Vanessa, Project Planner
Name: Vanessa Gomes Olausen
Job title: Project Planner
Education: Master in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Caverion country: Norway
What is your educational and professional background?
I have a master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), with a specialisation in project management and a master thesis about project scheduling. Early in my studies I realised that I enjoyed the subjects within real estate and project management the most, in addition to the subjects of calculation. Furthermore, I spent one semester of exchange in Portugal and one in Australia. During my time abroad I explored several courses within environment and sustainability. This is also when I was introduced to project scheduling for the first time.
After finishing my studies, I worked 2.5 years as a project engineer and a production manager. There I gained experience from bidding processes and calculation, as well as managing economy and schedules at the construction site.
What is a typical work day like?
A normal day for me usually starts with a coffee at the office while I prepare for today’s meetings and tasks. I am in a position where my function is to support our projects on a national basis in Norway. Therefore, I am involved in different projects at the same time, which can be in different project phases.
For instance, in the morning I can help out a project manager with updating and detailing a project schedule. Later there might be a meeting about a project in the early phase, where we set frameworks and anticipations on how we want our project schedule to be. These meetings normally take place physically at the office, or virtually. Furthermore, a part of my job is to estimate productivity of the work that we do on site. Therefore, on certain days I make a visit to our projects!
What do you like most about your job?
The best part of my job is to contribute to creating exciting projects in an interdisciplinary environment. Our projects in Caverion are varied, both in type and scope. So there are always new challenges to take on!
Also, I greatly appreciate working with colleagues with different backgrounds and experience. For instance, the fact that I can discuss solutions with a plumber, both from a theoretical and practical perspective, is something that I truly value. I believe that this interdisciplinarity is creating the best of us as a team.
Caverion delivers smart solutions for green buildings. How would you say you contribute to this in your job?
I value working for a company that is leading by example regarding smart and sustainable solutions. In addition, I have always had a great interest in technology. Combined with my education I believe these factors are the base of working for a company that contributes to the green transition.
How do you enjoy working at Caverion?
So far, so good! I have flexibility in my job and the days are varied. Also, I have the opportunity to travel and visit our different departments to meet several nice colleagues. Besides, I enjoy the ability to influence my everyday work life – the opportunity for personal development is definitely a fact!