AC Interview: Patricia Jemmerson - Quantity Surveyor/ Trinidad & Tobago
"Facilitating champagne taste with mauby money"
Categories: Interviews, Quantity Surveyors
New Waterfront Project, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Patricia Jemmerson, DipSurv. is a Quantity Surveyor from Trinidad & Tobago. She describes herself as hardworking, simple, quiet and complicated. She graduated from the Civil Engineering Technican program at John S. Donaldson Technical Institute and
graduated with her Diploma in Quantity Surveying from the College of Estate Management (University of Reading, England) in 2004. Patricia was gracious enough to take time from her busy schedule for an interview with Architecture Caribbean. Enjoy!
Architecture Caribbean: What was your first job, doing what? What did you learn during that experience?
Patricia Jemmerson:My first job was working on a site doing “Quality control” for a contractor who was doing a housing development in El Dorado, Trinidad. I worked with them for two months, while school was on leave. From that experience I learned that work can be enjoyable.
AC: What about Quantity Surveying excites you?
PJ:Trying to facilitate champagne taste with mauby money.
AC: What is Quantity Surveying, what do Quantity Surveyors do?
PJ:A Quantity Surveyor manages building cost from initial calculations to final accounts. How important is it? The importance of Quantity Surveyors has been recorded since biblical times..Luke 14:28 “For which of you intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.” This logic however is not always followed. Quantity Surveyors seeks to minimize cost of project and enhance value for money, while still achieving required standards.
AC: In what fields can Quantity Surveyors find themselves, what are some areas they can work in? PJ:Quantity Surveyors can work in a professional office, or represent contractors. They may be involved in facilities management, building services engineering, loss adjuster, and project management.
AC: What challenges, if any, have you faced being a woman in this field? PJ:Having to master multi- tasking better and faster than male counterparts. As a single woman, overcoming the perception that "she has no responsibilities", namely husband, children etc. to attend to, so her time is dispensable.
AC: As a Quantity Surveyor, how would you define successful design? PJ:Functional, suiting the Client/ user requirements. An added bonus is if the project is aesthetically appealing and within the Client's budget.
AC: Is there a professional body representing Quantity Surveyors in Trinidad & Tobago, or the Caribbean? PJ:The Institute of Surveyors of Trinidad and Tobago.
AC: Do you have any concerns with regard to the Quantity Surveyoring profession in the Caribbean/ Trinidad & Tobago? PJ:In Trinidad and Tobago, I feel that the role of the Quantity Surveyors is not clear, not even by persons, and consultants involved in the industry for years. A misunderstanding of functions can result in the misappropriation of resources.
AC: How has the global economic situation affected the profession? PJ:Presently I am working on projects that are coming to an end, and pipeline works are tapering off. There is definitely a slowdown in the construction industry.
View of Port of Spain, Trinidad
AC: What advice would you give to students entering the field of Quantity Surveying? PJ:I would like to tell students to have a passion for what they do, Quantity surveying or otherwise. If you have passion you can weather the storms of being knocked down, being unsupported, fatigued, whatever. If you believe in yourself, your chosen path you can go very far.
AC: Are there any changes you would like to see in the profession? PJ:In Trinidad, there should be more sharing of information, experiences that could serve as a reference point should similar circumstances arise. When seminars are provided for continued professional development, they should be more affordable, as the cost of these courses are not always covered by the Quantity Surveyor's employer.
AC: Is there a particular space in the area of downtown that you'd take someone to if you were going to show them the perfect space or moment? PJ:The new waterfront area along Wrightson Road.
AC: What makes you happy outside the business world, what makes you feel relaxed? PJ:My pet dog, Benny. I also enjoy reading. I am trying to do it more often.
THEME
AC: Our Theme for this edition of Architecture Caribbean is HARMONY & GEOMETRY. What does “Harmony & Geometry” mean to you?
PJ: In terms of Architecture there should be design should be harmonious with the space it occupies and in sync with the user requirements.
AC: What do you think about Architecture Caribbean and its goal to highlight Architecture and the Arts in the Caribbean and other parts of the world?
PJ: This is an admirable goal. I think that it will introduce, and expose more people in the Construction, Arts and other communities to each other. Through interviews, articles etc, we might realize that as people we are not that different from each other, in spite of being in different disciplines.
Architecture Caribbean would like to thank Patricia for taking the time to chat with us. We look forward to staying in touch and staying abreast of her professional career, as we are sure of her continued success. Thanks again!
