1 Annual Report - The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka

2013 IESL NSW Engineering Conference2013 IESL NSW Conference was held at the Engineers Australiaauditorium in Chatswood on the 31 st of May. It was wellattended and a showcase of our excellence and ourcontribution to NSW. IESL NSW Chair Eng Kamal Fernandowelcomed the attendees.IESL President Eng Tilak De Silva delivering the keynoteaddress talked about the improvements atIESL; membership management, head office building,financial management and web site. Tilak also provided aprogress report on the initiatives for a legal framework forsetting standards for practicing engineers - currentlyawaiting Cabinet approval and improving engineeringeducation standards. He also stated that some delegation powers for membership functionswill be transferred to Provincial Chapters to reduce travel / inconvenience for members.The first presentation at the conference was delivered byUdaya Peeligama of Sydney Catchment Authority. Udayaexplained how the Crest Gates of the Warragamba damwas upgraded recently. As part of a comprehensiveprogram of works for augmenting the flood handlingcapacity of the Dam to 100% Probable Maximum Floodcapability, an upgrade of the Crest Gates was carried outrecently at a cost of $36.5m. Many innovative featuresand solutions were developed during the upgrade, including hydraulic locking systems forthe Drum and Radial Gates, which are thought to be a “world’s first”. The project wassuccessfully put to the test when the Dam effectively passed the floods of March 2012.The second presentation was made by SanjeeviSathianandan of RailCorp. The Minnamurra RailwayBridge is located on the South Coast line and wasconstructed in 1924. Due to life-expired timber transomsa renewal project was required. The delivery of thisproject was critical for the integrity of the track structureon the bridge. A cost benefit analysis was conducted andreplacement with Fibre-reinforced Foamed Urethane(FFU) transoms was selected as it was the cheapest option, having a design life of 50 yearsand similar properties to timber. The delivery was made complicated as the track had to behanded back every second night for 8 hours for freight trains. A single track without any safeplace to work from, as well as being above the environmentally sensitive Minnamurra Rivermade construction extremely challenging.