Typing Pool Ladies in the 1980s & Early 90s
Fax machines were introduced in the 1980s, enabling the workers to work faster with more productivity. In
the 1980s as well, the WANG computer system was introduced by BP. It was one of the leading computer
brands for office use. WANG was an improvement over the electronic typewriter but it was very bulky.
Jacinta Tan recalled having to type three sets of documents when handling correspondences as SRC was
owned by three partners: BP, SPC and Caltex. WANG computers allowed changes to be made on the screen
before printing out of any document, saving a lot of time and resources, and helped reduce errors.
Vicky Tjio, who joined BP in May 1980, is a demurrage executive. Juliana Seah (October 1981), together with
Faridah Mohamed Sudi (June 1983) and Noraini Saad (April 1988) served as business support executives
in various departments. They joined the typing pool in the 1980s after Teresa and Jacinta were promoted.
They started with manual typewriters, and operated telex machines that came with dotted paper tapes
which they had to learn to “read”. They typed a wide variety of correspondences, letters and materials,
including purchase orders and cheq Y\ˈ^H \