For our May employee spotlight, Facility Performance Consulting had the pleasure to sit down with Karmegaselvi Parameswaran, our Technical Project Coordinator based in India. Karmegaselvi is a part of our digital building services team and is supporting our growing PMO services function. She has extensive BMS design and commissioning experience and has worked on some very large complicated projects.

We took this opportunity to discuss Karmegaselvi’s career so far, her work life at FPC, her inspirations, her passions outside of work, and more.
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‍Please summarise your professional career journey so far, and how this has helped shape you into the professional that you are today?

I have 7 years of work experience in the BMS field. My career started with the India Engineering Center of Johnson Controls in Pune (India) as a Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET). At JCI, I was working on programming the controllers and gateways, As-built drawings and Metasys graphics. As a GET in JCI, I have received the ‘Pat on the Back Award’ for my intuitive attention to details and managing time efficiently in delivering projects.

After a few years, joined Venba Tech in Chennai (India) as a Design Engineer. At Venba Tech, I was working on a variety of tasks: BMS design, consultancy, budget estimation, commissioning controllers and GUI designs and got opportunities to study and explore different products and softwares: Honeywell-Tridium, Delta-Loytec, EasyIO, a few PLC concepts, etc.

Working flexibly on a variety of tasks, I got another great opportunity in my career now to work for FPC Global, a peerless organisation, as a project coordinator.
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How do you see the future evolving for the Digital Buildings professional and industry as a whole?

With evolving cutting edge technologies and accelerating change in the requirements of building automation, IoT will power smart buildings built with new self-healing and energy generating smart technologies in future. This will result in increased opportunities for digital professionals and industries.

Digitalization will also bring in challenges in terms of risks of cyber-attacks, increased data usage and storage, etc. To overcome the challenges and to win the competition from “digital natives”, the digital building industries must be ready in terms of both regulation and skills. Usage of the latest digital technologies and tools should be as normal rather than an exception.

Embracing the transformation with the new technologies will help the digital professionals to deliver the infrastructure of the future.
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What is it that you really enjoy about working at FPC?

Factors like a healthy work environment, opportunities for development and the potential for advancement are the key aspects that make me enjoy my work at FPC. Working collaboratively with the people from different regions is also one of the key aspects that I like in FPC as the people at FPC are more talented and supportive.
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What’s one thing most people don’t know about you that is non-work related?

Though I haven’t learnt singing professionally, I have a good singing voice which I inherited from my ancestors. It’s not like I only sing when I am happy but I do sing whenever I feel sad. I see singing as something that plays a dual role in my life which helps me to enjoy my happy moments as well as to get rid of my sorrow.
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Who inspires you?

The two great leaders of India, born in Tamil Nadu popularly known as ‘The Land of Temples’: KarmaVeerar Kamarajar and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam are my biggest inspiration.

Though they both differ in terms of education, I see them the same in terms of their patriotism towards the nation, their selfless help and support to the people, their forward-thinking for the nation’s benefit and simple way of living.

Though Kamarajar was a school drop-out, he is widely acknowledged as the ‘Kingmaker’ in Indian politics due to his forward thinking schemes and ideas and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is widely referred to as the ‘People's President’ in India due to his contributions towards the society.

They did not marry, did not own any property and were never tempted by power. When they died, there was no will, no luxury cars, no luxury bungalows, only left were books and their clothes.

Such great leaders with such great selfless thoughts inspire me a lot.
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If you could go back in time, what historical event would you want to see?

Since my childhood, I always wished to meet Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, spend some valuable time with him in discussion, get his blessings, etc. 

So if I can go back in time, I wish to be in one of the events of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and meet him in person.
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How do you like to start and end your day?

I wish to start my day with a smile on my face feeling that I had a good sound sleep, greeting my parents and having some regular physical activities. With this I will be energetic throughout the day.

In the evening, I like to have a friendly chat with my parents discussing what happened the entire day and also like to plan for the next day's tasks. With this, I will feel relaxed and motivated to start the next day actively.
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What’s the one thing you are learning now or learned recently?

Related to work at FPC, I would say it’s scripting. I am learning it newly now with a basic knowledge of programming languages and experimenting with it based on different requirements.

And, non-work related, I would say it’s cooking.
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What behaviour or personality trait do you most attribute your success to and why?

Assertive, focused, determined and proactive - I truly believe that if you want anything in your life, it is you who needs to be confident enough that you will get that in your life. Your focus and determination will help you to get that in your life. Your proactive behaviour will help you to get rid of any challenges that come on your path during your travel towards your desire.
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What led you to this career?

18th June 2015 was the day when a most remarkable unforgettable moment happened in my career. It was the Technology day for the India Engineering Center of Johnson Controls for the year 2015.

We, a team of 3 members, have been selected for the Technical White Paper Contest for a final presentation in the Technology day event. The day was ours and we won the contest with an on stage job opportunity from JCI. This has led me to take Building Automation as my career.
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What is the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

‘Think before you act ; Think before you speak’ is one of the best pieces of advice that I have received from my parents. Besides avoiding offending others, this has also helped me to remain engaged and honest.
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‍If you weren’t in this line of work, what career would you want to pursue?

In my teenage years, I wished to pursue a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) to become a selfless doctor. But things changed after my higher secondary schooling. I pursued a Bachelor of Engineering and graduated with the top 2nd rank in the University.

So if I was not an Engineer, I would have been a Doctor now.