 Every
time you turn around, Patricia Faltesek is being commended by the
client for her outstanding dedication, community service efforts,
and professional development. With 18 years of experience, Patricia
used her extensive client knowledge upon joining Turner & Townsend
Inc.’s Houston office in 2004. She wasted no time with applying all
that she knew to her work at BP Texas City Refinery. Patricia has
worked as the project data system (PDS) database administrator,
providing training for all PDS users. In addition, she has also
provided SAP reporting, schedule assurance, audit support, and
collation of cost data.
Patricia says she got into project controls work “by default.” In
1989, she was working for Brown & Root at the Union Carbide site in
Seadrift, Texas, as a clerk for the civil department. Because of her
technical aptitude, the engineers in the group taught her to assist
them with quantity take-offs. It was not long before Patricia was
doing take-offs for the civil department, and also the structural,
E&I, and piping departments.
Her eagerness to learn was noticed by her project manager. He asked
for her assistance with the schedule update “in her spare time.”
Just as before, Patricia jumped in and began working with the senior
scheduler. She started with data entry type input work but soon
began to understand how activities and tasks related to each other.
To her surprise, her job title and position was changed to
scheduler.
Patricia says she was very intrigued with the project schedule —the
how and why of the project; the pictorial view of the project scope,
and the graphic presentation of how everything related. She wanted
to learn more—and she did.
Patricia is very grateful to her mentor during those early days of
her career, who sat with her for hours explaining logic, teaching
her the scheduling software, and how to see the why behind the
schedule analysis. Similarly, Patricia is grateful for the support
she receives from her current employer Turner & Townsend, Inc., with
training and professional development.
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She has continuously pursued professional advancement and, as a
consequence, has added value to her clients through participation in
training programs and technical seminars. She has added Pertmaster
(Risk) and Primavera 5.0 and 6.0 to her skill set. Patricia attended
the AACE International Annual Meetings in New Orleans, Las Vegas,
and Nashville, where she heard quality speakers; she likes to attend
the sessions where the speaker is talking about what works and what
does not work on projects. She wants to learn from those who have
been there and done that —and not have to recreate the wheel to
solve a problem.
Patricia believes the AACE International local meetings and time
spent at the annual meeting is very important and beneficial for
her. Her present position is at a job site where there are many
other professional women to associate with, but she still looks to
AACE International for a support group of professional women who
share some of their experiences and “compare notes.” Patricia is
involved in the “Women in Project Controls” Task Force and believes
there are a lot of opportunities for women to increase their
involvement in the AACE International.
It is said that Patricia works with passion and gives with
compassion. She is always the first to volunteer for a worthy cause.
Patricia has participated in several community service projects with
the client and her employer. Example’s of Patricia’s social
responsibility is the adoption of an entire family during Christmas
through BP’s ‘Adopt a Family’ program where Patricia provided a
family of six with their requests of basic necessities, a high
chair, and their entire Christmas dinner, and participation in
Turner & Townsend’s annual food drive for the “Houston Souper Bowl
of Caring.”
Patricia tells other women to do what you want to do; don’t be
afraid to try something new. She believes it is important to enjoy
your work and your job; don’t be afraid to follow your passion—
someone is out there to help you—just pick up the phone and call.
article by Valerie Venters CCC
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