1

Industrial Training
– Employment Summary
One of the requirements for award of the Petroleum engineering degree at UNSW is completion of a minimum of 60 days of Industrial Training (IT). A
report must be attached to this summary page outlining the nature of the work experience by the student and submitted electronically to the School’s IT
Co-ordinator.

For submission to: Mr. Altaf Syed

Student name & number: Ali Bazzi | z5135564

Date of submission: 12/03/2018

Name of Employer Organisation: Zinfra Group

Name of Operation/Project: Gas and Water/ Various Projects

Site Location: 8 Solent Circuit Baulkham Hills NSW 2153

Start date: 11/12/2017 Finish date: 09/03/2018

Hours worked per shift: 8 Equivalent number 8hr days: 60

Number of IT days completed prior to this IT experience: Zero

Number of IT days completed in this round IT: 90

Total IT experience to date: 90

Roles undertaken during IT: Project Engineer/Engineering Intern

Name of supervising manager at IT organisation: Joseph Mourad

 3

Declaration of Academic Integrity

 4

SUMMARY

During the 2017/2018 summer break, I worked as a project Engineer intern at Zinfra
Group located in Sydney Australia. I was based in the head office of Zinfra Group in
Baulkham Hills but start moving around Sydney metropolitan depends on the various
projects that was allocated to me. This enabled me to complete my 90 days of Industrial
Training as required by Engineers Australia and UNSW Engineering.

In regard to my industrial training experience, my petroleum engineering knowledge

and skills developed through class at university were applied in a practical and
commercial form as I worked with people (predominately engineers and project
managers) that formed various roles in the tea. My predominate project required me
to develop and maintain engineering plans and schedules and ensuring engineering and
design completion is on time and within budgets i.e. within contractual and technical
requirements. Monitoring changes to designs, assessing effects on cost, and measuring,
valuing and negotiating variations to designs.

The 90-day industrial training experience enabled me to improve not only my technical
skills and knowledge but also my communica2on skills and professionalism – allowing
me to fulfil Engineers Australia’s Stage 1 Competencies. Furthermore, it opened me up
to not only the technical requirements of my role but the immense logis2cal
organisa2on to see my knowledge eventuate with results.
 5

1. INTRODUCTION

My summer internship at Zinfra Group provided me with the opportunity to display and
develop the three important competencies of an Engineers Australia Stage 1 engineer;
namely, knowledge & skill, engineering application, and professional & personal
attributes. It provided me with the technical support to the project team ensuring
compliance with technical specifications, legislations, approvals and standards. I was
exposed to a different construction methods, materials and quality standards, drafting
and interpreting specifications, drawings and plans.

My experience at Zinfra Group enabled me to apply my technical engineering theory I

learnt at university into a practical and commercial form. I can confidently say that my
time at Zinfra tested my abilities, patience, work skills as an engineer and I have come
out a more rounded and clinical professional as a result.

In regard to the context of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum Engineers are associated

with studying Geological and engineering drawings and specifications to estimate total
costs and preparing detailed cost plans and estimates as tools to assist in budgetary
control. As a project Engineer at Zinfra (Gas department) I have been able to construct
and design gas pipelines including mains, renewals and upgrades.

Additionally, Corporate and social responsibilities exist for all engineers. The work I did
at Zinfra group integrated optimisation of emissions from the projects designed.
 6

2. Projects
2.1 Overview

As the population expanding the demand on water and gas is increasing dramatically
every year. The Australian population have seen a rapid increase in population since
2007, on average of 120 people enters the Australian land every year. Our job is to
supply this demand with enough gas and water as part of everyday human
consumption. As a project engineer role, I was held responsible for a 6 members in
each team to main lay different type of pipes to meet the demand in various area of
Sydney metropolitan. The first 2 weeks of my training I was introduced to the system
and how Zinfra group approach each project using SAP system to raise all purchasing
orders and PAFS before launching and planning of any projects. As part of the training,
my work with Zinfra was geared around allowing me to spend some time in each
section of the business to really get a general idea of how procurement and process
facilities work. Parallel to this I was constantly working with senior project engineers
who was currently working on projects to learn the scope of work and how to solve
any urgent problems on daily bases.

2.2 Project Scope

My work with Zinfra was geared around allowing me to run gas projects. I started
with small projects under minor routine FSA projects. The scope of our work ranges
from small projects through to multi-million dollar infrastructure projects and services
contracts. Zinfra values relationship contracting and is a reliable, trusted business
partner. On a personal level, I had to run a desktop study for a package of 4 projects,
then arrange a meeting with my manager to give a call if we should consider these
projects. The desktop studies including economic evaluation for the projects and if it
 7

meets the company margin which is 9%. It also require you to do a geological study to
the infrastructure and decide if there is a risk associated with it. Once the meeting
occurs, my managers gives the Ok on how many project we will take from the
package. Once that confirmed, I can now start planning and preparing the
procurement vendors and other equipment’s such as Pipe availability, how many crew
is need for the job, how long is the job, what are the risks associated and how much
we can recover. Some of the projects were about 2 weeks long, I had to stay active
and check on the progress of work and if there is any urgent/ issues to be able to
come up with the solution.

2.3 project overview

The projects I worked on were many and their specifications varied. Every week we
run a resource meeting to plan ahead and keep the whole department busy and to
ensure there is no caps as this reflects badly on the margin and yearly annual money
income. Like for example, In January I was allocated to a project in Penrith. The
projects evolved around valves. We had a valve in a gas facility that was bleeding and
our job is to fix if possible or replace depends on different factors. Safety is a big thing
in Australia, so first thing is to actually prepare SWMS- Safe work Method statement
for any project you run as part of the Australian Standards. Then, I had to make a cite
visit to have a better understanding for the scope of work. Next day in the office, I
start planning for my project. I greeted the cost control sheet and I included all the
equipment’s and team members and materials require to finish the job. After
conducting the cost control, I’ve noticed that the margin for this project was below 5%
which is not acceptable in our company. I raised this issue to my manager and he
pointed put a very good point for me. He asked to run a cost study on how much
would all the crew members and equipment’s would cost us if we don’t actually take
the job, the results were interesting. I found out that not taking the job would cost us
 8

more money than taking the job and that is due to many reasons. First, every member
of the crew will have a labour on daily bases and that multiplied by 14 which is the
duration of the project, will be more cost on the company comparing with take the
job. This is part of project management which I had the opportunity to learn during my
Industrial training.

3. Engineering practices

By working at Zinfra during my summer break, my theoretical knowledge that I had gained
from university became clear and tangible. By working with an experienced team on
management and engineering approaches for various projects it gave me insights as to
what traits, outlooks and skills are necessary to become a successful engineer. I also
allowed me to develop Engineers Australia’s Stage 1 competencies. The following
competencies were met during my summer at Zinfra.

3.1 Knowledge and Skills Base

Zinfra is a leading service provider to the utility infrastructure, transport, defense and
renewable energy sectors. We deliver a comprehensive range of engineering,
operations, and maintenance and construction services nationally. With resources
and expertise in urban and remote locations, Zinfra build relationships with clients
that are characterized by flexibility, adaptability and desire to meet and exceed
expectations thus I was exposed to more knowledge that helped me progress as an
Engineer. Despite being a young university student at the time with limited
knowledge I was still able to take the advice and wisdom from senior engineers and
compliment what I know to further my knowledge. The first few days at Zinfra was
mostly research for me. I had to read old reports and historical data to see exactly
how the industry and zinfra works. This was really good at contextualizing the
projects I was going to encounter. The literature I read alongside my time at Zinfra
was critical in making sure I didn’t struggle to complete the tasks. Specifically it was
 9

important for my knowledge of mechanical equipment like laying pipes and pumping
fluids. Reading and watching videos about pumps gave me insight into how to
choose the right pump for the job depending on flow rates. Furthermore my
research on pipes allowed me to suggest certain pipes allocated to different projects
depends on the coating thickness and how deep will be installed underground.

3.2 Engineering Application Ability

The theoretical knowledge I obtained from university were easily transferred into a
practical and commercial context. Building upon what I learnt from my literature
review I was able to make good suggestions for design optimization. By taking
company data, public data, other company data through meetings and online
databases (like Sap, Arcmap, Arc Scene.) I was able to obtain relevant contemporary
guidelines for gas and water projects.

Many skills required are commercial and social skills that apply knowledge of contracts
and communication strategies. So as a result I relied on good relationships with my
colleague members to quickly get me up to scratch with these necessary skills. This is
an integral part of engineering but is not covered in broad depth.

3.3 Professional and Personal Attributes

Throughout my time at Zinfra I was lucky enough to interact with a large group of
engineers, managers and various operational staff members (e.g. sales and Financing).
This allowed me to interact with people of varying personalities and cultures and built
my communication and social skills. Understanding the dynamic of the team was
important to see me fit effectively into the structure at Zinfra. Also the need to
constantly be writing reports and communicating with people through email was able
to progress my written abilities.
 10

What was very good about the team was how accommodating the other staff
were to my inabilities and how eager they were to help me learn. Without
their wise direction I would have been lost in the complexities of the industry.
Over time their wisdom ensured I was approaching my tasks with the highest
possible efficiency.
 11

4. Conclusion and Recommendations

After spending 3 months at zinfra I believe I have not just furthered my abilities
as an Engineer, but also as a professional and individual. Even though the
changed from University to a professional environment had its challenges, after
transitioning successfully I feel accomplished and better equipped for my life
after University. It also boosted my confidence and helped have a better
approach when confronting a group of audience. My 90 days Industrial training
at Zinfra ultimately gave me a wider knowledge base and gave me more wisdom
as an Engineer allowing me to fulfil the Engineers Australia stage 1 successfully.
11
11
11