Daniel is a father of two, an Engineer, a Project Manager, and has a proven track record of delivering results and empowering/motivating others to succeed.
Daniel Lam – Fair, Strategical, always available and ready to work for you.
Daniel has been a licensed P.Eng. for 9 years and works in the electricity sector in the province of Ontario. Daniel is passionate about making sure that PEO works for PEO members, by focusing on keeping PEO fees low and is firmly against any mandatory continuing education (which could add as much as 60 hours a year to your already busy schedule).
Listen, Appreciate and Motivate (the LAM plan for moving us forward)
| Dear PEO Members, Thank you so much for taking your precious time out to visit my website and supporting the democratic process by taking an interest in the elections of your PEO Council (i.e. PEO Board of Directors). I’m putting forward my name to serve and run for the position of PEO Councilor-at-large, because I bring a combination of Leadership excellence, Approachableness/flexibility, Members first attitude, and vision for the future of the PEO: (i) Chapters are an important part of our volunteer network and provides value for PEO members The 36 PEO Chapters and their volunteers deliver excellent services and enhance the value of PEO membership. Thank you so much for the volunteers for their dedication and hardwork in organizing events, and developing a first class membership experience. I, myself, have been a volunteer for many different organizations, including the PEO Chapters, and I believe that volunteers makes Canada a better place to live and PEO Council should continue supporting our Chapters. (ii) Against making PEAK and other Continuing Development Hours (CDH) mandatory for all license holders Having worked as a Training and Development professional, I can appreciate the value of continuous learning, but also recognize the limitations with training. Relevant, engaging, and helpful training is welcoming but very time and effort intensive to produce. Many online learning modules are dull, ineffective, and can easily become obsolete. Mandatory training program is not effective in ensuring quality engineering work and will add significant time and cost burdens to PEO members. (iii) Health and Safety is number #1 both at work and outside of it In my teens and 20’s, I wouldn’t have understood the importance of Health and Safety, but this is one common value that both engineers and non-engineers can easily rally behind. In fact, I had been at fault at 4 or so car accidents during my earlier driving years. Luckily, no one was hurt. Most accidents are indeed preventable. Having worked in the electricity sector where mistakes can be fatal and having served as a Joint Health and Safety Committee rep., I understand how the combination of technology/design, regulation/oversight, humans factors, and other influences can minimize the chance of a safety incident ever occurring. The Swiss Cheese model of accident prevention is one that I did not learn from school but would recommend all Engineers to have a further look into. (iv) PEO Fees needs to remain low Having reviewed PEO’s financial statements, Annual Report, and Strategic Plan, I have a good idea about its spending patterns and current priorities. Activities supporting membership and safeguarding the public needs to continue, but PEO needs to be prudent in its spending and having served in a volunteer Treasurer position of a Condo Corp. and realizing savings there with no changes to service levels, I am ready to take on the challenges facing PEO. (v) Why the PEO should continue to be self-regulated and be provided with autonomy to make its own directions/decisions The fall of Enron, the US 2008 subprime housing crisis, and the Volkswagen emission scandal are just some of examples of where regulation and oversight failed to protect the interest of the public. The two strongest arguments for why licensing of Engineers should continue to be self-regulated are: 1. the standards required to obtaining Engineering licensing (and those required to maintain it) are becoming increasing more difficult to articulate as technology continues to change at rapid pace The average government official is not likely to have the same level of knowledge regarding best practices in technology and science as any given Engineer would. By self-regulating, professionals can ensure that the rules that govern them are written by the people who know their profession best. It is a bad idea to write the standards associated with how to run a Nuclear power plant without any input from a nuclear engineer! 2. Professionals have an interest in maintaining public confidence All engineers have a vested interest in assuring the public that they are in good hands, and this is also an important driving force behind self-regulation. The average person can rest easier knowing their Engineer’s license is approved and maintained by boards comprised of other Engineers, rather than by the local or federal government. A vibrant self-governing profession, which has the public’s interest at heart, is itself in the best interest of the public. Many engineers, like myself, choose to enter this profession with the mindset of making things and the world better around us, but along the way, some will lose that clarity. There are others, who are just entering the Engineering profession due to parental influence, to find a stable career with good pay, and other factor. As a regulator, the PEO is tasked with dealing with individuals from all walks of life, and it is no easy task. From my professional and personal life, I’m blessed to have acquired a number of skillset and experiences that will allow me to raise to this challenge: (a) Having served on multiple different Board of Director roles and Scholarship selection Committees in different organizations, I understand the importance of remaining kind, fair, impartial, open-minded. Let’s bring some humility and pragmatic arguments and respect for different/diverse opinions to build consensus, (b) Having over 10 years of negotiation experiences and dealing with conflicts and performance issues, I understand how emotions, fear, pride, communication skills, and strategic position can influence and bring out the best results, Elected representatives have a duty to care and support the well-being of their members. I always do my own independent research and make time available to support my constituents and provide them with a roadmap and bold leadership towards improvements for us all, I would love to hear more from you and connect on your experience of being a PEO member thus far. Stay safe, and have yourself a wonderful day. Best Regards, Daniel Lam, P.Eng., PMP |
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