 How many people do you know who speak English, French, and Croatian? Or have managed projects at animation studios in southern California? Or have led the training and certification of emergency response teams for a high-tech company? Those are just a few of the surprising facts about Vera Lovejoy.
If you have been in AACE International the last 10 years, you have probably heard of her. You should get to know her better, because she is an exceptional person, as well as a successful professional.
You may have seen Vera accepting prestigious awards at the AACE International Annual Meetings, including the Charles Keane Distinguished Service Award in June 2005, and the Technical Excellence Award in June 2004. You will see her at the Board of Directors meetings, since she is the new Director for Region 6 of AACE International; her articles have appeared in Cost Engineering journal; she has presented papers at AACE International Annual Meetings; and she was the co-chair for the Planning and Scheduling Professional Task Force that culminated in the PSP certification in June 2004. Before that, in her local AACE International Section, Vera served as the Newsletter Editor and Certification Chair.
How did she get into project controls as a profession?
Vera had an unusual entrée into project controls—she managed projects for the animation studios of Hanna Barbera and ABC! As a production manager, she had to schedule all her projects, drawing Gannt charts by hand.
As her career grew, she went back to school while working full time (and being a wife and mother). She earned her associate degree in 1995, and completed her bachelor of science in civil engineering in 2004.
She had been managing projects for years, but her first opportunity to work as a project controls specialist for an engineering firm (CH2M Hill) came in 1993, on a water recycling project. She taught herself how to use Primavera Project Planner (P3), during her lunch hours.
This initial opportunity led to other assignments in the water and wastewater treatment fields, where she was responsible for scheduling, document management, and cost control. She has since led project controls teams on a variety of different projects, and has been with Fluor Corporation since 2000, scheduling and controlling projects as diverse as power plants, light rail, and bridges.
What was her favorite project and most challenging project?
Vera loves heavy civil construction work and particularly enjoyed being onsite at a wastewater treatment plant expansion in Irvine, California, in 1995-96. It was a design-build project and her employer's first foray into construction (they had been a traditional design firm to that point).
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She had total responsibility for cost and schedule, the project came in on time and under budget, and she looks back on it with pride—but that doesn't mean that it was an easy project. Sometimes Vera, the project manager and the project engineer would go to a local batting cage and hit baseballs to work out their frustrations! In the end, the client was pleased and wanted to work with their firm again, which is the key to the consulting business.
Another project was quite challenging from a personnel standpoint. After a brief time with a new firm, she was designated as the lead on a new project, but management did not communicate the change to the project team. Her team, of course, resisted and refused to do what she asked them to do. It took time for Vera to earn the respect and cooperation of the men working for her. This is not an uncommon problem for women, who frequently end up with the responsibility for projects but are not given the requisite authority.
How has AACE International helped her in her career?
Over the last 10-15 years, there has been a shift among engineering firms. Project teams are leaner than ever, and it has led many people to resist sharing what they know in order to maintain their marketability.
Vera has found that at AACE International, there is a tremendous sharing of information. There is also the recognition of common skills across a variety of industries, so that the underlying profession of project controls is emphasized. This has been invaluable in increasing her knowledge of the cost/scheduling profession and has made her feel like she has "come home."
What does the future hold for Vera?
She has many challenges ahead as the cost engineer for Fluor's latest project, a $1.3 billion bridge replacement program in Oregon. She looks forward to giving back to the Association as AACE International's Region 6 Director for the next two years.
As for her personal life, she's enjoying living in Salem, Oregon, spending more time with her family and, after a recent health challenge, she is looking for more balance in her life.
As for the project controls profession, she would like to advertise the benefits of AACE International as a career benefit, and she would like to encourage others to learn about the rewards of the project controls/cost engineering profession.
Article by Marlene Hyde, CCE
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