from the horizon

The past month has gone too fast, although I’ve prefer it to the previous month where I was stuck in a rut, constantly behind my computer, programming.

A month ago I started the roll out for the warehousing module of the supply chain management database I have been developing. My life went from a monotonous routine of every day behind the computer, to a cross country adventure, working with different people in different locations.

I started in the Warehouse just out of Banda Aceh (surrounded by rice paddy fields), because that was where I was based. The biggest challenge was cataloguing all of the “Gado-Gado”. Gado-Gado is an Indonesian salad, with all sorts of vegetables thrown in, covered in peanut sauce. The storekeeper used the term to refer to all of the random, disused, broken and unknown items in the warehouse, particularly left over from the emergency response to the tsunami. This is a problem I’ve seen in other warehouses. Unless you keep good track of what’s in the warehouse, and who it belongs to, the items will be unutilized and wasted. Hopefully the database I developed can help.

Next I ventured to Bireuen, which is four to five hours (depending on how safely the driver drives) down the coast. It was great to get out into the field, and see some of the reconstruction projects. Although there were some initial problems (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/world/asia/27indo.html?ex=1311652800&en=14d3befd6f755503&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) in the reconstruction effort after the Tsunami, the new projects are going very well, with kitset houses sent from Canada. This solves the problem of sourcing wood in Indonesia, which may be logged illegally, and probably isn’t treated properly.

Of course this means that a huge warehouse is needed to store all the construction material.

I found that they were producing excellent reports for the supplies in the warehouse using Excel, however this was very time consuming. The database made this more efficient, although I had to add a some new reports to it, to ensure it provided all the information they were getting from Excel.

The next destination was Medan, the biggest city in Sumatra. They’d just received 450 metric tones of oil for Food Aid. I’m not going to comment on the issues surrounding Food Aid (encouraging dependency, supporting USA agribusiness, farm subsidies, massive logistic costs, how will increased biofeul demand effect it, what on earth will people do with that much oil?)

The Medan office is a pleasure to work in, which may be the difference between working in an office set up for development, as opposed to an emergency. The systems were well established, and the training was a breeze.

Staying in Medan is a big change from staying in Aceh. I lived out of a hotel for a week, which is an usually artificial experience where I’m stuck in a little room, with everything provided for me. I think that Room Service takes away an important part of the human experience: preparing my own food, washing my clothes, making fire, hunting mammoths.

Medan is also free from the constraints of Shariah Law, which means Karaoke and Live Music. I went out with some friends to a couple of Live Music Bars. The bands were great, always the same format, a couple of guitarists, a keyboarder, a drummer, and some vocalist, singing a mixture of Western and Indonesian pop. The only difference was that the amount of clothing which the female singers wore seemed to be inversely proportional to the cost of the drinks (And you don’t see so many girls wearing hot pants and bikinis in Aceh).

The best part of the roll out was that I stopped developing the database based on what I thought was best, and instead relied on what the users thought was best. The trainings I gave were as much as an opportunity for me to discovery the different processes and needs which vary between the different locations, as they were for the people to learn to use the database. Although I tried to design a database to meet the needs of the users, it is very difficult to account for all the different conditions. And although I tried to make it flexible enough, people often won’t specify, or realize exactly what they want the database to do, until they start to use it. As a result I walk away from every training with a list of fixes and requirements to integrate into the next release, which I usually prepare overnight for the next morning. I feel that this approach really encourages the staff, as they realize that this database is being made especially for them. This means that I have to be training, and coding at the same time. It’s hard work, and I still have a pages of notes of changes which I have yet to make…

The reason I haven’t finished these things is because I’ve just spent the last 2 weeks in New Zealand. I came home to surprise my father for his 60th Birthday, but I was also well in need of a break. My plans of lazing round all day, reading books, watching movies and generally being a slob didn’t eventuate. Instead I’ve been running round catching up with family and friends. Although it wasn’t quite what I had planned, it has been rejuvenating. It reminds me that I’ve got a home, filled with great people, who really support what I am doing, and are still there for me when I come back. Thanks guys! Also the hours of conversation which I have had with people have given me sanctuary from being stuck behind a computer. My time here has gone too fast, but I know that New Zealand will always be there for me.

I’m feeling refreshed and engaged with my work now, and so I’m looking forward to going back to my home in Indonesia on Monday, in for the next round (Ding ding ding!), despite the fact that things probably won’t slow down.