Our Industry Person of the Week is Elaine Amanda Hepley, Data Analysis Manager at POLARIS Laboratories®.
Q: How did you get started working in your field?
Elaine: I have a background in automotive body repair, and that is what got my career started with POLARIS Laboratories LLC. I started off as a Level I Data Analysts and over the course of 14 years worked my way up to Manager, Data Analysis. I have always had a passion for mechanics and understanding how things work. I enjoy DIY home renovation projects and building things. Since I was little I have always had an interest for mechanics. Honestly, my start in the industry, didn’t happen without POLARIS Laboratories LLC taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.
Q: What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?
Elaine: Helping people. I enjoy helping our customers with their program and help them save money on equipment down time. As a leader I am able to help my team grow and develop into the professionals that they aspire to be. My most proud moment is being able to grow our varnish analysis program from a 1 person team now to a team of 5 individuals. We are currently working to obtain our Varnish Badges to make us official SME’s. The varnish team is always looking for ways to make improvements to our analysis and help ensure we are providing the best Varnish Analysis to our customers. Seeing others grow and helping set them up for success is what makes me the most proud and honored to be in a position where I can provide that to others.
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?
Elaine: Never stop learning. Be open to meeting new people and establishing connections with other industry experts in the fields. Collaborate and help when the opportunity is presented to you. You can never learn enough or be too knowledgeable. Participate in Organizations that are Industry driven and can help further your professional career. Get certified and become involved with these organizations as well. Volunteer when the opportunity presents itself and don’t be afraid to take on a challenge. Be open to growing, learning and helping, it is what will set you up for success. Attend conferences to continue to learn about the ever changing elements of the industry and stay up to date with the trends as well.
Q: Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?
Elaine: We recently launched new Varnish testing techniques which help us identify soluble varnish but also how to detect the various types of varnish formations, the stage of varnish as well as any wear related issues caused by varnish. We also report the L*a*b* values and have recently completed some work on finding correlations between the L*a*b* values and the MPC values. This helps us determine what the root cause of varnish formation, the goal is to help customers mitigate the varnish and fix the problem before it can get worse and lead to failure. My personal goal is to be able to help customers solve their varnish related issues and prevent the formation of varnish in the future.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Elaine: I am beyond grateful for the career and opportunities that I have been offered over the course of my career. I have recently been nominated to join the Board of Directors for STLE and was appointed Chair of their new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee as well. I currently serve as the Chair of the OMA Committee. I started my career from nothing and with hard work and dedication it got me to where I am at today. I just hope that I am able to help inspire others, that if I can do it, so can you. Hard work and perseverance does pay off and if you happen to fall, it’s ok. Just make sure you get back up and keep on going. Don’t be scared to fail, success doesn’t come without failure.
Connect with Elaine on LinkedIn.
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