The ASIA Miner - Reporting Important Issues to Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region
Issue link: https://asiaminer.epubxp.com/i/632337
Volume 13 • Issue 1 | 2016 | ASIA Miner | 13 ROYAL HaskoningDHV is involved in many aspects of the ongoing develop- ment of Indonesia, including mining, and has been in the country since 1972. The company is evolving as Indonesia evolves, as its economy gets stronger and it becomes more industrialized. Royal Haskoning and DHV are Dutch consultancy companies who merged in 2012 and have both been active in In- donesia for more than 40 years but in different markets. Royal HaskoningDHV Indonesia president and Business Unit director of Mining and Heavy Industry Berte Simons says, "Historically we have been involved in the private sector in 'light' industries such as food and bev- erage as well as in architectural and civil kind of work; a lot of aid type work for different donors focused on water related projects; and some environmental, port related work. "We have grown signifcantly in the past two years, from about 190 staff when we merged to 350 now, and are servicing clients in all sectors: the industry sector which includes mining, oil & gas, and heavy industries such as cement; the water related component which deals with drinking water supplies, sanitation and waste water; the port sector which is involved in port development and land reclamation; and a sector devoted to structural development, such as building hospitals, schools, etc. About 80% of our business is industry and water related. "We have 34 expatriates represent- ing six nationalities with most assigned to projects. Our management team is 50:50 male and female with slightly more than 50% Indonesian and less than 50% Dutch. We previously had a more prescriptive approach but we are now much more diverse with more local involvement. Our team is more balanced in terms of age, gender and background, particularly in leadership areas." Berte Simons says the mining busi- ness is strong for the company in Indo- nesia and is growing as are the logistics and infrastructure arms, which include dry bulk terminals, liquid bulk termi- nals, oil terminals, port facilities, power plants, etc. "The government's empha- sis on development of value added fa- cilities for the natural resources is bene- fcial for us with provision of infrastructure. However, the ban on raw material exports has not been good for the mining indus- try as a whole as there has been very lit- tle exploration and investment in the past two years, although it has picked up a little in the last few months. "We have been busy but the market has been quiet. With mining, if the stuff is in the ground and there are good grades, it will come out at some point in time when all the parameters are right." She says Indonesia is not an easy country in which to do business but it is the same situation in all emerging coun- tries. "In these countries you have varying political stability and a lot of drive for local capacity building and local ownership, and these are challenges the mining in- dustry has to tackle in order to survive and grow." where it tends to be worse, and this is a global issue," Berte Simons says. "You see some women in this age group working in fnancial positions or in social/environmental stakeholder engagement roles. I know a few independent professional women in that age group who have such roles. But if I had to fnd a senior project manager to be based on site, particularly a remote site, it would be diffcult to fnd a woman prepared to do that. And, this is a situation that is often seen across South East Asia, the Pacifc and Africa. "While things are slowly improving, in this region there are fewer women graduating from universities in technical disciplines which means it is going to take a long time to achieve an ideal balance. "The issue is generally being addressed in universities but not effectively in terms of ca- reer development. There is insuffcient focus on ensuring women advance to become leaders in technical areas through broad- ening their prospects in different felds. They are being brought in to technical roles through universities but no one is thinking about bringing them into the industry, par- ticularly on a long-term basis, and this must be addressed." She says she has no doubt whatsoever that there is general acceptance by men of having women more involved at all levels. "I was the only woman in the mining team when I started heading up a team of 110 men across the globe but it wouldn't have mattered whether I was the frst non-Indo- nesian, expat or 30-something doing this job, it's just that you are the frst one who is different to the rest and it is diffcult to be that person. Going from one to fve is also not easy but after critical mass is achieved, the mould is broken and it gets easier. "My generation is different than the gen- eration before me. They were really the frst to break the mould, which means they were often quite masculine in their ways as that was the way things were done. Women in my generation feel more freedom to be themselves, not someone else, and are fre- er to choose their own leadership style and negotiation methods. "You have to stay who you are, you have to be prepared to say 'I have no expertise in this feld, I wouldn't have a clue how to help you but let me give it some thought'. The previous generation was forced to go along with the fow more often than not," she adds, "but that does not mean things have to stay that way." Royal HaskoningDHV evolves with Indonesia Berte Simons and Royal HaskoningDHV team members at a company port facility.