CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUTION

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), is a skills Development programme

initiated by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), in 1973 to bridge the gap between theory and

practice among students of Engineering and technology in Institutions of Higher Learning in

Nigeria. It provides for on-the-job practical experience for students as they are exposed to work

methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery that may not be available in their

Institutions.

SIWES was established by ITF in 1973 to solve the problem of lack of adequate practical skills

preparatory for employment in industries by Nigerian graduates of tertiary institutions. The

Scheme exposes students to industry based skills necessary for a smooth transition from the

classroom to the world of work. It affords students of tertiary institutions the opportunity of

being familiarized and exposed to the needed experience in handling machinery and equipment

which are usually not available in the educational institutions.

Participation in SIWES has become a necessary pre-condition for the award of Diploma and

Degree certificates in specific disciplines in most institutions of higher learning in the country, in

accordance with the education policy of government.

Duration – Four months for polytechnic

1.1. AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of SIWES on Technical Skills Development in the

Nigerian economy. This is to enable Institutions of Higher Learning and other Stakeholders assess

the performance of their roles in the Scheme.

1
1.2 THE ROLE OF THE INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FUND

The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) was established by the decree 47 of 1971 constitution and

charged with the responsibility of promoting and encouraging the acquisition of industrial skills,

with the view of generating a collection of indigenous trained manpower, sufficient enough to

enhance and meet the needs of the economy so as to promote development. Supervision of

students, organizing orientation programs, and disbursing allowances to students are some of

the roles played by the industrial training fund in the implementation of SIWES.

1.3 THE SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF SIWES

The scheme covers all science and technological based students in monotechnics, polytechnics

and universities in Nigeria, resulting in a high population of students which is easily managed

because of the public and private industries that partake in the scheme. SIWES enables students

acquire industrial know-how in their field of study particularly in technological based courses. It

also enables students experience the application of theoretical knowledge in solving real life

problems.

1.4 THE ROLE OF THE STUDENT AND THE INSTITUTION

The role of the student is to partake in the program in such a way that he/she will achieve

maximum benefit from the program. The student is advised to ask questions, be submissive, and

adhere to all the rules and regulations of the organization where he is attached. Identification of

placement opportunities, funding of SIWES supervisors and assessment of the student are some

of the roles played by the institutions to ensure smooth running of the program.

2
1.5. THE LOGBOOK

The logbook is design to assist the students keeps accurate record of his/her training during
SIWES, it shows the department/section of the industry/ company where a student has worked and
the period spent in each department.
The students records the activities of each working day clearly with sketches and diagrams where
necessary and must be submitted at the end of the week to his/her supervisor for comment and
signature. In addition, the student must present their logbook to their supervisor at the end of each
full month for assessment and comments.
The member of the polytechnic academic staff supervisor / ITF, official/industry liaison officer
will check the logbook during their monthly visit to ensure proper training being received by each
student and their comments.

3
 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 GENERAL OVERIEW OF THE INDUSTRY/ORGANISATION

Tunnisben synergy technologies is a private firm established in the year 2009 for the

sole aim of maintenaning and repairing of a faulty electronic and computer gadget.

It's headoffice is located at suite B12 kikelade shopping complex ,adjqcent first bank

akure, while its branch is at no 4, Obanla street,Akure

2.2 OBJECTIVES AND VISION OF TUNNISBEN TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE

 To distribute the knowledge of computing technology(programming) to

people/institutions.

 To serve as a role zest for both individual and collective development through the

provision of cutting edge technological server’s solution, resources and guidance.

 To produce professionals in this era of global technologies.

 To offer a wide range of automated and integrated solution in broad spectrum of

computer and telecommunication.

 To build bridges between need and the solution.

2.3 COMPANY’S AREA OF SPECIALIZATION

With a team of seasoned computer Engineers and Programmers with proven track records in

computer and communication business, the company offers the following wide areas of

specialization

 Website and Application Development

 Database management system

4
  Networking

 Window applications development

 Web base applications development

 Mobile applications development

 Graphics design

 Digital marketing

 Desktop publishing

 Hardware maintenance and repair

2.4 DEPARTMENTS IN THE COMPANY

 Software department

 Hardware department

 Training department

 Marketing department.etc

5
2.2 THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

DIRECTOR

MANAGER

Head of Head of Head of Head of

software Hardware Training Making
department Department department
Department

Departme
nt

6
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTION/SERVICES/INSTITUTION

3.1 PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ENCOUNTERED DURING SIWES PERIOD IN THE

ORGANIZATION

Challenges confronted with at the helpdesk were mainly centered on poor inter-personal

relationship between the IT students. This was put to check via the intervention of the superiors

through discussion and meeting. Also, when users calls in, some are either rude or talk impolitely,

or most do not even know how to table their complaint. Patient and understanding was the key

attributes of understanding the clients.

At the workshop, the major problems were due to the fact that the software used was
outdated. And there was a problem getting genuine software for users. As such it resulted in
purchasing substandard software or downloading them from the internet, which takes a lot of time.

There was also a time when the number of IT students at the workshop was small and this
resulted to some students being overworked. More students were however brought in during the
period.

One of the major points in this program was assignment given on project topics on which
the materials are to be sourced either from the internet or libraries after which was delivered as

7
Presentation and this really afforded the opportunity to broaden our horizons on things which the

staff(s) will not be able to teach the student due to the nature of their job.

3.2 HEALTH SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT (HSE) OF THE

ORGANIZATION.

Safety in the workshops is subject to a number of various risk assessments and safe codes

of working practices which have to be observed and adhered to by all workshop users and enforced

by the person in charge of these areas. Due to high risk activities taking place in the workshops

access to these areas is restricted to authorized personnel only. No other person may enter the

workshops without permission. The following are safety rules

1. Wear proper apparel. Avoid acrylic or wool sweaters when working with electronic parts.
Do not wear loose fitting clothing, rings, bracelets etc.

2. Unplug all computer equipment and peripherals before opening any cases. (Only exception
to this is if you were working without an anti-static mat – keeping cord in would provide a
ground.)

3. Keep your work area clean, organized and well lit.

4. Check for damaged parts. Notify your teacher in case anything is wrong.

5. Do not force components into computer ports. Working with computer technology requires
more brain power than muscle power. If it isn’t going in with normal procedure, something
is wrong – wrong screw size, wrong slot, mismatched parts, etc. Ask for help as needed.

6. Use an anti-static wrist strap, or an anti-static mat, or discharge yourself by touching a

grounded metal object before you touch any parts inside the system.

8
7. Power supplies produce several levels of voltage. Read the information on the power

supply carefully and make sure that the power supply to be use is appropriate for the

application. DO NOT open a power supply unless you are instructed to.

8. Check all circuits and installations before power is applied.

9. Replace all cases or coverings after inspections or installations. Re-install the proper size

and number of screws – if screws are missing, they should be replaced with the appropriate

ones.

10. Retain all screws during a system disassembly. Save and sort them in containers such as

the screw trays, or egg boxes or even film canisters, sorted by size for proper re-assembly.

11. Electronic components should never become hot. Hot components means that there is a

problem with the circuit. Disconnect any power immediately.

3.3 HARDWARE TOOLS FOR REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE

For every job there is the right tool. A tool kit should contain all the tools necessary to
complete hardware repairs. Hardware tools are grouped into three categories;

i. Hand Tools

Most hand tools used in computer assembly process are the small hand tools. They are
available individually or as part of a computer repair toolkit. Toolkits range widely in
size, quality, and price. Some common hand tools and their uses are;

9
  Flat-head screwdriver: used to tighten or loosen slotted screws.

 Phillips-head screwdriver: used to tighten or loosen cross-headed screws.

 Torx screwdriver: used to tighten or loosen screws that have star-like depression on

the top, a feature mostly found in laptops.

 Hex driver: used to tighten or loosen nuts in the same way that a screwdriver tighten

or loosen screws.

 Needle-nose pliers: used to hold small parts.

 Part retriever: used to retrieve parts from locations that are too small for your hand

to fit.

 Flashlight: used to light up area that you cannot see.

 Wire stripper: a wire stripper is used to remove the insulation from wire so that it
can be twisted to other wires or cramped to connectors to make a cable.

 Punch-down tool: used to terminate wire into termination blocks. Some cable
connectors must be connected to cables using a punch down tool.

 Crimper: used to attach connectors to wires

10
Figure 1 Shows; Punch-down, Crimper, Wire-stripper, Screwdrivers, and Part retriver.

II Cleaning Tools

Having the appropriate cleaning tools is essential when maintaining and repairing

computers. Using the appropriate cleaning tools helps ensure that the computer

components are not damaged during cleaning. The tools include the following;

 Soft cloth: used to clean different computer components without scratching or

leaving debris.

 Compressed air: used to blow away dust and debris from different computer part

without touching the components.

 Cable ties: used to bundle cables neatly inside and outside of a computer.

11
  Parts organizer: used to hold screws, jumpers, fasteners, and other small parts and

prevents them from getting mixed together.

Figure 2 Shows; Blower or Compressed air, Parts organizer, and Cable ties

iii. Diagnostic Tools

These tools are used to test and diagnose equipment. They include the following;

 A digital multimeter: this is a device that can take many types of measurements. It
tests the integrity of circuits and the quality of electricity in computer components.

 A loopback adapter: also called a loopback plug, tests the basic functionality of
computer ports. The adapter is specific to the port that you want to test.

Figure 3 Shows; a digital Multimeter and a loopback adapter

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED

In the repair and maintenance department, Device identification of various component of

computer hardware was the first knowledge acquired, e.g. hard disk, floppy diskette, random

access memory (RAM), removing and replacing of these hardware components, installation of

various software, how to connect various devices (printers and scanners) and other computer

peripherals.

Some of the knowledge acquired:

4.1 The Computer Hardware

This is the physical and tangible components of a computer i.e. the components that can be seen

and touched. They comprises of the electronics components and devices that physically makes up

the entire computer. Example; monitor, Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Central Processing Unit (CPU),

printer, Random Access Memory (RAM), scanner, motherboard, Power Supply Unit (PSU), etc.

4.2 Device identification:

I. The Motherboard: This is a thin flat piece of circuit board (usually of green or gold color).

Everything in the Computer connects, directly or indirectly, to the motherboard. It contains

a number of special sockets that accepts various component of the computer.

13
A motherboard sometimes referred to as the main circuit board, system board, baseboard, planer

board or logic board is the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in general purpose computers

and other expandable system. It holds and allows communication between many of the crucial

electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and

provides connector for other peripherals. The motherboard is the backbone of the computer. It is

made up of major basic electronic components. Hence any devices or unit of the computer not

connected to the motherboard directly or indirectly is not part of the computer.

Figure 4 Block diagram of a modern motherboard, which supports many onboard

peripheral functions as well as several expansion slots.

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MOTHERBOARD COMPONENTS

System board consists of many components as part of the main board that connects and

interconnects computer devices directly or indirectly. Several different types of slots can be found

on the motherboard.

 Processor connector

 Memory slot

 Power connector

 Expansion bus

 CMOS battery

 Data signal cables

 Indication and jumper pins

 BIOS chip

 Chipsets or core processors

 Back panel interface

 Core electronic components

 Circuit line copper wire.


15
Figure 5 Components on a Motherboard

II. Random Access Memory (RAM): The random access memory stores programs and data

currently being used by the CPU. It is measured in bytes, which is measured in megabytes

where you have millions of bytes of RAM. The average PC usually has between 32

megabyte/128 megabyte to 1 gigabyte of RAM (modern PCs may have several megabytes).

The RAM has a socket that allows it to be placed on the motherboard

Figure 6 A typical RAM

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III. Floppy drive: The floppy drive enables you access floppy diskettes. There are two types

of floppy drives; 3.5 inch floppy drive and the, (rarely used) 5.25 inch floppy. The floppy

drive connects to the computer via a 34-pin ribbon cable which in turn connects to the

motherboard (floppy controller). They also have power cables that connect to the “power

pack”.

IV. Hard drive: Hard drives stores programs that are not currently being used by the CPU.

Like the RAM, hard drive capacity is measured in megabytes. A typical PC hard drive

stores much more data than the RAM and thus can range from 500 megabytes (in very old

systems) to more than 75 to 100 gigabyte. Like every other component of the PC, the hard

drive has connectors called the EIDE cables. They also have power cables.

V. DVD/CD ROM Drive: The DVD/CD ROM drives enables access to DVD and CD

ROMs. Some PC’s come with recordable and or rewritable CD and DVD. They also need

power supply via the power cable.

VI. Connectors: These connectors (often called ports) allows for connection of other

components of the computer. We have the DB (printers, monitor), DIN (keyboard,

17
 mouse), Centronics (printer), RJ (network interface card, modem), BNC (network interface

cards), Audio (speakers, headphones) and USB (keyboards, mouse, printers, disk drives

etc.) connectors, each with its own type of device that it connects to the computer.

VII. Cooling system: Cooling system consist of the two or more fans. One fan for the system

(CPU), and one for the processor. The CPU will operate more reliably and will have a

longer life span if the cooling system is working properly.

VIII. Power supply: The power supply distributes power to the motherboard and other

component in the CPU.

4.3 HARD DISK PREPARATION

The HDD is the only auxiliary memory of the computer system at the level of hardware

which operating system needs that requires proper preparation. Thus, the preparation

processes are briefly explained below. They are as follows:

JUMPER SETTINGS/CONNECTIONS

This refers to the manual setting of the HDD jumper cap on the device jumper pins

following the manufacturer label to enable BIOS detect the disk drive at the BIOS registry

on the IDE configuration utility setup. This setting tally with the connection on ground

either as primary IDE Master/Slave, or Secondary IDE Master/Slave and cable selects

enable provided your drive is connected to either primary or secondary IDE connector on

board. This setting helps to define the HDD status as to enable the operating

18
system load into the drive as logically labeled as (C) the default system disk or the primary storage

device of the computer. It is made as slave when you intend using it as backup disk. To practically

achieve this, do the following:

1. IDE drive as master: fix the jumper cap on pins 7 and 8. For all products

2. IDE drive as slave: Seagate product no jumper cap, while other products, jumper

cap fix to pin 3 and 4.

3. Cable select enable: this is to enable IDE cable automatically select master and

slave drive among the two drives connected with a single IDE cable of double socket or plug. To

enable cable select, fix jumper cap on pin 5 and 6, for all products.

4.4 PARTITIONING

This refers to the process of defining the capacity you intend to utilize and segmenting the

departments. The primary aim of portioning a HDD actually defines the space to be

utilized.

4.5 FORMATTING

This refers to the process of erasing or cleaning of the HDD and copy the utility files that

all the disk need for usage.

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4.6 LOADING

It’s the process of putting in system software (operating system) and other Application

software needed for complete functionality of the computer system.

4.7 POSSIBLE FAULTS AND SOLUTIONS TO SOME HARDWARE DEVICES

I. PROBLEM/FAULTS ASSOCIATED WITH PSU

 High voltage blast of components.
 Power surge.
 Partial contact on components.
 Static and board sparks.
 Short circuit.
 Dusty board

POSSIBLE SOLUTION OF PSU FAULTS
 Replacement of the damage components by an electrical electronic technocrat, else
a total replacement of the entire unit.

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 II. PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH MOTHER BOARD

 Hanging or freezing
 Sudden shut down
 General system failure
 Operating system corruption
 Overheating
 Physical burnt or damage

TROUBLESHOOTING THE MOTHERBOARD

The following procedures and conditions are recommended to be practically applied during

troubleshooting to resolves the stated fault as indicated in the computer system associated

to the main board.

 Clearing of CMOS (Complementary Metallic Oxide Semiconductor).

 The use of another floater or introduce one where there is none.
 Brush or blow up dust particles.
 Make sure processor, memory, and CPU fan are firm.
 Totally disconnect and replace all power and data cables.
 Introduce screw and washers.
 Observe critically for physical damage.
III. SYMPTOMS OF POSSIBLE RAM FAULTS
 Continuous beeping.
 System not booting.
 Freezing or hanging.
 Display of binary digits or jargons.

CAUSES OF RAM FAULTS

 Power surge
 Static charge

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 Spark
 Heat
 Physical damage
 Wrong handling.
SOLUTION TO RAM FAULTS
 Due to frequent use of the RAM during system function, it is mostly faulty and the
best solution is replacement.
IV. PROBLEM/FAULTS OF HDD

 If it cannot be detected in the BIOS (Basic Input Output System).

 Refusal of partition.

 Cannot be formatted.

 Hanging or freezing while OS is booting up.

 Continuous noise from HDD such as cracking.

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF HDD FAULTS

 Improper shutting down of computer.

 Power fluctuation.

 Overheating.

 Pressure or any heavy impact on the devices.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION OF HDD FAULTS

 Re-preparation.

 Proper shutting down and powering of the system

 The use of UPS (Un-interrupted Power Supply), stabilizers, power surge protector,

is recommended to safeguard the life of your computer.

22
 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

During the course of the four months’ period of SIWES (Student Industrial Work Experience

Scheme) at Tunnisben Synergy technologies, I have acquired technical skills in the field of

telecommunications, technical skills such as networking and managerial skills, and have had the

opportunity to experience the application of theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom to

solve real problems. Thus, SIWES has been a success, because I have gained knowledge that

ordinarily would not be obtained in the lecture hall.

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RECOMMENDATION

Although SIWES undergone did achieve quiet a lot of its stated objectives, nevertheless

the following recommendations are suggested to improve the qualitative context of the

program:

I. Participation of various professional, regulatory and statutory bodies such as the

COREN, NSE in the supervision of students.

II. More participation of private corporate organization to minimize the problem of

low funding

III. Sending students specifically to establishment where the stipulated aims and

objectives of SIWES would be achieved.

IV. Payment of befitting student allowance to assist student finances during the period

of training.

V. Government and school authorities should assist students to secure a good place for

the program.

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REFRENCES

1. Mata-Toledo, R. and Cushman, P. (2000). Schaum's outline of introduction to computer

science. New York: McGraw-Hill.

2. S. Mueller, Upgrading and repairing PCs, 17th ed. Indianapolis: Que, 2015.

3. J. L. Hennessy, D. A. Patterson, and K. Asanović, Computer architecture: a

quantitative approach, 4th ed. Cambridge: Morgan Kaufmann an imprint of Elsevier,

2019.

4. W. L. Rosch, Winn L. Rosch hardware bible, 6th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Que Pub., 200

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