise of the second D.Y.M.M Yang di-
Pertua Agong, Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah.
Mr. Lau reported that the Council had decided to
publish a bi-annual Journal of The Institution of Engineers
(Federation of Malaya) and that Mr. Chin Fung Kee had
been appointed Honorary Editor.
Finally, questions were raised from the foor. Among
others, Mr. J.G. Daniel sought clarifcation on the status of
the Governments recognition of IEM. The Chairman replied
that the new Council would pursue the matter. With the
above, the Report was unanimously accepted.
by Dato Ir. Pang Leong Hoon
This is a compilation of articles under the Sub-committee on Documentation and Recording of IEM Historical Events.
President : En. Yusoff bin Hj Ibrahim
Vice President : Raja Zainal bin Raja Sulaiman
Hon. Secretary : Mr. Lau Foo San
Hon. Treasurer : Mr. Ow Yong Hong Chiew
Council Members :
Civil : Mr. Tong Kay Chor
Mechanical : Mr. Dalip Singh
Electrical : Mr. Chew Kam Pok
Other Branches 1 : Mr. Chin Fung Kee
Other Branches 2 : Mr. Chew Kit Lin
1. En. Yusoff bin Hj Ibrahim Chairman / President 12. Mr. E. Sivapathsundram
2. Mr. Lau Foo San Hon. Secretary 13. Mr. Kow Tat Cheong
3. Mr. Ow-Yong Hang Chiew Hon. Treasurer 14. Mr. Philip Chow
4. Mr. Tong Kay Chor Council (Civil) 15. Mr. Lim Eng Sun
5. Mr. Chew Kam Pok Council (Electrical) 16. Mr. Khor Chin Poey
6. Mr. Chin Fung Kee Council
(Other Branches 1)
17. Mr. Michael Ting
7. Mr. Chew Kit Lin Council
(Other Branches 2)
18. Mr. Chin Thean Huah
8. En. Ibrahim bin Arshad 19. Mr. Charles Gabriel
9. Mr. Joseph Liew 20. Mr. Khoo Soo Hock
10. Mr. Thean Lip Thong 21. Mr. J.G. Daniel
11. En. Mohd. Azuddin G.H.Z Abidin 22. Mr. C.S. Maniam
List of Attendees At The First Annual General Meeting
Y.Bhg. Dato Ir. Pang Leong Hoon was formerly the Director-General of
the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia. He was also the Past
President of IEM for Sessions 1984/1985 and 1985/1986.
The Honorary Treasurers Report
Mr. Ow-Yong Hong Chiew, the Honorary Treasurer,
presented the Balance Sheet for the period April 1959 to 31
March 1960, with a total balance of $1,737.80. Proposed by
Mr. J.G. Daniel and seconded by Mr. Tong Kay Chor, the
Statement of Accounts was accepted.
Offce Bearers for Session 1960/1961
In December 1959, notice inviting nominations to fll Council
vacancies was sent out, followed by the distribution of voting
papers. When the ballot box was closed, the votes were
counted. The list of successful candidates was presented
at the 9th Council meeting (the last for the Session) on 12
February 1960. In accordance with the Bylaws, the results
of the election were later presented and announced at the
AGM. The successful candidates were:
Appointment of Auditors
Two names were proposed, namely Mr. J.G. Daniel and Mr.
Kow Tat Cheong. A vote was taken and Mr. J.G. Daniel was
appointed Auditor for Session 1960/1961.
Other Matters
Mr. Joseph Liew suggested that greater publicity be given
to the activities of the Institution. He was supported by
Mr. Philip Chow who suggested that the Council appoint
a Publicity Offcer. On the question of recognition by the
Government, the Chairman felt that members should take
a more active part in making the Institution representative
of all engineers in the country. He said it would be
easier to obtain recognition when the Institution joins the
Commonwealth Engineering Conference.
The meeting was adjourned at 4.05 p.m. Mr. Chin
Fung Kee proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair and was
seconded by Mr. Joseph Liew.
Since then, the IEM has gone through many AGMs
and the 54
th
Annual General Meeting was held on
20 April 2013.
FEATURE
July 2013 JURUTERA | 15
Wireless Handheld Meters for
Increased Safety and Productivity
in Installation and Maintenance
by Chan See Yung
Product Planner Agilent Technologies
IntroductIon
The world economy has generally improved since 2009.
However, most companies are constantly under pressure
to lower operation costs and usually, this means employees
have to do more for less.
This is especially so for installation and maintenance
(I&M) workers in industrial plants and commercial facilities.
The I&M engineers and technicians are required to improve
their skill sets and to source for tools that can improve
productivity and effciency, including handheld digital
multimeters (DMM) and clamp meters, two of the most used
measurement tools for installation and maintenance.
Modern and versatile handheld meters equipped with
wireless connectivity capability can greatly save time
and resources while improving safety, especially in the
challenging and hazardous industrial and commercial
environment.
ProPrIetary WIreless connectIvIty for
HandHeld Meters
Wireless engineering with the help of mobile phones in the
1990s, which evolved to 3G in 2000s, redefned portability
in communication.
The world is now moving towards 4G (LTE) with higher
connection speed but wireless connectivity in handheld
meters was available only several years back.
In its simplest form, a wireless handheld meter is merely
one with a detectable wireless display. When the display is
detached, no measurement readings can be seen.
Another concept is a built-in proprietary wireless
protocol to enable communication within the same series of
single-function or limited-function meters or to a computer
via a proprietary PC adapter. Wireless connection to off-
the-shelf smart devices like Android (smartphone or tablet)
or iOS (iPhone or iPad) is not always possible as most smart
devices use open wireless connections like Bluetooth,
WiFi or GSM.
oPen WIreless reMote connectIvIty for
HandHeld Meters
The smartphone is one of the greatest technological
innovations in the history of electronic engineering. It
has changed the way we work, learn and play. To enable
wireless connectivity for handheld meters, technologies
like Bluetooth or WiFi (which are commonly built into any
modern computing or smart devices) can be added as built-
in or plug in device. Considering factors such as ease of use
and setup, power consumption and commonality, Bluetooth
is a natural choice.
The other question is: What is a better choice - a built-in
or plug-in device? Built-in is simpler but it limits the range
of handheld meters to only those with built-in Bluetooth
technology. On the other hand, a plug-in provides greater
fexibility and leveragability.
One solution is the Agilent Wireless Remote Connectivity
(WRC, Figure 1), which offers plug-in Bluetooth (U1177A
IR-Bluetooth adapter) wireless connectivity for all the 15
models of U1200 series handheld meters (multimeters and
clamp meters) with different performances and prices.
Wireless Protocol Proprietary open
Example Company specifc Bluetooth
Connect to PC Through proprietary adapter Bluetooth
Connect to Smart devices Usually not possible Bluetooth and mobile apps
Cost Typically higher initially and needs re-
investment
Typically lower than proprietary due to
leveragability
Choice of handheld meters at different
functions, ranges, accuracy
Limited to certain model or series of handheld
meters
With plug-in open wireless concept, more
choices of handheld meters available.
Table 1: Comparison between proprietary and open wireless connectivity on handheld meters
Figure 1: Agilent Wireless Remote Connectivity (WRC) Solution, which
enables plug in Bluetooth wireless to Android smart devices and PC through
the U1177A IR-Bluetooth Adapter with broad range of compatible U1200
series handheld meters.
FEATURE
| JURUTERA July 2013 16
Certain wireless solutions (e.g. Agilent Wireless Remote
Connectivity) allow wireless connection of up to 3 handheld
meters (Figure 3). This means one technician in the
control room can now observe 3 different measurements
simultaneously. Again, productivity is increased without the
need for added manpower.
IncreasIng ProductIvIty In IndustrIal
troublesHootIng
Troubleshooting an intermittent or drift related problem can
be very challenging and time consuming. On top of having
the experience and skill, one may need a professional
handheld meter with data logging capability to capture
events when a problem occurs so that appropriate action
can be taken. Typically, an engineer would save data in
the handheld meters internal memory and then transfer
the data to a computer for further analysis. Data can be
transferred through USB connectivity.
The Bluetooth wireless connectivity implemented
on the Agilent WRC solution has opened up a new level
of portability on data logging application for handheld
meters. At any one time, engineers can now log multiple
measurements wirelessly and directly onto smart devices
(e.g. smartphone or tablet). With intuitive touch screen
controls on smart devices, analysis can be done on-site in
real-time.
Smart devices are highly connected devices equipped
with phone and network connectivity. With mobile apps
(such as Agilent Mobile Logger, Figure 4), an engineer can
confgure to receive email or SMS alerts when anomalies
are observed. These make multitasking possible as an
engineer can attend to other problems until the anomalies
do happen.
IMProvIng safety In a Hazardous
envIronMent
When working in a hazardous environment, safety should
always be the priority. Other than applying correct safety
practices, tools (e.g. handheld meters must be within the
right safety category, CAT IV 600V/CAT III 1000V as defned
in IEC 61010 and certifed by accredited labs like CSA or
uL) also play a big role.
Measuring on live machinery or electrical system in
industrial settings is both challenging and hazardous, but
unavoidable. Often, maintenance engineers or technicians
need to understand the loading conditions of the industrial
system and this can only be done when the system is in
operation. This is where wireless capability will be an added
safety measure that allows engineers or technicians to view
measurements at a safe distance.
When probing crowded electrical or industrial circuits,
where connectors or test points are close to each other,
audible output of meters readings will help bring safety to
the next level (Figure 2). Engineers or technicians can now
concentrate on probing without having to look out for short
circuits.
do More WItH less In electrIcal systeM
MaIntenance
In industrial and commercial settings, the measurement
point is often a distance away from the control or switching
point. To observe changes at a particular point affected
by switch or control system, a technician would need to
walk back and forth unless there are two persons doing
the job. With wireless connectivity on handheld meters,
only one technician is required to set up the measurement
and observe the reading at control or switching point.
Productivity is increased as there is no need to walk back
and forth.
Figure 2: Android smartphone provides audible reading on multimeters
measurement for greater safety
Figure 3: Wirelessly monitor 3 handheld meters measurements using free
Agilent Mobile Meter apps
FEATURE
July 2013 JURUTERA | 17
Figure 4: Data Logging using free Agilent Mobile Logger apps on Android tablet that is wirelessly
connected to Agilent U1177A IR-Bluetooth adapter plugged into Agilent U1273A Industrial OLED
digital multimeter
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evolveMent of Portable MeasureMent systeM
Preventive and predictive maintenance (PM) strategies are increasingly
being adopted in industrial I&M to prevent unplanned breakdowns which can
be costly. Engineers and technicians perform periodic measurements on
electrical and industrial control systems to gauge the condition of a system.
Technicians will need to manually record the measurements, date, time,
location, machine identity and other related information for PM. This can be
tedious.
With smart devices, it is now possible for an innovative engineer to
automate or semi-automate some of the tasks by developing mobile apps
and this can be done in-house or externally. The apps can directly acquire
readings from handheld meter and tag the reading to the machine ID (usually
available on the machine) by scanning the barcode (there are many barcode
scanning mobile apps available). The information can then be synchronised
with corporate database on real-time basis to effectively create a portable
measurement system that is able to signifcantly increase productivity and
reduce human errors.
conclusIon
With Bluetooth connectivity on handheld meters, increased adoption of
smart devices and its highly connected eco-system into workplaces, I&M
engineers and technicians can now work smart and be more effcient.
referenceS
[1] Datasheet and brochure of Agilent U1177A IR-Bluetooth Adapter.
[2] For more information about Agilents WRC solution, please refer www.agilent.com/
fnd/gowireless
[3] Contact Agilent at mobile-meter@agilent.com to get support for mobile apps creation.
IeM DIArY Of eVenTS
Kindly note that the scheduled events below are subject to change. Please visit the IEM
website at www.myiem.org.my for more informaton on the upcoming events.
Engineering Educaton Technical Division
3
rd
August 2013 (Saturday)
17
th
Annual General Meetng
Building Services Technical Division
17
th
August 2013 (Saturday)
27
th
Annual General Meetng
See Yung chan is Product Planner for Industrial Handheld Instruments in the Basic Instruments Division,
Agilent Technologies Electronic Measurement Group. He has been with Agilent since 2000. He holds a
degree in telecommunication engineering from University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
FEATURE
| JURUTERA July 2013 18
LED Lighting:
A Review of This Green Technology
In recent years, LED lighting has taken off at a quick pace
as incandescent lamps fade out. This is due to the absence
of dangerous chemicals like mercury, and minerals in LED
lighting and, depending on the application, a signifcant
reduction in energy consumption.
LED is a green lighting source. In the next 5-10 years,
it is expected that the world, including Malaysia, will make
the transition from incandescent and fuorescent lighting
fxtures to LED technology which is defnitely superior
in terms of a long lifecycle, operating costs and energy
consumption.
The introduction of LED luminaire technology to replace
incandescent bulb is in line with Malaysias commitment to
saving energy. This forward-looking initiative has opened up
great opportunities for us to be a player in the global LED
lighting industry which received a boost when a number
of countries affrmed their commitment to ban the use of
incandescent bulb (Figure 1).
Europe banned the traditional 100 watt light bulbs
from September 2008 and all incandescent bulbs from
September 1, 2012.
America started the incandescent light bulb phase-out
on January 1, 2012.
Japan called for the halt in production and sales of
incandescent bulbs in 2012.
The Chinese incandescent bulb phase-out policy
started in October 1, 2012.
Malaysia, in line with its policy to upgrade itself to be
an R&D based and high tech manufacturing country, has
grasped the opportunity to ride this boom wave of the global
LED luminaire business. The government has made great
effort to support the local industry to be more competitive in
the LED luminaire market here and on a global level.
An effective strategy to drive the development of the
LED luminaire market is through enforcement of legislations
that include:
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
Reducing waste from Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE)
Phasing out of incandescent lights by January 2014
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) as a
Green Technology initiative
Enforcing the anti-dumping of light bulbs by
manufacturers
Energy Star certifcation for appliances.
But despite the advantages from supportive legislations
and efforts by the government to boost the competitiveness
of local LED luminaire manufacturers, the industry still faces
great challenges such as:
1.0 ThE cosT of LED LuminAiRE
mAnufAcTuRinG kEEps incREAsinG
sTEEpLy:
At present, most of the raw and intermediate materials
used in the assembly and packaging of LED luminaire are
imported because of the following:
The materials are not available locally, for example,
epoxy, silicone and the wafer.
Locally purchased materials can be more expensive
because most of these are brought from outside the
principal custom areas (PCAs) in which the local
companies are located.
Prices charged by local suppliers are not competitive,
possibly due to the fact that raw materials are imported,
with local value added processing accounting for only a
minor part.
Another explanation for the non-competitive pricing of
materials from local suppliers is that local companies
impose substantial proft margins.
Most of the imported materials are subject to import
duties. Local companies may apply for exemption but
with the extensive and time-consuming documentation,
there is added cost involved.
Figure 1: Timeline announced by countries to phase out the incandescent light bulb
by Goh Boon Chin
Vice President of Operation
QAV Technologies Group of Companies
FEATURE
July 2013 JURUTERA | 19
Precast Concrete
Building Systems
Hollow core slabs, planks,
precast columns & beams,
precast walls, precast
staircases, and other
customized structural
concrete products.
EASTERN PRETECH (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD.
28, Jalan 7/108C,Taman Sg. Besi,
57100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +603-7980 2728
Fax: +603-7980 5662
www.epmsb.com.my
We are ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001 Certied
(184774-P)
Materials supplied locally are often of poorer quality. Local technology is
generally less advanced than the US, Japan or Taiwan. This has further
prompted LED packaging companies to source from overseas.
Figure 2 shows the supply chain in typical LED luminare manufacturing.
2.0 LAck of cApAbiLiTiEs in LocAL mAchinERy AnD
AuTomoTivE mAnufAcTuRinG:
Most of the machinery and equipment used by the local LED luminaire
companies are imported. This has directly increased manufacturing costs.
All the machines and equipment used in wafer fabrication and Front-of-
Line process are imported. Examples of the latter are dicing machine,
die attach and wire bonding machines.
Locally-made machines and equipment are available for the End-of-
Line process, especially those used for testing as well as tape and reel.
Although locally-made machines and equipment are available, LED
luminaire companies prefer to buy from abroad because:
Prices of locally-made machines are not competitive.
Locally-made machines are often of poorer quality. For example,
ramping-up using imported machines and equipment is much faster
than using locally-made ones.
Figure 3 summarizes the LED luminare manufacturing equipment
supply chain.
3.0 TEchnicAL chALLEnGE AnD REsouRcE chALLEnGE
Local LED luminaire companies face diffculty in hiring technical people
with the right skill sets and competency in LED and related technology.
The shortage is especially acute in optic design engineering, thermal
dynamic engineering, LED module design, luminaire system design and
electrical designer for LED driver.
The mismatch of technical competency between manpower supply and
demand is a critical concern. This has become the road stopper to
the local fast growing LED manufacturing and LED luminaire system
integration and design industry.
Companies require new employees to perform immediately. However,
fresh graduates are not equipped with the know-how needed for their
jobs. This situation must be addressed by local universities who need to
design their curriculum to produce technically competent graduates who
can meet the needs of the industry.
Local manufacturers face diffculty in fnding trainers who can offer
courses to upgrade their design and technical core staff. In the absence of
Figure 2: The LED material supply chain
FEATURE
July 2013 JURUTERA | 21
4.0 sLow LocAL LED LuminAiRE pRoDucT ADopTion
The adoption rate of LED products by local consumers is very slow.
Although the Malaysian government has announced the ban on the use
of incandescent bulbs by 2014, there is no legislation yet (currently still
in progress) and no organised campaigns to aggressively promote the
advantages of LED luminaire products.
Prices of LED lighting products are much higher than comparable
compact fuorescent lamps (CFLs) which are already established in the
market. This is due to several factors as discussed earlier.
The ban on use of incandescent bulbs may well lead to an increase in the
use of CFLs rather than LED lightings. This is due to a lack of information
to educate the public on the advantages of LED luminaire products.
Although the government has taken the frst step to phase out
incandescent lights, the market continues to favour traditional lighting
which is well-established.
5.0 Low LEvEL of LocAL inDusTRiAL invoLvEmEnT in
LED LuminAiRE DEsiGn AnD sysTEm inTEGRATion
In Malaysia the LED lighting industry is dominated by large foreign frms.
Only a few local companies are involved and these have limited roles
such as the low value added process of packaging. No local companies
are involved in upstream activities like wafer fabrication.
We also have very few local companies moving into LED luminaire driver,
system design and application. What most of them do is to merely import
luminaire products and market them locally. Limited to trading activities,
these companies are not able to build up their competitiveness based
on development of indigenous technology in LED. There are no unique
features in the products to distinguish one company from another as
their LED products are all purchased from overseas. Such unrestricted
importing of LED luminaire products invariably leads to increased
competition and price wars. The case for promoting LED luminaires as
the advantageous alternative is lost in the fght over the price advantage.
The lack of home-grown technology also means that local LED luminaire
companies are unable to come up with product designs to compete
with imported lighting or to make to the requirements of customers. Big
overseas companies, however, are able to provide design services to
meet specifc needs or requests. This scenario has further slowed down
structured training, technical and design knowledge has to be picked up on
the job or through trial and error. This is a limiting factor for the local LED
industry to move ahead and grow to compete with multinational companies
which have the resources to provide comprehensive technical training, by
drawing on technical expertise from their headquarters overseas.
Figure 3: The LED luminaire equipment supply chain
FEATURE
| JURUTERA July 2013 22
companies have mushroomed in countries like Taiwan and
China. Major companies that have positioned themselves
in LED integration include giants like Foxconn, Delta
Electronics, Chimei and AUO from Taiwan and Midea and
TCL from China.
The government should capitalize on the availability
of expertise in design at the system integration level to
provide training for local technopreneurs in promoting and
developing the LED integration industry. Local institutions
and universities should include in their curriculum more
courses that are in line with the countrys economic
transformation plan that cater to high tech and green
technology industries.
Incentives from the government should beneft local
companies and encourage them to get involved in the LED
industry, for example provide support on infrastructure,
land and building, offer subsidy for high tech equipment for
the manufacture of core LED components, abolish hiring
restrictions on foreign knowledge workers and ease entry
of expertise from overseas, exempt tax import duty for core
raw materials and exempt on domestic sales of advanced
LED products.
EVEnT
outstanding young malaysian Award
Ir. Prof. Dr DomInIc foo chwan YEE has
been awarded The Outstanding Young Malaysian Award
2012, for Scientifc and Technological Development.
The Professor of Process Design and Integration at the
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC), is the
Founding Director for its Centre of Excellence for Green
Technologies.
He is a locally-trained expert on waste minimisation
and resource conservation, with BEng, MEng and PhD
degrees from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He
obtained his full professorship at the age of 34, within
fve years of graduating from his PhD. He is a member of
the International Scientifc Committee at many important
international conferences and often, he is one of the few
representatives from Asia.
He is also on the editorial board of the journal,
Transactions Of Institution Of Chemical Engineers (IChemE
UK) as well as IEM Journal. Last year, he published two
books, which are available in IEM library. Ir. Prof. Dr Dominic
Foo is often invited to give talks and conduct workshops
here and abroad, including talks and workshops for IEM.
Prior to the Outstanding Young Malaysian Award, Ir. Prof.
Dr Dominic Foo was also awarded the Innovator Of The
Year Award 2009 by IchemE and Young Engineer Award
2010 by IEM.
book LAunchED
Ir. Prof. Dr Dominic Foo launched
his book, Process Integration For
Resource Conservation, on 21-
23 November, 2012, at the 26th
Symposium of Malaysian Chemical
Engineers held in conjunction with
the 4th International Conference
On Chemical And Bioprocess
Engineering (SOMChE-
ICCBPE-2012) at Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah.
Ir. Prof. Dr Dominic Foo
was the 2012/13 session
chairman of the Chemical
Engineering Technical
Division of IEM.
The event started with an
opening speech by Ir. Prof.
Dr Abdul Wahab Mohammad,
Chairman of IChemE Malaysia
Board. Then Prof. Raymond Tan from De La Salle University,
Manila, a long-term collaborator of Ir. Prof. Dr Foo, briefy
explained the contents of the book and noted that the book
came with Excel-based software and spreadsheet examples
that allowed readers to do hands-on exercises. Ir. Prof. Dr
Dominic Foo has donated a copy of the book to IEM library.
the growth of the local LED industry and hindered the
quick and widespread public acceptance of this green
technology.
There are some big foreign companies operating in
Penang which are involved in LED luminaire system
integration. However, almost all their products are sold
in the US, Europe and elsewhere in Asia. Less than
1% of these is sold in the local market. Again, this has
contributed to the slow pace of local use of LED products
as what is available here is expensive, imported LED
lighting.
REcommEnDATions
For local LED luminaire manufacturing to play a major
role in getting Malaysia to adopt this green technology, it
is important that this sector be sustained by government
initiatives. These include doing more to educate the public
and promote its use, spawning and developing SME into
optoelectronics module and system integrators, and skill
capacity building among lighting designers and architects
in the application of lighting retroft, lighting fxture, lighting
module and lighting system using LED luminaire to replace
conventional lighting.
Local companies must be given incentives to move
into LED integration in particular in the application of LED
lighting. This range of activities can generate better proft
margins compared to LED packaging which is the focus
of Malaysian companies in this industry. LED integration
Goh boon chin is the current Vice President of Operation QAV Technologies
Group of Companies. He built the test standard for LED and Luminaire testing
for Malaysia and collaborated with Energy Commission, J KR, Sirim, GreenTech,
to ensure all Luminaire entering Malaysia are of high standard. He obtained ANSI
certifcation for luminaire and Led modules and qualifed QAV into DOE/EPA to
become 1
st
lab in South East Asia to have such accreditation. He has also worked
with TUV Germany to get certifcation for automotive and medical products.
A CETD committee member, Engr.
Assoc. Prof. Dr Denny Ng Kok Sum
receiving a copy of the book
ENGINEERING DIGEST
July 2013 JURUTERA | 23
SECOND BRIDGE STILL AHEAD OF
SCHEDULE
Despite the ramp collapse at the Batu Maung interchange on
June 6, the Second Penang Bridge is expected to be completed
ahead of tme as the constructon of the 24km bridge was
two months ahead of schedule, said Azizi Azizan, public
relatons and communicatons department deputy manager,
Concessionaire Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd (JKSB).
The bridge was originally slated for completon in November.
However, JKSB had announced that it would instead be
completed in September.
Any delay now will depend on investgatons carried out by
the Department of Occupatonal Safety and Health (DOSH),
he said. DOSH had roped in a panel of experts to investgate
the incident. State DOSH director Mohd Anuar Embi said a
team of 13 men was investgatng the cause.
Anuar added that the teams inital investgaton would focus
on the failure of the support. We will look at the design
and installaton of the support. Wrong design or installaton
and lack of maintenance would have caused the bridge to
collapse, he said.
(Sourced from NST, 10 June 2013)
VW, AUDI RECALL CARS IN
AUSTRALIA
German car giant Volkswagen (VW) recalled nearly 26,000
vehicles in Australia and Audi followed suit with 6,000 cars due
to a gearbox problem that could cause a loss of power while
driving. This follow growing safety worries sparked by the
death in Australia of a woman while in a 2008 Golf whose car
slowed and was hit from behind by a truck on a Melbourne
motorway in 2011.
The news sparked complaints from other VW owners whose
cars had also cut out or stopped on busy roads. In isolated
cases, an electronic malfuncton in the control unit inside the
gearbox mechatronics may result in a power interrupton,
VWs Australian branch said. The models afected include Golf,
Jeta, Polo, Passat and Caddy cars produced between June
2008 and September 2011.
Audi, whose parent company is VW, followed suit and recalled
more than 6,000 hatchbacks in Australia due to the same
gearbox concerns. AFP
(Sourced from NST, 13 June 2013)
LATEST TECHNOLOGY IMPORTANT
FOR AIR FORCE
The Sultan of Pahang said mastering the latest in technology
is important for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to be
at its best. Speaking at the RMAFs 55th anniversary parade
here, Sultan Ahmad Shah said the ability to master the latest,
sophistcated and precise technology would be a big advantage.
He said the deployment of EC-725 helicopters into its service
in January has boosted RMAFs batle-readiness, instantly
enabling it to carry out missions in various weather conditons
and tactcal environments.
(Sourced from The Star, 8 June 2013)
BIGGER CASH PRIZES FOR
PERODUA ECO-CHALLENGE 2013
The Perodua Eco-Challenge is back for the ffh year to
test students on their knowledge and skills in the feld of
automotve engineering and marketng.
Perodua president and CEO Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said:
In conjuncton with our 20th anniversary this year, we will
be making the Eco-Challenge even more interestng with
bigger prizes totalling RM127,000, an increase from last years
RM103,000,.
Ten insttutons of higher learning have been selected to
redesign the Perodua Myvi by December. This year, the
insttutons not only have to make the car more fuel efcient,
but they also have to improve on its design to suit the needs
and lifestyle of the public.
(Sourced from the NST, 4 June 2013)
MALAYSIANS HELP DESIGN
INTELS 4TH GENERATION CORE
PROCESSOR
Malaysian engineers are very much behind the success of Intel
Corporatons new fourth generaton Intel Core processor, the
frst system-on-a-chip for personal computers.
Christopher Kelly, the General Manager of Intel Architecture
Group (IAG), said 50 per cent of the 600-700 engineers
worldwide who produced the core processor, are Malaysians.
They were in charge of the physical design of the component
and valuaton testng, he said at a media briefng on the Intel
Core Processor.
(Sourced from the NST, 5 June 2013)
PROTASCO BAGS RM50M JOB
Protasco Bjd has received a leter of acceptance from Desaru
Development Holdings One Sdn Bhd for the constructon of a
proposed infrastructure package, including road and drainage
works to Desaru Coast Course in Johor, for RM50.4 million.
Christopher Kelly, the General Manager of Intel Architecture
Group (IAG), said 50 per cent of the 600-700 engineers
worldwide who produced the core processor, are Malaysians.
They were in charge of the physical design of the component
and valuaton testng, he said at a media briefng on the Intel
Core Processor.
(Sourced from The Star, 11 June 2013)
SAFE TEA TIME
| JURUTERA July 2013 24
Fruit for Thought
Scope
The frst question that any Person-in-Charge should ask is
the scope of what should be covered and the resources to
make them work.
Lets have a look at the scope. There has been a lot of
literature on this subject and it is quite hard to remember the
whole list. So let me give you a fruit for thought and we will
keep the fruit in our mind for a while.
I guess this is simple enough for you to start thinking
about the events that should be covered. Sometimes one
aspect can lead to another, for example, an environmental
issue can become a community issue with Reputation risks
(and E affecting a P and R).
BuSineSS impacT analySiS
The next step is to move into Business Impact Analysis.
It is similar to your Risk Assessment (i.e. what is the
highest threat to your business and your current level of
preparedness). This exercise will help you prioritise your
actions and resource allocation.
However to think through the PEAR and Business
Impact Analysis, the Person-in-Charge cannot go it alone.
He needs help.
Bccm Team
The next step is to set up the BCCM Team. Please do not
confuse this team with your Emergency Response Team
which is a tactical team to handle specifc immediate
incidents. Put simply, BCCM is actually the senior executive
management team. Its roles are the same as its daily roles
except there is more urgency and attention. It is important
that each member has a secondary who is empowered to
make decisions in his or her absence.
The team is usually supported by the BCCM Coordinator.
This person actually supports the BCCM framework, from
setting up training to updating contact lists and logging
down incidents, etc. But the job is more than secretarial in
nature as it does require a certain level of infuence. Many
companies appoint vice presidents or senior executives with
infuence to this position. During a crisis, the coordinator
needs to cut across the whole organisation to help the
Person-in-Charge get things done.
There you have it, in a nutshell what you can do to start
the process. For a fruitful discussion, drop me a note at:
pub@iem.org.my.
It is claimed that the pip (seed) of the PEAR is poisonous
if ingested in large quantities. Based on my Impact Analysis,
I remove all pips, so this is very low in my continuity planning.
by Ir. Shum Keng Yan
ir. Shum Keng yan is a chemical engineer and a certifed accident prevention and safety practitioner. He advises on EHS in the chemical, fast moving
consumer goods, heavy metal manufacturing and building services industries across Asia Pacifc and beyond. He regularly delivers talks at conferences,
forums and universities.
Think: PEAR
P People (serious injuries, civil unrest,
impact of natural disaster, etc.)
E Environment (natural disaster,
environmental spills and releases, etc.)
A Assets (property damage, fre, etc.)
R Reputation (integrity issues,
accusations, bad Press, etc.)
In the Safe Tea Time column of the May 2013 issue of Jurutera, the correct diagram should be as shown above. The error is much
regretted.
eRRaTum
| JURUTERA July 2013 26
PRESS STATEMENT
The collapse of the ramp linking to the Second Penang Bridge
at Batu Maung is yet another accident at a construction site. The
Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) is concerned about the
recent high incidence of accidents at construction sites which would
appear to refect on the inadequate standard of safety practice in the
construction industry.
The section of the ramp to the bridge that collapsed does not
seem to be of some special design or construction technique that
would require complex engineering works which would have a higher
chance to go wrong. In fact, from the initial reports stated in the media,
it would seem that the collapse could be due simply to inadequate
support of the intersection ramp but this cannot be confrmed until the
facts are available after investigations by the authorities.
In order to mitigate construction accidents, all aspects of design
and construction procedures must be given due importance. Good
practices in accordance to acceptable standards are to be adopted.
In all engineering practices, not only workers safety is necessary but
that of public safety should also be of the highest priority. Providing
adequate traffc diversion to circumvent the high risk areas is one such
important practice. Owners have to be aware that safety practices
need to go hand in hand with the standard work methodology if
unnecessary mishaps are to be avoided. Specialists should be
involved if new and complex technology is to be used.
IEM has been proactive in promoting various aspects of
engineering practice including issues of best practice and safety.
For example, the Institution has a Position Paper on Scaffold and
Temporary Works that was prepared in response to previous problems
with formworks.
IEM stands ready to offer our technical inputs should the
relevant authority decide that the Institution be able to assist in their
investigation.
Contributed by: Civil & Structural Engineering Technical Division
13 June, 2013
Collapse of Ramp Linking
to 2
nd
Penang Bridge
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IEM ENGINEERING WEEK 2013
7 - 15 September 2013
Organised by: IEW EW2013 Sub-Commitee
(Standing Commitee of Welfare and Services Maters)
Various activities will be organised by IEM HQ and Branches
IEM Engineers Run 2013
Date: 7 September 2013 Venue: Jalan Timur, Petaling Jaya
IEM Charity Concert
Date: 14 September 2013
Venue: Malakof Auditorium, Wisma IEM Time: 5.00 p.m.
This concert is an aid of Ir. Lim Kim Hoo who is sufering from metastc lung cancer. Five
young talented musicians will entertain you with the beautful sounds of piano and violin.
Ticket by donaton RM60.
IEM Engineering Inventon & Innovaton Exhibiton
(EINIX 2013)
Date: 14 & 15 September 2013 Venue: One Utama, Bandar Utama
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
03812_Grundfos Intelligence_215x290_JT_FA.ai 1 8/8/12 8:29 PM
FORUM
28 | JURUTERA July 2013
The Powers of E-Learning:
Acquire CPD Points at Anytime,
Anywhere and at Your Own Pace
GEOTEChniCAL EnGinEErinG TEChniCAL DivisiOn
ImagIne this. Working engineers of IEM being able to
acquire CPD points at their own desired time and venue
and at their own pace of learning.
The prestigious annual event is co-organised by the
IEM and the Engineering Alumni Association of University
Malaya.
Professor Dr Cham is the current Chancellor and
Chairman of Singapore Institute of Management University
(SIM) and he sits on its Board of Trustees. He is also the
President of the Academy Of Engineering, Singapore.
He has been honoured with FSeng (Fellow of Academy
of Engineering Singapore), FREng (Royal Academy of
Engineering, UK), MIVA (Foreign Academy of the Royal
Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences) and FIES
(Fellow of Institution of Engineers, Singapore).
He reminded everyone that internet technology has,
without doubt, changed our lifestyles and in particular,
infuenced the learning process which was what prompted
him to pick E-learning as his topic.
He described E-learning as an application of the ease
and power of the internet including web-based learning
and computer based approaches to assist learning. The
process could be self-paced or instructor-led and includes
media forms of text, images animation, streaming video and
audio.
He said E-learning was naturally suited to distance
learning and fexible learning. It could be conducted as
one-to-one interaction between tutor and student or a
group learning environment. With the aid of communication
technologies, E-learning could be conducted a
synchronously or synchronously. The former activities
use technologies such as blogs, wikis, discussion boards
and emails. The latter involves the exchange of ideas
and information with one or more participants via Skype
conversation or a chat room.
He named MIT and Sloan Consortium as higher-
education organizations which have extensive applications
of one-line courses, adding that big corporations like
UOB have also embraced E-learning for staff training. He
further demonstrated the E-learning modules with respect
to banking secrecy and computer misuse, fair dealing
guidelines and insider trading.
by Ir. Yee Yew Weng and Ir. Chua Chai Guan
ir. Yee Yew Weng is a Regional General Manager (Singapore) Director (Malaysia)
of Keller Asia.
ir. Chua Chai Guan is the Secretary and Treasurer of Geotechnical Engineering
Technical Division in IEM. He has been working in geotechnical feld for 15 years
and has overseas experiences in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Ho Chi
Minh. He has written technical papers for local and International publications. He
heads a contracting frm, namely Substrata Engineering Sdn Bhd which offers
geotechnical solutions.
This would not be impossible if the IEM embraces
E-learning in near future, said Professor Dr. Cham Tao
Soon when delivering the 22nd Professor Chin Fung
Kee Memorial Lecture entitled E-Learning Application
To Continuing Education Of Engineers to a 200-strong
audience at Auditorium Tan Sri Prof Chin Fung Kee on
24th November, 2012.
He stressed that online education was more effective than
the traditional method of learning as revealed by a 5-year study
by Stamford Research Institute (SRI) in May 2009. Then via
a 7-minute video, he cited E-learning in SIM University where
students were all working adults. The degrees offered at SIM
include the disciplines of Arts, Social Sciences, Science,
Technology, Accountancy, Business and Human Development,
as well as Masters and PhD degrees.
Lastly, he said that with so many IEM engineers spread out
all over the country, the E-learning approach would provide an
alternative and more convenient platform in continuing education.
There were also active discussions with the audience on the
suitability of E-learning in felds that require hands-on skills and
critical thinking.
Finally, the organiser thanked Dr. Cham with a memento and
there was a big round of applause from audience.
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Concrete Sheetpile
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Head Office: Lot 5127, Batu 6, Jalan Kenangan, Off Jalan Meru, 41050 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: 603-3392 8113 Fax: 603-3392 9113 Mobile: 012-306 1813, 019-668 1369 E-mail: rivobina@gmail.com
East Coast Office: B-2, Tingkat Satu, Lorong Sg. Isap Jaya 1, Perkampungan Sg. Isap Jaya, 25150 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur.
Tel: 09-536 3430 Fax: 09-536 3431 Mobile: 012-921 8110 / 013-437 4799 Email: rivopt@gmail.com
FORUM
July 2013 JURUTERA | 31
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IEM CoffEE TablE book for SalE
orDEr forM
the palm oil mills can be harvested and converted into other
forms of fuel.
The talk ended with a Q&A session at 10.30 a.m. On behalf
of IEMs Chemical Engineering Technical Division, Prof. Ir.
Dr Thomas Choong presented a token of appreciation to Mr.
Chow and thanked him for his informative talk.
MR. B.P. CHow, Deputy Chairman of Institution of
Chemical Engineers UK (IChemE) Malaysia Branch, gave a
talk entitled Talk On Green Energy Potential in the Palm
Oil Industry on 6 October, 2012. A total of 124 participants
attended the talk organised by Chemical Engineering
Technical Division (CETD).
Mr. Chow, who is also Director of Aquakimia Sdn. Bhd.,
explained that the palm oil industry had attracted a lot of
negative publicity, mostly from non-proft organisations
(NGos) in Europe due the issue of sustainability.
As part of measures to combat this issue, the Government
is urging the palm oil industry to reduce its carbon footprint
and encouraging palm oil mills in the country to convert
their mill effuents into biogas by 2020. Conventional biogas
technology has been around for more than 20 years but
with the worlds energy prices going higher and with the
Malaysian Governments Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) programme,
there is a need to develop a more effcient biogas system.
Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (An-MBR) is a fairly
new development. Recently this was used for the frst
time to treat palm oil wastewater. As a result, more diffcult
processes, such as thermophilic digestion, can be done
with the An-MBR system and this has resulted in superior
biogas yield. With this latest technology, green energy from
Green Energy Potential in
Palm Oil Industry
ChEmICal EnGInEErInG TEChnICal DIvIsIOn
by Ir. Prof. Dr Dominic Foo Chwan Yee
Ir. Prof. Dr Dominic Foo is currently the chairman of IEM Chemical Engineering
Technical Division (CETD). He is the Founding Director for the Centre of
Excellence for Green Technologies, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
Dominic won the 2009 Innovator of the Year of IChemE, 2010 Young Engineer
Award of IEM, and recently the Outstanding Young Malaysian Award 2012.
Figure 1: Mr. B.P. Chow presenting
his lecture
Figure 2: View of the lecture hall
(Fax: 03 - 7957 7678 Email: pub@iem.org.my)
FORUM
| JURUTERA July 2013 32
The setbacks in tunnel construction occurred mainly
near the fault zones and lineament areas, where steel rib
or shotcrete was necessary for strengthening. There was
also high ingress of water at these areas where continuous
pumping was required to facilitate construction. At locations
of extremely high overburden, some rock bursts occurred.
The cut and cover section and all the four NATM sections
have been completed and coring by the three TBMs are
currently in progress. Overall progress achieved at the date
of the visit was about 66% which was on schedule. This
project will transfer 1890 MLD of raw water to Selangor to
meet its future water demand up to year 2025. The project
is due to complete by May 2014.
During the site visit, we were taken to adit 4 as it was
the nearest adit from the Hulu Langat site offce. We
visited the portion of tunnel at TBM-3 section and NATM-4
section. The fnished cored surface by TBM is very smooth.
We were not able to witness the TBM-3 working as it was
a few kilometers away upstream. At NATM-4 section, we
witnessed the concreting of the RC lining.
The technical visit ended at 2 p.m.
Visit to Pahang-Selangor Raw Water
Transfer Project Site in Hulu Langat,
Selangor
TunneLLing and undeRgRound SPace TecHnicaL diViSion
A technical visit to Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer
Project Site in Hulu Langat, Selangor was organised on 17
October, 2012 and attended by 20 IEM members, including
three TUSTD committee members, two non-members and
one from the IEM secretariat.
Upon arrival at the PSRWTs Site Offce, the group was
greeted by PSRWT project team members from KeTTHA,
a consortium of consultants and contractors. We were then
given a briefng/presentation on the project overview and
the construction of the tunnel and its related setbacks by
Puan Norzani bt. Mahmood, Senior Principal Assistant
Director with KeTTHA.
Basically, the project comprises four main components
of works Kelau Dam, Semantan Intake, twin raw water
pumping mains and the transfer tunnel. Kelau Dam is a
regulating dam to ensure there is adequate water in the
Semantan River during the low fow period. Raw water is
pumped from Semantan River in Pahang and transferred
to the proposed Langat 2 water treatment plant in Selangor
via twin 3m-diameter pumping mains approx. 11.9 km long
and 5.2m-diameter water transfer tunnel from Karak (inlet)
to Hulu Langat (outlet) approx. 44.6km long. Water fows
through the tunnel by gravity at a gradient of 1:1900 and at
75% to 80% full fow.
The tunnel passes through the Main Range and has
overburden ranges from 1200m to 20m. Almost 90% of the
rock is granite with strength ranging from 175 Mpa to 250
Mpa. The remaining 10% is meta-sedimentary rock. The
tunnel construction is divided into eight sections one cut
and cover section (860m) at the inlet conduit, four NATM
sections NATM-1 (1.9 km), NATM-2 (1.9 km) and NATM-
3 (2.1 km) near the Karak inlet and NATM-4 (2.8 km) near
the Hulu Langat outlet, and three TBM sections of 11+ km
each, accessible by four nos. adits. The TBM sections are
unlined, but the NATM sections will be lined with rc concrete
to reduce frictional loss of fow through the tunnel.
by Ir. Lok Chuan Ming
Briefng/presentation by Pn. Norzani bt. Mahmood to IEM Members
ir. Lok chuan Ming is currently the Deputy Chairman of Tunnelling and
Underground Space Technical Division, IEM. He is a lead engineer at Ranhill
Consulting Sdn Bhd.
TenCate Geosynthetics Asia Sdn. Bhd. (264232-U)
14, Jalan Sementa 27/91, Seksyen 27,
40400 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 3 5192 8568 Fax: +60 3 5192 8575
Email: info.asia@tencate.com
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