Engineered for success
ACCORDING to Azila Abdul Aziz and Mohamad Shahrulnizam Ramli, engineers are not boring. And you can trust them, they’re engineers.
The ExxonMobil engineers were on site at the Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MHHE) yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor to take the BRATs on a quick tour to see where several of the company’s oil and gas platforms are designed and structured.
Azila, 32, is part of the ExxonMobil team of engineers who are overseeing the site as well as the constructed structures to ensure they are built according to design.
As for Mechanical engineer Shahrulnizam, 25, he deals with overseeing equipment purchased for operation such as pumps, cranes and valves.
Shahrulnizam chose Mechanical engineering because it gave him a chance to explore a wide range of career options and work on a variety of assignments on a daily basis.
“My first project in university was to build a trebuchet – a medieval weapon – out of wood, which we used to shoot each other with tennis balls. That got me sold.”
In an industry dominated by men, it is empowering to see a woman taking on huge responsibilities. Azila said, “Being a woman has never really limited me. When you gain their trust, that’s when you start to make your name and people see you as an engineer, not just a female engineer.”
She hopes to see more people take up studies in the particular field. “We want to encourage Malaysians to be involved in the industry so we don’t have to depend on foreign talents.”
Azila acknowledged that studying engineering might seem daunting, but she was quick to assure that the education prepares young people for the real world.
“Although you have to work hard at a young age in college when pursuing an engineering degree, it trains you to face the real world which is 10 times harder. Actually, these things are not learned through Mathematics and Science per se, but through given assignments and projects in school,” she said.
Shahrulnizam added that the training provided isn’t limited to the technical aspects, but also in business management and soft skills.
And being an engineer does not necessarily mean just working under the blistering heat.
“Working at site means that we get to work both indoors in the office and outdoor at the fabrication site, so we get the best of both worlds,” said Azila.