We’re back with our Touchbase with TeamBSE series, this year focusing on our leaders and national team.
Meet Jessica Chesser, BSE’s National Operations Manager.
Coming up to 9 years with BSE, Jess has been with us through our recent growth period, and brings her unique combination of project and management skills to support and lead our teams, ensuring priorities are balanced between our project partner’s expectations and our delivery. Jess guides quality management, workplace health and safety, our people processes, marketing, and information systems across all of BSE’s offices and specialty teams. Her innovation of BSE’s 5C’s will continue to drive BSE’s growth in a balanced and sustainable way.
1. What is your background story?
Failed architecture dreams, then confusion and change after finishing high school [growing up in regional SA late 90s/ early 2000s wasn’t paved with clear career opportunities]. As most of us experience – if I wasn’t studying, then I had to work and found myself in construction. It made sense of the architecture design interest, in a much more practical way. Thankfully – I would have been an appalling architect, but hopefully I do ok with everything else. Then it all flowed pretty naturally as life went on, I don’t like being bored, so that’s usually my reason for changing jobs. Now I talk about it now as being in the “business of building”, I may not a technical person, an architect, an engineer or designer – I do know how the business of projects works, how to deliver a project, how I can contribute to this with my business knowledge, I guess.
2. Did you choose engineering, or did it choose you?
It certainly chose me, as question 1, I fell into construction/ development then engineering was the next opportunity which popped up. Reflecting, it’s been valuable and so interesting to be involved in each aspect of the project lifecycle over such a long period. From the initial design through approvals, seeing the building go up, then working with result.
3. How do you feel service engineers add value to projects?
Have you ever tried living or in a space or building without ventilation, heating in winter, or cooling in summer or without running water or flushing toilets, sufficient light or protection from fires? Can you image anything worse? Even as a non-engineer, and a non-designer, I can see the services are basics of making spaces usable. Yeah, it might not be the sexiest or most glamorous part of a design or end project (and we know that it’s not), but when it’s done properly it just makes the space/ building work. When it’s done badly, it disrupts everything.
4. What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Real answer – the thought of coffee
Answer the marketing team’s wants / answer my boss’s wants – knowing I can contribute to making our team’s work lives better, and easier and help them deliver amazing projects.
5. Pineapple on pizza: yes or no?
No.
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