BSE Magazine Eng. - mohandis.org...Mohamed Khalil Alsayed President Jawad Ebrahim Hassan Vice...

AL MOHANDIS - ISSUE 40 - SEP 20042

Editorial

Dear Readers

This issue coincides with the commencement of the new election termof the BSE Board of Directors, following a period that has witnessed

various activities and achievements. We wish our new colleagues on theBoard all success in carrying out their duties to attain the objectives of theBSE.

We do not wish to list in here details of the activities that were carried outby the members or concerned committees since the beginning of theelection term. However, we would like to specifically refer to someactivities such as the issuance of the Code of Ethics of Engineers anddiscussion of the proposed Law for Organizing Engineering ProfessionalPractice. These activities underlined the role of BSE and its interest in theissue relating to the professional practice, taking part in laying downlegislations and regulations for organizing the engineering professionalpractice and enhancing and maintaining the professional ethics thatcontribute in the technical and professional development of the engineersas well as BSE.

In our last issue, we emphasized the importance of promoting thestandard methods and adopting creativity while issuing Al-MohandisMagazine and using other means for obtaining articles, thus keepingpace with the fast and rapid changing environment, but unfortunately wehave failed to receive any positive response from our readers.

Once again we argue all the members of BSE to support this publicationas we still have to “solicit” articles from the members. This is not a correctway for those who are carrying the slogan of Creativity and Talent. Weneed to adopt other measures particularly on the light of the recentdevelopment in information technology and availability of internetresources ..etc.

The Editorial Committee is planning to organize a specialized workshopduring the coming period. Invitations would be sent to all the membersto contribute in a debate intended to adopt some recommendations andideas that serve and facilitate the regular release of this publication in acreative form.

We look forward to your positive response and co-operation to promoteBSE and enable it to face the challenges ahead.

– Effat Redha

Board of Directors:

Mohamed Khalil AlsayedPresident

Jawad Ebrahim HassanVice President

Jawad Jaffar Al-JabalExecutive Secretary

Samih Mahmood Al-AlawiTreasurer

Dr. Isa Salman QamberDirector of Information &Community Services

Abdulla Ahmed JanahiDirector of Training

Fouad Ahmed AlshaikhDirector of Conferences

Seema Ahmed Al-LingawiDirector of Membership Affairs’ & Profession

Masoud Ebrahim Al-HermiDirector of Activities

Journal Committee:

Dr. Isa S. QamberChairman

Mrs. Effat RedhaEditor-in-chief

Committte Members:

Dr. Mohamed R. Qader

Dr. Maged M. Fahmy

Eng. Abdulla Rashed Abdulla

Eng. Abdul-Hameed Al Belooshi

Registration No. SBSE 181 at The Ministry of Information

The Bahrain Societyof Engineers

Issue No. 40October 2004

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AL MOHANDIS - ISSUE 40 - SEP 2004 3

In This Isuue

11

4

28

• The Bahrain Society of Engineers in not responsible for opinionspublished in “AL MOHANDIS”.

• Please send your articles to the Bahrain Society of Engineers.

• For your ads, please call Bahrain Society of Engineers.

Bahrain Society of EngineersP.O. Box: 835, Manama - BahrainTel. 17727100 , Fax: 17729819e-mail: [email protected] page: http: //www.mohandis.org

Design & Printed atAwal PressP.O. Box 744, Manama, Bahrain.

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Press Report - Constitutional Court

10 Board of Directors

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13 The University -Industry relationship Dr Baghdad Benstaali and Dr Maamar Taleb

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16 Projects In The Gulfby Mohamed A H Mohamad

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22 Power QualityDr. M. R. Qader

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25 Students Projects

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27 Metrology Conferecne

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30 23rd Arab Engineering Conference

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32 List of the Conference Schedule

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A. MAJEED Al GassabShares His Vision for BSE

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Property Exhibition 2004


Profile

Curiosity drove youngmechanical engineer A.

Majeed Al Gassab to accompanyhis friend to a lecture at theBahrain Society of Engineers (BSE)instead of opting for a film showin the friendly surroundings of theold Muharraq premises of theBSE, he found a way to add anextra dimension to his profession.

“In those days, engineering as aprofession was just beginning toattract Bahrainis,” he remembers.“We really didn’t have a properacademic infrastructure forengineering in Bahrain, unliketoday, when the University ofBahrain offers so manyengineering disciplines and accessto courses abroad is much easier.As a member of a fledglingprofession, I felt it would beexciting to contribute to itsgrowth and development.”

Majeed has been closely involvedwith the growth of the BSE sincethat first meeting. His specialconcern has been for nurturing

the conferences portfolio of thesociety and laying the foundationfor the BSE Training Centre thatoffers refresher and knowledgeextension courses for engineers atall levels.

The smiling, enthusiasticOperations Manager at theBahrain Aviation Fuelling Co.(BAFCO) is responsible fordeveloping and operating theBahrain International Airportaviation fuelling services andfacilities, in a safe efficientmanner. He is just as busy afteroffice hours in his role of memberof the Consultative Committeeand Strategic Planning Committeeat the BSE where he has alsoserved on the Board of Directorsas Vice-President, Director ofConferences, ProfessionalDevelopment Director andWorkshops Director

He is also Bahrain ChapterDirector of the ProjectManagement Institute - ArabianGulf Chapter (PMI - AGC).

To Educate,To Energise

A. MAJEED Al Gassab Shares His Vision for BSE

To Educate,To Energise

A. MAJEED Al Gassab Shares His Vision for BSE

¥ Unionization is really afundamental issueconcerning the vision ofBSE.

¥ It is worth nothing thatthere is considerableengineering expertise inthe local private sectorsand the governmentcould draw on them fordevelopment of thekingdom.

¥ You need to have truecommitment and lovefor what you are doing.

¥ For those who claimthat they do not havetime for social work,they need to attend atime managementcourse. This course isrun by BSE

¥ BSE must providefinancial incentives forworking members tocover their expenses

Majeed is also an active memberof the Manama Club, and whenhe finds free time in betweenspending time with his family, hiswork, and his commitments withclubs and societies, Majeed canbe found exercising in a localgym. He is renown for his tirelessefforts and non-stop work ethics.

Social and volunteer workfeatures highly on Majeed’soutlook on life. He has spentmany formative years at the BSE,and has no doubts at how muchinfluence that time has had onhim. He says it helped to shapehis values for social work, and hisbelief that BSE is very much acommunity rather than a society.

“I think my interest in creatingavenues for training Bahrainiengineers in state-of-the-arttechnology has to do with myearly struggles in qualifying,” hesaid, “I was born in December1951 in Muharraq, the sixth in anaverage family of 10 children. Ihad a very humble early life, in avery close-knit family. Strengthand importance of family is still aparamount value in my life. I amstill very close to my brothers andsisters, which is a reflection of thebond we established as we grewup together under the guidanceof our parents. I am very gratefulfor my elder brothers who have

provided me with the strengthand wisdom to continue to learnand improve myself.

“My parents lived in a house bythe sea, and I remember days ofstepping out of the house into thesea. Bahrain’s development andexpansion has meant that the seacan no longer be seen from myparents’ old house in Muharraq,however, my love and passion forthe blue expanse of sea is stillevident today as I regularly go onfishing trips over the weekends.

“During my senior school years,when I was not enjoying life bythe sea, I used to earn a meagre

living by working part-time inlocal garages and mastered theoverhauling of cars by the time Iwas 14!”

In 1967, when Majeed graduatedfrom intermediate school, therewere few options for youngBahrainis other than the GulfTechnical College at Awali. He didhis basic Engineering Technician’sCourse there which seemed to bea natural progression from histime spent as a car mechanic. Hehad an inner ambition andappetite to study the engineeringprofession, and “... the BD 10/-stipend that students got was anadded benefit!” he laughed.

It was a season of exhilaratingstudentship and demandingcoursework, he recalls.

“In 1968 during my second yearat the course, I was sponsored byBP (British Petroleum). Ongraduating from GTC, and I had abrief internship at the Bahraininternational Airport and later atAbu Dhabi and Das Island, whichwere really “hardship postings”.These assignments taught me alot about the business of aviationfuelling that I was to specialise inlater. .”


Profile

After the industrial training, hereturned to Bahrain and workedas a technician in BP’sMaintenance Department at theAirport. During this time, Majeedstarted building on his skillsthrough a correspondence coursein engineering. Following hissuccessful completion of thecourse, BP sent him to Wales in1972, where he joined theSwansea S. Wales College ofTechnology and gained hisOrdinary National Diploma. In1974 he then moved to thePolytechnic of Wales (now calledthe University of Wales) andcompleted his degree inMechanical Engineering in 1978.

When he looks back at thestruggle that his generation facedto acquire their qualifications,Majeed says he considers it a“character-building” exercise.

“It is not as if I think, like mostolder generations, that my juniorsare ‘soft’ and that we are better-trained,” he says, “Rather,because obtaining a qualificationwas so difficult and life withoutproper education was seen as adead end, we were encouragedto seize every opportunity and doour very best. For instance, from1972 to 1978, when I wasstudying in Wales, preferring tohone my practical skills as atrainee, vacation periods betweensemesters were spent gainingwork experience at various BP

locations. These included RhooseCardiff Airport, Heathrow Airport,BP Head Office in Brittanic HouseLondon and Llandarcy RefinerySwansea.

At the same time, he says, despitethe hard work, development intoa professional was easier for hisgeneration. “Yes, it was the boom time in theregion and trained Bahrainis werenurtured by companies to take upposts of responsibility. We werenot that many - and that perhapsmade us stand out. Today, whileavenues for study are easier tocome by, jobs are not. DespiteBahrain’s present boom ininfrastructure and construction,attracting Bahrainis into theengineering profession is difficultdue to lower starting salaries thanother developing fields likebanking and IT. We must developour own corps of professionalswho can take the nation forwardand combine their talents withthat of latest technologyinnovation and Internationalstandard. Otherwise we shall soonreach a blind alley in terms ofBahrainising the engineeringprofession.”

In August 1978 he returned toBahrain, and started working atthe Airport with the BP/Caltexaviation fuelling service in theMaintenance Department asMaintenance Supervisor. After

two years in this Department, hishard work and dedication wererewarded as he was given theresponsibility for his first projectby BP. This was one of thehighlights of his career as theproject involved the constructionof a 450,000 USG tank at AbuDhabi International Airport. Hestill recalls this project as being anexciting new opportunity as theyonly had 75 days to construct andcommission the tank. This was areal challenge for a newlygraduated engineer.

On the successful completion ofhis first project in 1980, he wastransferred to Dubai and assignedthe task of managing the aviationfuelling operations at Dubai andSharjah Airports in the capacity ofOperations Superintendent. Healso supervised the constructionof the first aviation fuel hydrantsystem in Dubai.

“It was a tough task - and inbetween I took a week off to flyback to Bahrain and marry myfiancée Naheed, now aheadmistress in a governmentschool. I took her back with meand spent my “honeymoon”working on the project!” helaughed.

In September 1982 he was givenan assignment to work as anAviation Operations Engineer inthe BP Head Office in London,


Profile

where he was involved withauditing and providing technicalsupport for aviation fuel facilitiesin different parts of Africaincluding Tunisia, Mauritania,Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Senegal.

In 1985 the Government ofBahrain represented by Banaco(Bapco now) formed the BahrainAviation Fuelling Company(BAFCO) in partnership with BPand Caltex. BAFCO took over themanagement of the aviationfuelling services at BahrainInternational Airport, and Majeeddecided to return to Bahrain tobecome part of this neworganization. He was the firstBahraini to occupy the post ofAviation Operations Manager andalso to be a member of theexecutive managementcommittee. The pride of BAFCO today, is thatit has regularly been a winner ofglobal awards for OperationalExcellence and this has beenachieved with the highest level ofBahrainisation in the country.

Majeed is an active member ofthe BSE and under his dynamicguidance, the society hasemerged as one of the keyconference organisers in theregion, the harbinger of the latesttechnology to Arab engineers.

“In the years that I have beenwith the BSE, I have seen a major

changes in the way the societymanages its conferencesportfolio,” he said, “From doingjust two major events in a year,we have a roster of 7 conferencesand 30 odd workshops annually,that attracts 3,000 distinguishedspeakers and delegates from theregion and all over the world.Today, instead of just presentingthe latest developments toengineers, we have become moreproactive. The BSE seeks outopinions of delegates and keyindustry decision-makers andtailors its programmes to meetspecific regional needs. This hasresulted in an exciting programmeof very relevant conferences andworkshops that has won us a solidreputation.”

In 2000, impelled by a paucity oftailor-made engineering refreshercourses for engineers already onthe field, Majeed spearheaded theestablishment of the BSE TrainingCentre. Although the engineeringcompanies and the Ministry ofLabour enthusiastically received it,he feels that more can be done toharness the experience andenergy of senior Bahrainiengineers in training thenewcomers.

“We are still spending a lot ofmoney on private traininginstitutes where the courses areset without a specific regard towhat the engineering profession

in the Kingdom needs,” he said,“The BSE Training Centre, on theother hand, can organise tailor-made courses, keeping in mindthe particular needs of the client -and we use the expertise of thesenior engineers for this. I say weshould do more to encourage thisCentre as a flagship of continuoustraining for the profession.”

How do we encourage engineersto become involved with theBahrain Society of Engineers?

One of the main reasons we havedifficulty attracting members isthat it is becoming increasinglydifficult for many people to meettheir financial commitments. Theexpense of membership of theBSE only adds to this burden. Ihave spoken with many societymembers who have been affectedin this way. This is also a problemwith other similar organizationsfor different professions, so weare not alone. Furthermore, somenewly qualified engineers are stilllooking for jobs so have difficultywith the fees.

In addition, a significant numberof our members have moved tonon-engineering companies, sincethey have changed roles as theircareers have developed. Othersare retired and some have startedtheir own businesses. Thesemembers tend not to continuetheir membership.

I encourage employers to supporttheir engineering employees bypaying for their membership feein the Society and I am veryconfident that this smallinvestment will be paid backmany times over as the engineersdevelop new skills and knowledgevia BSE. BSE members benefitgreatly from their membershipthrough social and technicalmeetings, networking, BSEJournals, the BSE website, andBSE workshops and conferences.


Profile

All these represent good value formoney and a sound investment inthe development of a professionalengineer.

I also believe that the BSE mustprovide some financial incentivesfor working members to covertheir expenses and encouragethem to participate in BSEactivities. Participation in variousworking committee can be verytime consuming and it may beappropriate to compensatepeople for their efforts.Otherwise it will be difficult tofind new volunteers, which mayprevent optimum output from theSociety.

How can we attract newengineers to social work?

Promoting social work is not aneasy task, as you need to havetrue commitment and love forwhat you are doing. We cannotexpect people just to suddenlyappear. We have to go and findthem and start encouraging themtowards social work early in theirengineering courses. We need togo and show them what the BSEcan offer in return: such asdeveloping engineers, enhancingthe profession, and financiallysupporting the needy in their

studies though provision ofscholarships, free eveningtuitions, facilitating theirattendance at various conferencesand workshops held by thesociety. We need to promotebetter the benefits of the Society,and the personal rewards peoplecan gain from being a part of it.

Do you encounter problemsmanaging your professional work,social work and family life?

All of these are part of life and allhave their own time and cannotbe joined together. Although Iam busy, I believe I have found agood balance, and I am proud tosay that my main priority is myfamily, and it has not suffered.One of the key attributes of beingan engineer, and managingprojects and departments, is timemanagement. Using these skillsyou should have no problem inbalancing your life, maximizingyour output and yet have enoughtime for other leisure activities.My family also have a desire forsocial work and hence theyunderstand the commitments thatI need to make. For those whoclaim that they do not have timefor social work, they need toattend a time managementcourse. This course is run by BSE!

How do you see the future of theBSE changing into a union?

All around us in the region,engineering societies appear to bemoving towards unionization.However in most other parts ofthe developed world this is notthe case, and unions are beingphased out. Unions are a newconcept in this region and it willtake time for all issues to settleout. Unionization is really afundamental issue concerning theVision of the BSE which is: “Wewill Strive for Excellence as aLeading Engineering ProfessionalEntity by Gaining WorldwideReputation and Recognition,Being Respected and Recognizedfor Commitment to theProfession, Members and theCommunity”. Our vision does notmatch the goals and objectives ofunions. Unions typicallyconcentrate on obtaining betterterms and conditions for itsworkforce from companymanagement. The BSE seeks toachieve improved conditions forits members through professionaldevelopment of its members andparticipation in the nationaleconomy. Members are frommany different organizationswithin the Kingdom and most ofthese organizations already haveunions. Therefore, the need tochange BSE into a union isquestionable. We are aProfessional Body and I believeour current structure and goalsare more effective in meetingmember requirements than actingas a union. In other terms thereare far greater potentialengineering opportunities andchances of success if the societyand engineers work together andto help create a stronger businessenvironment for the benefit of all.

Do you think it is important thatthe BSE joins with the Committeefor Organising EngineeringProfessional Practice?


Profile

The Committee mainly pursuesand regulates the registration ofestablishment and engineers. Inmy opinion there are other areaswhere the Committee needs tofocus as set out in the AmiriDecree No 17 of 1982. Theseareas include improvement in theratio of employment of Bahraininationals and the establishment ofhigher qualification requirementsfor defined discipline specialtiesfor non-Bahrainis. This will forceindustries to employ localengineers wherever possible. Asfor the BSE taking over the role ofthe Professional EngineeringCommittee, this was discussed ata recent seminar debate at thesociety and it seemed to me thatthe majority agreed that thesociety today would not becapable of handling theresponsibilities vested in thisCommittee, apart from possiblytaking over the role ofauthentication of engineersqualifications for the certification.One body cannot be responsiblefor all aspects of the engineeringprofession, so in my opinion I donot think the BSE should take overthe Committee. Frankly itprobably would not be of benefitto the country if only one bodywas to regulate engineering work,certification, execution anddispute resolution at the sametime.

However, I do believe that themembers of the Commission forOrganising EngineeringProfessional Practice must beengineers by profession, and theyshould be selected from private aswell as government sectors. Thiswill help to balance the interestsof all parties concerned.

As for the BSE, he is proud thatthe Society has emerged as“...something more than just asocial club where engineers meetand is setting standards for theprofession.”

Having said that however, he feelsthe BSE should have more say inthe standards by which theengineering profession movesforward in the Kingdom.

“The BSE is made up of qualifiedengineers of all disciplines whohave up-close knowledge of theneeds of the profession in the localand regional context. Thegovernment should tap into thisknowledge base when itformulates guidelines, rules andstandards for the profession. In thefuture, I would like to see the BSEplay an expanded role in settingstandards and shaping theengineering profession in theKingdom.”

Majeed have three children - Nada,Nadia and Hassan, “I’m lucky thatmy wife is understanding aboutmy work & involvement with theBSE,”he said.

In closing, Majeed thanked AlMohandis for the opportunity togive an open and frank discussionon his values and the benefits ofthe Bahrain Society of Engineers.It is through such media outletsthat the Society can continue topromote its visions. He believesthe Society provides added valueto the engineering profession inBahrain and is confident that it willcontinue to grow and benefit thepeople of Bahrain.


Profile


Mohamed Khalil AlsayedPresident

Jawad Ebrahim HassanVice President

Jawad Jaffar Al-JabalExecutive Secretary

Samih Mahmood Al-AlawiTreasurer

Fouad Ahmed AlshaikhDirector of Conferences

Masoud Ebrahim Al-HermiDirector of Activities

Abdulla Ahmed JanahiDirector of Training

Seema Ahmed Al-LingawiDirector of Membership

Affairs’ & Profession

Dr. Isa Salman QamberDirector of Information

BSE Board of Director

The building is located between GovernmentAvenue and Shaikh Khalifa Avenue in Manama.

It was opened in 1937 by the British as Law Courtsto resolve fishing disputes and was originally on theseashore; hence the main entrance originally facedShaikh Khalifa Avenue. The building was originallyconstructed in the traditional Bahrain/Colonial stylewith coral/daub structures and danchal ceilings.

In latter years, when the courts were moved to newpremises in the Diplomatic Area, the building wasconverted to the “Museum of Pearl Diving”.

The building is once again being converted, thistime to become the “Constitutional Court” where

matters related to the Kingdom’s new Constitutionwill be considered. It will be linked to the adjacentDilmon Tower where the Judges and theiradministrative staff presently have their offices.

The construction works consist of altering thelayout of the inside of the building but maintainingthe external elevations as close to the original aspossible. The existing internal open courtyard isbeing replaced by a two storey enclosed CourtRoom of reinforced concrete construction andtimber panelled walls. The building also contains aJudges Hall, a VIP Majlis, Archives, a Display Room,toilets and pantries.


Press Report

Constitutional CourtConstitutional Court


Following demolition of the dilapidated exterioroffice buildings, which were not part of the originalLaw Courts, an entrance courtyard and covered carparking facilities for the Court and the adjacentCourt Offices will be constructed.

Great care is being taken on the style of the interiordecorations, fixtures and fittings to suit thecharacter of the building and as part of theconsultancy works a specialist interior designer hasbeen appointed.

The contract period is 5 months - with completioncurrently scheduled for the end of September2004.

Architect & Structural Engineers

- Gulf House Engineering

Project Managers and Quantity

Surveyor

- Hisham Abdulrahman Jaffer

Services Engineers

GEMAC

Contractor

Hafeera Contracting Co.


Associate Professors inChemicala and Electricalb

Engineering Departments,College of Engineering, Universityof BahrainThe noble mission of theuniversity as an educationalinstitution is to contribute to thedevelopment of a nation byproducing skilled personnel suchas engineering, health doctors,economists, lawyers, linguists andhigh-level administrativepersonnel for the state needs.With well-conceived educationalprograms, which meet the pasttwentieth century, the university isin a position to foresee urgentsociety demands, economicalrequests and regional andinternational trends in order toreorganise and actualise itseducational programs for thefuture. A rapid evolution of theeconomical growth with anoutburst in the development ofthe information technology maylead to anticipate the eventualdifficulties facing the labourmarket. The best way to predictfuture development of any societyis to study the parameters, whichcharacterize it, analyse them andunderstand what is happening atthe present time. So tomorrow’sworld could be predicted andplanned today. A good initiativefrom the University of BahrainCollege of Engineering in thisregard was to organise a

symposium1 on the “Develop-ment and Enhancement ofEngineering Education”.

Symposium objectivesThe organizers objectives areclear: gathering all peoplecontributing to the engineeringeducation in order to evaluate,confront their point of views,expose their experiences, andfinally emerge with new ideas andrecommendations. The collegeconcerns are essentially theevaluation of its teachingcapacities by weighing-up theengineering alumna tasks atwork, their efficiency andweaknesses in order to see if theyfulfil the industries’ requirements.The teaching methods andcurriculum coverage mainlyconcern the faculties’ staffswhose high experience,capabilities, enthusiasm forteaching, attention to studentsand efforts to use modernteaching techniques werepraised2. The learning proceduresthat are gauged by finalexaminations, frequent tests,home works, quizzes now andthen, laboratory reports andprojects usually estimate the levelof knowledge transfer andacquisition. The students’representatives, who are thecentral actors in the evaluationprocesses, are selected from thebrightest assiduous under-

graduates still involved in thelearning process. Most of the localindustrial partners, formerUniversity of Bahrain graduates,stand for the local industries. Asexperienced candidates at work,they can be the adequateinstruments in evaluating thestandard of technical, know-howand communication skillsacquired during the study periodand that expected by the labourmarket, for the college3. Thelabour market holds as well datafor future economical growth,which may help in the regulationof students flow at the orientationperiod. The selection of astudent’s option could be partlydependent on it, whichconsequently helps in thedecrease of jobless. So the localindustrial partners feedbacks,criticisms, recommendations andcontributions in this veryimportant evaluation phase areincontestable.

Contributions and resultsThe scientific community namelythe faculties’ staff were debatingthe results of the evaluation of theengineering programs with awidespread background of itsinvited speakers from USA,neighbouring Gulf statesuniversities, industrial partnersand students. A world expertspeaker4 in engineering educationquality highlighted and

The UniversityIndustry Relationship

Dr Baghdad Benstaalia and Dr Maamar Talebb

1 Held in the Manama Conferences Center during 24-25 February 2004.2 Dr H. Madani, Dean of the college of engineering at University of Bahrain.3 Eng. K. M. El-Rayes, BAFCO.4 Pr. Russell Jones, Expert consultant on engineering education, USA.5 Pr. A. H. Zahed, King Addulaziz University and Dr S. Al-Baiyat, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Engineering. 6 Pr. A. Yigit, College of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait University.

emphasized on the various trendsnamely economical difficulties,technological development, brain-drain mobility and socialimperatives facing the industrialworld. Others5 were moreconcerned by confirming thestandard of their educationalprograms by meeting somecriteria in order to satisfy ABET(Accreditation Board forEngineering and Technology)accreditation. An analysis of thestrength, weaknesses, oppor-tunities and threats6 of aneducational system is essential inorder to organise efficientstrategic planning at universitylevel. The survey carried out bythe engineering faculty’ staff7 onrandom engineering students ofvarious departments by usingclose and open-ended answersquestionnaires reflects in general,the non-negligible level of non-satisfaction of students with somesurvey’s items (encouragement touse computers, absence of activelearning and teachingenthusiasm, stimulation incourse). The analysis of thesurvey’s results is more dis-appointing with the mathematiccourses contents and the sub-standard level in English as themain language of communicationused in the learning procedure.The students are naturallycomplaining from the lack ofbooks and references in the libraryshelves, the absence of practicallaboratory sessions, the traditionalfaculties teaching methods andinsufficient industrial training.They are somehow not ignoringthe importance of local industriescontribution in their formationprocess. The industrial represen-tatives stressed more in their oralcontributions on large deficienciesof the university graduates during

their probation period. Whilemost of them recognise thatengineering graduates acquire asolid theoretical background inengineering principles, lack ofpractical hands-on and technicalskills is widely reported by theBahrain Ministry of Electricity andWater and further training thenbecomes necessary to takeresponsibilities8. The BahrainPetroleum Company showssatisfaction with the universityalumna and is more concerned bythe development of curricula inorder to meet future industryneeds9. They know they are fullydependent on the universityoutputs and very sensitive to thestudents’ option choices. Aprevious decision of the universityto close some engineeringspecialities (chemical) alarmed thepetroleum company and urgedthe university for close meetingand collaborations in order torapidly take appropriate decisions.

Speakers’ recommendationsAs local companies have beenexposing their valuable opinionsand views on the universityoutputs, they represent the bestfeedback in the evaluationprocedure of the collegegraduates. They ought to be non-negligible partners and moreimplicated in future educationaldecisions. They are asking forchanges, ameliorations and to beinvolved in teaching some coursesin the curricula10. Others11 want toestablish stronger collaborationswith the university, which is anencouraging idea. Researchcommittees and alliances12

between the university andindustries are also anotheralternative, which werementioned. Some of them wenteven further by proposing

sponsoring students during thelearning period but that is meantonly to secure the output ofengineering graduates in specificqualifications. Other recommen-dations on introducing courses onmanagement and economicsshould give the graduates atheoretical basis in order toprepare them for administrativeresponsibilities in the industry.The students’ desertion from theengineering education in theUnited States was mainlypedagogical since engineeringstudents were complaining aboutthe absence of engineeringcourses since the first year of theirstudies. The low-level of ourengineering students in purelyfundamental mathematicscourses has been noted and thechanges in the courses contentsto statistics and numericalmethods currently used inindustrial applications mayimprove their values. The sub-standard of the English languageas an essential means ofcommunication in the teaching-learning procedure has to beimproved and elevated to theuniversity standard by radicalchanges in the secondaryeducation13. So the positivecontributions from the college’sstaff, students and industrialpartners are significant and showtheir deep concern in futurechanges and reforms in theengineering educational curricula.

Discussions and commentsIn order to live in harmony with itslocal environment, the normaluniversity attitude is to reactaccordingly to their demands,which could be met, withoutdeviating from its noble missionas an educational institution. Ifthe English and mathematics


7 Pr. M. Akbaba, Pr. S. Suliman, Pr. E. El-Kanzi, Dr H. Al-Madani, Dr D. Al-Samahiji, University of Bahrain.8 Dr. J. S. K. Al-Alawi, Bahrain Electricity and Water.9 Mr M. Moradi, Bahrain Petroleum Company.10 Dr H. Mahmood, Ministry of Electricity and Water.11 Eng. D. A. Tawfeeqi, Bahrain Society of Engineers and A. R. Jawahiri, GPIC, 12 Eng. A. M. Mohammadi, ASRY company.13 H. S. Mubarak, Head of technical secondary school, Ministry of Education.


courses have been incriminatedfor the difficulties facing ourstudents to follow their contents,the other courses content alsohave to be re-examined. Onesummer training session duringthe B.Sc. program is notconsistent and additional sessionsare desirable. The successfulexperience of the Algerianpetroleum company(SONATRACH) is undeniable inthe sense that it created its owninstitute (Algerian PetroleumInstitute) in order to meet itshuman recruitment policies byforming high standard skilledengineers and technicians forpetroleum fields, refineries andother derivative plants (plastics,resin, lubricant...). The institutionwas doted with up-to-dateteaching laboratory mastered byskilled foreign and local facultystaff. Industrial training inpetroleum fields was intense andthe periods were more frequent.They spend fixed training periodseach year so the graduates’technical skills are very high. Itsgraduates’ experience in thepetroleum industries made themmore attracted in theinternational job market (Gulfstates, Africa, Venezuela). TheEnglish course content as theofficial language of com-munication should emphasisemore on scientific subjects ratherthan Shakespearian topics. Theability for an engineer graduate towrite in English, anunderstandable scientific reportand makes a clear analysis of theresults obtained through hispractical work, laboratorydemonstration or industrial plantvisits is far more than acceptable.Non-traditional teaching methods(active learning, presentations,computers, data show, slides...)should be used in order tostimulate enthusiasm for studentslearning. Evaluation techniquesought to be up-dated and variedin order to have an objectiveevaluation. On the other hand,students ought to be more active

in learning. Most of them rely onvocal learning that is to my senseinsufficient while taking notes andreferring to them stay the bestmethod of completing thelearning process. Keenness inreferring to modern technicalmethods of learning such as theinternet to diversify the scope ofthe references is generalisedamong students but it should beemphasised that the library staysthe essential tool of completingthe knowledge. That does notmean that internet could not bewisely used to complete andimprove the student knowledgewhen actualised information ondifferent scientific topics orindustrial processes is needed.Encouraging the students to bemore cooperative in the learningprocess will certainly keep thestudents’ standard higher andspare them away from beingqualified as “spoon-fed “students.

The industry collaboration withthe university should not be onlykept to the students’ evaluationlevel but be more implicated inthe learning process. Sponsoringstudents during their studies wontto my sense motivate the selectedstudents. We notice that most ofthem are worried about theirgrades that qualify them andhigher their chances during thejob-hunting period. So lessenthusiasm in learning will beshowed if a job is already waitingfor them. But the industry’scontribution to the college inincreasing the students’ standardwill be more effective if it affectsthe teaching-learning processes.The industrial partners are moreaware that in order to enhancethe quality of a product they haveto act at different levels of theirmanufacturing process (quality ofinput, measuring devices,reagents, process of fabricationand so on). The vital partnerinvolved is the faculties’ staff andits contribution to learning couldbe enhanced by well-equipped

teaching laboratories that couldbe provided by the industry.Furthermore a wide collaborationwith the universities’ staff couldbe established by commonresearch projects related to theindustries problems and futuredevelopment. That could beconfirmed by postgraduateresearch topics related to theindustry problems leading toM.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Bothpartners will be satisfied: theuniversity will form its own stafffor future needs and theuniversities’ staff will gainexpertise in the field. On the otherhand, the industry finds solutionsto its technical problems that leadto improve the quality’s productsand outputs by cheaper ways. Thegrowth of any industry is foundedon its capacities to develop itsmanufacturing process. Theindustry has always beenconsidering that informationrelated to their manufacturingprocess as a private matter. Noone could decline the closecollaboration between theuniversities and industries in theUnited States, which is the reasonof its success.

Conclusion Precious information related tovarious factors affecting theengineering educational systemhas been collected during thesymposium, which could bestudied carefully in order toenhance engineering education.The university is doing its best tosatisfy the industrial partners butthe latter also needs to play aneffective and concerted role inimproving the teaching-learningmethods and techniques thatenable the university of Bahrain tosatisfy its local industrial partnersand consequently confirm itsregional and internationaluniversity standard.

INTRODUCTION

National culture influences how managers andemployees make decisions and interpret their

roles. Differences between national cultures createimportant opportunities for growth and development,but also can cause serious problems if they are notunderstood.

A major feature of the world economy is the growinginterdependence between nations. World trade grewfrom $50 billion in 1950 to over $4 trillion today.During this period international trade had been amajor driving force behind world expansion. Today’sbusiness world is increasingly “global”. Multinationalfirms produce and sell goods and services oninternational basis more than ever and establishingbranches, subsidiaries and joint ventures outside theirnational boundaries. This process of foreigninvolvement multiplies as companies in newlydeveloping countries learn that to survive they mustalso produce and market on a worldwide basis. Thismeans that all modern managers have to deal withindividuals from other cultures and should developtheir interactive skills to tackle such problems.Gulf States rely heavily on foreign involvement at alllevels. This should encourage foreign managers to bemore aware of the implications of the culturaldifferences and the essential management skill to dealwith it.

The objective of this study is to highlight some culturalfactors that may cause conflict for the multinationalcompanies working on projects in the Gulf based onintensive interviews and questionnaire with theirmanagers.

DEFINITION OF CULTUREThere is no agreed definition of “Culture”. A classicaldefinition was put by Taylor (1871); “That complexwhole which includes knowledge, beliefs, morals,laws, customs and any other capabilities and habitsacquired by man as a member of society”.

Herskovits M.J. (1948) defined “culture” as “the manmade part of the human environment”. Anotherdefinition by Kreobar A.L. and Kluckhohn C. (1952)

“Transmitted patters of values, ideas and othersymbolic systems that shape behaviour. Becker andGeer (1970) see culture as “Set of commonunderstandings expressed in language” whereas VanMaanen J. and Schein E.H. (1979) see culture as“Values beliefs and expectations that members cometo share”.

Schwartz M.C and Jordon D.K. (1980) defined cultureas “Pattern of beliefs and expectations shared bymembers of one human norms shaping behaviour”.On the other hand Hofstede’s definition (1984) isperhaps the best known definition. He states thatculture is “The collective programming of the mindwhich distinguishes the members of one humangroup from another”.Hall E.T. and Hall M.R. (1987) stated that culture is“Primarily a system for creating, sending, storing andprocessing information”. The last definition by HarrisP.R. and Moran R.T. (1987) is “A distinctly humancapacity for adapting to circumstances andtransmitted this coping skill and knowledge tosubsequent generations”.

All the above definitions concluded that :

1) Culture is particular to one group and not others.

2) It influences the behaviour of group members inuniform and predictable ways.

3) It is learned and not innate. It is passed down fromone generation to the next.

4) Culture includes systems of values, beliefs andattitudes.

Understanding National Cultural DifferencesIt is very important to study and understand nationalcultural differences to be able to deal with this newculture and avoid misunderstandings and culturalconflicts.

Hosfstede (1991) studied cultural differences in fiftycountries and focused on “value systems” of nationalcultures which are represented by four dimensions:

1) Power distance: the extent to which inequalities


Cultural Factors That May Cause Conflict For The Multinational Companies Working

On Projects In The Gulfby Mohamed A H Mohamad


among people are seen as normal.

2) Individualism: this looks at whether individuals areused to acting as individuals or as part of cohesivegroups.

3) Uncertainty: it reflects to the extent to which themembers of a culture feel threatened by uncertainor unknown situations.

4) Masculinity: Hofstede dis-tinguishes “hard values”such as assertiveness and com-petition, and “soft”or feminine values of personal relations, quality oflife and caring about others.

There are dangers in going into a new internationalbusiness blinding without having any idea about thecultural background of the foreign colleagues,business associate or client. It is difficult to forceothers to have the same perceptions.

Guy and Mattock (1991) suggest to focus on thefollowing aspects to understand a foreign culture:

1) Topography: The study of the topography of acountry might be a good starting point and givean insight into the national identity.

2) Religion: A lot can be found out about a nationalculture by looking at dominant religions, theproliferation of religious and also the importanceof religion.

3) History: Studying the history of a nation willcertainly explore the cultural issues.

4) Language: If the two parties involved in thebusiness do not speak the same language, thismight lead to major problems.

Cultural Factors That May Cause Conflict For TheMultinational Companies Working On Projects InThe Gulf

1) BUREAUCRACY:Bureaucracy as defined by Max Weber (1864-1920) is “A hierarchical organisation, designedrationally to coordinate the work of manyindividuals in the pursuit of large scaleadministrative tasks and organisational goals”.Bureaucracy can be found every where in primarysector, in secondary sector, in service sector and inpublic sector. It has several disadvantages orcriticisms can be summarised as follows:

- Time consuming procedure.

- Weak communication.

- The roles usually confuse staff.

- Routine make employees feel boring.

- Difficulties of changing rules and using moderntechnology.

- Formation of informal organisation within theorganisation.

- Ignoring personal growth.

2) TIME:Hall and Whyte’s (1961) analysis of four aspects oftime shows how perceptions vary in differentcultures:

1- Schedule time: refers to the time by when a jobshould be completed,

2- Discussion time: refers to the length of timethat should be spent in discussing business.

3- Acquaintance time: determines how long youneed to know the other person before he/shewill do business with you. This varies acrosscultures.

4- Appointment time: deals with the issue ofpunctuality. If a manager is kept waiting anhour for an appointment with an Anglobusiness persons, he is probably right to feelthat an apology and explanation is in order. Butin Latin American or Arabic cultures, punctualityis not valued similarly, and the manager shouldnot assume that he has been deliberatelyinsulted or that his business is discounted.

3) LAW AND CUSTOM:The most obvious con-sideration before enteringinto any contract is to look at the governing law inthe country where the company will be working.In Europe and the West, the Civil Code generallyprevails, whilst in the Middle East it is common toget mixtures, depending on the influence of priorforeign rule and on the strength of tribal law ortraditional religious systems such as Sharia Law.Along with the full awareness of the governinglaw, it is essential to consider both local customsand religion.

4) LANGUAGE:While English is rapidly becoming a universalbusiness language, companies should neverassume that their local workforce, or even theclient, can function effectively in English. Thecontractor should be aware of local languageespecially if the contract documents are in locallanguage which is translated into English. Englishis often a common language in internationalbusiness negotiations, although native speakers ofEnglish may present problem to non-nativespeakers through their use of idiomatic English.This is an important factor to address whenentering into a new foreign market.

5) LOCAL CLIMATE:Local climate and living conditions affect on therecruitment and accommo-dation of all theworkforce and its impact on the cost andprogramme of the project.

6) LABOUR LAWS:Labour laws, standard working days, workingweeks, holiday schedule, religious holidays andspecial working schedules period for religiousholidays. Whilst many managers think that somecountries treat their forien labour harshly actuallyhave very strict labour laws which are often heavilyweighted in favour of the employee, completewith tribunals and appeal procedures. Completeknow-ledge with such laws.

7) COMMUNICATION:Special consideration need to be given to the waysand means of both oral and writtenCOMMUNICATION with the clients. Allcommunications should be simple and straightforward.

All cultures carry stereotypes about the ideal modeof communication.

Communicative difficulties arise when members ofculture expect their ideals to be equallyunderstood in other cultures, and refuse to makeconcessions when either producing or interpretingmessages.

The manager should have access to a wide rangeof media when choosing the appropriate form forcommunicating his message. He can use speech(by formal or informal meetings, telephone), text(by reports, memos, fax, e-mail, the Net), pictorialforms, and in combinations.

An Anglo manager typically relies on text(including electronic mail) when communicatinginternally. However, in a culture where personalrelationships (between supervisors, peers,subordinates) are of paramount importance,nations of “efficient” communication differ.

QUESTIONNAIRE’S RESULTSThe questionnaire was distributed to nine managersworking for different contractors and consultants onprojects in Bahrain. These projects includeconstructing a third causeway between Manama andMuharraq, building a new power station at Hidd andbuilding the Arab Bank at Diplomatic Area. Thenationalities of the managers interviewed are Dutch,Greek, Indian, English and Filipino.

The questionnaire started with an introduction toexplain the purpose and the importance of this report(see the Appendix).

Then the questionnaire asks the managers to choosethe most accurate definition of the word “Culture”among four definitions of four famous gurus; Taylor(1871), Becker and Geer (1970), Hofstede (1980) andKreobae and Kluckhohn (1950). 89% of the managerinterviewed chose Taylor’s definition whereas 11%chose Hofstede’s definition as shown on the attachedgraph. This means that these two definitions are thepreferred definitions among all other listeddefinitions. Moreover, this proves that Taylor’sdefinition is still the most accepted definition for allmanagers.

After that, the questionnaire asks the mangers tochoose the characteristics of ‘Culture’. 33% ofmanagers believe that culture is relative, learned andabout groups whereas 67% think that it is inherited(see attached figure). Although all writers and gurussaid and proved that culture is relative, learned andabout group, the majority of managers interviewedstill think that it is inherited.

Finally, the questionnaire lists nine factors that maycause conflicts for multinational companies workingin the Gulf and the results are as follows:

1) Bureaucracy exists in obtaining work permits andvisas for workforce in the Gulf.

11% strongly agree, 22% agree, 34% undecided and33% disagree.



2) There are always changes in rules and regulationsin the Gulf.

34% agree, 33% undecided, 22% disagree and 11%strongly disagree.

3) It is very important for the foreign contractor to beaware of local language.

11% strongly agree, 34% agree, 11% undecided,33% disagree and 11% strongly disagree.

4) It is very important for the foreign contractor to beaware of Governing law, Sharia law, and localcustoms and religion.

44% strongly agree and 56% agree.

5) Hot climate in the Gulf has a great impact on theprogramme of the project.

22% strongly agree, 34% agree, 11% undecided,11% disagree and 22% strongly disagree.

6) Modern communications exist in the Gulf.

22% strongly agree and 78% agree.

7) The West is clock and calendar driven, however,the clients in the Gulf are not.

11% agree, 78% disagree and 11% stronglydisagree.

8) It is very difficult to deal with local partner due tocultural differences.

22% agree, 33% disagree and 45% stronglydisagree.

9) Careful consideration is needed in the definition ofsome important clauses in the contract such as thedefinition of ‘force majeure’.

11% strongly agree, 45% agree and 44% undecided.

These results (as shown on attached graphs) showthat the majority of the mangers interviewed thinkthat there is no bureaucracy in the Gulf, there arealways changes in rules and regulations in the Gulf, itis not important to be aware of local language, hotclimate effects the project’s programme, the clients inthe Gulf consider the importance of the time, there isno difficulty in dealing with local partner due tocultural differences and it is very important to considerthe definition of ‘force majeure”.On the other hand all contractors interviewed believethat it is very important to be aware of Governing law,Sharia law and local customs and religion.Furthermore, all managers believe that moderncommunications exist in the Gulf.

HOW TO OVERCOME THESE FACTORS ?

The following points summarise the solutions -mentioned by the managers interviewed - to thecultural problems that face multinational companiesworking on projects in the Gulf.

1) In order to be accepted as a good corporate citizenin the local community, a subsidiary observes boththe word and spirit of local laws in respect to:

- Employment of local citizens.

- Personnel issues, including remuneration,pension plans, recruitment and dismissalprocedures and training.

- Purchase of local and foreign materials.

- Securities and investments.

- Market competition.

The laws and social norms governing these factorsmay vary radically from those at home, but thisdoes not excuse non-compliance with local norms.When a subsidiary fails to satisfy local norms, it isunlikely to be welcomed locally as a goodcorporate citizen.

The foreign contractor is always more likely tocome under inspection than is the locally ownedfirm. It can least afford the bad public relationsthat come from bad citizenship and should aim toat least equal the best local standards.

2) Expect to experience culture shock. It is a naturalreaction to novelty among emotionally maturepeople. Treating culture shock as a pathology orsign of mental imbalance is likely to create farworse problems.

3) The manager should accept the need to learnabout living in the new culture in the Gulf. Heshould discover as much as he can about the Gulf,its culture, religion laws and history. He is advisedto start his learning before arriving to the Gulf.

4) The manager should not restrict himself tomembers of his own culture. The culturalinsulation that they provide may be comforting inthe first days, but merely delays the adoption thatsooner or later he will has to make. He shouldbreak into the local culture by using its membersas informants, trying to find members who arehappy to answer his questions about this newculture.

5) The foreign contractor should keep open mind onthe new culture of the Gulf. Neither condemn itout of hand (and certainly not on the basis of hisexperiences in the airport) nor praise it excessively.



What seems rational and irrational ? He shouldlook for evidence that shows why apparentlyirrational behavior may be only non-rational histerms and try to think into the local culture so thatthe non-rational appears rational.

6) The foreign contractor should check whatcommunicative forms are appropriate. He shouldask informants from local culture and experiencedoutsiders from his own culture.

7) The managers should be trained about the Gulf’sculture, about values within the Gulf and how theculture is reflected in significant historical, politicaland economical data. Moreover, the managershould be trained in how to live in the Gulf than inhow to work there.

8) International languages, spoken by significantgroups in more than one country as a first orsecond language include Arabic, Chinese, English,French, Russian and Spanish. But the growing useof English is fast eroding use of the otherlanguages. In theory, this might appear good newsfor native English speakers, and for multinationalsthat use English as a working language. Inpractice, this is not the case, and in many resects,the native-speaker is at a disadvantage.Nowadays, the manager who speaks Arabic andEnglish is far better placed than the managerrestricted to the international language of English.Kuin (1972) writes “Operations usually are, andshould be, conducted in the vernacular. The needto learn the local language may vary in importancefor managers in different categories (accounting,marketing, production, personnel, and so on), buthe who can not or will not learn languages alwaysremains a stranger in any part of the business but‘home’. From the viewpoint of job rotation, such aman needs a special tab on his card”.

9) Managing cultural differences offer the followingten tips to deflate the stress and tension of culturalshock:

- Be culturally prepared

- Learn local communication complexities

- Mix with the host and nationals

- Be creative and experimental

- Be culturally sensitive

- Recognise complexities in host countries

- Perceive one’s self as a culture bearer

- Be patient, understanding and accepting ofone’s self and hosts

- Be more realistic in expectations

- Accept the challenge of interculturalexperiences

CONCLUSIONIn conclusion, this study highlighted several factorsthat may cause conflicts for multinational companiesworking in the Gulf. These factors can be summarisedas follows:

- Bureaucracy

- Rules and regulations

- Local language

- Governing law, Sharia law and local customs andreligion

- Hot climate

- Communications

- Time

Moreover, the report suggested some methods forobtaining an understanding of the Gulf’s culturewhich can be summarised as follows:

- Employing local staff.

- International observations through the embassieslocated in the Gulf.

- Opening local representative offices.

- Direct contact with political leaders andbusinessmen in the Gulf.

- Site visits and own research in the Gulf.

- Training managers and staff prior to departing tothe Gulf using information gained from above.

- Understanding Governing law, Sharia law andlocal customs and religion.

Finally, it is important to state that the report’sfindings remain very subjective and limited in terms ofreliability due to the sample size. However, it providessome useful guidelines for the most common crosscultural problems for multinational companies willingto work in the Gulf region. For more reliableconclusions, a bigger sample size and some objectiveassessment are essential.

REFERENCES1) Mustapha, F.H. (1998) International Contracting, University of

Glamorgan Press.

2) Mead, R. (1998) International Management, Second Edition,Blackwell Publishers.

3) Nunnally, S.W. (1987) Construction Methods andManagement, Second Edition, Prentice-Hall.

4) Tyson and York (1996) Human Resource Management, ThirdEdition, Made Simple Books.

5) Huse, E.F. (1982) Management, Second Edition, WestPublishing Co.

6) Loosemore, M. (1998) Cross-cultural Research inConstruction, University of Glamorgan, Pontrypridd, CF371DL, UK.

7) Rowlinson and Root, (1998) The Impact of Culture on ProjectManagement, The University of Hongkong & The University ofBath.

1. Introduction and overview

Power quality has become a big issue in the last 5to 10 years. But there is a lot of confusion about

what it actually incorporates. Some basic ideas aresummarized in this article. The fact that powerquality has recently become a big issue does notmean that it was not important in the past. It wassimply not known under that name. Utilities all overthe world have worked for decades on theimprovement of what are now known as powerquality.

1.1. What is power quality?A possible definition of power quality is: everydeviation from the sinusoidal voltage (constantvoltage: 230 Volt, constant frequency: 50Hz) is apower quality issue. This is a typical engineeringdefinition. Power quality would in that case beconcerned with all voltage disturbances, likeharmonics, voltage fluctuations, sags andinterruptions. The French use the term quality detension (voltage quality) for this. A wider definitionthat is used more and more often these days is:power quality is concerned with everything thatmight cause customers (or others) to complain. Thiswould include the quality of the service and evenelectromagnetic fields and other environmentaleffects. The term quality of supply is often used ina wider sense. The term “electromagneticcompatibility”, as used by the IEC, is much widerthan voltage quality but not wide enough toothers. For example, it doesn’t include the speed,with which the utility replies to voltage qualitycomplains.

A big issue in many power quality discussions is thequestion who is responsible: the utility that deliversthe low-quality power, the manufacturer of thesensitive equipment, or the customer that isaffected? It all comes up to: who pays for

improved quality? In this article, pure engineeringaspects are explained. The responsibility comes inof course when standards are discussed.

1.2. Overawe of disturbances Below you find an overview of disturbances in thevoltage. I use the CENELEC definitions, but mentionthe IEEE definitions where they are different. Someof the CELELEC definitions are summarized inFigure 1. Figure 2 is the IEEE equivalent.

Figure 1 CENELEC Definition of the powerquality

Figure 2 IEEE Definition of the power quality


Power QualityDr. M. R. Qader

University of Bahrain, College of Engineering,Dept. of Electrical and Electronics


1. Voltage variation: An increase or decrease ofvoltage is normally due to variation of thetotal load of a distributing system or part of it.We talk about slow variations here, due to thedaily load variation. Voltage variations, outsideof the normal operating range are called overvoltage or under voltages. To distinguish themfrom short duration voltage disturbances,some use the term sustained over/undervoltages.

2. Rapid voltage change: A single rapid variationof the rms value of a voltage between twoconsecutive levels that are sustained fordefinite but unspecified duration. These arestep changes in voltage (either an increase ora decrease). The main cause is load switching,but switching actions in the system (e.g.capacitor banks) can also lead to voltagechanges.

3. Voltage fluctuations. A series of voltagechanges or a cyclic variation of the voltageenvelope. These are rapid and sustainedvariations. Voltage fluctuation causeschanges in the luminance of lamps, which cancreate a visual phenomenon called light flickeror simply flicker. The term voltage flicker isconfusing and should not be used.

4. Supply voltage dip. A sudden reduction in thesupply voltage to a value between 90% and 1%of the declared voltage, followed by avoltage recovery after a short period of time:between 10ms and 1 minute. The Americanterm is voltage sag, which is almost identical.The small difference is that a voltage dropbetween 1 and 10% of the normal voltage iscalled an “interruption” by the IEEE, and a“voltage dip” by the IEC. This is only relevantwhen classifying disturbances by means ofpower quality monitors.

5. Supply interruption. A condition in which thevoltage at the supply terminals is lower than1% of the declared voltage. CENELEC 50160further distinguishes between:

- Prearranged interruptions

- Accidental interruptions

The latter are further divided into:

- Long interruptions (longer than 3 minutes)

- Short interruptions (up to 3 minutes)

The IEEE distinguishes between momentaryinterruptions (one half-cycle up to 3 seconds),temporary interruptions (3 seconds up to 1minute), and sustained interruptions (longerthan 1 minute). For the IEEE a voltage below10% is called an interruption.

6. Temporary power frequency over voltage. Anover voltage, at a given location, of relativelylong duration. Temporary over voltagesusually originate from switching operations orfaults (e.g. sudden load reduction, single-phase faults, non-linearity’s). CENELEC doesnot give any time limits for this.

The IEEE uses the term swell for over voltagesof duration between one half-cycle and 1minute. The IEEE talks about over voltagesand under voltages when the duration exceed1 minute.

7. Transient over voltage. A short durationoscillatory or non-oscillatory over voltageusually highly damped and with duration of afew milliseconds or less. Lightning orswitching of fuses causes transient overvoltages.

An important transient over voltage is the onecaused by capacitor bank switching. Itsmagnitude is not very high, but it causes overvoltage on the DC. An adjustable-speed drivecan lead to tripping of the equipment. Othertransient over voltages of concern are thosedue to blowing of current-limiting fuses. Theyhave been mentioned often as a cause ofdamage or tripping, but calculations indicatethat this should not be the case. Transientscan be divided into impulsive transients (dueto lightning) and oscillatory transients (due toswitching actions).

8. Harmonic voltage: a sinusoidal voltage with afrequency equal to an integer multiple of thefundamental frequency of the supply voltage.Closely related to harmonic voltage distortionare notches: sub-cycle drops in voltage due topower electronics switching. Notches docause high order Harmonics, but they are bestdescribed in time domain.

9. Interharmonic voltage: a sinusoidal voltagewith a frequency between two harmonicfrequencies. They are produced bycycloconvertors, and by arc furnaces.

10. Voltage unbalance: In a three-phasesystem, a condition in which the rmsvalues of the phase voltages or thephase angles between consecutivephases are not equal. The IEEE gives asa preferred term “Voltage imbalance”.Voltage unbalance is only of concern forthree-phase loads, like inductionmotors. Unbalance leads additionalheat production in the motor windings.This reduces the efficiency and requiresderating of the motor.

The primary source of voltageunbalance is unbalanced single-phaseload. Especially AC traction suppliesand furnaces lead to voltage unbalance.They are particularly polluting as theload also fluctuates over a range of timescales. Voltage imbalance can also bethe result of capacitor bank anomalies,such as a blown fuse on one phase of athree-phase bank. Severe voltageimbalance (greater than 5%) can resultfrom single-phase conditions.

11. Mains signaling voltage: a signalsuperimposed on the supply voltage forthe purpose of transmission ofinformation in the public distributionsystem and the customers premises. EN50160 mentions three types of signals:

- Ripple control signals: sinusoidalsignals between 110 and 3000Hz.

- Power -line-carrier signals: sinusoidalsignals between 3 and 148.5 KHz.

- Mains marking signals: superimposedshort time alterations (transients) atselected points of the voltagewaveform.

12. Power frequency variation: Variation inthe frequency of the sinusoidal voltage.Long-term variations are due tounbalance between load andgeneration. Frequency transients aredue to shorts circuits and failure ofgenerator stations. The term“frequency deviation” is also used.



Waleed M. Omran

Spectrum analyzers are one of the most interestingtools in the hands of engineers. We may see it

packaged as voice detection system or even embeddedinside high quality audio editing workstations but theverse “Spectrum Analyzer” was mostly associated withthose standalone units.

For students, spectrum analyzers considered to be veryhelpful instruments to understand signal theory.Unfortunately, those standalone ones are not cheap asfor example a multi-meter. The price factor really makesthe students get rid of the idea of getting a private onefor personal experimenting in their new world ofengineering. Companies really have little needs forstandalone ones. They mostly use spectrum analyzers inthe form of embedded subsystems. But they are in needfor small portable ones that can be connected throughfairly standard ways to satisfy their needs in temporaryinstalled monitoring systems with the aid of varioussensors. So for both students and companies, computerbased spectrum analyzers may be the answer. With theaid of personal computers we can minimize the cost ofmanufacturing such instruments. We can rely on the PCsto analyze and display the output, while an externalsmall data acquisition module will take care of samplingthe input signals.

Data acquisition modules could be built using very easyto understand and affordable components. It should beeasily wired to give the students the ability of makingones by themselves. The interfacing with such modelsshould be implemented ideally using the USB port. WhyUSB? USB is one of the newest (device-computer)interfacing specifications. It allows external deviceconnection to PCs at high speeds. USB devices supportplug-n-play technology and can be powered directlyfrom the port. That simplifies the end user experienceand the installation task. USB devices can beconnected/disconnected while the PC is powered; thisfeature is useful for companies with temporary need forsuch devices. USB devices are very fast. For example, ifwe consider a full speed USB device and data acquisitionsystem with sample resolution of 16 bits. Our idealsampling rate should be 750k samples/sec. This number

jumps to 30M samples/sec when we consider high speedUSB devices with the same sample resolution of 16 bits.Handling all this data throughput and control the ADCimplies usage of high-speed micro-controllers. Thechoice here is to go with the industry standard USBmicro-controller the Cypress EZ-USB family.

Output of that data module must be read and handledby the PCs software. The software must be multi-threaded, since there are lots of tasks to do. Here we canseparate the software into 4 main threads. First, there isthe streaming thread. This will take care of reading andbuffering the samples. Then we have the processingthread, which will process the streamed data (processinghere means mainly FFT). And visualizing thread, whichwill output the results through the screen. Finally there isthe main thread, which will handle user input and GUIupdating.

And in support of e-learning efforts the software wasequipped with an option to stream the acquired samplesover the LAN network by using UDP protocol. Thisfeature makes it possible to let the instructor check theresult of his students from within his desktop computer.This feature is also important for the companies toimplement remotely monitoring systems.The design and implementation of this system wascarried out as my senior graduation project under thesupervision of Dr. Zuhair Al-Bahri.

Computer Based USBSpectrum Analyzer

University of Bahrain

Students Projects


May Al-Hajji

Performance Evaluation of

Web-Based ApplicationsUniversity of Bahrain

ABSTRACT

The catchword in today’s networking world isperformance. Measuring performance is one of the

most challenging tasks that the network designers haveto deal with. The conventional qualitative approach,which is based on intuition, ad hoc random procedures,and rules of thumb, need to be replaced with a holisticapproach.

This project thus attempts to design simple, easy to usesoftware to predict network’s performance based on thesystem-level and component-level performance models.

The analysis and design process revealed that designingsoftware to measure performance is not any easy task toachieve. Developing a simulator to investigateperformance is a tedious mission. Therefore, be specific,define your goals, and make valid and reasonableassumptions in spite of the consequences that wouldlead to limitations in the design. This however, mightlead to future enhancement.

Chapter 1

IntroductionComputer networking is changing the way we dobusiness and the way we live. In the short time they havebeen around, networks have become an indispensablepart of business, industry, and entertainment. Manyapplications rely on these networks, such as marketingand sales, financial services, manufacturing, etc. Thebehaviour of these networks is of great concernnowadays as networks tend to grow larger and largerwith the increasing number of users. Performance is abuzzword in today’s networking applications. Networkdesigners crave to study the network performance tohelp develop existing networks and design newnetworks to support the increasingly number of users indifferent fields, and support the different types ofapplications that arise in the world everyday.

Throughout the years, measuring performance has notbeen an easy task to achieve. Traditional methods inmeasuring performance have proven to be not efficient,

especially when they are based on intuition, ad hocprocedures, and rules of thumb. . These approaches aretime consuming and may lead to undesired results suchas reduction in throughput and increase in responsetime. As a result, there came an urging need to developnetwork simulators to study the performance of differentnetworks under various workloads. There are manydifferent types of network simulators designed toanticipate the performance of either a specific networkdesign or any type of network that the designers wish toimplement.

Studying network performance can be done throughstudying different performance models at two differentlevels, the system-level or the-component level. As willbe discussed in chapter 3, the system-level performancemodels views the system to be studied as a “black box”,whereas the component-level performance modelsconsider the resources that form the system and the waythey interact.

It is obvious from the above discussion, that the aim ofthis project; as well be clarified shortly in the nextchapter, is to investigate network performance in asystematic manner/ behavior by employing the abovementioned network representation models to our favor.This so-called systematic behavior can be developedthrough the design of software. Choosing theappropriate computer language as will be discussed inchapter 4 to design the software, should not be achallenging task since Visual Basic (VB) can be used torepresent the graphical user interface (GUI); visualized inchapter 5, and to implement the core of simulation.

Throughout the text, many assumptions are made andmany limitations will be found along the way. Theselimitations, in the upcoming future can be eliminated ifthe initial design was developed with strong basis. Moreor less, most of the theories that nowadays play anessential role in our lives were based on many unrealisticideal cases or assumptions and probably had manylimitations. Chapter 8 will talk about how this small-scalesoftware with the so many assumptions can be thebuilding block to better stronger software that manages

Students Projects


Regional and international organisations wereurged to join hands to develop a system that

ensures the accuracy of measurement and increasespeople’s awareness of metrology.

The call came from Commerce Minister Ali Saleh AlSaleh, who also underlined the importance of havinginternational accreditation for testing laboratories inthe region.

He was speaking at the opening of the second MiddleEast Measurement and Instrumentation 2004exhibition and conference.

Industry Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro, top governmentofficials and members of the diplomatic corp attendedthe opening session.

The three-day event at the Bahrain InternationalExhibition Centre’s new Convention Centre is beingorganised jointly by the Commerce Ministry, theDefence Ministry, the Bahrain Society of Engineers(BSE) and the Bahrain Convention and ExhibitionBureau (BCEB).

Metrology is the common denominator in man’s greatachievements of today, notably in aerospace andastronomical calculations, health and medical care,civil construction and infrastructure projects, said MrAl Saleh.“Metrology is considered as one of the mostimportant tools for maintaining a balance betweenproject development and conservation ofenvironment from the adverse effects of suchprojects,” he noted.

“This important tool helps to protect the quality ofour air, soil and water.”

Mr Al Saleh said it was vital to identify industry needsin the field of measurement and calibration and topromoting the adoption of ISO 17025 for laboratory

accreditation among testing and calibrationlaboratories.

“This calls for mobilising the efforts of Arab, regionaland international organisations, including theStandardisation Organisation for the GCC States(GSO), the Arab Industrial Development and MiningOrganisation (AIDMO) and the InternationalOrganisation of Legal Metrology,” he said.

The science of precision measurements plays a vitalrole in technological, industrial and economicdevelopment, said BSE president Mohammed Khalil AlSayed.

“The conference is bringing together somedistinguished speakers and specialists in metrologyand instrumentation from the region and from aroundthe world,” he said.BDF Deputy Wing Commander for Maintenance andLogistics Colonel Sameer Abdulla Al Zayani stressedthe need for organisations to keep up withtechnological changes.Conference organising committee chairman andAssistant Under-Secretary for Standards andConsumer Protection, Ahmed Bubshait also spoke atthe opening session.

The second conference in the series has beenorganised to address the need for up-to-dateInformation on measurement and instrumentation tobring forth rapid industrial development, saidconference technical committee chairman AbdulMajeed Al Gassab.

An exhibition is also being held at the Exhibition Hall,where companies dealing with process technology,calibration services, environmental and safetymeasurement, and quality standards are exhibitingtheir products and services.

Metrology ConferenceMiddle East Measurement & Instrumentation 2004

Second Middle East Metrology Conference & Exhibition


Under the patronage of H.E.Mr. Fahmi bin Ali Al Jowder,

the Minister of Works & Housing,Kingdom of Bahrain, The BahrainSociety of Engineers and KeralaEngineers Forum (KEEN4) arejointly organising the PropertyExhibition 2004 scheduled to beheld at Diplomat Radisson Hotel,Bahrain during 16-18 September2004 This Exhibition aims to makeinvesting in real estate simplerand easier for the many keeninvestors in Bahrain, Qatar andSaudi Arabia.

Anything in real estate is today ahot pick. From farm lands toresidential plots, villas, row housesand apartments, investing in realestate seems to be the bestinvestment opportunity available.Buoyed by lower interest rates onhome loans and a sharp rise inreal estate prices over the last fewyears, more and more investorshave started investing at least apart of their hard earned incometo buy property. Across the World,in Europe, the Middle East andAsia, the demand for real estateproperties has fuelled a boom inconstruction activity.For the many Nationals andExpatriates in the Gulf Region,Property Exhibition 2004 willbring together a range of realestate investment options. It willpresent an opportunity for themto study different types ofproperties in different locations. Itwill assist them to choose the bestfinancial option from different

home finance providers.Property Exhibition 2004 will beheld in Bahrain on 16, 17 & 18thof September 2004. The islandnation offers a convenient venueto reach the populations in Qatarand Saudi Arabia and also wellconnected by a causeway to theEastern Province of Saudi Arabia.Bahrain, the financial centre ofthe Middle East. The dates of theExhibition stretch over the normalweekend period in the Gulf,allowing visitors fromneighbouring countries sufficienttime to visit the Exhibition andalso enjoy the excellententertainment and leisure facilitiesthat Bahrain has to offer.

Many Property developers, Homefinance providers, Architects, RealEstate Agencies, PropertyConsultants and BuildingContractors in Bahrain and theneighbouring countries have

expressed keen interest inparticipating in this event and aconsiderable number of exhibitionspaces have already beenreserved.

Expected visitors will be from theRegion and the ExhibitingCompanies will have an excellentopportunity to advertise, promoteand publicise their Services in thisfield to the visitors. Expectedvisitors will be nationals andexpatriates, from Bahrain, theEastern Province of Saudi Arabia,Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Oman,where the event will be widelyadvertised in the local media andTelevision. A number of standshave been reserved and morecompanies are expected to sendtheir confirmation for standswhich have already beententatively booked by companiesfrom Bahrain, India and thePhilippines.

Property Exhibition 200416-18 September 2004

Diplomat Radisson SAS - Bahrain


The Bahrain Society ofEngineers in collaboration with

the Federation of Arab Engineerswill organize the 23rd ArabEngineering Conference inBahrain under the theme:

“Towards Development andIntegration of EngineeringInfrastructure in the Arab World”during the period 14-16 March2005 at the Gulf InternationalConvention Center, Gulf Hotel,Kingdom of Bahrain

CONFERENCE TRACKS :The conference will discuss thefollowing topics:

First Track: Development andIntegration of Telecommunicationand Informatics Networks

- Adoption of Arab strategy forlinking and integrating alltypes of communicationmeans.

- Encouraging the private sectorto invest in the field oftelecommunication andinformatics industry.

- Transferring and indigeni-zation of telecommunicationand informatics technologies.

Second Track: Development andIntegration of Power and WaterNetworks

- Establishing Arab exchange forpower and water.

- Role of the private sector toconstruct mega projects in thefield of power and water.

- Strategies for linking and

integrating power and waternetworks in the Arab World.

- Study environmental pollutionresulting from power gene-ration and water desalination.

Third Track: Development andIntegration of TransportationNetworks in the Arab World

- Integration of highways andrailways between theneighboring countries.

- Developing air and seanavigation lines for bothpassengers and freight inorder to achieve economicintegration.

- Adopting an economic policythat encourages the privatesector to invest in the filed oftransportation of all kinds.

CONFERENCE LANGUAGEThe Conference will be conductedin English. All the relevantpublished material associatedwith the conference will be inEnglish.

SCHEDULEProposed deadlines of theConference are as under :

• Receiving Abstracts 15th September, 2004

• Informing Speakers 5th October, 2004

• Receiving Papers1st January, 2005

• Sending Comments on FinalPapers 10th January, 2005

• Receiving final papers31st January, 2005

Correspondence regarding allaspects of the abstracts ortechnical papers should be sent toConference Secretariat, TheTechnical Committee

CONFERENCE FEES :Individuals : US$ 50 Companies : US$ 100

Delegates representing Arab Engi-neering Societies are exempted .

Conference Secretariat: Bahrain Society of Engineers, P.O Box 835 Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

Tel: 17 727100, Fax: 17 729819 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mohandis.org

The 23rd Arab Engineering Conference


List of Conferences Scheduled for the Year

SNo.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Name of Conference

2004 - 2005

Proposed Dates Venue

Property Exhibition 2004 16-18 September 2004Diplomat Radisson SAS

Hotel

GIS 2004-Third International Conference andExhibition

27-29 September 2004Diplomat Radisson SAS

Hotel

Heritage, Globalization& the Built Environment-Traditional Architecture Conference

6-8 December 2004 GICC, Gulf Hotel

23rd Arab Engineering Conference 14-16 March 2005 GICC, Gulf Hotel

International Conference on Technology Transfer

11-13 April 2005 Crowne Plaza Hotel

International Symposium on Wireless Systems and Networks

25-27 April 2005 GICC, Gulf Hotel

International Conference on Environment, Health and Safety

2-4 May 2005 –

3rd Middle East Non Destructive Testing Conference and Exhibition

28-30 November 2005 GICC, Gulf Hotel

Intelligent Building Middle East5-7 Dec 2005

Bahrain InternationalExhibition Centre

Rotating Equipment Gulf Conference 2005 –

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