Day in the life – Raymond Heaney
We caught up with one of our Senior Project Managers, Raymond Heaney, to find out more about his work at CliniSys and what he most enjoys about his role.
Raymond is a Senior Project Manager, overseeing the deployment of our LIMS – WinPath Enterprise.
Did you always have a clear idea about what you wanted to do – and has that changed over the years?
I was always very clear what I wanted to be, an astronaut and that still hasn’t changed! However, I loved working in the lab as it had all the things I enjoyed, chemistry, maintain the analysers and then later working with the computers.
I started my pathology career in the Chemistry department at Vale of Leven Hospital, which at the time, had all paper-based processes. I had a real interest in laboratory automation and implementing time saving workflows and as part of my HNC in computing, I even wrote my own analyser interfaces.
What attracted you to CliniSys?
Initially it was the people and the technology. I had been introduced to Berkeley Computer Services (forerunner of CliniSys) team, when my lab decided to make the move and install a LIMS. I got to know the team very well through the product training and as we worked together to implement the different elements associated with the LIMS and interfaces.
On-call for this small lab was a major part of my life and it felt like I was constantly there, so I was looking for a change. But I still loved the science and the computers. When I saw a job advertised for a Product Specialist at CliniSys, it looked like the ideal mix and I decided to take leap. That was back in 1999 and I’m now celebrating 22 years with the company!
How has your career developed or changed within CliniSys?
It has been extremely varied and I have worked in most aspects of Delivery:
- Product Specialist
- Team Lead / Domain Lead
- Solution Management – system administration in LabCentre
- Resource Management – who’s working on which projects
- Tech Team Management – streamlining resource, new processes within the tech team and recruitment in that area
- Solution Management – system administration for CyberLab
- Project Management
Team and line management has played a significant role and I feel privileged to have worked with great teams of Product Specialists and Tech Services. Over the years, CliniSys has helped me develop my talents and I feel that I’m good at getting the best out of people which has been invaluable in my roles in resource management and project management.
What do you enjoy most about your current role?
It’s busy and no two days are ever quite the same. My lab background and technical experience really helps with understanding the aims of the project and recognising efficiencies. It certainly helps in building respect and trust with my team and customers alike.
Job satisfaction is through the roof as I can really see how I can make a difference and help improve our customers’ processes. It is high pressure as you work to tight deadlines and need to handle issues as they appear but the rewards are considerable. Seeing a project from inception through to go live, you get to see the big picture and I now have a National perspective of labs and how they operate.