Cape East is a contracting firm that provides industrial services like insulation, coatings, and fire protection. The author's objectives for their 2-month internship included developing office skills, learning cost estimation processes, understanding machinery used, and gaining insight into strategies and health & safety regulations. Key experiences included estimating costs, visiting Cape's workshop, observing machinery like CNC cutting machines, learning about blasting and painting processes, understanding insulation systems, assisting with 5-year strategic planning, and seeing health and safety measures implemented.

1. Cape East
2 Month Work experience Report
By Tushar Chopra

2. Index
Title/ Topic Slide No:
• Company Profile- CAPE 3
• Objectives of Work Experience 4
• Cost Estimations 5-6
• RLIC Workshop/ Warehouse 7
• Machinery used at Workshop 8-10
• Blasting and Painting 11-12
• Insulation 13-14
• Strategic Planning 15
• Health and Safety 16

3. Company Profile
 Established in 1893
 Cape plc Ltd is a contracting firm, whose shares are
traded on the main market of the London Stock
Exchange.
 International leader in the provision of critical industrial
services principally to the energy and natural resources
sectors; offering services such as insulation, specialist
coatings, passive fire protection, refractory linings, etc.
 Consists of 17000 employees in several regions around
the world (21 countries); Cape Qatar has around 5500.
 In 2013, Cape reported an adjustment revenue of
£697.1m
 Internationally reputed for having excellent reliability,
implementing noteworthy health and safety regulations,
and supplying outstanding quality.

4. Objectives of Work Experience
 To develop the basic office skills which are essential to every industry such as excel
data logging and PowerPoint presentations while ameliorating my financial and
industrial vocabulary.
 Working in the cost estimations department in order to improve excel skills and
ascertain the process that takes place during contract bidding.
 To be able to interpret isometric drawings and client specifications in order to create a
complex file on which materials are required to carry out the task and the costs
involved.
 Visiting and supervising the operations that take place at the workshops/site and
observing the different functions Cape completes such as insulation, fireproofing,
blasting, painting, etc.
 Taking note of the machinery that is used at the workshops and its uses.
 To gain a thorough understanding in the processes of painting, blasting and insulation.
 To gain insight into the strategies used by firms and the extensive long term planning
that takes place in order to maintain profits and foster market share; exclusively
looking into the techno-commercial aspects of Cape.
 Recognizing the extent of health and safety regulations in Cape and their effectiveness.

5. Cost Estimation In contracting firms such as Cape, a cost estimate is
usually prepared to submit a bid or tender in order to
win contracts.
An approximation of the probable cost of
a product, program, or project, computed on the
basis of available information such as the client
specification and isometric drawings provided (such
as the one on the right).
There are 3 main reasons Cape carries out cost
estimations;
(1) To gain a rough approximation of costs within
a reasonable range of values, prepared for budgetary
bidding.
(2) To make a Firm estimate: a figure based on
cost data sound enough for entering into a binding
contract.
(3) To be aware of the exact
amount required to accomplish a given task, known
as the budget to execute.

6. Cost Estimation
The primary method of making estimations is through resource necessity (e.g., the amount of
construction material quantities that are required) and then multiplying the estimated construction
material quantities by the corresponding unit cost. One advantage of making estimates in this way is
that it allows for the segregation of quantities and costs. This way they can be updated separately as
new information becomes available. They can also be tracked separately allowing decision makers to
make better decisions about the project during its conceptual phase.
tube (m)
no. of
fittings
boards (m) base jacks ladders tube cost fittings cost Boards cost base jacks ladders IRR Mat cost
IRR Mat
Price
Install -
mhr
norms
Dismantle -
mhr
norms
Install -
mhrs
Dismantle -
mhrs
Total -
mhrs
Lab Cost Lab Price Ind Price
16,695.68 20,869.60 10,434.80 417.39 960.00 129.11 133.15 322.78 16.28 109.44 995.07 1,243.84 0.30 0.80 1.80 3,339.14 7,513.06 10,852.19 138,917.47 173,646.84 666,107.10
10,483.20 13,104.00 262.08 602.78 81.07 83.60 - 10.22 68.72 341.06 426.32 0.16 0.65 0.20 1,703.52 524.16 2,227.68 28,516.24 35,645.29 136,734.91
15,323.43 19,154.29 9,577.15 383.09 881.10 118.50 122.20 296.25 14.94 100.45 913.28 1,141.60 0.30 1.00 2.00 3,830.86 7,661.72 11,492.57 147,114.92 183,893.65 705,413.74
10,483.20 13,104.00 81.07 83.60 - - - 230.54 288.18 0.11 0.70 0.35 1,834.56 917.28 2,751.84 35,225.94 44,032.42 168,907.83
7,051.30 8,814.13 3,917.39 54.53 56.23 121.18 - - 324.72 405.90 0.23 1.05 0.55 1,850.97 969.55 2,820.52 36,105.13 45,131.41 173,123.52

7. RLIC Workshop
 Huge camp consisting of 3000 workers, warehouse and functioning workshop
situated in Ras Laffan.
 Consists of all the raw materials used to conduct the insulation, painting,
blasting and scaffolding processes.
 Contains machinery such as rolling and grooving machines along with blasting
furnaces used to prevent and solve the issue of rusting/degradation of
materials.

8. Machinery being Used
Sheet Metal DecoilerManual Metal Folding
Machine
Folding machines can process work pieces according to the customer's
requirements, and can fold sheet into a box/pan with four sides. They are suitable
for site use due to their light design, economical use and efficiency.
A sheet metal decoiler is a
mechanical reel used to
dispense steel coil material
normally in to a power press
or roll forming line. It is a
very reliable machine as it
ensures complete flatness
and uniformity in the metal
sheet.

9. Machinery being Used
Manual Grooving MachineCNC Cutting machine
Grooving machines are used
for roll grooving of pipes and is
unparalleled in performance
due to its light weight,
resistance to corrosion and
simplicity of use. Their
durability makes them great
value for money which is an
aspect Cape appreciates in
machinery; output per unit of
cost.
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines are automated milling
devices that make industrial components without direct human
assistance. They use coded instructions that are sent to an internal
computer, which allows factories to fabricate parts accurately and
quickly. They tend to be very expensive but beneficial to CAPE as they
are efficient and save a lot of time & labour.

10. Machinery being Used
Computer numerical control, or CNC, systems are computer controlled
machining tools used in manufacturing. The advantage to computer
numerical control systems is the increased accuracy and processing speed
for the production machines. Cape’s new CNC machines use computers for
the entire process from design to production. The initial product design is
created with a computer assisted design, or CAD, program. CAD not only
creates detailed images and drawings of the product, but also in depth
schematics and measurements.
CNC Machine cutting
polyisocyanurate
(PIR)
From Right to left:
Operating machine,
CNC cutting machine,
CAD program.

11. Blasting and Painting
Blasting is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a
surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface,
shape a surface, or remove surface contaminants. Cape generally uses a pressurized
fluid to propel the blasting material. The three main types of abrasive blasting Cape
uses are Sand blasting, bead blasting and shot blasting.
After blasting, the next step is usually painting. Most of Cape’s clients ask for several
paint coats, not for the aesthetical reasons but for caution.
Painting a material that rusts, usually an iron rich material like steel, keeps the metal
from exposure to the environment such as air and humidity. Rust is actually the
oxidation of metal, and protecting metal with paint does not allow this to happen.
Therefore, most of the clients request for a paint job after blasting in order to prevent
the need for blasting in the future.
Blasting Painting

12. Blasting and Painting
From left to right:
Garnet grade 20-40,
Steel shot & Grit,
Garnet Grade 30-60,
Steel grit, Glass beads.
Cape sits with its clients to decide which abrasive (Glass beads, steel
shot/grit or garnet) will work best for the project discussing efficiency, cost
effectiveness and quality.
Smaller steel shots are used to obtain a smoother finish, while larger ones
lead to a rougher finish. Blasting with steel grit is used for jobs where
aggressive cleaning is required, such as removing contaminants from a metal.
Sand blasting is an easy process which uses little machinery; it can also be
used for paint removal and perfect cleaning. Glass beads are used specifically
to clean smooth surfaces as it maintains the uniformity. Glass beads tend to
be the most expensive, followed by steel shots/grit and then garnet.
However, steel shots can be reused up to 50 times making it the most cost
effective in the long run.
Quality Control
needs to check
abrasive quality
using the Test
Sieve

13. Insulation
Insulation is never installed as a single unit or
machine. Insulation material is part of a system that
includes the insulation; the securement; a vapor
barrier, in the case of low-temperature applications;
and an outer layer that might be referred to as the
cover, jacket or lagging.
Each component plays an important part in the overall
function of the system. The insulation material itself
is the primary barrier to the flow of energy, while the
securement holds the insulation in place. The function
of the vapor barrier is to prevent the passage of
moisture into the insulation.

14. Insulation Jacketing
The most versatile component in the insulation system is
the outer covering, known as the jacket. It has a variety
of functions, including protecting the insulation from
mechanical damage, providing support, preventing
moisture penetration and establishing the system
emissivity and appearance.
Aluminum and stainless steel are the most commonly
used jacket materials at CAPE because, among many
other desirable characteristics, they have sufficient
corrosion resistance to meet a basic low-maintenance,
high-durability requirement. Furthermore, both are
available in a range of thickness, finishes and
corrugations.

15. 5 Year Strategy
Fortunately for me, I was able to work with the strategist at Cape while
he was working on the 5 year strategy and the overall review for the
company.
While reviewing the company’s progress and assessing the development,
we made various graphs and reports. We were required to analyze the
company’s financial performance over
the past 15 years to set 5 year long
term goals and create
plans/strategies in order to achieve
these goals.
Furthermore, we even discussed
the market share percentages of
the maintenance and construction
industries in Qatar enabling us to
infer that Cape has a significant
share of the market and set goals
to achieve over 50% of the market
share in maintenance by 2020.

16. Health and Safety
It was great to see that in the new RLIC
yard, CAPE had implemented several
health and safety measures. Every
machine had a distinct “safe work
instructions” guide and each room had at
least 3/4 supervisors who overlooked the
entire process and prevented
carelessness.
Silica sand blasting results in large
amounts of dust which could cause lung
infections. Therefore, Cape has started
using garnet blasting which releases much
less dust which doesn’t cause health
problems.
Cape invests significant resource into
training facilities that provide employees
with the essential skills required to work
safely and protect themselves and others
at all times.