To compete it is necessary to be trained. That is the philosophy of the Professional of the Month, Gabriel Jiménez, a pioneer in Latin America in obtaining the ASHRAE certification in the design of health entities.
by: Alejandra García Vélez
The HVAC industry is, more than a choice, a design for our Professional of the Month, Since childhood he knew in detail the work of the industry, as well as the secrets of equipment and machinery, thanks to the fact that his father and uncle have been involved in this world.
But who is he? Gabriel Jiménez, is the general manager of HVAC Consulting and the first engineer in Latin America to obtain the ASHRAE certification for the design of health entities. He was born on October 31 in Bogotá, Colombia but much of his life was spent in Barranquilla, a coastal city in the same country. His studies in Mechanical Engineering began at the Universidad del Norte, in that locality and finished them at the Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, a city to which he moved again in 1992.
He finally graduated in 1999, but for three years he had been working at Aire Caribe S.A., the family business created by his uncle in 1976. "For as long as I can remember I've heard about air conditioning issues and their different terms: handler, condensers, refrigeration pipes, chillers. As a child, I spent some of my holidays at the company working and learning," he recalls.
Jimenez says that having the possibility to be in contact with real projects and see the applications that can be made, were the reasons that made him fall in love with the air conditioning industry.
"I remember college being much more exciting when I was able to feel firsthand what a driving unit was, and relate it to what we had seen of fluids, heat transfer and psychometry. In the beginning, when you're in college, away from real practice, this topic doesn't reach you as much, but for me it was really captivating to be in contact with real applications."
The evolution of his career
Aire Caribe was for our Professional of the Month a great school, especially in the technical aspect of the profession and for the possibilities of accessing training opportunities in large-scale projects, not only in Colombia, but in Panama, Venezuela and Chile. However, in September 2008, Jiménez decided to devote himself to the design of air conditioning systems and created a new company called HVAC Consulting S.A.S.
"I work on developing for each project an optimized engineering, adjusted to the needs of the clients, because we pride ourselves on achieving the best yields per square meter, accompanied by the best operating costs. I believe that this, accompanied by engineering that meets the highest standards in terms of regulations, is one of the greatest added values that our customers receive."
Training to compete
For Gabriel Jiménez, the main challenge of a company is to generate trust in customers; in his opinion, this aspect is especially vital in the case of specialized fields in which you must be totally sure of the ability of the installer to analyze the particularities of the area in which he is going to work.
"For example, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies are the sectors where our work is most valued. That's why I set myself the challenge of becoming certified with ASHRAE as a professional in health entity design (HFDP Health Care Facilities Design Professional) and I am proud to be the first professional in Latin America with this certification."
Faced with the importance of accessing this type of training programs, Jiménez emphasizes that finally these allow to raise the quality of the projects, in addition to increasing the level of competitiveness. "We must find tools that allow us to compete on an equal footing. In this globalized world, threats and opportunities ceased to be local long ago."
Finally, he pointed out that "the main objective of a manager in her company is to achieve her transcendence in time and the positioning of it with a clear image towards the market, this is that it is clear not only what she does but how she does it".
The other side of the coin
Just as his family marked the beginning of his vocation for industry, they are also a fundamental part of his life in other aspects. Married since 2003, Gabriel Jimenez has two children, ages 7 and 4, and has found in his wife, Leticia, great support during the tough process of starting his own company.
He is the eldest of five siblings, four men and one woman, so it's no wonder he enjoys sharing as a family. He also enjoys golf and music, to the point of organizing karaoke with his friends whenever he has the opportunity.
Manage today
The evolution does not stop, on the contrary it is increasingly faster and necessary to achieve success. In the air conditioning industry, the last 14 years have marked a change that goes hand in hand with the development of the country.
The companies that work in the field of air conditioning are strengthened, according to Jiménez, "it is evident the number of companies with a much larger number of designers, also the arrival of new suppliers and the strengthening of those that were already there. In addition, supplier companies that previously only had 10 engineers now have a plant staff of 60 or more people in the national context."
It also highlights that Colombia is currently an attractive destination for investors because new projects appear every day and that, added to the fact that we are in one of the best moments for the construction industry, poses an immediate and long-term promising future.
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Certification required
The ASHRAE certification in Health Care Facilities Design Professional was developed in collaboration with the American Society of Health Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association.
To achieve certification it is necessary to demonstrate knowledge of topics that experts have identified as necessary practices in the area of building design for health entities. Likewise, engineers are expected to understand how medical requirements and technical operations affect the design of the HVACR system in these institutions.
