NEWSLETTER VOLUME 02 ISSUE 02 - AUGUST 2018
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1. Message from the President.
 The first Annual General Meeting of the Queensland Chapter was held on 17 June 2018 where the progress of our first year of operations was reviewed and a new Management Committee appointed to carry the good work forward. It is encouraging to note that most of the previous committee members were re-elected unanimously ensuring the much-needed stability and continuity in these formative years. I thank those members for the commitment thus demonstrated amidst a multitude of personal & professional commitments. I am also pleased personally to be returned for a second term as the President and thank the membership for the confidence thus placed in me.
Reflecting on our first year of operations I am happy to note with pride that the Queensland Chapter has progressed well at a steady and consistent pace since its inception on 9 December 2016. We have now established a good governance framework, developed a state of the art ICT platform and a sound financial base with a growing membership. During the past 18 months, we have delivered four CPD events, issued three newsletters and given our website a face lift to be on par with the modern times. None of these outcomes could have been successfully delivered, without the support from IESL Colombo, Members of the Management Committee & Sub Committees, Members of the Chapter & Engineering Colleagues, Sponsors and Staff from BCC Mount Ommaney Library. I take this opportunity to thank them for their wonderful support they extended to me in 2017/18 year.
In the impending year, we have planned to promote IESL among other Professional Institutions such as Engineers Australia, UK Engineering Professional Bodies (Example: ICE) through collaborative CPD events. Also, we aim to expand our member base of the Chapter attracting 200 plus engineers of Sri Lankan origin living in Queensland. I am committed with a personal interest to exploring/pursuing avenues for engineers who haven’t maintained their IESL membership for a long period to regain their status.
As you are aware all three Australian Chapters (NSW, WA and QLD) are now working closely in a cohesive and collaborative environment aiming to establish a consistent and uniform governance framework for Overseas Chapters. As part of this mission, I attended 8th Annual Engineering Convention of the NSW Chapter followed by their Annual Gala Dinner Dance in Sydney on 8th / 9th June this year. The Convention was an insightful show case of talents of Sri Lankan Engineers and the Dinner Dance was of a high calibre attended by more than 250 Guests. The IESL President Prof (Mrs) Niranjanie Ratnayake attended the event and admired the representation from Engineers Australia, Sri Lankan High Commission and World Federation of Engineering Organisations. I also attended by invitation for the 4th Anniversary of the IESL WA Chapter Engineering Achievements Awards and Dinner Dance on 28th July 2018. It was another formidable event. The next turn is ours and the Chapter is planning a lighter version of NSW/WA events to start our journey.
I look forward to working with you, IESL Colombo, NSW & WA Chapters and Engineers Australia to progress the Chapter to the next level of its maturity. I humbly request you to be part of the journey.
We can make a difference to the way we deliver engineering solutions to the world.
Jayantha Wickramatunga
B.ScEng, MBA, FIEAust, FIE Sri Lanka, CPEng, NER, RPEQ
President Queensland Chapter
The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka
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2. New Management Committee – Appointed 17/06/18
Seated L to R:
Asoka Tittagala (Editor), Sharmil Markar (Vice President), Jayantha Wickramatunga (President),
Ajith Wickramaratne (Secretary), Nimal Pushpa Kumara (Treasurer)
Standing L to R:
Jerome Arunakumaren (Member), Ramyalatha Wickramasinghe (Member),
Abdul Ziyath (Member), Mangala Sooriyaarachchige (Member)
Absent:
Kesawan Sivakumar (Member)
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"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.
The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”
– Winston Churchill -
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3. Youth Article – Make the Choice
Sudam Wanigatunga a young engineer who graduated in Civil Engineering from the Queensland University of Technology in 2015 and secured a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Melbourne in 2016 took a break for a working holiday in Sri Lanka where he gained valuable experience in a major water supply rehabilitation project. He reflects on this memorable experience with some valuable advice on pathways to young engineers embarking on their careers. Read More
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"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
– Og Mandino -
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With the First AGM successfully accomplished in June 2018, our Chapter has now embarked on its second year and will be steered by a new management committee. As outlined in the President’s message, the outgoing committee has established a strong foundation, created a sound financial base, and carried out several useful activities for the benefit of members. I wish to place on record my gratitude and appreciation for the outgoing committee for the great work done and welcome new members to the current committee. The constitutional amendment approved at the AGM, will pave the way for members to appoint new committees in October each year (commencing from the next year), as is being practiced by the IESL.
Our membership now stands at 48, with 1 honorary Fellow, 1 Fellow, 15 Members, 11 Associate Members and 20 Provisional Members.
One of the biggest challenges ahead of us is to attract more engineers as members of the Chapter and assist willing Provisional Members to become Fellows, Members or Associate Members. We will endeavour to provide opportunities for Queensland engineers of Sri Lankan origin to develop and excel in their professional careers. We will also endeavour to assist and guide young engineers and recently migrated engineers from Sri Lanka, to get established in the profession here in Queensland. Please do contact me via e mail (secretary@ieslqld.org) for any information regarding our activities.
If you are an engineer of Sri Lankan origin residing in Queensland and still not a member of our Chapter, please do join us. For this purpose, it is not a prerequisite for you to be a member of the IESL. Please send me a single line e mail expressing your interest and we will guide you through the process
Ajith Wickramaratne
Secretary
"People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
- Rob Siltanen -
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5.1 Third CPD event – A Journey Through Time in Structural Engineering
 
The Queensland Chapter conducted its third Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Activity on the 25th of February 2018 at the Brisbane City Council (BCC) library meeting room, Mount Ommaney.
Eng. Nimal Perera, who is the principal consultant of Kasina Consultants and an Adjunct Professor of Structural Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology, presented the topic to engineers from diverse backgrounds and shared his experience of several decades in the civil and Structural Engineering fields.
Nimal presented a project that he steered as an example of a holistic engineering design, which incorporated economic, environmental and social dimensions. He also talked about the historical evolution of structural designs and the current trends in Structural Engineering designs. The presentation was followed by a lively question and answer session, in which Nimal further elaborated on some aspects of his presentation.
The Management Committee of the Chapter takes this opportunity to thank everyone who attended the event, 4EB Sri Lankan Radio Group for media coverage and the Brisbane City Council for their continued support.
Abdul M. Ziyath
5.2 Fourth CPD Event – Basic Accounting for Engineers
 
A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity, the fourth of an ongoing series of the Queensland chapter, was successfully held on 27 May 2018, at the Brisbane City Council library meeting room, Mount Ommaney.
Dr Gemunu Nanayakkara, who is an academic in the field of finance & accounting and was with the Griffith University until his recent retirement, made a presentation on “Basic Financial Accounting for Engineers”, a ‘non-engineering’ but a relevant and useful topic to the engineering community.
With his excellent qualifications and experience in both engineering and finance fields and with his eloquent yet humorous style of delivery, Dr Nanayakkara was able to do justice to the topic and to capture the audience. He gave valuable tips that would help a great deal in interpreting financial statements, at times with the aid of financial statements of a publicly listed company and explained the importance of cash flow statements in evaluating a company performance.
The Management Committee takes this opportunity to thank Dr Nanayakkara for the valued presentation, 4EB Sri Lankan Radio Group for the media coverage, the Brisbane City Council for their continued support in providing the meeting room facilities and last but not the least, to those who attended the event.
Ajith Wickramaratne
5.3 Planned Social Event
The Queensland Chapter is planning a social event and the purpose of the event is to provide the members of the Chapter to network and to share their experiences and memories. More details will be circulated in the near future
Abdul M. Ziyath
Chair Social Sub Committee
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
- Walt Disney -
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As the majority of our readership would be aware there are currently five functional overseas chapters of the IESL operating in overseas jurisdictions in Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. These chapters render a valuable service to the Sri Lankan born engineering fraternity in their respective locations conducting professional development activity organising social events of benefit and assisting the newly arriving engineers in each jurisdiction to settle in and find satisfying and gainful engineering employment.
Dr. Kesawan Sivakumar - A Member of the Management Committee has provided a useful insight into the constitution and activities of each of these IESL Chapters here Read More
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7. Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Managing unprecedented challenges in engineering logistics and traffic flow.
Reflections from TMR engineers
(Ajith Senaratne) (Gamini Siriwardana)
Vital to the success of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018), was an effective transport plan with a focus on reducing bottlenecks across the games route network (GRN).
With key stakeholder backing, transport planning for this international event focused on these elements from the beginning.
Queensland’s Transport Department, Transport and Main Roads (TMR), worked closely with the City of Gold Coast to plan and implement the GRN.
Key performance indicators (KPI’s) developed included:
- achieving precise travel-time targets for the Games family
- minimal transport disruptions to commuters engaged in their routine travels in the region
- the safe and timely transport of Games spectators to their respective venues.
The work involved unprecedented engineering, logistics and quality-assurance challenges which were overcome and acknowledged in the post-event debriefing conducted by the Games Committee.
TMR engineers, Ajith Senaratne and Gamini Siriwardana, were actively involved in this project and had the opportunity to play significant roles at the coalface in achieving these outcomes.
They narrate their experiences as contributors to the success of this international event here.
Read More
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"Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people”
- Brian Tracy -
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8. Transition to renewable energy - Solar Power Projects in Queensland
Traditionally being an Australian state heavily dependent on non-renewable sources of energy (predominantly coal power) Queensland – the sunny state - has historically been somewhat hesitant on the timely transition to renewable energy to keep up with world trends and reap the benefits of these new technologies.
However, with the down turn of coal mining in the resource economy over the recent years there has been an unprecedented emphasis on the growth of the solar energy sector in Queensland with the energy equivalent of 300 MW solar farms currently in construction.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/mining-energy-water/energy/renewable/projects-queensland/solar-150
Kanil Kandalama – A young engineer of Sri Lankan origin who is currently engaged with the construction management of a large scale Solar Farm in Central Queensland narrates his experience of remote living and overcoming the tyranny of distance while gaining vital experience in this new energy sector. He is also ready to extend guidance to young engineers aspiring to embark on careers in this fledgling industry Read More
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"Creativity is intelligence having fun."
- Albert Einstein -
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The first half of 2018 has turned out to be a period of optimism and unique achievements in the Queensland landscape with some encouraging foresight into uplifting economic conditions.
The much-anticipated land mark event was obviously the successful staging of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April . The Qld State Budget 2017/18 delivered in June has placed a high emphasis on infrastructure development with an $11.6billion capital works program in 2018-19.
https://budget.qld.gov.au/highlights/#creating-jobs-and-delivering-infrastructure
Reports from the resources front indicate that the worst of the mining industry downturn has passed, and investment was on the rise — even without Adani in the equation
https://www.ohsa.com.au/mining-resurgence-2018/
Increased commodity and coal prices project a healthy climate for investment that could translate into expansions/new projects and in turn to engineering jobs generation that has to be watched with cautious optimism.
The renewable energy sector has currently received a major thrust in Queensland supported by both the state and federal governments. Our younger members should be encouraged to seek more challenging & rewarding opportunities in these new industries compared to the traditional sectors
https://arena.gov.au/where-we-invest/
The recount of the solar energy project experience appearing elsewhere in this publication is worth a close read in this respect.
The other noteworthy demographic landmark for Queensland in this period was the state population passing the five million residents milestone in April – four years ahead of the predicted time.
http://www.keytoaustralia.com.au/news/queenslandpopulationreachesfivemillion
Queensland is currently growing at approximately 1.7 per cent, higher than the national average (1.4), with international migration and natural increases being the chief contributors
Once again, we invite the general membership to get involved with the activities of the Chapter with enthusiasm and the opportunity is also open for anyone to contribute to the Newsletter on timely topics. We also value the contributions of the remote membership – who are often at the coal face – rendering valuable service under more difficult conditions. Many thanks to the members who have volunteered with the narrations of their experiences to this edition setting the pathway for future contributors.
Moves are also afoot to initiate a blog – via the IESL Qld website – for member feedback and engagement in discussions on timely topics of interest
Asoka Tittagala
Editor
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"If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”
- Steve Jobs -
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10. Sri Lankan Engineer wins Australia Day Achievement Award
The Chapter is proud to highlight this unique honour bestowed upon the its current President, Eng Jayantha Wickramatunga who won a prestigious Australia Day Achievement Award from the Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland in 2018. He was thus honoured for his outstanding contribution towards making Australia a better place to live by devoting his knowledge, time and energy with unwavering commitment. The medal awarding ceremony was held in June 2018 Read More
(Jayantha with his former General Manager (Program Development and Operation) of the Department, Ms Amanda Yeates who presented the Medal to him recently).
Management Committee
"The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.”
- Hasidic Proverb -
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