Meet Jacqueline Cartier: The Engineer with a love for Design!

Jacqueline Cartier worked for General Motors for over 30 years and in that

time she became an expert in not only engineering but the field of ergonomics as well. Learn how important Ergonomics is to simple tasks like opening the fridge.

1. What is ergonomics and why is it important to our everyday lives?

 Ergonomics is about designing machines and equipment for the everyday person. Whether you are working with cars, brushing your teeth, or even opening the fridge, there is a special design made to accommodate as many people as possible! If you are a shorter person, there may be things you can’t reach and that needs to be accounted for when designing things like cabinets or everyday appliances. All these ideas are involved in ergonomics as it is the study of the interaction between people and the things they use.

In terms of my work, I was fortunate enough to work at General Motors for many years. In terms of cars and my work, there needs to be a lot of adjustability otherwise every single person would need their own special car that fit just for them. My husband is 6 foot 3 and needs to be able to fit into the same car that my 5 foot 6 frame can fit into. You also need to be able to handle all the computers that are in cars now. If you need the GPS or google play, it all needs to be easily accessible without distracting the driver. All these things are incorporated into both engineering and ergonomics!

 2.What did you want to be when you were growing up?

 I think I always knew I wanted to be a problem solver. In terms of my career path, my interest in engineering started with my fourth grade science teacher. She had an after school science club and that got me really excited about experiments . And one of the gifts I wanted as a kid was a telescope so I was always interested in science.

 In my last year of high school, one of my teachers asked me if  I wanted to be in a paid internship through General Motors and I said yes.  The experience was really important in getting me to choose my career path as I was working with process engineers and I loved it!

 3.What toys did you like as a child?

 Well when I was growing up we didn't have as many tech devices so I spent a lot of time playing outside with the neighbourhood kids. I played baseball and basketball in the park. I had dolls, microscopes, board games and I won a Mary Poppins talking telephone! It was my first mechanical device ever! Without phones or computers, we would invent thing like tents out of blankets and make pretend soup out of leaves and plants.

 "If you always wait for people to ask you what you want, it may not come along when you want it to."

4. What would you say to encourage women starting their career path?

 Make sure you plan your career and make sure you ask for advice. Don't just go with the flow, have some input into what you want to do with your life. If you always wait for people to ask you what you want, it may not come along when you want it to.  So if you think you may be ready for something different, then just ask about it. Make sure to take the opportunity to talk to mentors.

 And try to avoid certain modes of behaviour as it is easy to slip into patterns like the tiara effect. That is when you do your job and keep your head down while hoping that somebody may notice. Other people are making what they have done more visible even if they haven't done as much work as you and that gets them noticed more. Make sure you let people know what you are doing so you get that recognition.

 5. What part of your career have you enjoyed the most?

 Designing different aspects of a manufacturing plant has been great. I design work stations and put together how everything will be implemented. Design of the human interface system is really important and I like thinking through things. I get to go through all the details and analyze where there may be risks or hazards to the worker. 

 I like to know how things work and it’s great to be able to help people interact with machines and tools better. Engineering always involves problem solving so the different challenges are great. But working together with people is the best aspect.

 6. How have you made an impact in other people’s lives?

 I think I have made an impact in other’s lives by by minimizing injuries of co-workers using my ergonomics training. With simple work techniques like the ones below, I have been able to keep employees safe when interacting with different machines:

 -Keep your shoulders down.

-Take micro breaks

-Slide instead of lifting

 Helping people learn how to keep safe while working is really one of the biggest rewards. In the manufacturing business there is always potential for people to get hurt and my designs have prevented people from having to take long breaks from work.