DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTERACTIVE ONLINE

PLATFORM FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOOL SUPERVISORS TO

COMMUNICATE REGULARLY DURING THE STUDENTS IT/SIWES
ATTACHMENT.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is a skills training

programme designed to expose and prepare students of universities and other
tertiary institutions for the Industrial Work situation they are likely to meet after
graduation. It is also a planned and structured programme based on stated and
specific career objectives which are geared towards developing the occupational
competencies of participants (Mafe, 2009). Consequently, the SIWES programme
is a compulsory graduation requirement for all Nigerian university students
offering certain courses.

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), is the accepted

training programme, which is part of the approved Minimum Academic Standard
in the various degree programmes for all Nigerian Universities. The scheme is
aimed at bridging the existing gap between theory and practice of Sciences,
Agriculture, Medical Sciences (including Nursing), Engineering and Technology,
Management, and Information and Communication Technology and other
professional educational programmes in the Nigerian tertiary institutions. It is
aimed at exposing students to machines and equipment, professional work methods

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and ways of safeguarding the work areas and workers in industries, offices,
laboratories, hospitals and other organizations.

Prior to establishing the Scheme, industrialists and other employers of labor felt
concerned that graduates of Nigeria Universities were deficient in practical
background studies preparatory for employment in Industries and other
organizations. The employers thus concluded that the theoretical education being
received in our higher institutions was not responsive to the needs of the employers
of labor. Consequently, the rationale for initiating and designing the scheme by the
Industrial Training Funds ITF, in 1973.

The scheme is a tripartite programme involving the students, the universities and
the employers of labor. It is funded by the Federal Government and jointly
coordinated by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the National Universities
Commission (NUC).

1.2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Industrial Training/Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme is usually

intended for students to get valuable work experience relating to their field of
study, due to the difficulty in getting work placement students often find
themselves getting jobs in areas far away from their institutions. Supervisors have
to wait till the end of the training scheme to assess the performance of the students.
As a result of this problem, supervisors find it very difficult to monitor the progress
of the student regularly.

1.3AIM OF THE STUDY

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The aim of this study is to provide an interactive online platform for students and
school supervisors to communicate regularly during the students IT/SIWES
attachment.

1.4OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To enable school supervisor monitor the progress of the students during their
IT/SIWES training.
 To enable students and supervisors communicate regularly, this in turn
enables the student to provide feedbacks regarding problems encountered
during his/her training program.
 To enable the lecturer/supervisor determine if the student is gaining relevant
work experience during the IT/SIWES training.

1.5SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covers the student and lecturer/supervisor progress report. The
automation involves an online portal where the student and lecturers/supervisors
can interact regularly.

1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

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This study will help to bridge the communication gap between students and
supervisors during the students IT/SIWES training programming, it seeks to
provide a steady communication stream via the use of online resources, so as to
ensure effective monitoring of students, irrespective of the distance where the
student is carrying out his/her training.

1.7LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

As a result of the various stages involved in IT reporting, this research work would
be limited to only weekly feedbacks, and the full technical reports submitted at the
end of the IT/SIWES exercise. Also this research is limited to an online interaction
between a student and his/her supervisor.

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 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 STUDENT INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME (SIWES)

The Student Industrial Work Experience scheme (SIWES) is a planned and

supervised training intervention best on a stated and specific learning and career
objectives geared towards developing the occupational competencies of the
participants. It is a programme required to be undertaken by all student of tertiary
institution in Nigeria pursuing courses in specialized engineering, technical,
business, applied sciences and applied arts (ITF 2004). Therefore SIWES is
generic

cutting across programmes in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of

education. Thus, SIWES is not specifically meant for any one course of study or
discipline.

In Nigeria, the current form of cooperative education is known as the student

industrial training work experience scheme(SIWES). Often, student mistakenly
and commonly refers to SIWES as IT, whereas Industrial Training is generic while

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SIWES is a specific form of cooperative education or industrial training operation
in Nigeria.

The industrial training fund established the student industrial work experience
scheme (SIWES) in 1973. The Scheme was designed to expose student to the
industrial environment and enable them to develop occupational competencies so
that they can readily contribute their quota to national economic and technological
development after graduation.

2.2 THE CONTENT OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

The existing interest in industrial training derived from the concern of tertiary
institution to improve the standard and quality of their students. Therefore, the
content of industrial training scheme tends to be wide and comprehensive.
Practical knowledge relates to doing. According to Ochagha (1995) practical
knowledge is learning without which mastering of an area of knowledge may be
too difficult to achieve. Practical knowledge involves developing skills, through
the use of tools or equipment to perform tasks that are related to a field of study.

No society can achieve meaningful progress without encouraging its youth to

acquire necessary practical skills. Such skills enable them to harness available
resources to meet the needs of society. It was against this background that SIWES
otherwise referred to as Industrial Training (IT), was introduced in Nigerian
tertiary institutions.

SIWES is a skill development programme designed to prepare student of

universities, polytechnic/monotechnics and Colleges of Education for transition
from the College Environment to work (Akerejola 2008) Oyedele (1990) state that

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work experience is an educational programme in which students participate in
work activities while attending school. This work experience programme gives
students the opportunity to be part of an actual work situation outside the
classroom. SIWES is a cooperative industrial internship programme that involves
institution of higher learning, industries, the federal government of Nigeria,
Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and
NBTE/NCCE in Nigeria. Students that participate in this work experience
programme include those studying library science, engineering vocational,
technological, and related courses in institute of higher learning. SIWES forms part
of the approved minimum academic standard in these institutions, SIWES is a core
academic requirement carrying four credit units. This requirement must be met by
all students before graduation. It is also compulsory at National Diploma (ND)
level and is scheduled in the NBTE curriculum. The training programme is
undertaken in the 3rd year of a four year degree programme respectively and in the
1st year of National Diploma programme.

Eze (1998) points out that government has recognized the importance of SIWES
through the establishment of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) whereas ITG was
established in 1971 and was charged with human resource development and
training. Following the establishment of ITF, SIWES commenced in 1974 with the
aim of making education more relevant and to bridge the yawning gap between the
theory and related disciplines in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The specific
objectives of SIWES were summarized by the federal government in its Gazette of
April, 1978 as follows:

All students who are registered for a Bachelor of Engineering, Diploma in

Engineering, Computer Science, Public Administration, NCE Agric Science etc are

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required to undergo industrial training for a period of at least12 weeks before their
graduation Industrial training is meant:

 To expose student of any discipline of study to learn and experience the

knowledge, which they required in industry where these are not taught in the
lecture room.
 To apply the knowledge taught in the lecture rooms in real industrial
situation.
 To use the experience gained from the industrial training in discussion held
in the lecture rooms.
 To get a feel of the work environment.
 To gain experience in writing report in any discipline of study works/project.
 To expose students to any field of study of its responsibilities and ethics.
 To expose students to employers as well as to introduce the Industrial
Training programme available within Nigerian institutions.
 With all the experience and knowledge acquired it is hoped that student will
be able to choose appropriate work after graduation.

2.3 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF SIWES

The student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) started in 1974 with 748
students from 11 institutions of higher learning. By 1978, the scope of
participation in the scheme had increased to about 5,000 students from 32
institutions. The industrial training fund, however, withdraw from the management
of the scheme in 1979 owing to problems of organizational logistics and the
increased financial burden associated with rapid expansion of SIWES (ITF, 2003).
Consequently, the Federal Government funded the scheme through the National
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University Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education
(NBTE) and managed (SIWES) for five years (1979 – 1984). The supervising
agencies (NUC and NBTE) operated the scheme in conjunction with their
respective institutions during the period. The scheme was subsequently reviewed
by the federal government resulting in Decree No. 16 of August, 1985 which
required that “all students enrolled in specialized engineering, technical, business,
applied sciences and applied art should have supervised industrial attachment as
part of their studies. In the same vein, the ITF was directed by the Federal
Government to take charge and resume responsibility for the management of
SIWES in collaboration with the supervising agencies, i.e. National Universities
Commission (NUC), the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) and the
National Commission for College of Education (NCCE).

Following the resumption of management of SIWES by the ITF in 1984, the

scheme has witnessed rapid expansion. Between 1985 and 1995, the numbers of
institutions and the students participating in SIWES rose from 141 to 57,433
respectively. Between 1995 and 2003, a total of 176 institutions and 210, 390
students participated in SIWES. This rose to 204 while the number of students
from these institutes who participated in the scheme was 535,210, from 2003 –
2011 the institutions participated in the scheme improved up to 215 while the
number of student increased to 610,122 (ITF 2011) industrial work experience in
Human resource Development in Nigeria.

Presently, participation in the scheme is limited to science, engineering,

technology, public administration, business administration, accountancy
programmers in universities and polytechnics while in the colleges of education
NCE programmes in technical education, agriculture, business, creative arts and
design, computer studies and home economics are eligible.
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2.4 PURPOSE OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

Industrial Training can make a significant solution to the development of students.

This is not only by increase in the economic well being of a nation but also by the
increasing capacity of their own lines. If the concept of development has been so
defined to include the capacity of individual student to guide and determine the
direction of their own lives. Industrial training is the yardstick for achieving this
objective for the student of tertiary institutions.

The benefits accruing to students who participated conscientiously in industrial

training are the skills and competencies they acquire. These relevant production
skills remain a part of the recipient of industrial training as lifelong assets which
cannot be taken away from them. This is because the knowledge and skills
acquired through training are internalized and become relevant when required to
perform job. (Olusegun, 2009).

Industrial training can contribute to the solution of training problems no matter

how defined at both the national and individual levels by increasing awareness and
understanding of the factors that contribute to industrial training changes and the
consequences. In Nigeria, industrial training developed as a response to concern
for rapid student trainee growth. It is often assumed that the relevance is limited to
countries where rapid industrial training is not a problem. Industrial training is also
relevant to countries wishing to increase their student trainee, change their rates of
growth in other directions to stabilize or to change their present pattern of
industrial training programme exercise in the tertiary institutes.

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2.5 PROBLEMS OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

As a result of importance of the Industrial Training in nations tertiary institution

curriculum, industrial training is faced by many problems which include the
following:

2.5.1 Student Trainee Problem

There would be the problem of getting student with the right knowledge, training
and orientation for industrial training. There is no doubt that this would be a
problem judging from the fact that most of the present students did not receive the
appropriate training in the field of industrial training scheme. They would be
expected to be conversant with the rules and regulation, process, method, creative
and procedures in the training for effective learning atmosphere. Many students
never had it as part of their preparation for a course work. This is more disturbing
especially with the fall in standard of students’ quality in Nigeria universities,
polytechnics and College of education.

2.5.2 Problem of Misconception

Lack of interest in the training on the part of students because of the fact that
industrial training is not examinable at the school certificate level. It is at the place
of attachment or after the attachment that interview would be conducted for
employing students.

2.5.3 Scarcity of Place of Attachment

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The problem of scarcity and qualitative place of attachment for some courses is a
great challenge of industrial training in Nigeria. For example, chemical
engineering and petroleum Gas engineering can be partly surmounted through the
establishment of virile and functional network of alumni of various chemical
engineering departments in the country. The placement of students in industry has
been a major problem militating against effective implementation of SIWES for
sometimes across all participating institution. This is attributed to the environment
of student.

2.5.4 Tertiary Institution Problems

Many institutions have not complied with several aspects in terms of establishing
of fully staff SIWES coordinating units, appointment of full time SIWES
coordinators, assessment of student performance at the end of training, allocation
of credit loads to SIWES and operation of separate SIWES banks Account. Several
others are not complying with the standard set under the SIWES guidelines. Such
institutions benefit maximally from participating in SIWES.

2.5.5 Problem of Irregular Supervisory Agencies

The problem of irregular monitoring and supervision visits to pilot student in their
place of attachment. However, many institution particularly the new ones, have not
fully complied with the directives from the supervisory/regulatory agencies.
Therefore, there is need for better and close monitoring of the SIWES function and
activities by the NUC, NBTE and NCCE in order to ensure that the scheme is
properly implemented in the institution. More attention needs to be paid to SIWES

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during the accreditation of SIWES approved programmes in institutions to enable
the scheme attains its potential in enhancing the pool of technical skills available to
the economy.

2.5.6 Resource Problem or Funding

There is the problem of inadequate funding. Under-funding of SIWES has led to a

backlog in the payment of student allowances, extending as far back as 2005-2009
in some cases. This has resulted in lukewarm attitudes on the part of student
towards participation in SIWES. Sometimes violence by students for non-payment
of their allowance create problem and has a bad image which is being created to
the extreme among other undesirable impact (Olusegun, 2006).

2.5.7 Ineffective Organization of Industrial Attachment

It should be noted that the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)
programme was designed to familiarize trainee. This according to Mbafa (2000) is
that the programme has taken short of expectation as a result of poor coordination
between industries and training institution (Ekunke, 2008).

2.6 AUTOMATION

Automation or automatic control is the use of various control systems for operating
equipment such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers and heat treating
ovens, switching in telephone networks, steering and stabilization of ships, aircraft
and other applications with minimal or reduced human intervention. Some
processes have been completely automated.

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The biggest benefit of automation is that it saves labor; however, it is also used to
save energy and materials and to improve quality, accuracy and precision.

The term automation, inspired by the earlier word automatic (coming from
automaton), was not widely used before 1947, when General Motors established
the automation department (Jeremy, 1995). It was during this time that industry
was rapidly adopting feedback controllers, which were introduced in the 1930s
(Bennet, 1993).

Automation has been achieved by various means including mechanical, hydraulic,

pneumatic, electrical, electronic and computers, usually in combination.
Complicated systems, such as modern factories, airplanes and ships typically use
all these combined techniques.

2.7 HISTORY OF AUTOMATION

The earliest feedback control mechanism was used to tent the sails of windmills. It
was patented by Edmund Lee in 1745.

The centrifugal governor, which dates to the last quarter of the 18th century, was
used to adjust the gap between millstones. The centrifugal governor was also used
in the automatic flour mill developed by Oliver Evans in 1785, making it the first
completely automated industrial process. The governor was adopted by James Watt
for use on a steam engine in 1788 after Watt’s partner Boulton saw one at a flour
mill Boulton & Watt were building (Wikipedia.org, 2015).

The governor could not actually hold a set speed; the engine would assume a new
constant speed in response to load changes. The governor was able to handle
smaller variations such as those caused by fluctuating heat load to the boiler. Also,
there was a tendency for oscillation whenever there was a speed change. As a

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consequence, engines equipped with this governor were not suitable for operations
requiring constant speed, such as cotton spinning.

Several improvements to the governor, plus improvements to valve cut-off timing

on the steam engine, made the engine suitable for most industrial uses before the
end of the 19th century. Advances in the steam engine stayed well ahead of
science, both thermodynamics and control theory.

The governor received relatively little scientific attention until James Clerk
Maxwell published a paper that established the beginning of a theoretical basis for
understanding control theory. Development of the electronic amplifier during the
1920s, which was important for long distance telephony, required a higher signal
to noise ratio, which was solved by negative feedback noise cancellation. This and
other telephony applications contributed to control theory. Military applications
during the Second World War that contributed to and benefited from control theory
were fire-control systems and aircraft controls. The word "automation" itself was
coined in the 1940s by General Electric. The so-called classical theoretical
treatment of control theory dates to the 1940s and 1950s (Bennett, 1993).

Relay logic was introduced with factory electrification, which underwent rapid
adaption from 1900 though the 1920s. Central electric power stations were also
undergoing rapid growth and operation of new high pressure boilers, steam
turbines and electrical substations created a large demand for instruments and
controls.

Central control rooms became common in the 1920s, but as late as the early 1930s,
most process control was on-off. Operators typically monitored charts drawn by
recorders that plotted data from instruments. To make corrections, operators
manually opened or closed valves or turned switches on or off. Control rooms also

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used color coded lights to send signals to workers in the plant to manually make
certain changes.

Controllers, which were able to make calculated changes in response to deviations

from a set point rather than on-off control, began being introduced the 1930s.
Controllers allowed manufacturing to continue showing productivity gains to offset
the declining influence of factory electrification (Alexander, 2011).

In 1959 Texaco’s Port Arthur refinery became the first chemical plant to use digital
control. Conversion of factories to digital control began to spread rapidly in the
1970s as the price of computer hardware fell (Ritfkin, 1995).

2.8 TYPES OF AUTOMATION

One of the simplest types of control is on-off control. An example is the

thermostats used on household appliances. Electromechanical thermostats used in
Heating ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC) may only have had provision for
on/off control of heating or cooling systems. Electronic controllers may add
multiple stages of heating and variable fan speed control.

Sequence control, in which a programmed sequence of discrete operations is

performed, often based on system logic that involves system states. An elevator
control system is an example of sequence control.

The advanced type of automation that revolutionized manufacturing, aircraft,

communications and other industries, is feedback control, which is usually

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continuous and involves taking measurements using a sensor and making
calculated adjustments to keep the measured variable within a set range.

2.8.1 Open and closed loop

All the elements constituting the measurement and control of a single variable are
called a control loop. Control that uses a measured signal, feeds the signal back
and compares it to a set point, calculates and sends a return signal to make a
correction, is called closed loop control. If the controller does not incorporate
feedback to make a correction then it is open loop.

Loop control is normally accomplished with a controller. The theoretical basis of

open and closed loop automation is control theory.

2.8.2 Sequential control and logical sequence or system state control

Sequential control may be either to a fixed sequence or to a logical one that will
perform different actions depending on various system states. An example of an
adjustable but otherwise fixed sequence is a timer on a lawn sprinkler.

States refer to the various conditions that can occur in a use or sequence scenario
of the system. An example is an elevator, which uses logic based on the system
state to perform certain actions in response to its state and operator input. For
example, if the operator presses the floor n button, the system will respond
depending on whether the elevator is stopped or moving, going up or down, or if
the door is open or closed, and other conditions.

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An early development of sequential control was relay logic, by which electrical
relays engage electrical contacts which either start or interrupt power to a device.
Relays were first used in telegraph networks before being developed for
controlling other devices, such as when starting and stopping industrial-sized
electric motors or opening and closing solenoid valves. Using relays for control
purposes allowed event-driven control, where actions could be triggered out of
sequence, in response to external events. These were more flexible in their
response than the rigid single-sequence cam timers. More complicated examples
involved maintaining safe sequences for devices such as swing bridge controls,
where a lock bolt needed to be disengaged before the bridge could be moved, and
the lock bolt could not be released until the safety gates had already been closed.

The total number of relays, cam timers and drum sequencers can number into the
hundreds or even thousands in some factories. Early programming techniques and
languages were needed to make such systems manageable, one of the first being
ladder logic, where diagrams of the interconnected relays resembled the rungs of a
ladder. Special computers called programmable logic controllers were later
designed to replace these collections of hardware with a single, more easily re-
programmed unit.

In a typical hard wired motor start and stop circuit (called a control circuit) a motor
is started by pushing a "Start" or "Run" button that activates a pair of electrical
relays. The "lock-in" relay locks in contacts that keep the control circuit energized
when the push button is released. (The start button is a normally open contact and
the stop button is normally closed contact.) Another relay energizes a switch that
powers the device that throws the motor starter switch (three sets of contacts for
three phase industrial power) in the main power circuit. (Note: Large motors use
high voltage and experience high in-rush current, making speed important in
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making and breaking contact. This can be dangerous for personnel and property
with manual switches.) All contacts are held engaged by their respective
electromagnets until a "stop" or "off" button is pressed, which de-energizes the
lock in relay. See diagram: Motor Starters Hand-Off-Auto With Start-Stop.

Commonly interlocks are added to a control circuit. Suppose that the motor in the
example is powering machinery that has a critical need for lubrication. In this case
an interlock could be added to insure that the oil pump is running before the motor
starts. Timers limit switches and electric eyes are other common elements in
control circuits.

Solenoid valves are widely used on compressed air or hydraulic fluid for powering
actuators on mechanical components. While motors are used to supply continuous
rotary motion, actuators are typically a better choice for intermittently creating a
limited range of movement for a mechanical component, such as moving various
mechanical arms, opening or closing valves, raising heavy press rolls, applying
pressure to presses.

2.8.3 Computer control

Computers can perform both sequential control and feedback control, and typically
a single computer will do both in an industrial application. Programmable logic
controllers (PLCs) are a type of special purpose microprocessor that replaced many
hardware components such as timers and drum sequencers used in relay logic type
systems. General purpose process control computers have increasingly replaced
stand alone controllers, with a single computer able to perform the operations of
hundreds of controllers. Process control computers can process data from a
network of PLCs, instruments and controllers in order to implement typical (such
as PID) control of many individual variables or, in some cases, to implement

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complex control algorithms using multiple inputs and mathematical manipulations.
They can also analyze data and create real time graphical displays for operators
and run reports for operators, engineers and management.

Control of an automated teller machine (ATM) is an example of an interactive

process in which a computer will perform a logic derived response to a user
selection based on information retrieved from a networked database. The ATM
process has similarities with other online transaction processes. The different
logical responses are called scenarios. Such processes are typically designed with
the aid of use cases and flowcharts, which guide the writing of the software code.

2.9 ADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATION

The main advantages of automation are:

1. Increased throughput or productivity.

2. Improved quality or increased predictability of quality.
3. Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product.
4. Increased consistency of output.
5. Reduced direct human labor costs and expenses.

The following methods are often employed to improve productivity, quality, or

robustness.

1. Install automation in operations to reduce cycle time.

2. Install automation where a high degree of accuracy is required.

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 3. Replacing human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or
monotonous work.
4. Replacing humans in tasks done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire, space,
volcanoes, nuclear facilities, underwater, etc.)
5. Performing tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size, weight, speed,
endurance, etc.
6. Economic improvement: Automation may improve in economy of
enterprises, society or most of humanity. For example, when an enterprise
invests in automation, technology recovers its investment; or when a state or
country increases its income due to automation like Germany or Japan in the
20th Century.
7. Reduces operation time and work handling time significantly.
8. Frees up workers to take on other roles.
9. Provides higher level jobs in the development, deployment, maintenance and
running of the automated processes.

2.10 DISADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATION

The main disadvantages of automation are:

1. Security Threats/Vulnerability: An automated system may have a limited

level of intelligence, and is therefore more susceptible to committing errors
outside of its immediate scope of knowledge (e.g., it is typically unable to
apply the rules of simple logic to general propositions).
2. Unpredictable/excessive development costs: The research and development
cost of automating a process may exceed the cost saved by the automation
itself.

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 3. High initial cost: The automation of a new product or plant typically requires
a very large initial investment in comparison with the unit cost of the
product, although the cost of automation may be spread among many
products and over time.

4. In manufacturing, the purpose of automation has shifted to issues broader

than productivity, cost, and time.

CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

3.1 WEBSITE DESIGN

Before implementing the automated reporting system on this web site, the web
layout and web pages must be designed. These pages are designed to help the user
interact with the system. These pages would serve as a source of additional
information. The web design template would follow the standard layout of most
web sites available online. The web site would comprise of the following web
major pages;

1. Home / Welcome page.

2. Student login page.
3. Supervisor login page

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 4. Report page.
5. Company listing page
6. University Contact page.

3.1.1 HOME / WELCOME PAGE

Every web site has its index or home page as it’s commonly called. This is the first
page the user visits when it types the web address into a web browsers address bar.
Our welcome page would contain very little information on it, it would just be a
brief introduction to what we intend to achieve with our website.

Also, as it is customary with all web pages, our home page would consist of links
to all other pages available on our website.

3.1.2 STUDENT LOGIN PAGE

The student login page is designed for students to fill in their username and
password in other to get access to the report submission page, where they can write
and submit their reports

3.1.3 SUPERVISOR LOGIN PAGE

The supervisor login page is designed for supervisors to fill in their username and
password in other to get access to the report submission page, where they can
grade submitted reports

3.1.4 REPORT PAGE

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 The report page covers the main essence of the study. This page contains the log
on page for either the student or the supervisor intending to submit or read the
report submitted. After user authentication, depending on the user status, you are
either directed to a report submission page or report grading page.

3.1.5 COMPANY LISTING PAGE

The company listing page is used to show the listing of firms where students are
currently carried out their industrial attachment program. This is to provide the
school with records of the companies where the training was carried out.

3.1.6 UNIVERSITY CONTACTS

This page displays the contact details of the supervisors available in SOCSMAIT.

HOME PAGE

STUDENTS SUPERVISOR COMPANY UNIVERISTY

LOGIN LOGIN LISTING CONTACTS

WRITE AND SUBMIT READ AND GRADE

REPORT REPORT

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FIGURE 3.1 Site map for Automation of IT report.

3.2 DATABASE DESIGN

The back end of this system is designed using MySQL as its back end. The tables
below show the database design used for the login and report pages.

Table 3.1 USER AUTHENTICATION

S/N NAME DATA TYPE WIDTH CONSTRAINT

1 USERID INT 10 PRIMARY KEY

2 USERNAME CHAR 20

3 PASSWORD CHAR 20

4 ROLE CHAR 20 STUDENT,SUPERVISOR

Table 3.2 REPORT FIELD

S/N NAME DATA TYPE WIDTH CONSTRAINT

1 USERID INT 10 PRIMARY KEY/FOREIGN

KEY

2 STUDENT NAME CHAR 20

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3 MATRIC NO CHAR 20

4 WEEK INT 10

5 ACTIVITY TEXT 500

3.3 SYSTEM DESIGN TOOLS

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 was used in designing the web site for this system.
Adobe Dreamweaver is a proprietary web development tool developed by Adobe
Systems. Dreamweaver was created by Macromedia in 1997, and was maintained
by them until Macromedia was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2005.

Adobe Dreamweaver is available for OS X and for Windows.

Following Adobe's acquisition of the Macromedia product suite, releases of

Dreamweaver subsequent to version 8.0 have been more compliant with W3C
standards. Recent versions have improved support for Web technologies such as
CSS, JavaScript, and various server-side scripting languages and frameworks
including ASP (ASP JavaScript, ASP VBScript, ASP.NET C#, ASP.NET VB),
ColdFusion, Scriptlet, and PHP.

Dreamweaver, like other HTML editors, edits files locally then uploads them to the
remote web server using FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV. Dreamweaver CS4 now
supports the Subversion (SVN) version control system.

3.3.1 DESCRIPTION OF MySQL

MySQL is a relational database Management system (RDBMS) that runs as a

server providing multiuser access to a number of databases. The MySQL

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development project has made its source code available under the terms of the
General Public License (GPL) and it is used in many high profile World Wide
Web products such as Wikipedia and Google. MySQL was written in C and C++
languages. It has multiple storage engines; allowing one to choose the most
effective storage for each table in the application.

3.4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For the new system to be fully implemented, it needs certain hardware components
and software resources to be installed in a computer. These pre-requisites are
known as “System Requirements”, and often used as guidance as opposed to an
absolute rule. Most software development process defines two sets of System
requirements; Minimum and recommended. However, with increasing demand for
higher processing power and resources in newer versions of software, system
requirements tend to increase overtime. Industry analysts suggest that this trend
plays a bigger part in driving upgrades to existing computer systems than
technological advancements.

3.4.1 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

The recommended hardware requirements for the new systems are often suggested
by software vendors and/or software developers for optimal performance of the
new system. Although, not a necessity, this set of requirements is often sought
after by power end users who expect to gain better experience of software usability

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and are treated as more of a guideline than rules. However the recommended
hardware requirements for the new system include:

1. Hard Disk drive: Minimum 10GB

2. Memory Capacity: Minimum 1GB
3. Processor: Intel Core i3
4. Scroll Mouse
5. Keyboard
6. Visual Display Unit

3.4.2 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Software requirements deal with defining software resources requirements and pre-
requisite that needs to be installed in a computer to provide optimal functioning of
the new system. These requirements are generally not included in the software
development process, and therefore need to be installed separately prior to the
deployment of the application. The new system is designed to run on the following
platform:

1. MS Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, or higher version

2. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox

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 CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM IMPLEMENATION, RESULT AND TESTING

4.1 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

The purpose of system implementation can be summarized into two functions;

namely making the system available to end users (the deployment), and positioning
on-going support and maintenance of the system with the performing organization
(the transition). At a finer level of detail, deploying the system consists of
executing al steps necessary to educate and train the end users on the use of the
proposed system, placing the proposed system into production, confirming that all
data required at the start of operations are available and accurate and validating
that business functions that interact with the system are functioning properly.
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Basically, there are three (3) processes involved in the system implementation
phase. These are:

1. Prepare for System Implementation: This is where all steps needed in

advance of actively deploying the application are performed, including
preparation of both the production environment and the end users
communities.
2. Deploy System: This is where the full deployment plan, initially developed
during system design and evolved throughout subsequent lifecycles phases,
is executed and validated.
3. Transition: This is where an organization takes full responsibility for and
ownership of the applications are transferred from the project team to the
unit in the performing organization that will provide system support and
maintenance

4.2 ACCESSING THE WEB SITE

Accessing is the process of making use of programs that are installed into a
computer system. The following process would be used when trying to access this
web site online

 Click on the Start Menu

 Click on All programs
 Scroll up/down and click on your preferred web browser (Mozilla or internet
explorer)
 The web browser application would run, on the address bar of your browser
type in www.socsmaititreport.com

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Figure 4.1 Home page

Figure 4.2 Student login page

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Figure 4.3 Supervisor login page

Figure 4.4 Company Listing page

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Figure 4.5 University Contact page

Figure 4.6 Student Registration Page

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Figure 4.7 Report Submission Page

Figure 4.8 Assignment Submission Page

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 CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 SUMMARY

An automated IT report system is way of making the IT report submission easy for
students and supervisors. Overtime, the process of submitting IT reports and
monitoring student’s progress during the industrial training is a very cumbersome
task. This is because students are attached to different companies and different
parents of the country, so it makes it almost impossible for the supervisor to
monitor their progress.

This automated IT reporting system is very user friendly, and makes it easy for
supervisors to monitor the progress of students online irrespective of the location
where the student is carrying out his/her report.
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5.2 CONCLUSION

Having developed the automated IT reporting system, though it is subject to further

modifications of its feature as time goes on. This system through its interactive
interface and layout can minimize the stress of supervising and submitting reports.

5.3 RECOMMENDATION

Although the system already accomplishes a vast amount of tasks in IT reporting,

it is still however subject to improvements. This effectively dictates that there
would be continuous need to document changes in IT reporting and submission
processes as the technology being used advances. Though this research attempted
to establish a foundation for continuous documentation, there will ultimately be a
need to generate separate and in-depth documentation for each aspect of IT
reporting. In particular, it would be highly desirable to have a more specialized
system that would detail the submission procedures and the mechanisms used for
grading.

As this application matures in the future and attracts more users, it is envisaged
that there would be need to provide faster and more detailed explanation to users.
This may be achieved through the development of online feedback forum where
frequently asked questions would be answered.

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