CHUKA UNIVERSITY

INDUSTRIAL ATTCHEMENT REPORT

NAME: NJUGUNA PHILIP

REGNO: EBS1/05395/11

DEPARTMENT COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ICT

AT

KTDA KAGWE TEA FACTORY COMPANY LTD

FROM

2ND MAY TO 31ST JULY

DECLARATION

I declare that, this is my original work done during my

period of attachment under supervisor of Peter kibe.

NAME: sign

Supervisor sign

i

DEDICATION

This report is dedicated to my family members and the Kagwe

Tea Factory for the opportunity to train with them and above

all is to God almighty.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to acknowledge the following people for support and

encouragement that led to the successful completion of the

training. FUM, FSA, PA and my special thanks to the entire

Kagwe tea Factory team.

iii

Table of ContentsDEDICATION......................................................iiACKNOWLEDGEMENT................................................iii

ABBREVIATIONS...................................................viCHAPTER ONE......................................................1

1.0 ktda Vision...............................................11.1 Mission....................................................1

1.2 core values................................................11.3 INTRODUCTION...............................................1

1.3.1 Tea production and processing...........................21.4. Organizational structure..................................3

Organizational chart..........................................41.5 Factory ICT Department.....................................4

Data automation................................................51.5.1) Software used.........................................6

a) Operating software........................................61.5.2 Hardware used...........................................6

1.6. Charitable work...........................................7a. Scholarship for needy student..............................7

b. Infrastructure development.................................7c. community awareness........................................7

Chapter two......................................................8WORK DONE DURING THE ATTCHEMENT..................................8

Practical Part:................................................8THEORY PART...................................................11

CHAPTER THREE...................................................13Experience....................................................13

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CHAPTER FOUR....................................................14Conclusion and commendation...................................14

Conclusion....................................................14Recommendation..................................................15

References:.....................................................16

Figure 1 Organizational chart...............................4Figure 2 Data follow chart....................................5

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ABBREVIATIONS

FUM: Factory Unit Manager

FSA: Factory System Administrator

F.S.C: Factory service coordinates

P.A: production Assistance

F.A: Factory accountant

A.F.A: Assistance Factory Accountant

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Back ground

Kagwe tea factory was built in 1981 and completed on 1993.

The commissioning was done in 1984.

1.0.1 Vision

To be the leading organization in quality teas for the

benefits of the stakeholders.

1.0.2 Mission

To provide effective and efficient services in production ,

processing and dispatch of high quality teas for the benefits

of farmers and stake holders

1.0.3 Core values

- Customer focused,

- High standards of ethical practices.

- Social responsibility.

-Equal opportunity for employer and good team work

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Field attachment is an important component of a student’s

studies in the University. It involves the student being

attached to an institution that provides an opportunity to

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apply the skills and knowledge achieved during the course of

study in the industrial environment and to acquire new skills

in computing and carrying out the jobs assigned. It is also

an opportunity to improve social, communication and technical

skills needed for working and a chance to keep abreast with

the dynamic changing industry, as well as introducing him to

the real working conditions and situations he expects to

encounter after graduating.

The purpose of this report is to explain what the I did and

learned during attachment period at Kagwe Tea Factory. This

report is also a requirement for the partial fulfillment of

University of Chuka university degree program. The report

primarily focuses on the assignments handled, working

environment, successes and short comings that I encounter

when handling various tasks assigned by supervisor. It is

also imperative that recommendations and suggestions be given

reflecting on the shortcomings, successes, observation and

comments.

1.1.1 Tea production and processing.

a. Cultivation.

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Tea bushes are planted from 1 metre to 1.5 metres apart to

follow the natural contours of the landscape, sometimes

growing on specially prepared terraces to help irrigation and

to prevent erosion. Young plants are raised from cuttings

obtained from a mother bush and they are carefully tendered

in special nursery beds until 12 - 15 months old. They are

then planted out in the tea fields. The mother bush is a

strong, rich plant carefully selected for propagation

b. Preparation ( Withering )

This is one of the most expensive processes of tea

manufacture in terms of space and time taken. This first

stage of tea manufacture may take 10 to 20 hours and its main

purpose is to bring down the internal moisture of the leaf to

between 65 to 67% WB. It also initiates chemical reactions in

the leaf cell necessary for quality tea production. This

reduction in moisture makes the leaf pliable and easier to

cut in the next stage.

c. Preparation (Maceration)

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The processes of tea manufacture produce three major types of

made tea: green tea that is unfermented, oolong that is semi-

fermented and black tea that is fully fermented. Almost all

tea produced in Kenya is by the CTC (crush, tear and curl)

method. This method produces black tea that has the advantage

of quicker brewing and which makes mores cups per Kg. The

process involves cutting and macerating the leaf to produce a

fine mash, Its purpose is to expose the cell contents to

atmospheric oxygen for further development through the action

of enzymes. This is popularly called fermentation although

it’s strictly an oxidation process.

d. Fermentation

Fermentation or oxidization is the most important stage in

the manufacture of black tea, and this process makes it

uniquely different from all other teas. Fermentation is

carried out in custom designed fermentation rooms. Depending

on the temperature, maceration technique and the style of tea

desired, the fermentation time range from 45 minutes to 3

hours. The characteristic coppery color and fermented tea

aroma judge the completion of fermenting

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e. Drying

This is the process that stops fermentation and introduces a

stable product of low moisture content between 3.0 to 3.3%

that can be shipped and stored.

It involves the physical removal of moisture and it’s a

crucial process as it seals in all the flavour, aroma and

character created during manufactures that are released by

brewing. Drying can therefore make a difference between a

mediocre tea and a superb tea even though they may come from

the same factory.

After drying the teas are then sorted into the four primary

grades and three secondary grades. The sortation is by size

and fibre content. The dry tea is exposed to static

electricity charged PVC rollers that pickup the fibres and

the open leaf

1.4. Organizational structure.

The company is headed by Factory Unit Manager who oversees

all the operation of the company covering tea operations and

production. Production department is headed by Production

manager who over sees all the production processes. The

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extension services are headed by Factory Service Coordinator.

Figure 1 Organizational chart

1.2 Factory ICT Department

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F.U.M

F.S.AP.M F.S.CF.A

Procureme

P.A

EXTENSIONA.F.A

Directors

S/

The ICT department is headed by FSA(Factory system

administrator). Tea buying technology has improved over the

years where the ktda has left traditional method whereby the

tea was bought by analogue weighing scale to a more modern

digital scale. The scales come in set containing printer and

PDA. PDA has been installed with the software that takes the

kgs of the green tea from the field and sends it to the

factory database. The FSA can see from the office which

centers has the clerk collected the green tea leaves. In case

the clerks use the software while it’s offline they are

required to send the data through VPN (virtual private

network).

The ICT is the custodian of printers’ scales, PDA and all

computer accessories. All clerks should report to him every

Monday for checkup of their scales. In case of breakdown the

clerk should first report to him keep the record of device

and its problems The FSA should report the head office before

any device is repaired.

The company uses emails to communicate with internal stuff,

regional offices and the KTDA headquarters. There is also use

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of extensions which facilitates a smooth communication and

reduces movement within the company.

For any data that is sent outside the company has to be

verified by the F.U.M

Data automation

The level of automation is about 90% of all date that

circulate within the company and outside the company. The

data from field is sent to the company through the VPN

network.

Data follow chart

Figure 2 Data follow chart

VPN

Verification

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Field/clerks

Offloading Procurement

Finance

Database

1.2.1) Software used.

i. Application software.

They cannot run on their own but depend on system software to

excute.

They include:

a. Microsoft office

b. Chaipro (kagwe factory management system)

c. Point of sale (software used in offloading and factory

door shop)

d. Sql server for database management.

ii. System software

System software’s are of two category

a) Operating software

i. Linux operating system

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F.U.M Regional offices

KTDA headquarters

Windows (xp and 7)

Windows server2003

1.2.2 Hardware used.

a. Printer

b. Ups

c. Scales

d. PDAs.

e. switches.

f. Routers.

g. Monitors, keyboards Mouse and UPS

1.3. Charitable work

The company has engaged in community development by:-

a. Scholarship for needy student

The management has identified bright and needy students who

do well in their K.C.P.E and K.C.S.E but are unable to

proceed with their studies.

b. Infrastructure development.

c. community awareness.

Open field days are conducted where farmers are educated on

new methods and technology of modern farming.

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Chapter two

WORK DONE DURING THE ATTCHEMENT

Practical Part:

This chapter covers all the training and experiences that I

gained during the attachment.

The first week at the department of ICT I began by going

through the set guidelines and rules. I was also given a

preview of what was expected of me during the attachment

period and also the expected working hours that is arrival

time and time to leave.

After a brief orientation at the department, I was assigned

my first task which was to collect all the serial numbers of

monitors, CPUs, mouse, keyboard and UPS. The record is

important for maintenance measures and also a record of who

is assigned which machine and eases the installation of

driver.

With the help of supervisor we repaired a printer that was

not working. After that the supervisor embarked on training

me on online application using php and mysql as back end.

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That week we design a registration form where password must

contain characters, numerical numbers, uppercase and

lowercase alphabets and at least 8 characters. The password

was encrypted for top security.

We repaired a scale which was not starting where I acquired

new skills. I was required to enter tea weight and checking

if the sum of weight equals the weight record at the

offloading point and the weight sent through VPN to the

factory database. Supervisor and I created a login page,

where the I was thought the importance of using cookie and

keeping variable and user information in session id. Cookies

store the data in remote browser and thus tracking or

identifying and returning the user who’s online. Once they

are set they can be accessed on the next page load by

$_cookie. I was also involved in database backup where I was

required to do backup at least three times per day i.e.

Morning afternoon and evening before leaving.

We update the factory system to a new version by running

script which was sent from KTDA headquarters. This was a

better chance where I how the upgrading of the system is done

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and the requirement before the upgrading is done. One should

make sure that has done the database backup to avoid any

malfunction thereafter. Or the upgrade could be done on

standalone machine which is not in network incase error

arises we were required to report to developers (chai web

developers).

I also learnt to configure php.ini so that it can send mails

and putting wamp server an IP so that it can be accessed

remotely and act as the testing server for the online

application. I did that and tested the application which we

were developing with the supervisor from another computer

through a local IP.

I was also involved in replacement of internal hardware such

as hard disk and also synchronizing PDA which could not send

data through VPN. The data was then sent to factory database

although that was done manually this was required us to be

extra keen. I was also involved in server configuration this

was a good chance to learn how server communicate with the

rest of computers through ip and how they can be assessed

virtually from another machine within the LAN.

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I also cleaned the computer’s internal parts by use of

electric blower, here I had to identify the most critical

parts of computer that can be affected by dust like sinks

that conduct heat away from CPU and fan that acts as cooler.

These parts had to be well cleaned with the rest of the

motherboard. I had to first open the closing, disconnect

machine to power and blow inside the machine. After cleaning

internal part and closing, I hard to blow external parts and

wipe by use of wet cloth. This enabled a computer to work

more efficiently with effective cooling system

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THEORY PART

I learnt how network cables are used when networking is done.

Which wires are used to transmit and receive data and which

are bi-directional. Below is the breakdown

1) Transmission of data

i) Orange stripes

ii) Orange solid

2) Receiving data

i) White with green stripes.

ii) Green solid/stripes

3) Bi-directional

i) Blue solid

ii) Blue stripes

iii) Brown with white stripes

iv) Brown solid

I also learnt about the virtualization and its importance.

The company has virtualized the server whereby we could

access it from another remote machine. This assisted

especially when the network disconnect one could connect it

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without going to the server room. Virtualization helps in

speedup and simplifies the IT management, maintenance and

deployment of new application (such applications are chai

pro: system used in factory) and reduction of ICT costs by

cutting down power required by many computers which work can

be done by a single computer. I also covered about

distributed system and how the factory has implemented it.

The distributed software is installed in the server; a

shortcut is then created in every computer in the company

where every user can access the same where they can work as

if they are on the same machine although in different

location. Such systems were used by system admin where he

could access his desktop its application and CHAIPRO while he

is not within the company. Those applications reduce the

limitation of place where one could work while geographically

away.

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CHAPTER THREE

Experience

During the attachment period at Kagwe Tea Factory I learnt a

lot in hardware trouble shooting techniques, taking care of

internal and external parts, how different parts of machine

are affected by dust and how to clean it, replacement of

internal components of computer. Also during this attachment

I worked with other employees and therefore learnt how to

relate and work together with others in a group. Group work

enabled division of work and also learning from each other.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Conclusion and commendation

Conclusion

The attachment has ensured that I acquired essential

knowledge required in various aspects in hardware and

software handling, customer relationship and work. During the

12 weeks attachment, I had covered mainly the following

areas.

Including:-

Database management and backup

Computer cabling

Server maintenance and configuration

Computer hardware maintenance and configuration

Online application

Distributed system

Boding of scale, printer and PDAs

Website design

Recommendation

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i) The company ICT should consider increasing the internet

bandwidth and installation of access point.

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References:

Attachment logbook

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