INSTITUTION: THE KITALE NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT

NAME: IAN SIMIYU

PERIOD: MAY TO SEP 2024

ADM. NO.: BC- CBT/41290/

COURSE: CERTIFICATE IN BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT:BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING

COMPANY: JEKAKI CONTRACTORS LTD.

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 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the present industrial attachment report held at JEKAKI CONTRACTORS

LTD and presented to The Kitale national polytechnic, Department of Building and Civil

engineering as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of certificate in building

technology is my own work which has neither been submitted nor presented anywhere.

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 DEDICATION
This Report is dedicated to the Almighty God who enables in my studies, My dearest parents

who encouraged and supported me in all my studies, Sister and my brothers, My relatives, My

fellow colleagues and classmates, The technical manager and all staff of public works- Kitale.

and my supervisor May God bless them abundantly.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I am thankful the Almighty God for the opportunity of a memorable fruitful period

in MARU BUILDERS & RENOVATORS. I would like to thank Public Works Department of

Trans nzoia County at kitale town for providing and equipping me with the practical and

theoretical experiences that are leading me in building technology profession;

Table of Contents
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DECLARATION...............................................................................................................................................i
DEDICATION.................................................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................................................iii
CHAPTER ONE..............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................1
1.0 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1. PUBLIC WORKS , TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE.........................................................................1
1.1.1 Activities.............................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Ministry of infrastructure, transport and Public Works – TRANS NZOIA County.................................1
1.2.1 Overall objectives of the ministry.......................................................................................................2
1.3 Training Objectives................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................................................4
ASSIGNED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY.....................................................................................................4
2.0 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Assigned routine duties at Jekaki Contractors Ltd...............................................................................4
Concrete Form work....................................................................................................................................7
Other activities include................................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER THREE:.........................................................................................................................................8
EVALUATION OF THE ATTACHMENT REPORT PERIOD.................................................................................8
3.0 Benefits of Attachment..........................................................................................................................8
3.1 Knowledge and skills acquired...............................................................................................................8
3.1.1 Practical skill.....................................................................................................................................8
3.2 Improving theoretical skills....................................................................................................................9
3.3 Challenges encountered......................................................................................................................10
3.4 Solutions to the above challenges;......................................................................................................11
CHAPTER FOUR:.........................................................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................................................13
4.1. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................13
4.2. RECOMMENDATIONS.........................................................................................................................13
4.2.1 To PUBLIC WORKS , TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE................................................................13
4.2.3 Recommendations to Department of building and Civil Engineering..............................................14
4.2.4 Recommendation to the department of Public Works- TRANS NZOIA............................................15

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction
Industrial attachment is compulsory course to the certificate students at Kitale National

Polytechnic –department of building and civil engineering after completing each year in a course

with aim of equipping students’ practical skills. Actually, industrial attachment helps students to

put the class theoretical into practice in order to be experts in building technology engineering

profession. My classes prepared me for much of what I saw through my attachment. In training

students get experiences to fill voids and bridge gaps in building technology.

1.1. PUBLIC WORKS , TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

My host company was JEKAKI CONTRACTORS LTD . This is a construction company

contracted by the department of public works of Trans Nzoia County to construct different

structures .

1.1.1 Activities
Its main activity is working in construction services business activities.

1.2 Ministry of infrastructure, transport and Public Works

– TRANS NZOIA County
The ministry envisions providing better services to all count residents b providing quality

mechanical transport and plants services to enhance development and maintenance of roads and

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other related infrastructural works with view to support realization of the county integrated

development plan (CIDP). The ministry is mandated to construct, maintain and manage county

roads networks as stipulated in the fouth schedule of the constitution of kenya 2010 and it

provides services to other departments in design, documentation and project implementation.

1.2.1 Overall objectives of the ministry

 To facilitate adequate provision of cost effective infrastructure, including government

buildings and other public works

 To develop and maintain infrastructure with a view to support realization o the count

integrated development plan

 Develop and maintain technical and audit for infrastructure, building and other related

public works in the public sector

 Provide quality public works services to all count government entities and general public

1.3 Training Objectives

Industrial attachment is a major key that helps students to apply class theoretical knowledge into

practical skills with aim of deepening student to be an expert and being experienced in building

technology field and to achieve career and goals. The student intends to get an opportunity to

relate academic programs and career goals to professional work experience.

The following are the objectives of the industrial attachment that provides the opportunity of

improving professional knowledge.

➢ To make a relation between theoretical concepts with the field practice.

➢ To develop skills and techniques directly applicable to careers.

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➢ To aid in adjusting from college lifestyle to full-time employment

➢ To acquire basic knowledge and new skills.

➢ To participate actively in accomplishing goals and objectives of an organization while

conducting the practical training.

➢ To develop employment records/references that will enhance employment opportunities and

to be aware of problems encountered at the fieldwork

➢ To be aware of problems encountered at the fieldwork

➢ To provide recommendation on how problems met in organization can be solved.

➢ Finally, to prepare the practical training report showing how the student understands activities

are accomplished in an organization.

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 CHAPTER TWO

ASSIGNED DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY

2.0 Introduction
During my attachment period I was assigned various duties at the construction site as explained

below;

2.1 Assigned routine duties at Jekaki Contractors Ltd

My work majorly was at the construction site, I wanted to become more familiar with site works

and to get more practical knowledge. Site work in general includes every kind of work executed

at the site starting from setting out till finishing works

The site work that I have been through in the three month industrial attachment period was in the

sub structure work and super structure work exclusively. A normal building consists of two parts

in general this are the super structure and the sub structure. Any structure below the ground floor

slab level including the basement, retaining walls, ground slab, grade beam, and foundation is

called a substructure. Super structure is the part of a building which extend above the grade beam

or everything above the sub structure includes slab(1st floor slab), column, walls, roof etc. the

purpose of the super structure is to enclose and divide space as well as spread load safely in to

the sub structure

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 Masonry work

These are works executed by laying building material units such as stone, brick and HCB of

specified dimension by providing a binding material such as mortar. I got the opportunity to

participate in masonry work under the grade beam on the periphery of the building. The masonry

was built with roughly dressed stone wall of size not less than 300mm per course and 400mm

wide. Stone used for masonry work was hard and sound, free from vents, cracks, fishers,

discoloration or other defects that will adversely affect strength or appearance. After constructing

masonry wall, the grade beam was constructed directly over it. It gives an appearance of

additional stability to the building and also the clearance from the ground level.

Accordingly column and side formworks will be dismantled after 16 hours elapsed from the

concrete casting and other soffit formworks should stay in position until the concrete gets cured.

The dates of dismantling for the soffit formworks were shortened by the use of fast curing

concrete admixtures. The use of these admixtures will allow them to move fast forward with the

construction and immediate utilization of the formwork on other successive structures

Steel work

This was done using reinforcement bar. Concrete is generally used in conjunction with steel

reinforcement, which provides the tensile strength in a concrete member. The use of plain

concrete without steel reinforcement is limited to pavements and some slabs-on-ground. Steel is

the ideal material to complement concrete because the thermal expansion of both materials is the

same. In other words, when heated or cooled, both steel and concrete expand or contract equally.

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Consequently, no stress is caused by differential expansion or contraction. Composite materials

that expand differentially are subjected to such stresses. Steel also bonds well with concrete steel

Bar bending workshop were situated in a place where it could be close to the site where the bar is

going to be placed in position. The bending of all types of reinforcement bars took place within

the workshop. Except the column reinforcement bars all was tied and placed in position exactly

in a position where they are intended to be situated. Bar was spliced in the site for bottom

reinforcement at the support and for top reinforcement at the center in a length of four times the

larger diameter of bar for every structure

Curing

I participated in curing process. It is the process of preventing the loss of moisture from the

concrete while maintaining a satisfactory temperature regime. Curing is essential for producing

‗good concrete that has the desired strength, impermeability and durability, and is of particular

importance in situations where the water-cement ratio is low, or the cement has a high rate of

strength development. We used portable water and covering of the structural element using

covering material for at least 7 successive days to retain the moisture lost. In our site curing of

concrete starts from the finishing of the pouring and ends in a 7 days. Mostly they cure at

morning and night time. On construction sites, curing is begun as soon as the concrete has fully

set (solidified), which is generally 12 to 24 h after placing the concrete. water used for mixing

and curing is free from impurities such as oils, acids, alkalis, salts, sugar and organic materials.

Water that is fit for human consumption (i.e., potable water) is generally considered to be

suitable for concreting

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 Concrete Form work
I participated in erection of concrete form work. As fresh concrete is in plastic state when it is
placed for construction purpose so, it becomes necessary to provide some temporary structure to
confine and support the concrete till it gains sufficient strength for self-supporting. This
temporary structure is called form work. Concrete formwork serves as a mold to produce
concrete elements having a desired size and configuration. It is usually erected for this purpose
and then removed after the concrete has cured to a satisfactory strength. For satisfactory
performance, formwork must be adequately strong and stiff to carry the loads produced by the
concrete, the workers placing and finishing the concrete, and any equipment or materials
supported by the forms. The type of formwork that was utilized on our site was a combination of
ply wood and timber (eucalyptus) where necessary. The purpose of employing ply wood and
timber is to make sure that quality concrete with perfect alignment would result. For horizontal
structures like reinforced concrete slab the ply wood without being cut was placed

Other activities include

i. Wall Plastering

ii. Ground leveling

iii. Manholes construction

iv. Putting terrazzo

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 CHAPTER THREE:

EVALUATION OF THE ATTACHMENT REPORT PERIOD

3.0 Benefits of Attachment

The main aim of this practice (attachment) is that to teach students communication with different

workers or employees, to improve practical skill what they learned at class, up grading the

theoretical knowledge in addition to the class, improve their leadership skill, team playing skill

and etc. In my three month attachment

I have acquired much knowledge in different tasks as explained below in different section. That

different knowledge gets me a good performance in the internship period and I gain an

experience that helps me after the graduation in the upcoming working era of mine.

3.1 Knowledge and skills acquired

3.1.1 Practical skill

Professionally, I had the opportunity to put into practice what I have been learning in the class

like concreting, beam casting, masonry work, and steel work among others. I acquired good

management, self-motivation and time management skills.

The aim of the industrial attachment is to address more practical knowledge for student. So, I

found a practical knowledge at the site as much possible within the four month. The knowledge

we have learn in the class is helpful to get those practical or real work in the site and totally

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different from the actual knowledge gained from the class. Thus I found some knowledge in the

site which helps me to work with the site environment or site peoples.

 Construction of formwork and false work for some reinforced concrete structure.

In any construction work the first stage before casting of concrete is designing and

constructing of form work. As I explained in the work procedure the formwork and false

work must be stiff and must resist the fresh concrete till the concrete gain its strength. Thus

the construction stage of form work was new to me since I‘m new for the practical world

now I gain practical knowledge about how it is worked and erected.

 Bar bending, positioning, splicing and tying, according the specified drawing.

After the formwork and false work is ready the bar bending, positioning and tying work goes

next. This work is done based on the working drawing provided in the working drawings

(structural drawing) by the design team of that specified structure. In most case it was new

for me to see such work since it is a practical work only performed at the site.

 Surveying on building construction, we conduct the surveying class in the field for its lab

session of the course in the normal class.

 Casting and pouring of reinforced concrete structure and equipment used for casting.

A well-cured concrete is denser and, hence, stronger and more durable.

3.2 Improving theoretical skills

➢ doing attachment helped me to gain self-confidence and motivation and developed expertise

in interacting with different people.

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I have gained greater skills on communication skills through my interactions with different

classes of people and top officials and also I gained good interpersonal skills.

I have learned and acquired team work, efficient on task and problem management skills

3.3 Challenges encountered

Construction projects are complex and time-consuming undertakings that require the interaction

and cooperation of many different persons to accomplish. The construction industry is typically

divided into specialty areas, with each area requiring different skills, resources, and knowledge

to participate effectively in it. In order to integrate and work closely in each section it is a

challenging task to one person especially when he/she is fresh or beginner. In fact some

challenges may be solved by me but some are above my limit and even the workers at the site

also. In general I have faced the following challenges in the attachment period.

 Weather condition of the site

Heavy rains affected my attachment in that at some point we had to stop the work and wait till

it is over for work to resume.

 Shortage of knowledge in some portion of the work at the site

Putting theory to practical in some portion of work like steel and masonry work was a little bit

had

 Underestimation by workers such as engineers, Forman

workers at the site looked at me as a student with no technical know- how so anything I did was

underestimated I felt discouraged at some point and almost gave up

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Unsatisfactory answers for questions from engineers

As a student I was eager to know everything about construction but site engineer was too busy

to give answers to all questions I asked

 Safety facility

Construction site was near the disposal pit thus broken bottles and syringes from the hospital

were thrown all over. This was dangerous to my feet despite wearing protective gears.

3.4 Solutions to the above challenges;

Weather condition of the site: Since I‘m fresh to such work I have been in a big nuisance

particularly in the first month to adopt this kind of working environment. The main challenge

was the rainfall and dustiness of the site due to construction equipment. I bought a hail mate and

raincoat from the market that is suitable for rainfall and I wear gumboots to combat this wet

condition.

Shortage of knowledge in some portion of works like quantity, bill of quantity, taking off, bar

schedule and report writing was some challenges I have faced in the site. To solve these

problems I try to ask workers at the site and read related literature to know more about this

works. Lastly I knew how to work those things.

The underestimation and the answer were not solved throughout the month with some workers

but I try to communicate friendly with some workers to make myself clear and to know more

knowledge from workers. And the answering problem was aroused due to that the contractors

have no idea about how the building is designed and some shortage of knowledge about the

design. We ask the design supervision team when they come for supervision and monthly

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meeting of the tree parties and know how the structural design was designed and some other

misunderstanding.

Our safety including employees was in danger throughout the three months because of they

didn‘t have any measure regarding safety since it was in a hospital place needles and syringes

were dropped ever where. But In the last two month they try to fulfill some safety materials like

safety shoes, gloves and hale mates and they use signals in the site as well.

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 CHAPTER FOUR:

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1. CONCLUSION
Attachment period was an opportunities to apply class theoretical knowledge into real practice

skills. I participated in multitask works at construction site that helped me get experiences in

building construction like building setting out on site; steel related activities include cutting,

bending, binding of reinforcements; carpentry works at site include formworks for structural

members, scaffoldings, ladders; masonry works; concreting operations; quantity surveying;

plastering; pointing, backfilling and compaction; QA and QC of construction materials. Being on

construction site was highly contributed my level of sociability like communication skills, team

work skills, time management, motivation skills, labor management skills, personal work ethics,

consultative skills, to meet with dead line, task scheduling skills and analytical skills.

Participating with the consultants and supervisors helped me to produce valuable and qualitative

work to meet client requirements. Skills obtained in industrial attachment will help me in the

career of building and technology engineering fields.

4.2. RECOMMENDATIONS

4.2.1 To PUBLIC WORKS , TRANSPORT AND

INFRASTRUCTURE
It is playing big role and contributing to the development of the country and achieving the goals

of their mission. Apart from the thanks, there are some recommendations I want to suggest to the

company for future trainings

• The company should provide the protective equipment to the workers,

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• The project managers want the supervisors to focus on their task instead of attachee. So, the

future training the internees should be considered in order to improve their skills.

• The company should provide many qualified supervisors in order to give more time to

internees.

• Motivation should be given to trainees, if motivated; they can do more things of great

importance to the company.

4.2.3 Recommendations to Department of building and

Civil Engineering
➢ To promote the quality of training and amount of time spent, I recommend that The institute

authorities and administration should start making partnerships with companies. Most student

have struggled in getting companies which were hosted them in period of industrial attachment

that is why institution should look the companies which will host the student.

➢ should extend the period of industrial attachment from 12 weeks to 15 weeks per each

academic year. Where it seems to be possible, you may at least increase the time we are given to

be above three months.

➢ Even if the academic curriculum is not yet getting on the level of providing the annual

practical works to the engineering students, let the administration board try to enhance that idea.

➢ financial support provided to students while doing the attachment should be improved either

for those who works in countryside.

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4.2.4 Recommendation to the department of Public Works-
TRANS NZOIA
Public works officers should be available at the site fulltime to give its recommendation at every

stage of construction. This will lead to strictly following of the plan

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