PANGKALPINANG -- Her fingers deftly play the mouse and her eyes seem focused on the monitor screen observing various graphs and rows of numbers in the Control Room of TSL Ausmelt PT Timah. Such is the daily life of Pontie Wendrawati Instrument Engineer and Automation Pioneer of TSL Ausmelt PT Timah.
Pontie, as she is familiarly called, is one of the tough cartinas owned by PT Timah, this Bandung-born woman is a pioneer of PT Timah's TSL Ausmelt automation. Joining PT Timah since 2019, Pontie now loves her work in the Mining Industry.
Although previously familiar with male-dominated jobs, working in the mining industry made Pontie quite interested and challenged.
At that time, Pontie said that she was the only woman who participated in the interview selection as an Instrument Engineer at PT Timah. She was even grateful that it was her who passed and joined PT Timah, directly involved in the process of switching the company's smelting technology so that it can now be operated.
“I'm used to being involved in jobs or projects that are dominated by men, but this is my first experience in the mining sector. I am interested in joining PT Timah because it is the first Ausmelt project in Indonesia, and it happens to be the first in Asia, which is quite interesting for me and I want to learn more,” he said last week.
This woman who loves traveling shares stories about the excitement of working in a male-dominated industry, one of the experiences that she continues to remember is having to celebrate Eid in Melbourne, Australia because it coincided with training on the use of TSL Ausmelt technology.
“There are so many memorable experiences, I have been involved in TSL Ausmelt since it was a project and now it is operational. One of them was training in Melbourne and at that time it was covid and fasting. Until Eid in a foreign country, we only had time for Eid prayer and breakfast after that we continued training,” he said.
Pontie's responsibilities and duties as an Instrument Engineer are full of challenges, especially since TSL Ausmelt is a new smelting technology owned by PT Timah. They must be ready and alert at any time when problems occur with the TSL Ausmelt PCS.
He has to monitor thermocouples in the furnace, evaluate and estimate thermocouple replacements and spares. Assisting the operations team in troubleshooting PCS and sharing knowledge with the operations team in the use of PCS.
From his work, he was grateful when he was able to welcome President Jokowi in their PCS room, when the President visited TSL Ausmelt.
“My proudest moment was welcoming Mr. President Jokowi to the Control Room during his visit to TSL Ausmelt,” he said with a smile.
As a woman working in the mining industry, Pontie also has to adjust her work style, she must be able to communicate and coordinate with male-dominated colleagues, establishing harmonization with senior engineers at PT Timah.
However, being in an inclusive work environment makes Pontie love her job. She is grateful to have a sportive and supportive work environment.
“Never be afraid to work in the male-dominated mining world, we can do it all, the point is communication and coordination. I am grateful that the work environment here is supportive and good. For more than 6 years, it has been memorable, I still feel in touch with the men in operations because we communicate intensely, I always support them and I love my job,” she said.
No less important, she said, working in the mining industry, the principle that must always be instilled is maintaining safety. Because basically, every woman has the same opportunities and opportunities for a career in any field.
“The principle that I instill is safety first because our work is high risk. If sometimes there is a period of lack of enthusiasm, I have a moodbooster by telling myself I want to travel, and that can encourage myself,” she said.
In this Kartini Day 2025 moment, Pontie invites all Indonesian women to remain resilient and adapt to all changes that can occur at any time.
“Happy Kartini Day to Indonesian women, stay strong and adapt to all situations. Keep fighting and keep up the spirit,” she concluded with a smile. (*)
