Meet Ellen Erickson, a recently qualified engineer who thrives in heavy industry. She now works as a production technician at Vossloh in Sannahed, where she plays an active role in the company’s sustainability initiatives.
She describes herself as a positive and cheerful person who enjoys spreading joy and helping others. She’s also resourceful.
“I like trying new things and challenging myself,” she says.
These qualities come in handy in her role as a production technician at Vossloh in Sannahed. She works as part of the production support team.
”All the support functions are based in the same room so that we can easily keep in touch with one another. When the operators come in, it often involves more than one function. It’s great fun to work together because we can bounce ideas off one another.”
A long and windy road towards engineering
Fascinated by heavy industry, Ellen Erickson graduated with a degree in engineering in spring 2020, joining Vossloh in September of that year.
Her path here has been anything but straightforward.
”Initially, I was thinking of working in a bakery, but I chose to change direction and studied behavioural science at sixth form college. I didn’t meet the entry requirements for the engineering programme, so I completed a technical foundation year. When I started the engineering programme, I decided to work in industry.”
Her first summer job was at the bar mill of Ovako Steel in Hällefors.
”The first few times I went in, it was almost scary. It was dark and noisy, and you had to walk through plastic curtains to reach the production area. However, once I started working there, I found heavy industry fascinating.”
The following summer, Ellen wanted to try something different and got a job in the Epiroc warehouse.
It was bright in there”, she says.
”Everything followed its own processes, and it was a textbook example of how to apply Lean Management. It was great to experience with two completely different types of industry.
”I gave this role 100 per cent.”
As her studies drew to a close, Ellen Erickson applied for many jobs, but was disappointed when most employers required three years' experience.
Then the Vossloh vacancy appeared in her LinkedIn feed.
”I knew straight away that it was the right fit for me and gave it my all. I asked everyone I knew for help with my application.”
It paid off: today, Ellen Erickson has landed her first role as a production technician. She gets to combine her theoretical knowledge as an industrial economics engineer with her resourceful, hands-on approach.
A cog in the sustainability wheel
Ellen Erickson’s working days are varied. One day might involve solving problems that have come to light during a safety inspection, such as adjusting a welding fume extractor that wasn’t working optimally and therefore hadn’t been used.
“Now the welding fume extractor works well. It’s a small adjustment that ensures it’s usable and actually improves the working environment for the operators.”
On other days, she obtains quotes for necessary machinery and spare parts, places orders, and follows up on them. Every morning, the team goes on a gemba walk, a term from Lean Production which, in Vossloh’s case, involves a round of checks on the factory floor.
“My role is to ensure that the machines are running as they should and that all consumables are in place.”
One of her first tasks was to digitise the operator maintenance documentation – that is, the maintenance checks that the operators carry out on the machines. She also maintains her own document listing improvement projects.
Troubleshooting in the workshop
”Sometimes the operators come in and say, 'There's something wrong with the milling machine.' Then I have to put everything on hold and go out to troubleshoot so I can get a clear picture and gather the information I need to decide whether I can fix it myself or if I need to contact someone with specialist knowledge.”
”There are many times when you think you can't solve an issue yourself at first glance, but by thinking out loud and talking to colleagues, you realise that the solution is simpler than you thought.”
”For more serious incidents, I contact someone with specialist expertise for assistance.”
Reflecting on her life choices, Ellen Erickson remembers being seen as someone who didn’t like school and how her dyslexia made her schooling more difficult. However, towards the end of her sixth-form years, a teacher discovered that she was good at maths and technology.
”I gave it some thought and went to Malta. Then I decided to enrol on a technical foundation year. It was tough as I hadn’t studied physics or chemistry. But I found it absolutely brilliant and became a bit of a nerd.”
No regrets
Ellen Erickson doesn’t regret spending three years studying social sciences alongside psychology and behavioural science – quite the opposite.
“I’m so glad I took a slight detour.“
“The psychology I learnt is a brilliant skill to have in any profession. However, I now know that I don’t want to be a psychologist. I’m glad it hasn’t been a straightforward journey, because otherwise I might not feel so certain.“
Do you feel you’ve ended up in the right place?
“Yes, absolutely. I’m really pleased to have been given this opportunity to develop with Vossloh. It couldn’t have turned out better.“
