By Alimey Díaz | Mejías is a mechanical engineer, Director of Women in Reliability and Asset Management (WIRAM) for Latin America, and the subject of this interview in which she shares interesting developments in her profession and how she hopes to impact the global WIRAM community through her volunteer work.
To understand how industries advance, it is necessary to know the people who bring industrial, business, and commercial activity to life. Human capital and corporate culture are at the heart of the dynamics of success, and it is a topic that experts are focusing on.
Volunteering plays an important role within human capital. Under the umbrella of the Association of Asset Management Professionals (AMP), the organization Women in Reliability and Asset Management (WIRAM) does outstanding work to highlight women’s contributions to the asset management industry. One of the people who makes this possible is Gabriela Mejías, with whom we spoke to learn more about her work and professional contributions.
Gabriela Mejías is a mechanical engineer who graduated from the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela. She has a postgraduate degree in Reliability in Industrial Systems Specialist, Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology, and a Diploma in Management and Supervision, Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General, both obtained from the Universidad Simón Bolívar (Caracas, Venezuela). She is also Director of the LATAM Chapter of WIRAM, where she makes a commendable effort to meet the organization’s objectives: to create a safe space for the professional development of women in the industry, highlighting their work and collaborating with their professional development.
AMP: Gabriela, tell us about your current job and what your duties consist of.
GM: I work in the Engineering area as part of the reliability team for the company where I currently work. I conduct reliability studies and implement best practices and methodologies aligned with the World Class Maintenance approach, Failure and Root Cause Analysis, Predictive and Preventive Maintenance, among other activities.
AMP: How did you get started in Industrial Maintenance and Asset Management?
GM: In 2006, there was a process in Venezuela known as the Oil Opening, and the first of these companies was Petrozuata, where I was fortunate enough to do my internships and learn about high performance and World Class Maintenance standards. I then pursued postgraduate studies and obtained certifications that have allowed me to specialize in this area, which is very exciting for me.
AMP: What have been the most powerful lessons that have transformed you as a professional?
GM: I have covered many areas of work, learning, and training. This has led me to develop skills such as versatility in dealing with asset management processes that involve many areas, adaptability to perform functions in different countries and in industrial and cultural environments different from my own, and resilience to withstand the ups and downs of the profession, stay focused, and take advantage of every opportunity to grow and improve.
AMP: What is the best thing or what do you like most about being an engineer?
GM: It is a career that I can classify as a LEAN or 5S process, focused on optimization and continuous improvement. The spirit of the profession is focused on analysis and the search for solutions, and process optimization. Therefore, this dynamic drives you to come up with solutions to any adverse scenario, stay up to date, and integrate diverse perspectives. It is a high-performance process that somehow permeates your personal life beyond work, and becomes part of your own philosophy of life. Optimization and continuous improvement are the true spirit of engineering, and at some point, this begins to form part of your character.
AMP: What do you consider to be really difficult in your profession? What area has been really challenging for you?
GM: I think it can be difficult to land in the concrete reality of projects, in addition to proposing linear processes. Asset management and maintenance involve the interconnection of different areas, each of which has its own goals, but which together must help the organization meet its objectives. Getting each piece of the organizational puzzle to visualize its role within that framework and channeling each of them into the organizational goals is a bit intangible; it’s really challenging. You have to demonstrate and communicate that structural map with solid foundations and “hard data.” That involves a lot of analysis and data cleansing, as well as solid criteria to consolidate this exercise.
AMP: You are the director of WIRAM LATAM. What does this position mean to you, and how would you like to see the role of women in engineering evolve in Latin America?
GM: This position is extremely important being a kind of ambassador for the region. With WIRAM, I have a permanent commitment to make my contribution and promote women’s leadership within our profession. Building bridges and interconnecting through networks that expand within this vast and rich region, to take advantage of the combined strength that we are in WIRAM and that transforms into a living organism of solid, recognized, and visible reference, setting a standard and a roadmap for future generations. I want to continue to be part of that.
AMP: What advice would you give to young professionals starting out in this profession?
GM: I would tell them not to leave all the work to technology. While technology is advancing rapidly, the fundamentals, concepts, and theories that shape this profession remain the pillars of knowledge, proven practices, and good results. Technology is a key tool, but it requires context and judgment to be leveraged.
