Meet the team – Daniel Illambas

Daniel joined the Global Environmental surveying team in May 2017 keen to develop his career outside the lab and widen his expertise into all areas of property risk surveying and management. While still quite new to the job at Global he is quickly making a name for himself as an excellent communicator with the skills to explain simply and with empathy exactly what an asbestos survey involves.

 

How would you describe your professional career to this point?

I come from a scientific background and chose to study bio-chemistry at university.  That experience gave me a taste for this industry and indeed for lab work and my first two jobs were laboratory based until, unfortunately, in the latter role I was replaced by a robot!  But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and this allowed me to secure my next job at AEC where I started and completed my asbestos surveying training. I was working on both domestic and commercial properties, carrying out management and R&D surveys while still working in the lab and training other members of staff with no lab experience.

What qualities do you think make a good surveyor?

My first few months at Global have been spent working in social housing, mostly for Wates, Keepmoat and Mears.  My abilities to communicate and reassure have already come in useful.  Sometimes a resident does not understand what is meant by an asbestos survey and in fact as soon as the word asbestos is mentioned can be thrown into a panic.  I have learnt that the best approach is to explain exactly what the survey entails, what I will be doing, what it means in the longer term and the value of the work.  Importantly I explain the safety issues, often with some basic background information on asbestos.  It turns something a bit threatening into something genuinely interesting.

What is your next career goal?

I am keen to gain a complete understanding of all environmental surveying – and will need to qualify in other areas such as Fire Risk, EPS, water hygiene etc. As property managers become more accountable they will be looking to companies like Global Environmental to provide them with a comprehensive and accredited range of services that give them the reassurance that they are fully compliant and up-to-date with all legislation.

You enjoy Ju Jitsu, how does that compliment your working day?

I started learning the Japanese style of Ju Jitsu when I was at university, primarily to keep fit but soon found the philosophical and social aspects just as appealing. I have been Treasurer and President of my local club – again my communication skills came in useful – and I find the mix of people stimulating.  It has also helped build my confidence – Ju Jitsu expresses the philosophy of yielding to an opponent’s force rather than trying to oppose force with force.  A useful philosophy for an asbestos surveyor!