Construction of Tatu City gains track

Real Estate Developers of Tatu City have embarked on an investor mission to meet multinational executives and industrialists in five US cities. The US business tour will see them visit New York City, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami and blue-chip companies in Washington DC in April. The main focus of the tour will be ICT and smart community technology, renewable energy, construction, security systems and healthcare facilities.

Presently, Tatu Management has confirmed that 2, 500 acres of land are under development with already 44 leases and purchase of up to 150 residential plots. To date 13 firms among them Dorman’s coffee has already broken ground for its processing, packaging, warehousing and trading facilities. Bidco, Kim Fay and Unilever are in the process of setting up new production facilities after sealing deals with the Management.


Tatu City CEO, Antony Njoroge said that it is investing KES2.2 billion in initial infrastructure ahead of rolling out major projects in June “Construction of murram roads leading to the site projects is on course, with about 90 per cent of the sewer treatment completed in 2015 and power lines connections to different firm’s spaces ongoing. The construction of a water treatment plant is ongoing.”

Tatu City is among Rendeavour’s parcels of prime land measuring over 30,000 acres slated for satellite community developments in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo which is an idea being pushed by its American shareholders eager to speed up establishment of US companies.

Articles courtesy of Kenya Engineer Magazine. Get the full article here

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Work Out On This Bike And Get Your Laundry Done Too

It’s always a drag when you have to choose between house chores and exercising. This is where the Dalian Nationalities University in China comes. A team of designers in the university has come up with a hybrid between a washing machine and a bike. The end result of this mixture is a bike washing machine. The contraption is an exercise bike that also features a washing machine incorporated into it.

Oh yes, when you exercise on this bike, it subsequently makes the washing machine operate and apart from doing that, you can also save electricity for future use. Talk about multi-tasking and being ingenious. The front wheel of the bike features a washing machine tank.

Courtesy Of Wonderful Engineering. Get the full article: http://wonderfulengineering.com/work-out-on-this-bike-and-get-your-laundry-done-too/

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The Story Of Showers - History

After a long day working hard for that shilling/Dollar, you probably cool down by taking a cold/warm shower: the feeling is really good, right?

Have you ever asked yourself what showering was like in the past? How did we get to this levels with some showers even fitted with lighting to warn you on your water usage? What was the first shower like? Here are some answers as per to the history of showers:

Color Changing Showers

The shower has been around for quite sometime if you know what we mean;

1. Natural Showers

The first ever showers were nature provided - Waterfalls. The early man would stand below the falling water to clean themselves. This was a faster and more effective way of cleaning compared to sitting in some pool or still water. The rains would also provide a proper shower, don't you think?

Waterfall - Nature Provided Shower

2.The Greek Invention

Before the Greek invention, however, the Egyptians had pots and jugs filled with water and have it poured over themselves and if your wealthy enough then a servant would do the pouring for you. The water was cold, I wonder why they did not think of heating the water?

The Greeks invented the first showers with aqueducts and sewage systems pumping water into communal showers.Their sewer systems were constructed of lead pipes, a system that also allowed water to be pumped into and out of communal shower rooms.  The Romans also had advanced sewer systems and built an enormous amount of bathhouses across their vast empire but most ideas were borrowed from the Greeks. The Greeks had remarkable Engineering skills, right?

A Greek Bathhouse

3. Middle Ages

History has it that in the middle ages (The 14th Century) good hygiene became a taboo as it became a sign of vanity as preached by Christianity proponents. Apparently, bathing let the devil into you.Yeah right?

However, the link between maintaining hygiene and good health became more popular and the public were only advised to wash parts visible to the public. Showers were non-existent during this times, people would instead take dips in rivers and lakes and those who owned a bath, the water would be shared between family members before the water was poured out as water was also a scarce commodity.

4. Invention Of Modern Showers

It wasn’t until 1767 that anything similar to our modern showers entered the playing field. William Feetham, a stove maker from Ludgate Hill in London, patented his shower invention during this year. They had a hand pump and became more popular as they used less water meaning servants carried less water. This contraption had a pump that forced water into an upper basin above your head. You would then pull a chain to release the water from this upper basin, the water was very cold though? Unfortunately, this system also meant that you were reusing the same dirty water every time you pulled the chain

Showers continued a steady growth upwards as the health benefits were realised and in early 19th century, The English Regency, the first designer shower was created. It consisted of a metal frame painted to look like bamboo.A hand pump was used and once internal plumbing was invented later on, it was connected to running water source hence they became even easier to use.

These development gave way to tank less water heaters in the 20th century. Manufactures came up with even more shower designs to meet consumer demands in 1980s. Electric showers, Power showers and mixer showers are the inventions that followed with a digital shower first invented in 2001. We will talk about the modern shower inventions in our subsequent articles.

Modern Shower Faucet

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Regional body launched to promote efficiency in energy management

KENGEN Sponsorship cheque

Energy engineers in East Africa have launched an association to ensure highest standards of professionalism and efficiency in energy management within the region. The Association of Energy Professionals Eastern Africa (AEPEA) is the regional chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). AEE is the world’s leading professional body of certified energy professionals with over 17,000 members across the globe. 

The regional body was launched during a workshop on the National Energy Policy sponsored by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) at Strathmore University in Nairobi. The AEPEA Chapter President, who is also the Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Academic Affairs at Strathmore University and the Director of the Strathmore Energy Research Centre, Prof. Izael Da Silva, said the association will promote scientific, educational and business interests of those engaged in the industry.

.........“We now have an association that will advance by lawful means the common purposes of its members, and promote activities designed to enable the industry to be conducted with the greatest economy and efficiency,” said Prof Silva..........
Courtesy of Kenya Engineer Magazine. Get the whole article form here....http://kenyaengineer.co.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5553%3Aregional-body-launched-to-promote-efficiency-in-energy-management&catid=9&Itemid=207

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What is waste management?

You have just freshened up, put on your best outfit plus shoes then as you head out you step on to something. Looking closely, it is some of your leftovers from last nights meals. It could even be a dog poop. Annoying? That is just but a simple example of what happens when you do not practice proper waste management around your homes and your environment as a whole. So, what is waste management?

Poor Waste Management Practice

In simple terms this refers to collection, transportation, and disposal of garbage, sewage and other waste products. From Wikipedia this refers to “generation, prevention, characterization, monitoring, treatment, handling, reuse and residual disposition of solid wastes”. All this is done to minimise the wastes consequences on humans and environment.

There are several methods of waste management, some with even more negative impacts on the environment but most of them have proven effective with even better and even more effective ways being invented. 

Here are a few common ways of waste management:

1.Landfill

This refers to a carefully designed structure built into or on top of the ground, in which trash is separated from the area around it. Trash is isolated from the surrounding environment (groundwater, air, rain). This isolation is accomplished with a bottom liner and daily covering of soil. A sanitary landfill uses a clay liner to isolate the trash from the environment. This must not be cofused with a compost pit as the trash do not decompose in a landfill.

2. Incineration/Combustion

These are also referred to thermal treatment of waste. This process converts the waste into ash, gas and heat. There are two categories to this of which it will be covered in detail later on in this site:

• Incinerators - This is an uncontrolled combustion process without energy recovery.
• Boilers and Industrial Furnaces (BIFs)- used primarily for energy and material recovery and are also referred to as Energy-From-Waste(EFW) facility.

Waste Incineration In Progress

3. Recovery and Recycling

In simple terms, recycling refers to processing of used material into new useful products. This is a great way of preventing pollution. In addition, less energy and less raw  material is used to come up with a new product. You can help with this process by ensuring all your garbage are sorted, separated and place in different labelled bin bags.

Reuse Reduce Recycle

4.Plasma Gasification

A relatively new technology, Plasma gasification can break waste down to 1/300th of its original size by using ionized gases to produce temperatures greater than 3 times the surface temperature of the sun. During the treatment solid waste by plasma gasification, the waste’s molecular bonds are broken down as result of the intense heat in the vessels and the elemental components. The gas from this process is called Synthetic gas or Syngas

Plasma Gasification Process

5.Composting

Simply put, this is natures way of recycling. Composting is a natural biological process, carried out under controlled aerobic conditions (requires oxygen). In this process, various microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, break down organic matter into simpler substances. The effectiveness of the composting process is dependent upon the environmental conditions present within the composting system i.e. oxygen, temperature, moisture, material disturbance, organic matter and the size and activity of microbial populations.

Block Diagram Of The Composting Process

In a nutshell, waste management is a responsibility  of each and everyone of us for the impacts of poor waste disposal practices on the environment not only causes harm to our health but also deplete mother Earth of the limited resources. It is a simple as re-using that coke bottle, minimising use of that inorganic shopping bag, finishing your meals and properly utilising the miminal Earths resources.

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This beautiful electric bike will charge itself with built-in solar panels

Electric bikes are all the rage these days, especially among urban dwellers — and for good reason, too.

E-bikes are a green mode of transportation, can be ridden just about anywhere, and are a much more affordable alternative to owning a car in the city.

As with any electric vehicle, though, keeping it charged can sometimes be a headache. But the Italian company Leaos may have found a clever solution.

Leaos created an electric bike that integrates solar technology into the bike's body so that its battery is almost always getting a charge.

The solar panels are on both sides of the bike, so that it can capture solar energy even in motion. But to get the most charge, a user must position the bike at a 90 degree angle towards the sun.

Leaos CEO Armin Oberhollenzer told Tech Insider that the objective is not to charge an empty battery from the sun, but to use solar energy so that the battery never gets completely empty.

When plugged in, the bike can fully charge in two hours. This gives it a range of about 62 miles in pedal assist mode.

Get the whole article  http://www.techinsider.io/this-beautiful-electric-bike-will-charge-itself-with-its-built-in-solar-panels-2016-2?utm_content=buffer64f64&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-ti

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The Most Expensive Bathroom And Toilet Paper

According to Guinness Book Of World Records, Jeweller Lam Sai-wing built a HK$27 million (£2.4 million; $3.5 million) washroom in his Hong Kong shop made entirely out of gold and precious jewels. The toilet bowls, wash basins, toilet brushes, toilet paper holders, mirror frames, wall mounted chandeliers, wall tiles and doors are all made out of solid 24-carat gold. Are you surprised?

$3.5 Million Toilet

Wait till you hear of the most expensive toilet paper in the world.

To match your Golden toilet, may be, There is a toilet paper made of 22 Karat pure Gold costing over 1.23 Million Dollars. This can only happen in Dubai. Need we say more.
Here is a description from the company` website.

''This is the most expensive toilet paper roll in the world. A Quality 3ply toilet paper with 24 carat gold through the roll. As you use the toilet paper 24 carat gold flakes will fall onto the floor and your behind taking you to another level of sophistication.'' 

The Most Expensive Toilet Paper

Are you making a purchase?

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How Do You Hire The Right Contractor - What To Look Out For?

You have just visited a friend or a relative and you are very much amazed by the Electrical and Mechanical Installations. Everything is in its place, from the Water closets, Wash hand basins to Sockets and switches. How did they get a contractor with that level of skills? That would be your next question, we hope.

A Nicely Installed Home Entertainment Unit

Selecting or hiring a contractor for your projects can be quite tedious and a very much daunting task. To this regard, we share with you tips/steps to follow and what to look out for in a Building Services contractor before signing that legally binding document, Contract.

In a nutshell, any contractor you hire should be technically proficient, reputable and financially stable, and demonstrate a thorough understanding of your business. In addition, you should inquire about the contractor’s warranty and insurance, and get it in writing. Does the contractor guarantee that the work will be installed to meet code? Will the contractor correct work that does not meet applicable standards? Insist on a written estimate and a copy of the contractor’s insurance certificate. Here are more tips and steps to follow to get the best Contractor for your works/Projects:

A Contractor At Work

1. Value or define the Project you want done
Is it a small maintenance or repair project or fresh works on an on going main works project? On this you can also specify whether it is a domestic or commercial installation. Stating your budget would also be a proper way of defining how much work you can achieve or want done as at that moment.

2.Make inquiries on the available Contractors or get recommendations

You can start by asking your friends or someone whose recently done a construction project for their recommendations. You can also check with Government institutions as Ministry of Public Works and regulatory bodies as Energy Regulatory Commission for the right and qualified contractor.

3.Interviews and questioning 

You can start by short phone interviews inquiring on the capability of such firms to take on your project, their financial references as suppliers or banks. a list of previous clients,  other projects they would have going at the same time and as many questions pertaining to your specific project. Based on this, you should be able to come up with a list of contractors that you would like to meet face face. Arrange for a face to face meeting to get estimates(should be free) and further discussion. To save you time and resources you can also get a qualified person to undertake this process for you.

consult someone to help you 

4. Investigate and Make further inquiries.

Confirm with the relevant regulatory bodies with their qualifications and Licenses are up to date. Other than asking former clients on how their projects went, you should also visit their current sites and see for yourself on how their projects are run.

5. Come up with a Payment Schedule.

After getting what you deem a proper bid and after discussion with a contractor, come up with a payment schedule. This very much depends on the financial capability and status of that specific contractor.For most projects, a schedule starts with 10% with the rest spread as the project progresses.

6. Draw A Contract?

Draw up a contract that details every step of the project: payment schedule; proof of liability insurance and worker's compensation payments; a start date and projected completion date; specific materials and products to be used; and a requirement that the contractor obtain lien releases (which protect you if he doesn't pay his bills) from all subcontractors and suppliers. 

''Insisting on a clear contract isn't about mistrust insuring a successful project.''

7. Be As Much Personal

Go with your gut. We all have different personalities and ways we conduct business. If a contractor rubs you the wrong way and/or is unresponsive and hard to deal with before you start the project, chances are they will be even worse once works commences.

We hope this was helpful and you can, on your own, get and hire a contractor for your various projects.

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