In Conversation: UK Design Manager on Regional Capabilities

My background started in sales at an electronics company. I have a degree in Computer Science, specialising in Software Engineering, and overtime, my experience moved into the periphery of the security industry, where I began learning about cameras and NVRs. I joined Convergint as BDM in 2015 through the acquisition of Beacon Security. As new management joined and the UK operation grew to quickly encompass EMEA, it was decided that a new way of scaling the sales team would be needed in the form of a Design Team capable of supporting various business needs.

Within my role as Design Manager, I head up the team of mixed specialists, which includes computer-aided design (CAD), building information management (BIM), iDesign, and Bluebeam specialists. I provide a support structure that allows our sales team to focus on their tasks of being customer-facing and providing the best service for their clients. My role, essentially, is to streamline and oversee workflow, make sure that everyone is happy, and that my team has what they need to get their job done.

The team falls into different avenues when it comes to the technologies and software we use. For example, the design and estimating team will deal heavily in Microsoft Office packages, and typically use packages such as Bluebeam to carry out their work. As security takes off from drawings, the team creates security drawings, drafts designs for clients, and uses Bluebeam to develop system plans and building layouts to work towards what the client wants to achieve.

Another element of the team is involved in CAD-based document creation and modelling, which feeds into the iDesign platform. This system runs out of Autodesk and allows us to create high-resolution, high-definition documentation for the customers. It is then  fed into their security system information packages about the buildings and systems.

The third element of the design team is the BIM aspect, a very specialised skill takes a lot of time to learn. BIM involves modelling and creating buildings in three dimensions. The team will then  coordinate with the client to work through the life cycle of a project and implement all of the data, all shown on a 3D model. BIM is something we are aiming to do more of, and we are excited to share with clients what our capabilities are.

We also have future plans to closely align the iDesign, CAD, and BIM side of things so they’re all produced in one team effectively.

It’s grown rapidly! Over the last year, through the Universal acquisition, we’ve doubled in size and we’re recruiting for more. This continued growth will bring a whole new set of skills to the team and increase the capabilities we can provide to our clients. Our team has developed in a way that now allows us to provide the BIM aspect—which we’ve never been able to deliver in-house before within the UK. It also brought a more technical level into the team that lets us be more efficient. The growth has been rapid and it’s changed my role in how I run the team.

Whilst we’re a UK team, we have a number of global clients that we’ve worked with for a few years that require us to manage and deliver designs and security proposals across EMEA—and I see this continuing into the future.

Being the first CTC in EMEA for Convergint, we’ve needed to quickly understand some of the operational and standards in different countries, such as electronic locking and escape terminal in Germany, fire regulations in Poland, cylinder types for Scandinavia, or data hosting in Italy. From an access control and CCTV point of view, we also need to know where you can store data and what countries may or may not allow this. Successfully providing our service in compliance with these different countries has helped the business grow rapidly and demonstrated our capabilities to our clients.

Following global regulations is something we’ve always done and something we’ll continue to do.

This is an interesting question because this comes up a lot in different conversations with the team. I was asked this a couple of months back at a training seminar and I thought “I am accountable for my continuous development” is the most important value and belief. The reason I believe this is because I believe that no one can stay in the same role doing the same thing forever.

Once you move into a role, the more you know is great, and everyone needs to develop and maintain a level of interest and excitement about what they do. Learning new skills is something I personally never want to stop doing. I want to keep learning and keep changing and evolving. I think it’s great to be at a company that is willing to invest in you and do whatever training you know you want to do to advance your career, advance the business, and look into new innovations. I also think it is important to have someone to encourage you, to push you, and remind you to look at what you want to do, how you want to do it, and where you want to be in a year, two years, or five years’ time. This is a big focus for me.