fax: (868) 662-4414 e-mail: …...mme newsletter february 2016, vol.2 issue 1 mme newsletter –...

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST. AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, WEST INDIES DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies Telephone: (868) 662-2002 Ext. 82070/71 Fax: (868) 662-4414 E-mail: [email protected]; Homepage: http://sta.uwi.edu/eng/mechanical/index.php

1 | P a g e MME Newsletter February 2016, Vol.2 Issue 1

MME Newsletter– February 2016, Vol.2, Issue 1 Contents: A) Greetings from the Head of the Department - Professor Boppana Chowdary B) Department Celebrating Christmas cum Staff’s Birthday on 17th December, 2015 C) News of the Department D) Staff’s News and Accomplishments E) Students’ News and Accomplishments F) Frame of Birthday Stars for November, December and January 2015/2016 G) Quarterly MME Words

Attachments: Annex-1: Brief Report of the PM8 Seminar on 28th November 2015 Annex-2: Highlights of the First Industry Interface Workshop on 12th December 2016 Annex-3: Introducing MME Lunchtime Seminar Series, 2016 Annex-4: New Heat Exchanger Laboratory Test Equipment, 2016 Annex-5: New Information Brochure of MSc Programme in Manufacturing Engineering & Management Editor’s Note:

A great welcome to you, this February 2016 issue of our MME Newsletter serves as a “what’s on” venue for the Department. It also shares with you some recent news of the Department and people. On behalf of The MME Newsletter Sub-Committee, we hope you enjoy reading this issue. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all colleagues in the Department a wonderful and prosperous year of 2016. The MME Newsletter Sub-Committee 5th February 2016 A) Greetings from the Head of the Department A lot has happened since our last newsletter. It is my pleasure to introduce the MME Newsletter - February 2016, Vol.2, Issue 1, with the purpose of keeping the UWI community up to date with respect to the Department’s current activities, upcoming events, and with what is happening on campus and in the classrooms. Most importantly, we are in the process of reaccrediting our Department programmes, so our graduates can more effectively and confidently compete in the job market.

This newsletter is for all of you who have made the Department’s success possible. Please let us know where you are, what you are doing and what

you think about the newsletter and the Department’s progress. I would also like to give thanks to Professor Kit Fai Pun for his fine editorial work.

Finally, for those students who come to us with the intention of entering the MSc/MPhil/PhD programmes, we encourage you to check out Apply Online Masters Programmes on our webpage and email me with any questions. Professor Boppana V. Chowdary Head of Department (HoD)

******* B) Department Celebrating Christmas cum Staff’s Birthday on 17th December, 2015

The Department hosted its Christmas luncheon at the Thermodynamic Laboratory from 1:00 to 3:00pm Thursday 17th December, 2015. Invited guests (Professor Stephen Gift, Dean; Dr.Gail S.H. Baccus-Taylor, HoD Chemical Engineering; and Dr. BheshemRamlal, HoD, Geomatics Engineering & Land Management), faculty members, technician,

administrative and support staff, teaching and research assistants,as well as part-time lecturers of the Department celebrated Christmas of the year.

The Department also celebrated six staff members whose birthdays fall in November and December 2015 and January 2016. See also Section F: Frame of Birthday Stars.

http://sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/

http://sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/

mailto:[email protected]



Professor Gift, Professor Chowdary, Dr. Ramlal. Dr. Murray, and other colleagues and guests

A guest and Ms. Nalini Chatelal (right), the in-charge of MME Birthday Club at the function

C) News of the Department 1. The Eighth Public Seminar on Project Management Practices in the Caribbean (PM8) on 28th

November 2015

The UWI Industrial Engineering Office hosted the Eighth Public Seminar on “Project Management Practices in the Caribbean”, in collaboration with the Technology and Engineering Management Society (TEMS) and the Education Society (EdS) Chapter of the IEEE Trinidad and Tobago Section (IEEEtt) on Saturday 28th November 2015.

The seminar was facilitated by Dr. Ruel Ellis and Professor Kit Fai Pun. Four presentations were made in two sessions, followed by an open forum. In the first session presentations, two invited speakers talked about development of a Project Recovery framework for the Tourism Development Company Limited and a step-wise guide to developing a tailored Project Management Framework within an Organisation in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).

In the Second Session, another two invited speakers focused on exploring the core of public health transformation in project management best practice, and also the development of an approach for assessing the impacts of smart building strategies in T&T.

Over 70 participants and delegates from industry attended the Seminar. Many participants commented that the presenters were very knowledgeable about their areas of expertise and the presentations were interactive and informative. For a brief report of the PM8 Seminar,see Annex-1.

Invited speakers and participants at the PM8 Open Discussion

Forum

2. The First Industry Interface Workshop on Manufacturing Engineering and Management (MEM) on 12th December 2015

The Industry Interface workshop took place on Saturday 12th December 2015 in the Board room of the Faculty of Engineering. Some 20 companies, including the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin) Limited, the National Petroleum (NP) Company and others, were invited, and 10 representatives attended. Representatives from local

professional bodies (such as APETT and SME) and the Engineering Institute participated.

The seminar was facilitated by Mr. Kishore Jhagroo, the Senior Lecturer. Professor Boppana V. Chowdary, the Head of Department delivered a welcoming address to participants. Based on the feedback shared by participants/ practitioners in a post-workshop survey, it was found that:



a) About 30% of UWI engineering graduates whom they recruited could meet with the performance requirements expected. Some 50% of engineering graduates could only meet partly the performance requirements expected,

b) There has been gaps between what engineering graduates could excel and be perceived in industry,

c) A majority of respondents (i.e., 70%) of the representatives indicated that they would be willing to work with the MME Department to close the gaps.

In responding to the feedback, the Department would foster the conversations with the industry. Through its Industry Liaison Committee, the Department has followed up with the workshop and embarked on several Industry Interface initiatives.

For highlights of participants’ feedback of, and

work-in-progress, after the Workshop, see Annex-2.

Mr. Kishore Jhagroo made a Presentation at the Workshop

3. Submission of the Documentation and Preparation for IMechE’s Accreditation Visit

Under the leadership of the new headship, the Department had since September 2015 been coordinating efforts in preparing for the Re-Accreditation visit of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), UK. Several task milestones as identified at the Departmental Board Meeting of 29th October, 2015, were attained. A full set of Final Pre-Accreditation Documents/CD was dispatched to IMechE on schedule (end November 2015).

The CD contains documentations prepared for reaccreditation of 8 programmes (including 3 undergraduate BSc and 5 taught MSc programmes).

The IMechE had acknowledged receipt of the set of documents/CD and communicated with the Department the arrangements of the visit to be made by their Accreditation Team. The Department is looking forward to receiving the IMechE team from 15th to 17th March, 2016.

A sample set of Document in CD dispatched for the

IMechE’s Accreditation Visit of March 2016. 4. Launching of Lunchtime Seminar Series, 2016

The vision of the MME Department (in line with its role as part of an educational institution) includes equipping our students with the skills and attitude which will enable them to engage in relevant research. The Department had taken the initiative to launch a Lunchtime Seminar Series, starting from Semester I, 2015-2016.

The seminar series has a three-fold purpose: • To showcase the different research projects

taking place in the Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering to the undergraduate population.

• To foster a greater sense of community amongst the graduate students in the Department.

• To enrich the intellectual life and activities within the Department by encouraging interaction among students and faculty and promoting the sharing of ideas about recent research developments, problems and controversies. The first seminar in the series, entitled

“Graduate Student Supervision: Best Practice?” was presented by Professor Kit Fai Pun on 3rd February 2016. The presentation covered: UWI's vision on Graduate Study, The Environment and Context, The Challenges – From PG Perspectives, Roles of Supervision versus Supervisor, The Ethical Dimension, and Guiding Principles and Tips. For a brief description about MME Lunchtime Seminar Series and the first seminar, see Annex-3.



5. New Heat Exchanger Laboratory Test Equipment 2016

The Thermal Energy group recently commissioned two new Heat Exchanger laboratory test equipment.

1) P. A. Hilton Exchanger H352 – This enables the determination of the heat transfer watt density, ϕ and the mean surface heat transfer coefficient, h for finned tubes in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th rows of a finned tube cross flow heat exchanger at constant air flow and variable finned tube active element surface temperature and at constant active element surface

temperature and variable inlet depression and hence air flow.

2) TecQuipment Bench-top Heat Exchangers Service Module, TD360. - The apparatus is equipped with TQ’s Versatile Data Acquisition System (VDAS®). This gives accurate real-time data capture, monitoring and display, calculation and charting of all the important readings on a computer. The descriptions of both devices can be seen in Annex-4.

6. New Information Brochures of Taught Masters’ Programmes offered at MME Department

The Department had recently refined the Information Brochures for all its 5 taught Masters’ Programmes. These include: • Manufacturing Engineering and Management

(MEM) • Production Management (PM) • Production Engineering and Management (PEM) • Engineering Management (EM) • Engineering Asset Management (EAM)

Prospective applicants with a BSc Degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Production Engineering or

an equivalent are invited to apply online by 31st March 2016 via www.sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/.

Annex-5 depicts a sample of new Information Brochure of MSc Programme in Manufacturing Engineering and Management. Enquiries of these programmes can be made to respective programme coordinators, Professor Chowdary (MEM), Professor Channan Syan (PM, PEM and EM), and Mr. Kishore Jhagroo (EAM).

7. Establishment of Safety and Security Sub-Committee in the Department

In responding to the campus-wide initiative and recommendation as presented by Mr. Rajesh Kandhai, the Safety Officer, at the Faculty of Engineering’s Board Meeting of 4th February 2016, It was proposed to establish a ‘Safety and Security Sub-Committee (SSS)’ in the Department. The SSS would be attached to the ‘Departmental Quality Committee’, with the following members:

1) Mr. Kishore Jhagroo (Senior Lecturer) 2) Mr. Rodney Harnarine (Development Engineer)

3) Mr. Oswald Lawrence (Chief Technician)

4) Mr. Anthony LaCroix (Laboratory Assistant) 5) Ms. Nimba Wahtuse (Clerical Assistant)

Besides, Ms. Sherry Mungal (Laboratory Technician) would serve as the secretary of the SSS. In view of the IMechE’s accreditation visit in mid-March 2016, the Sub-Committee would discuss the safety and security gaps existing within the Department and submit a brief report with appropriate recommendations accordingly by end February or first week of March 2016.

8. Planning of the Departmental Retreat 2016

As the 2015/16 academic year progresses, the MME Department offices will continue efforts to improve core processes in management and administration of (undergraduate/postgraduate) student experience, teaching, research and innovation as a leading engineering department.

In order to fulfill the requirements of the current UWI’s 2012-2017 Strategic Plan and forge ahead the next planning cycle of 2017-2022, the Department has realised the need of organising a Departmental

Retreat 2016. The mandate is to review of completed tasks/activities and initiatives that have been executed while flagging issues for policy or pragmatic decision-making in the coming years, in particular, in responding to the recommendations from the 2015 Academic Quality Review, as well as the forthcoming IMechE’s accreditation visit in March 2016.

The Department is in the process to plan the Retreat that is expected to be hold before summer this year.

http://www.sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/



D) Staff’s News and Accomplishments 1. Appointment of Senior Position Mr. Kishore Jhagroo, Senior Lecturer reported duty, and would serve as the new appointed Coordinator of the MSc Programme in Engineering Asset Management, from 1st November 2015.

2. Staff Recognition - Contributions to the Department

1) Mr. Vishu Dookhoo received his First Runner-up (second place) of the Service Excellence Award

under the category of Administrative, Technical and service Staff at The Employee Excellence Awards Ceremony that was held at the Learning Resource Centre on 18th December 2015.

2) Mr. Oswald Lawrence, Chief Technician completed his 42-year working in the Department as at 8th January 2016. We all recognise his long-serving commitment and continual supports to the Department.

E) Students’ News and Accomplishments 1. MME Students visited MIT from 3rd-6th

August, 2015

During June–July, 2015, a collaborative team of undergraduates from the UWI Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, and the Department of Life Sciences led by UWI Assistant Lecturer, Ms. Legena Henry conducted two research projects in the UWI Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. The projects focused on 1) an Equator-friendly wave power device, and 2) Probing the confusing Doppler-mapped Haemodynamics of mitral regurgitation in the Human heart.

Subsequent to their 8 weeks of research in collaboration with international industrial partners, this team visited MIT from 3rd-6th August, 2015 and presented research in a seminar hosted by Professor Markus Beuhler, Head of the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This research was also discussed in a series of collaborative meetings at the MIT campus and at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital which is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, and also Harvard Medical School's second largest teaching affiliate.

For the six participating students, Briege Lougheide, Hodeem Miller, Krishane Satahoo, Ian Dass, Ezekiel Yorke, and Kimberly Baliram, this trip was life-changing. • Students made decisions about their future

career • Students postulated that if more

science/engineering students have these kinds of experiences, they will be motivated to do better in class.

• Students learned to face their fears and to manage doubts that previously paralyzed them.

• Students gained increased confidence to learn and do as engineers/scientists.

• Students gained greater understanding that research can solve real problems in the world.

• The energy needs of the Caribbean require a lot of fundamental in-house research for this Caribbean context.

The UWI-based work being presented to interested leading world experts at MIT resonated with the research goals of UWI, to be a world-class research institution and also to produce world-class research that is relevant to Caribbean needs. UWI’s value to the world is real, when comparing UWI to other institutions.

Ms. Legena Henry, Assistant Lecturer (Centre), and six participating students at MIT in August 2015.

Photo of the UWI Team taken at MIT ‘Under the Dome”



F) Frame of Birthday Stars On behalf of the MME Department and the Newsletter Sub-Committee, we wish all 6 members in the following list have a Happy Birthday in November-December of 2015 and January of 2016, with numerous best returns.

The November-December-January Stars: Happy Birthday to you all…… 1. Marlene Fletcher-Cockburn (November) 2. Kishore Jhagroo (December) 3. Krishpersad Manohar (December) 4. Rodney Harnarine (January) 5. Steve Ramoutar (January) 6. Legena Henry(January)

G) Quarterly MME Words The Newsletter Sub-Committee compiled some enlightening words for sharing among faculty members and administrative/support staff and other readers of MME Newsletter.

Please take leisure reading on them. Accept those you think appropriate, and reject those you consider inappropriate.

Adopted from different sources The MME Newsletter Sub-Committee:

1) Professor Kit Fai Pun (Chair/Editor) 2) Mr. Rodney Harnarine (member) 3) Mr. Sennen Matabadal (member) 4) Dr. Renique Murray(member) 5) Mr. Robert Birch(member) 6) Dr. Graham King(member)

7) Dr. Chris Maharaj (member) 8) Ms. Ayana-Rene De Noon(member) 9) Mr. Steve Ramoutar(member) 10) Mr. Oswald Lawrence (member) 11) Ms. Nalini Chatelal (member)

Good for Thought Today: 1. Questions if left unanswered and doubts uncleared for too long breed ignorance and suspicion. 2. Ideas, no matter how good, how well they are phrased, expressed, can only supplement but never replace

work. 3. An enemy that cannot be bought can be your friend, and a friend who can be bought may be your enemy!

Annex-1: Brief Report of The PM8 Seminar, November 2015


Annex-1: Brief Report of the PM8 Seminar, 28th November 2015

The Industrial Engineering Office of the Faculty of Engineering, The University of the West Indies (UWI) hosted the Eighth Public Seminar on “Project Management Practices in the Caribbean” (PM8 Seminar), in collaboration with the Technology and Engineering Management Society (TEMS) and the Education Society (EdS) Chapter of the IEEE Trinidad and Tobago Section (IEEEtt). The seminar was held at Room 1, 1/F., Block 1, Kenneth S. Julien Building, from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon on Saturday 28th November 2015. The seminar was facilitated by Dr. Ruel Ellis, the Chairman of EdS Chapter, IEEEtt. Professor Kit Fai Pun, of the Industrial Engineering Office delivered a welcoming address to participants, and Eng. Wayne Richard Small, The Chairman-Elect of IEEEtt Section delivered a Keynote speech. The theme of this Seminar is “Project Management in Practices”. It seeks to facilitate the nation-wide awareness and the use of best project management practices and related concepts, models and tools in both public- and private- sector organisations in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). The Seminar programme was quite packed, but was rather diverse. There were four presentations in two sessions, followed by an open forum discussion session. In the first session presentations, two invited speakers talked about development of a Project Recovery framework for the Tourism Development Company Limited and a step-wise guide to developing a tailored Project Management Framework within an Organisation in T&T. In the Second Session, another two invited speakers focused on exploring the core of public health transformation in project management best practice, and also the development of an approach for assessing the impacts of smart building strategies in T&T. All invited speakers were asked to sharpen/streamline their respective presentations in 20-25 minutes. Individual presentations are highlighted as follows:

• “The Development of a Project Recovery framework for the Tourism Development Company Limited” - Ms. Krystal Anita Gore, Certification and Inspection Officer of the Tourism Development Company (TDC) Limited, T&T. Ms. Gore discussed the role of project management in fostering the success of projects at TDC with particular reference to its Sites and Attraction Unit (SAU). It then relates the discussion to the development a project recovery framework, with the focus to maximise the chances of recovery success when faced with trouble projects at the SAU.

• “A step-wise guide to developing a tailored project management framework in organisations” - Mr. Vindar Ragbir, Process Improvement Team Leader of Grand Bay Paper Products Ltd. Mr. Ragbir’s presentation provided an overarching guide, justifying the need for such a framework, establishing objectives, designing/tailoring its implementation, and evaluating its success. Excerpts, special considerations and lessons learned from a case study are also added to compliment the guide and to illustrate the success of the approach in T&T. The guide is presented in a sequential manner in order to direct the conceptualisation, planning, execution and evaluation processes.

• “Project Management Best Practice - The Core of Public Health Transformation” - Ms. Lee Anna Bobb, Project Manager of the National Information and Communication Technology Company Limited (iGovTT), T&T. Ms. Bobb discussed the problems associated with public health sector and the solution implementation efforts in T&T. Lessons from the health sector reform initiatives point to poor project management capabilities as a key factor for ineffective implementation of improvements, as intended benefits from undertaking reform programmes are



not sufficiently realised. Instituting project management competence in public health is the core of implementing effective, sustainable solutions, as well as, preparing the sector for further reform initiatives.

• “Development of an Assessment Approach for Assessing the Impacts of Smart Building Strategies on Buildings in Trinidad and Tobago” - Mr. Jeffrey Barsatie, ICT Specialist (IT-Unit Projects), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). Mr. Barsatie shared the findings of a recent study that was intended to determine the various components used by building operators, identify benefits and understand the reasons for its selection. Focus is geared towards recognising the various strategies, practices and level of involvement building operators undertake with their buildings. A smart building (SB) approach was proposed, incorporating building governance and an index with assisting building operations in T&T.

The four Invited Speakers (from left): Mr. Vindar Ragbir of Grand Bay Paper Products Ltd.,

Ms. Krystal Anita Gore of TDC Ltd., Ms. Lee Anna Bobb of iGovTT, and Mr. Jeffrey Barsatie of TTPS Over 70 participants including invited guest speakers, Project Management professionals, academics, students, and delegates from industry who are interested in the theme “Project Management in Practice” attended the Seminar. We received 61 completed evaluation forms. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly good. About 85.2% of returned evaluations rated the Seminar either ‘Very Good’ (17 responses; 27.9%) or ‘Good’ (35 responses; 57.4%), and 9.8% of participants (6 responses) rated ‘satisfactory’ and 3 participants (4.9%) rated ‘Fair’. Besides, one returned questionnaire had no indication of overall comment. Many participants commented that the presenters were very knowledgeable about their areas of expertise and the presentations were interactive and informative.



Photo taken with invited speakers and participants at the Open Discussion Forum of the PM8 Seminar

on Saturday 28th November 2015

Dr. Sanjay Bahadoorsingh (Chair of IEEEtt Section) receiving a Commemorative Plaque from

Professor Kit Fai Pun (Industrial Engineering Office, Faculty of Engineering) for co-organising the Seminar Prepared by: Professor Kit Fai Pun December 2015

Annex 2: Highlights of the First Industry Interface Workshop, December 2015


Annex-2: Highlights of the First Industry Interface Workshop

on 12th December 2015 The initiative of the First Industry Interface Workshop aims to strategically strengthen the partnership of the Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME) Department with the industry, so that the synergy could be optimally achieved. This Annex highlights the accomplishments and works-in progress of the Workshop. I. Conduct of the Industry Interface Workshop The First Industry Interface Workshop took place on Saturday12th December 2015 in the Board room of the Faculty of Engineering. A target group of 20 companies (including the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin) Limited, the National Petroleum (NP) Company and others), were invited, and 10 representatives attended. Representatives from local professional bodies (such as APETT and SME) and the Engineering Institute were participated. The seminar was facilitated by Mr. Kishore Jhagroo, the Senior Lecturer. Professor Boppana V. Chowdary, the Head of Department delivered a welcoming address to participants. There has been pressing need for the industries to optimise the capabilities of the postgraduate programmes being offered at the MME department. It is anticipated that:

a) Asset Optimisation ensuring that one gets more for less with the equipment available. b) Strong and visionary Leadership and team building which shall make this happen,

The Department is confident that having gotten “the thin edge of the wedge” in place, it is paramount for the Department to optimise the available resources to achieve the desired goal. Based on the feedback shared by participants’/ practitioners’ in a workshop survey, it was found that:

a) About 30% of UWI engineering graduates whom they recruited could meet with the performance requirements expected.

Mr. Kishore Jhagroo, Senior Lecturer, welcome delegates

and participants at the Workshop

(Left) Professor Boppana Chowdary, HoD and (Right) Professor Edwin Ekwue, Deputy Dean (Research &

Postgraduate Affairs) present at the Workshop



b) Some 50% of engineering graduates could only meet partly the performance requirements expected,

c) There have been gaps between what engineering graduates could excel and be perceived in industry,

d) A majority of respondents (i.e., 70%) of the representatives indicated that they would be willing to work with the MME Department to close the gaps.

II. Preparation of Information Package In order to foster conversations with the industry, the Industry Liaison Committee of the Department has prepared an information package that was hand-delivered to a targeted group of 20 leading companies in T&T for their review and response. The package is composed of:

a) A cover letter from Head of Department, b) Brochures of Department’s Postgraduate programmes

Manufacturing Engineering and Management (MEM) Production Management (PM) Production Engineering and Management (PEM) Engineering Management (EM)

Photos taken with industry delegates and stakeholders who participated and exchanged ideas at the Workshop

(Centre) Professor Clement Imbert, Chairman of Engineering

Institute and other delegates shared views on university-industry collaboration at the Workshop

(Left) Ms. Ayana-Rene De Noon and (Right) Mr. Fahraz Ali (Right) stand in front of booth exhibiting some industry design

and Rapid Prototyping samples



Engineering Asset Management (EAM) c) A brochure for a course MENG 6704: Maintenance Analysis and Optimisation of the EAM

programme. d) A copy of the UWI regulation and syllabus book and a CD.

III. Meeting with Stakeholders A post-workshop meeting was held with the Vice President (Human Resources) and the Manager of Organisational Development of the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited. Discussions were made in the following areas:

a) The key elements of the MSc - MME programme aimed at sensitizing upper management on these elements so that they can know what to expect from UWI graduates,

b) An offer for the MME Department to work collaboratively with stakeholders, so as to fully embed the curriculums of MSc courses and programmes that benefit the industry,

c) A request for small, medium and large projects which can be used for coursework, final year and research (MPhil/PhD) purposes.

Another follow-up meeting was held with the Managing Director and representatives of the National Petroleum (NP) Company on 28th January 2016. The meeting was to discuss a project to paint the NP logo on approximately 1 million new and used gas cylinders – to be considered as a final year project of MSc Programmes. Besides, a tour to the laboratories was undertaken with introduction of laboratory facilities/equipment of the MME Department, several areas of potential collaboration projects and research were explored. These include:

a) The mechanical testing machines in the Strengths of Materials Laboratory especially the bolt testing machine and the other stress testing machines.

b) The testing equipment used for checking vibration, oil analysis and thermography in the EAM Laboratory.

Prepared by: Mr. Kishore Jhagroo, Senior Lecture January 2016

Annex-3: Launching MME Lunchtime Seminar Series 2016


Annex-3: Launching MME Lunchtime Seminar Series, 2016

Rationale Each year the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering graduates about 120 Bachelors and taught Masters students. However, we graduate less than a handful of research (M.Phil./Ph.D.) students each year. This situation is also reflected in the small number of current research students within the department. Just as perturbing is the lack of interest our undergraduate students show in conducting post-graduate research. Even our first class students are more interested in taught Masters programmes than research based degrees. Very few of our students understand the concept of research as a task that lecturers and graduate students engage in regularly. This might be due in part to the fact that the people within our community do not know what the mechanical engineering faculty are researching and it relevance to the wider society. Consequently, the vision of the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (in line with our role as part of an educational institution) includes equipping our students with the skills and attitude which will enable them to engage in relevant research. Research is a learned behaviour; the research culture is the structure that gives that behaviour significance and that allows us to understand and evaluate the research activity. As a department within a university, it is our obligation to transfer the knowledge gained through this systematic process to our students (both undergraduate and graduate) and to disseminate the results of our research to the wider community. We conjecture that a Lunchtime Research Seminar Series will assist in the development of a more vibrant research culture within the Department. Aim The seminar series is expected to have a three-fold purpose:

• To showcase the different research projects taking place in the Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering to the undergraduate population.

• To foster a greater sense of community amongst the graduate students in the Department. • To enrich the intellectual life and activities within the Department by encouraging interaction

among students and faculty and promoting the sharing of ideas about recent research developments, problems and controversies.

Target Audience Academic staff, postgraduate students and undergraduate students. Proposed Days & Format Time: Wednesdays, 12:10 – 12: 50 p.m. Location: Rm 103 (Proposed)

• Speakers will deliver a 30 minute lecture and have a 10 minute Question & Answer session. • For this first semester, the aim is to present an overview of the research activities in the

Department. Consequently, there will be one speaker from each of the major groups (Industrial Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, Thermal and Energy Systems, Manufacturing and Applied Mechanics), who will discuss typical projects in his/her discipline.

Annex-3: Launching MME Lunchtime Seminar Series 2016


• Speakers will be asked to aim their presentations at the appropriate level to ensure the lectures are accessible to a wide audience, with enough technical depth for the Ph.D.s yet enough real-world application for the undergraduates in the audience.

• Each registered postgraduate students will be required to attend at least 5 seminars per semester. First Seminar The first seminar in the series will be presented by Prof. Kit Fai Pun. Prof. Pun is a prolific researcher in the areas of industrial engineering, engineering management, quality management, performance measurement, innovation, and information technology/systems. He has published more than 250 journal articles, technical papers, reports and teaching aids, and has completed 17 research projects funded by UWI and other overseas universities and governments. From 2012 – 2015, he served as the UWI St. Augustine Campus Coordinator of Graduate Studies and Research. For his stellar performance, Prof. Pun was awarded the 2008 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence (Teaching and Research) and the 2012 ‘Most Outstanding Researcher Award’ (Engineering) recognised by the University. His presentation will be entitled “Graduate Student Supervision: Best Practice?” This presentation covers: UWI's vision on Graduate Study, The Environment and Context, The Challenges – From PG Perspectives, Roles of Supervision vs Supervisor, The Ethical Dimension, and Guiding Principles and Tips. A flyer of the First Seminar is attached. Prepared by Dr. Jacqueline D. Bridge January 2016

Annex-4: New Heat Exchanger Laboratory Test Equipment 2016


Annex-4: New Heat Exchanger Laboratory Test Equipment, 2016

As planned development of the laboratories of the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, the Thermal Energy group recently commissioned two new Heat Exchanger laboratory test equipment. The features and operations of both equipments are described as follows: 1) P. A. Hilton Exchanger H352 Cross Flow Heat is designed to enable students to investigate steady state rates of free and forced convective heat transfer at various air velocities and is supplied complete with a separate instrumentation console and a variable speed fan as standard. This unit.

Cross Flow Heat Exchangers are one of the most common types of heat exchanger used in countless applications such as engine radiators, air heaters, refrigeration evaporators and condensers, super-heaters and economizers.

The Apparatus: P. A. Hilton Exchanger H352 The apparatus shown above consists of a vertical free standing air duct with variable speed fan into which the optional finned tube heat exchanger accessories is inserted. Duct air velocity calculated from the intake depression which is measured using either of two manometers. It is supplied complete with a bench mounting instrumentation console that provides power control and display of all measured parameters.



Instrumentation also allows measurement of the surface temperature of the finned tube active element. The instrumentation console contains temperature limit control for all optional heat exchanger accessories and electrical overload and earth leakage protection.

The accessory includes a clear plastic plate that is designed to fit the aperture in the Cross Flow Heat Exchanger H352 duct. The plate consists of a four row finned tube bank with a removable finned tube in the centre of each row. An electrically heated finned active element with an integral surface thermocouple is supplied which may be inserted in place of the removable tube in the centre of each row

Replacing the removable tube in each row in turn in the tube bundle allows the variation in heat transfer coefficient in a tube bundle to be investigated.

The finned active element plugs directly into the Cross Flow Heat Exchanger H352 instrumentation console and this allows measurement of the low voltage power supplied to the heater and the surface temperature.The instrumentation console also limits the active element surface temperature to approximately 100°C.

The P.A. Hilton H352 enables the determination of the heat transfer watt density, ϕ and themean surface heat transfer coefficient, h for finned tubes in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th rows of a finned tube cross flow heat exchanger at constant air flow and variable finned tube active element surface temperature and at constant active element surface temperature and variable inlet depression and hence air flow. 2) TecQuipment Bench-top Heat Exchangers Service Module, TD360. It provides hot and cold water to the heatexchangers and all the instruments needed to measuretheir performance. All fluid connections to the optionalheat exchangers are self-sealing quick connectors – forsafety and simplicity. The hot and cold fluid streams havedifferent connectors to reduce errors.The services module’s hot water system includes a tankwith a PID controlled electric heater, a pump and tanklevel indicators.

An electrically operated valve opens to fill the tank with water. The tank has protection in case ofover temperature, low water level and overfilling. The hotwater system gives stable flow rates and temperatures.The services module’s cold water circuit has a flow regulatorand connection for an external mains water supply.Both the cold and hot water system have precision needlevalves and turbine flow meters to control and measure theflow rates.Thermocouples at the connectors measure hot and coldinlet and outlet fluid stream temperatures. Some heatexchangersalso have built-in thermocouples for extratemperature measurements.

The apparatus is equipped with TQ’s Versatile DataAcquisition System (VDAS®). This gives accurate real-timedata capture, monitoring and display, calculation andcharting of all the important readings on a computer

The optional Concentric tube Heat Exchanger, TD360Awas acquired. It has two tubes, one inside the other. One tube carries hot fluid, the other carries cold fluid. Heat transfers between them. TecQuipment’s heat exchanger is in two equal parts joined by intermediate pipes. This allows two extra measurement points at the midpoint (plus the standard four points at the connectors). This gives more useful experiment results, to show more clearly how the fluid temperatures change during heat transfer.



Screenshot of the optional VDAS® software

The Service Module (TD360) provides hot and cold water to the heat exchanger and all the instruments needed to measure its performance. The hot and cold fluid streams have different connectors to reduce errors. Connecting the heat exchanger takes less than one minute. The heat exchanger is on a bedplate that has a clear schematic diagram showing the connections. The bedplate fixes to the Service Module with thumbscrews (students need no tools).

The following experiments can be performed with the TD360 Service Unit and the optional Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger, TD360A:

• Demonstration of heat transfer from one fluid toanother through a solid wall. • Energy balance and efficiency calculations. • Demonstration of parallel-flow and counter-flowoperation of heat exchangers. • Measurement of the heat transfer coefficient, and theeffect of fluid flow rates and the driving force (temperature differential) upon it. • Introduction to the logarithmic mean temperature difference in heat exchangers.

Prepared by: Mr. Oswald Lawrence Chief Technician January 2016

Annex-5: Information Brochure of MSc MEM Programme


Annex-5: Information Brochure of MSc Programme in Manufacturing

Engineering & Management

MSc in Manufacturing Engineering and Management Faculty of Engineering | Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

One (1) year Full time | Two (2) years Part-Time

Making technology work for us.

Manufacturing professionals are highly skilled technical experts who plan, design, implement, modify, optimize and manage Manufacturing Processes.

The MSc in Manufacturing Engineering and Management degree programme covers the following key areas:

Computer Integrated Manufacturing Project Management

Technology and Product Development Production Planning and Control

Advanced CAD/CAM for Product Realization Design and Simulation of Manufacturing Systems

Finite Element Analysis in Manufacturing Total Quality Management

Production Technology Design of Plant and Services

Robotic Technology and Application Health, Safety and the Environment

This MSc programme stresses the University – Industry linkages utilizing current operating systems which enable professionals to gain work experience in the field of study.

Entry requirements A BSc Degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Production Engineering or an equivalent with

at least a Lower Second Class Honours. At least one (1) year of industrial experience is desirable. This may be waived for

Recent Graduates with a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree who wish to complete the programme on a Full time basis.

Applicants with Third Class Honours or Pass Degrees require at least three (3) years industrial experience.

How to Apply Apply online at www.sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/ APPLICATION DEADLINE: MARCH 31, 2016

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Prof. B. V. Chowdary Programme Coordinator Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Tel. 1-868-662-2002, Ext: 82170/82171 | Fax: 1-868-662-4414 Email: [email protected]

St. Augustine Campus

Ms. N. Ragoonanan Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Office Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Tel. 1-868-662-2002, Ext: 82068 Email: [email protected]

http://www.sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/

