Our Industry Person of the Week is Susan Lubell, P.Eng MBA MMP CAMA Principal Consultant, Steppe Consulting Inc.
Q: How did you get started working in your field?
Susan: I started off working as an Engineer in oil & gas, straight out of university. This piqued my interest in improving operational performance. After I completed my MBA, I found myself in roles that required me to facilitate operational excellence improvement, root cause analysis, reliability, and cost-effective maintenance program development. Working with people in different business functions to solve problems, take advantage of opportunities to improve the business, and deliver value led me to progressive leadership roles and an overall focus on strategic asset management.
Q: What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?
Susan: If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be variety. Asset management is all about working collaboratively to deliver value. Actively working on a high-performing team to solve problems and improve business results is very motivating and encouraging. It gives me the chance to continuously learn and contribute my expertise while working with a cross-functional team to put our collective ideas and solutions into practice. I have also been teaching asset management and maintenance management at the post-secondary level for the past 15 years. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to make a positive difference in other people’s career journeys as they progress their understanding and application of asset management, reliability, and maintenance concepts.
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?
Susan: Be open to gaining a broad range of work experiences. Part of the fun of asset management and the strategic work that I do is being able to bring together people with a broad range of experiences to build an asset management strategy, or to solve a problem in the operating plant, and then implement our collective solution. The more that you know about how the different parts of the organization and different business functions can work together, the more successful your initiative will be at delivering value.
Q: Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?
Susan: Lately, I have been very involved with developing and implementing globally recognized and accredited asset management certifications and defining the associated competencies. Employers will know what knowledge, skills, and experience to expect from the certificants, and certificants will have a more visible career path in asset management. The global recognition is a key to transferability and transportability between countries in our modern working environment. As part of my roles as President of PEMAC Asset Management Association of Canada and Chair of WPiAM World Partners in Asset Management, I am able to contribute to the development of these certifications with other representatives from like-minded not-for-profit asset management and maintenance associations.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Susan: My career path has not been a straight-line from university to where I am now. I have enjoyed the variety of my work experiences and the ability to contribute to the asset management, reliability, and maintenance community through my volunteer work. I would encourage others to consider a career path in the field of asset management.
THANK YOU, SUSAN! WE LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING UP WITH YOU THROUGH THE #PUMPTALK COMMUNITY!
KNOW AN AMAZING PERSON WHO IS MAKING VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS WITHIN INDUSTRY? NOMINATE THEM TO BE AN “INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE WEEK”!
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