Browsing by Author "Kahangamage, UP"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12

item: Thesis-Abstract
CAD/CAM applications : a developmental strategy for the potential footwear industry in Sri Lanka
(7/22/2011) Mutunayake, APK; Kahangamage, UP; Punchihewa, HKG
The Sri Lankan Small and Medium scale Enterprise (SME) footwear industry is at crossroads. In order for the SME sector to survive and thrive in this competitive market, advanced technology needs to be introduced among other incentives. Developmental strategies for this industry are vital given the economic condition of these organisations and the global context of the footwear industry. The overall objective of this research is to identify the present state of technology usage in the SME footwear industry and to recommend pragmatic solutions to develop it. Data was collected from the random sample (nx=14) from the target population (Sx;:::40). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants during the "Footwear and leather fair in 2007", which was jointly organized by the lOB and the Sri Lanka Footwear Association held at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) on 24th and 25th of November 2007. Further, unstructured interviews were conducted to collect data from the sample of experts (ny=4) selected from industry to obtain the experts' view about the industry to set benchmarks for the Common Resource Centre (CRC) and to validate the information collected from semi-structured interviews. Comprehensive analysis of the data elicited through the semi-structured and unstructured interviews was carried out. The main outcome of this study is a proposal with recommendations based on stakeholder and expert views for a CRC, which is to provide services to the footwear industry. Since the large-scale manufacturers may be able to maintain their own Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) facilities, the proposed centre is to provide services especially to the potential SMEs. This CRC mainly will consist of CAD/CAM division, testing and laboratory services division, education, training and skills development division, research development (R&D) division, and administration and customer care division to provide services to the industry. The facts gathered suggest the immediate need of the establishment of CRC to uplift the potential SME footwear industry.
item: Conference-Extended-Abstract
Development of an effective communication skill development program embedded in engineering study Program
(2009) Ranaweera, RAMP; Kahangamage, UP
This paper presents a successful and innovative approach for improving presentation skills of undergraduates by incorporating PowerPoint presentation to laboratory practical assessments. The key aims were to improve oral presentation skills, to enhance the knowledge of undergraduates about the state of the art technologies and to improve the effectiveness of laboratory practical assessments. After completion of the first "presentation coursework" session, a noteworthy improvement in presentation skills and enthusiasm among undergraduates for making presentations was clearly seen.
item: Conference-Extended-Abstract
Development of an efficient drying method for large scale timber drying
(2009) Bandara, PMTSS; Basnayake, BMHSK; Dissanayake, DMMC; Kahangamage, UP
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how to overcome the problematic issues the Sri Lankan timber drying industry is currently facing with and to assure the future sustenance of the industry. In order to achieve the desired outcomes a field survey and an energy audit were carried out. Using those results improvements to a selected conventional timber drying kiln were done. A conceptual energy efficient timber drying method suitable for the Lankan industry was also developed.
item: Conference-Extended-Abstract
Development of die & mould making industry in Sri Lanka though tripartite collaboration of university-industry-government
(2009) Senevirathne, SWMAI; Kahangamage, UP; Mangala, KHJ
Most of the Sri Lankan Die & mould makers are Small and Medium Enterprises. Due to various constraints they manage cater only for 20% of local die & mould demand. One of the reasons is the high technological gap between SMEs scale mould makers The local SME mould makers need financial and technological support to increase production and the quality. Considering the strengths and weaknesses of different parties, a tripartite approach that involves the government and the academic institutes has been proposed to uplift this industry. This paper presents a proposed mode! for a tripartite approach and its successful implementation being carried out at University of Moratuwa.
item: Conference-Extended-Abstract
Enhancement of students' learning experience through introduction of innovative methods of conducting and assessing laboratory classes: a case study
(2009) Ranaweera, RAMP; Gamage, JR; Kahangamage, UP; Dassanayake, VPC
This paper elaborates a successful attempt made for improved way of conducting and assessing of laboratory classes. The key aims were to improve the quality & effectiveness of laboratory classes, promote team work and increase relevance of the undergraduate practical programme that suits the industrial environment. In the design stage, problems of the existing methods, industrial requirements and expert views were carefully analysed. Finally it shown considerable improvement in quality and effectiveness of the practical programme and team working ability students.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Evaluation of different types of rice flour milling machinery for their performance
(3/28/2011) Bandara, DMSP; Kahangamage, UP; Palipane, KB
This report contains an analysis of technical training programmes totally funded by the Germany and Japan. This study mainly focuses to analyze the effect on major training programmes developed in German and Japanese funded training institutes by these two countries. Ceylon German Technical Training Institute and D I M O Automobile Training Institute, which were totally funded by Germany and Construction Equipment Training Center and Automobile Engineering Training institute, which were totally funded by Japan, were selected for analysis. The main objective of this report is to analyze effect of technical training programmes developed by Germany and Japan to the Sri Lankan technical education sector. Also, formulate strategies for future development of foreign funded technical training projects. The main training programme developed by four training institutes was selected for analysis. The data collection methods adopted for this study involved collecting primary data and making use of project reports, agreements signed by both parties, evaluation reports, annual reports etc.. Primary data was collected through questionnaires for passed out technicians, present final year students, employers of the passed out technicians, training officers and managers relevant to each training institutes. According to the results, the training programmes funded by Germany and Japan are success. However, in some of the aspects training programmes funded by Germany shows higher performance than training programmes funded by Japan. The strategies were identified for future foreign funded technical training programmes.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Investigation of problematic issues of mould design and manufacture for plastic-based industry in Sri Lanka
Galappaththi, UIK; Kahangamage, UP; Wimalasiri, WK
At present the demand for high precision, high quality dies and moulds in Sri Lanka is around Rs. 1500 million. However, local supply is around Rs.300 millions. The gap of supply and demand is also increasing day by day. The problematic issues associated with die & mould industry is the core reason for this situation. The primary objective of this research study was to find out the key problematic issues of mould designing and manufacturing for plastic based industry in Sri Lanka and to develop a mechanism to address identified issues. A questionnaire based survey method was used for the research study. The questionnaire was structured in order to investigate and rank critical problematic issues faced by die and mould manufactures for plastic based industry in Sri, Lanka. Further, there were several rounds of semi-structured interviews with managers, plant engineers and technicians involved in mould design and manufacture for gathering relevant information. The collected information was used to identify critical issues of Sri Lankan die & mould industry. According to the survey results, high cost of moulds and unavailability of trained workforce were identified as most critical issues. A thorough investigation has been carried out to find the causes for each identified issue. A probable mechanism to address the identified issues has been developed by taking strength and weaknesses of the industry into consideration. This mechanism consists of a short term status improvement plan and a long term development plan. Since SME sector is the main contributor of the local die & mould supply, more attention has been paid to introduce development plan to Sri Lankan SME sector
item: Conference-Extended-Abstract
A methodology to estimate cost of injection moulds using cost group technique
(2006) Kahangamage, UP; Mangala,KHJ; Galappaththi, UIK
Injection moulds are tools, made with highest precision and close tolerances. Further they have to meet with variety of requirements. The complexity of injection moulds differ according to complexity of product geometry. Therefore, the production of injection moulds involves many different machining operations and other related activities where the accurate estimation of total production cost is extremely difficult.
item: Conference-Abstract
Resource utilisation and availability analysis as a productivity improvement tool: A case study of a food manufacturing company
Vilasini, N; Kahangamage, UP; Gamage, JR
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate how resource utilisation concept influences to the overall productivity of a manufacturing organisation. Effective resource utilisation increases profitability by optimising utilisation and minimising bench time and generates goodwill and loyalty among staff that translates to competitive advantages in recruiting and retaining the best talent in the future. A manufacturing company uses resources of various kinds such as manufacturing resources (machines, material handlers, tools, Energy etc.), storage resources (warehouses, automated storage and retrieval systems), logistics resources (trucks, rail transport, air-cargo carriers, etc.), human resources (labour, scientific and technical personnel) and financial (working capital, stocks, etc.). The objective is to utilise these assets or resources efficiently so that the overall productivity of the organisation can be maximised. Resource utilisation is the percentage of time that a resource component is actually occupied, as compared to the total time that the resource component is available for use. In order to apply the resource utilisation concept, generic losses adhered to the various work centres were identified and categorised according to the above mentioned resource categories. This generic loss structure was then applied to selected work centres of a food manufacturing plant. The generic loss structure for work centre was categorised in to two major categories, equipment losses and man power losses. Several Industrial Engineering tools were used to identify prevailing losses and to quantify them. The results show that when resource utilisation concept is applied according to the generic model, the productivity of the work centres has been improved. The resultant productivity improvement has been estimated and presented.
item: Conference-Abstract
Studying to be a practitioner: a brief discussion of future strategies for mechanical engineering education
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, 2001-07) Kahangamage, UP; Nanayakkara, LDJF
item: Conference-Abstract
The application of CAD/CAM in the Sri Lankan SME footwear industry : a developmental strategy
(2008) Mutunayake, APK; Kahangamage, UP; Punchihewa, HKG
The Sri Lankan small and medium scale enterprise (SME) footwear industry is at crossroads. Developmental strategies for this industry are vital given the economic condition of these organisations and the global context of the footwear industry. The overall objective of this research is to identify the present state of technology usage in the SME footwear industry and to recommend pragmatic solutions to develop it. To this end, a random sample of the stakeholders (n=l4) in the SME footwear industry was surveyed and the data was analysed. This paper presents the initial findings from survey on the current status of CAD/CAM applications and the stakeholder view on a proposed common facility named "CAD/CAM Resource Centre" (CRC) for the SME footwear industry.
item: Conference-Abstract
Work design concept as a productivity improvement tool : a csae study of soft drink manufacturing company
(2008) Vilasini,PPGN; Kahangamage, UP; Samarakoon, P; Perera, ULIU
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how work design concept influenced to the overall productivity of a manufacturing organisation. In order to apply the Work Design concept, a generic model of Work Design is defined. This generic model was then applied to selected work centers of a soft drink manufacturing plant. The results show that when Work Design Concept is applied according to the generic model defined has improved the productivity of the work centers.