Whilst our primary focus is on providing the world’s first purpose-built golden thread solution, we think it’s also valuable to provide insight into how we operate as a business. From this, we would like to introduce our article series “A Day in the Life Of…” where we will interview employees from different departments at Operance.
To kickstart this series: we interviewed Eric Lee, a BIM Manager from within our Services Delivery Team. Eric joined the business last October, working closely with our CEO Ian Yeo to help deliver high-quality building information modelling (BIM) and similar services such as ISO 19650 certification.
Eric originates from Hong Kong and worked for their government as an architect for more than ten years. He eventually decided to emigrate to the United Kingdom with his family; and found an opportunity to work for Operance providing valuable services that made a positive difference to everyone.
We asked Eric a series of questions, and these were his responses below.
When did you join Operance, and why did you choose Operance?
I had quite the journey before joining Operance because I decided to emigrate to the UK with my family in May 2021. I spent the first few months concentrating on making sure my family had their important needs, such as schooling and location, established and had time to settle in before looking for work. Around August 2021, I decided that it was time to start looking at opportunities that suited my background in building information, and that’s when I found Operance.
There were many opportunities because the UK building industry is a large part of the economy. I chose Operance because it stood out as an opportunity where I could make a positive difference and have my opinions heard. I was continuing my career and specialising in it whilst working for a more advanced company. It’s been a very good experience for me, and I have realised that I can learn a lot from the business.
What is your role, and what are your responsibilities?
My focus is on delivering quality BIM for large estate clients, contractors, modular builders and architects. I gather all the building information and remain involved through the entire building life cycle to ensure that the BIM and O&M information is curated correctly and efficiently. This includes the design and evaluation stages, where I can help provide recommendations and test ideas. I assist clients with formulating their building information, utilising it correctly and up to standards.
What do you get up to day to day? Describe your daily work routine.
My daily activities are broad, which means no day is usually the same. My routine involves coordination, curation and management of tasks that might not have been originally considered when starting the project and therefore need solutions.
What is your favourite thing about your role?
My favourite part of the role is problem-solving. There is an entire journey behind diagnosing problems and then solving them. It feels great to be a part of the process of solving issues that weren’t originally found when our clients decided to take on the work, and then being able to enjoy being part of the overall success. I find this very rewarding to be a part of, and one of the reasons I studied architecture in Hong Kong.
What is your favourite thing about Operance as a business?
My favourite thing about Operance is the culture and work dynamic. Ian is extremely supportive and responsive which is not easily achievable at his level in business. It feels great to be able to work close to the board team and have my opinions heard regularly. I feel like I can truly make a difference here. I also think our latest product the O&M software, is great and has a large amount of scope, with the added benefit of helping clients get better use of their BIM data beyond handover.
Outside of work, what are your main hobbies?
My main hobbies outside of work are travelling and experiences. I love to travel and want to show my kids as much of the world as possible whilst they are growing up. There is nothing better than finding a new location and experiencing the environment, eating the local food and being part of the culture. When I used to live in Hong Kong, we would travel at least seven times a year, I want to continue travelling as much as I can whilst living in the UK.
That concludes our interview with Eric! Keep an eye out for the next release of our “A Day in the Life Of…” series, where we plan to catch up with Max Risby from our sales department to find-out more about his daily activities and responsibilities!
