We are delighted to introduce two new members of our technical project team: Geert Van Overbeke, Product Manager and Lotte Arnauts, Technical Project Engineer in the team of Huub Tubbax.
Geert Van Overbeke and Lotte Arnauts recently joined Essensium. Geert has a degree in industrial engineering – electronics from Group T in Leuven. He started his professional journey as an embedded firmware engineer, gradually advancing to managerial roles such as technical manager and product manager. He worked at Imec Solutions department and Option. He is in charge of developing the productivity functionality of EPS3.
Lotte Arnauts joined Essensium as Technical Project Engineer EPS, also in the team of Huub Tubbax. Lotte holds an Electrical Engineering degree (Master of Electrical Engineering KU Leuven). Before Essensium, Lotte was working at the Belgian Air Force where she was Deputy Squadron commander A400M. Lotte will strengthen the project management skills of the team.
Let’s find out more about their job and also discover something about Geert and Lotte’s life outside work.
- What do you do during a typical working day?
Geert: Currently my primary focus lies on determining the product definition: I am gathering a lot of information by visiting customers on-site, listening, observing their operations and how their logistics processes work down to the smallest detail possible. The aim is to understand their workflow, listen to their shortcomings in their current processes, draw conclusions, and incorporate them into a future product definition. We also aim to expand our existing product SafeTrack, which is currently focused on taking forklift safety to the next level in the intralogistics sector, we are working on including extra productivity aspects to our solution. By productivity we mean optimizing warehouse efficiency. I am talking with customers to understand what productivity means to them, such as identifying lost pallets for example. Tracking pallets begins with where they were picked up and where they were dropped off.
After defining the product, we internally review with the team which technical solution we can and should implement. This means making strategic technology choices, executing decisions based on consensus, and initiating development in collaboration with the R&D team of Jan Olbrechts. The R&D team translates the product definition with the goal of creating a product that can solve the customer’s productivity challenges.
Lotte: I am responsible for overseeing ongoing projects for our international clients, which includes coordinating the installation, validation, and calibration of SafeTrack cameras. Specifically, I am responsible for monitoring the progress and coordination of the installation of SafeTrack, ensuring all necessary steps are completed. My job entails a combination of customer coordination and finding solutions for technical issues.
When a new project starts, we visit the customer’s site to map the warehouse, digitize it, and subsequently position the vehicles on the digital twin. This enables vehicle detection, including proximity to other vehicles, adherence to rules, speed limits, and access regulations within specific zones. Following this, the forklift vendor installs our SafeTrack solution on the forklifts. Once the installation is done we return to validate the installation, ensuring proper connection and functionality, including camera calibration for SafeTrack Pedestrian. We also attend the go-live phase to oversee the successful implementation of the system.
- What’s the best thing about your job?
Geert: I like the variety of my job, I can go through the whole process from technology selection to bringing the solution to market. Every step involves the customer.
Lotte: What I find most appealing about my job is the diverse range of tasks it entails. From inception to completion, I’m involved in projects, maintaining close collaboration and communication with customers throughout. Our proximity to the customer allows us to understand their needs firsthand and receive valuable feedback. In addition to customer interaction, I enjoy being engaged in various technical aspects of the projects. Although responsibilities are divided within the team, there’s flexibility for anyone to assist any customer. Specifically, I oversee several new projects, while also contributing to ongoing projects.
- What is the most challenging part of your job?
Geert: In today’s competitive market, time-to-market is essential. We’ve successfully launched our SafeTrack Vehicles and Pedestrians solution, which is performing well and meeting customer satisfaction. However, beyond safety, productivity is also a concern. The market demands swift product delivery, prioritizing customer satisfaction. Yet, we must balance speed with cost-consciousness. Cost is another critical factor that requires consideration in our decision-making process.
Lotte: We have a very smart and innovative solution, which will change safety in warehouses. An innovative solution drives to progress but also poses some challenges. Addressing new situations requires constant problem-solving.
- A bit about you: What do you enjoy doing outside work and what’s on your bucket list?
Geert: In my free time I enjoy doing sports: I play badminton and paddle. On the other hand, I love the mountains, I enjoy hiking during the summer, and snowboarding in the winter. Cooking is another hobby of mine, and I consider myself a hobby chef, I particularly love Italian, Asian, and international cuisine. Among the top items on my bucket list are traveling to South America, a destination I have yet to explore, and witnessing the Northern Lights.
Lotte: I also love to do sports in my free time: I go running, swimming and hitting the gym. Traveling is another hobby I enjoy, I aspire to take one long-distance journey annually. On my bucket list is completing a marathon and visiting every continent; I still have a lot of countries to visit.