Architect Ratna Djumiati treading new ground

Architect Ratna Djumiati treading new ground

BANDUNG (JP): The construction project of the immense statue
of Kristus Raja (Christ the King ) could not run smoothly
without this woman.

Architect Ratna Djumiati, 46, successfully mapped out the plan
to erect the huge statue of Christ outside of Dili, East Timor.

As project manager Ratna broke everything down into the
smallest units, made sure that the cash flow was uninterrupted
and the scheduled was followed.

It was something she learned when she started her first
business with her husband Erwin Wazar, making plates from wood
and fiberglass.

"We sold them at Rp 17,000 per set, and they were selling like
popcorn. The problem is, we were losing money instead of making
it and I asked my husband to do some arithmetic," said Ratna, who
graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1980.

Only then did they discover that each set cost Rp 18,500 to
produce.

"Since then, I keep in mind that even the smallest thing such
as a plastic wrapper involves a process that requires work and
money," Ratna, who still finds time to teach at her Alma Mater,
said.

The Garda team chose one network of the three alternatives
Ratna proposed. Throughout the project, the team followed the
very basic principle that a loss of a day's work meant a
financial loss. This was especially important since the project
wasn't exactly financially lucrative.

Attitude

Ratna, the mother of two grown children, began working even
before project head Bholil received the final confirmation that
his studio would get the assignment.

"We had to have a positive attitude. There was nothing to lose
if we didn't get it, but if we did, we were prepared," she
explained.

Ratna's work plan enabled the team to evaluate their work, to
see when they had to speed up and when they could slow down.

"What she did was far more detailed than my plan, and without
following her work map, we would not have been able to complete
the project as scheduled," said Bholil.

Ratna's has a love for management and exploring new fields to
test her capability. She was the job captain for the Armed Forces
headquarters project in Cilangkap, East Jakarta (1973-1974),
which was carried out in cooperation with ITB; co-architect of
the Geothermal Energy New Zealand Limited for the Darajat
Geothermal Power Plant project in Darajat, Garut, West Java
(1991-1992); and planned the management system at PT Balance for
the layout of a public area of the Arthaloka Hotel under the
Arthaloka expansion project in Jakarta (1992-1993).

To her, the statue project was very enlightening because ideas
came from new places.

"Interestingly, they came from the workers, who were only
graduates of technical high schools and whose experience was on
technical works."

To make the rings for the statue, for example, the team had
designed Rp 6 million worth of equipment to serve as a pad where
the rings would be made. The set included a steel frame.

"But the workers came up with a simple solution. All they
needed was a piece of cardboard, a small piece of corrugated
iron sheeting and a map cloth," she said.

Her latest pride is being a co-team leader of the ongoing ITB
development project which includes a number of technology labs
and what is planned as the most sophisticated science, technology
and art center in Indonesia. (lem)