Five Questions Friday with Elmer Plett

Name: Elmer Plett

Title: Engineering Support Technician

Company: Pro-Fab Industries, designer and manufacturer of alternative energy heating systems, including high-efficiency indoor and outdoor wood boiler models and more traditional outdoor furnace designs.

Job description: I provide technical assistance to the SolidWorks users at our company as well as running the software as a drafter.

Hometown: Arborg, Manitoba, Canada

How did you find yourself in this career? When I first heard about SolidWorks software, I was fascinated by the ability to view and work with 3D parts on a computer. That fascination got me involved in the work and I’ve loved it ever since.

What is your proudest career moment? Being involved in the SolidWorks Beta contest, which includes testing a new release of the software to help identify critical issues and to submit bugs and usability concerns. Then seeing my name in the Top 10 Beta Testers list.

How has SolidWorks made a difference in your life? Working with the people at SolidWorks and at our reseller, Automated Design Systems, has been a positive and productive experience as they help us solve problems and find solutions.

What do you do for fun? What’s cool about it? I really enjoy reading and learning more about the technical aspects of how things work. Some interesting reading material I’ve read recently includes WIRED magazine and the book “iWoz” about how Steve Wozniak invented the first personal computer. Also, the book “Secrets of Mental Math” by Aurthur Benjamin and Michale Shermer was quite intriguing as well. This book teaches you to do math in your head faster than you ever thought possible and dramatically improves your memory for numbers.