- Meet Yvette Mabelane, PackSolveās Industrial Engineer who is transforming the industrial packaging leadersā operations.
- After changing her university studies from labour relations, Mabelane discovered that she can apply her intelligence and people skills through industrial engineering.
- After years of experience in the mining equipment manufacturing industry she wanted to expand her career and experience, she joined PackSolve in 2018 to help it pursue better operations and improved delivery during its high-growth.
Main Story:
PackSolve has appointed its first female engineer and sheās already reshaping the companyās operations for the better.
The image of an engineer tends to conjure that of a man in a practical button-down shirt, tucked into khaki or jean trousers and completed with a set of boots. They are likely to be difficult and more focused on results than the people involved.
Itās a disparaging and unfair image of who engineers are and what they do, especially when you meet Yvette Mabelane, PackSolveās Industrial Engineer. Appointed a year ago, her role is to improve standards, processes and operations at PackSolve, a multidisciplinary industrial packaging solutions provider.
āPackSolve is on an amazing growth journey, but it recognised that it needs to formalise more of its operations if it wants to sustain that growth,ā said Mabelane, explaining her role. āMy focus is on improving our processes and introduce new ones, set standards and support the continuous improvement culture weāre establishing.ā
Mabelane is a key player in PackSolveās strategic execution. She is one of several individuals representing āsuper servicesā – vital strategic pillars – in the business. The group reports directly to the CEO to ensure a coherent application of Packsolveās vision. These roles are new and respond to the changes PackSolve is undergoing as it grows.
An engineer with a peopleās touch
Adjusting PackSolveās procedures and standards towards those goals is Mabelaneās responsibility. It may seem like a typical engineering pursuit, chasing arcane measures and indicators hidden inside operations. But her job is actually very people-centric, which is a boon for the outgoing and personable engineer.
āDealing with people is key,ā she explained. āIndustrial engineering has the theory, but itās difficult to implement. You need buy-in from people to make things happen. You need to communicate with them in ways they understand and can contextualise to their roles. You have to be very hands-on. That requires the right personality.ā
Mabelane certainly has the people touch – and nearly didnāt end up in engineering as a result. Her bubbly and warm manner seemed like a good fit for labour relations. But the course soon bored her at university:
āItās so much reading and theory ācut and pasteā. I discovered I prefer to calculate things, to create solutions out of the elements in front of me. After considering my options, I changed to industrial engineering and loved it from the first week. I have a real passion for it.ā
Hailing from the Vaal, she completed her degree and then interned at a mining business. After several promotions resulting from her incredible drive, she had established her pedigree as a top engineer. But staying in one place was not a long-term option. Mabelane knew that her career needs wider exposure to different industries, hence the shift to PackSolve.
A place where everything happens
Industrial packaging seems like an unlikely place for the rising star of a talented engineer. But Mabelane could see the opportunities. PackSolve is a fast-growing business that encompasses a variety of solutions, ranging from mining equipment to train wrapping to drums for the food industry. It provides exposure to a wide range of clients and scenarios, encapsulated in tightly-run operations that also pursue R&D and staff development.
JoiningPackSolve provided an opportunity for Mabelane to shift her training and experience into the next gear: āPackSolve is much larger and more complex than it was a few years ago, so there is a lot for me to work with. These include minor changes through to looking at line balancing and changing the layout of certain lines. I also look at how we keep our stakeholders in the loop, including suppliers and customers. Do we communicate with them enough? How can those engagements be more systematic?ā
PackSolveās solutions cater to the B2B market and its operations have a direct impact on customers meeting their own delivery schedules. Mabelane works to enhance those relationships through several improvements, including the deployment of a business-wide ERP platform.
Her ambitions aim high, but Mabelane is not someone who settles for second-best. She almost canāt afford to in the male-dominated world of engineering. As a black female industrial engineer, sheās met more than her share of opposition and attitude. But these donāt slow her down:
āI can admit that being a female engineer is a challenge. There can be barriers to engagement and being taken seriously. But I push through those challenges because Iām here for the job. We have things to accomplish at PackSolve and those who canāt move with the change will be left behind.ā
She added that coming in left-of-field as a female engineer can be useful as it prompts people to think outside of the box. Lineworkers also look up to her status as a successful black professional, considering her an example of what can be accomplished in todayās workplace.
As Mabelane helps improve PackSolveās processes and operations, sheās setting the tone and direction for others to follow: not just other women or engineers, but for every professional at PackSolve. She learns a lot from them as well, revealing why PackSolve is one of the most dynamic and fast-growing leaders in the industrial packaging space. It looks after its people and its people look after it.
