United States Quality Assurance

Contact

504-***-**** (Mobile)

********@*****.***

www.linkedin.com/in/mhellmers

(LinkedIn)

Top Skills

Equipment Maintenance

Quality Assurance

Corporate Events

Languages

English

Matthew Hellmers

Chemist

Mandeville, Louisiana, United States

Summary

My experience is split between repairing electronics and QA/QC in laboratory settings. In the past I have had leadership roles and owned my own company. Most of the time I'm pretty content to make sure everything is just running ship shape, whether that is by ANSI, ISO, ASTM, what have you.

Experience

CGI (Coastal Gulf & International)

Laboratory Technician

November 2024 - Present (5 months)

St. James Parish County, Louisiana, United States

Testing methanol using analytical devices such as Karl Fischer, GC, titration, densitometer, smell, appearance, and pH.

Methanol precursors also need to be tested, mostly analyzing water using pH, conductivity, chlorine, phosphates, silica, and ammonia. Also sending gas samples offsite to be tested.

In addition LIMS is in use, paperwork and duplicate testing is rigorously adhered to as well as calibrating and validating all equipment daily. Smitty's Supply, Inc.

Lab Tech II

March 2024 - August 2024 (6 months)

Roseland, Louisiana, United States

I do QA chemistry mostly on oil and water based samples used in automotive, agriculture, heavy equipment, and other industries. In some ways it's similar to safety-kleen, but in a much larger volume and diversity of products and testing. Accomplishments so far are instituting crackle and pour point. Also servicing equipment as needed.

Safety-Kleen

Quality Assurance Technician II

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November 2023 - February 2024 (4 months)

Metairie, Louisiana, United States

Testing raw oil, and additives inbound, blends in process, and outbound finished products, engine oil, transmission fluid, hydraulic fluid, etc. Each according to client specification. Also fixing and maintaining lab equipment. IR, TBN, viscosity, flash point, cold conditions, and volatility are the most common tests.

Evonik

QA/QC Lab Technician

October 2022 - March 2023 (6 months)

Garyville, Louisiana, United States

Testing raw materials using IR and pH, and finished material by particle size, HPLC, pH, and an assortment of tests to determine the absorbency of the superabsorber to ensure it meets the clients specifications. This was a very demanding job as we had to troubleshoot problems we found with production as they came up quickly and accurately with other lab staff and departments. Output was high and swift, time was money, and failing to correct or identify an issue meant wasted product. Preparing reagents and testing output from the scrubbers and boiler was also part of the job.

Orleans Parish Water Board

Water Chemist

May 2018 - November 2022 (4 years 7 months)

Greater New Orleans Area

I collect and run samples in the wet lab, phosphates, nitrates, nitrites, alkalinity, pH, ammonia, fluoride, chlorine, chlorides, install and repair equipment, validate, maintain and repair auto-samplers at water towers and filters, order reagents, parts, and make sure our numbers are not out of range. If they are repeatedly after several samples, I call other departments and try to find the issue.

The autosamplers we use are HACH CL-17s for chlorination and a mix of HACH laser and light turbidemeters. In addition I must validate and maintain the lab equipment we use to validate our plant equipment. My last major undertaking was rebuilding a Shimadzu TOC with autosampler that had been decommissioned for over 5 years.

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The major challenge here is that the budget is limited but the demands are not, as the saying goes, the reward for hard work is more work. Capital Logistics and Event Planning

Owner

August 2014 - January 2020 (5 years 6 months)

Installation and service of security/surveillance, lighting, electrical, and computer systems. Event planning, logistics and coordination. Invoicing, contracts, and sales. Achieving customer’s desires through prioritization and research

Jefferson Parish Water Department

Chemist

November 2016 - May 2018 (1 year 7 months)

350 Arnoult Rd

I tested total organic and inorganic carbon in water to analyze water processing efficiency. In addition to total phenols and TKN testing on sewerage and drainage samples to analyze waste plant efficiency. Convergint Technologies

9 months

Installer

May 2016 - July 2016 (3 months)

Greater New Orleans Area

I received a promotion at Convergint to Field Installer. This position offers much more responsibility along with unique challenges and self-reliance.

Daily I must solve issues of logistics, and figuring out the best way to complete a scope of work with the parts available. Every week is a new client, a new challenge to figure out and overcome.

Most installs focus around access control, and cameras. Equipment upkeep was a regular part of the routine.

Warehouse and Vehicle Fleet Manager

November 2015 - May 2016 (7 months)

Greater New Orleans Area

Ordering and distributing consumable parts for jobs, organizing data and parts for contracts. Delivering parts when needed, ensuring vehicles have all proper Page 3 of 10

paperwork and are mechanically sound. Time to time going out on jobs and doing what I do for my business, running wire, and fixing problems. I'm constantly learning, evolving the systems we have in place, sometimes the flow I think would work best needs to be modified, adapted to the structures and needs already in place. The best example would be recoding all inventory flow to be used with a laser scanner. The scanner never ended up being used, but the added accountability proved to be a useful tool. Rzi Lighting

Lighting and Equipment Repair

March 2015 - August 2015 (6 months)

Euphrosine St.

Quality control and repair of mechanical and lighting equipment including spotlights, moving lights(pan, tilt, gobos, etc.), LED PARs, dimmers, lighting control boards, motors, power distribution systems, and their cables and interfaces.

Mardi Gras Productions Inc

Logistics and Lighting Specialist

August 2014 - April 2015 (9 months)

My responsibilities are more a time dependent process, I lump it into two groups, one day or less notice, and two days or more notice. If I'm given two days or more notice the first action is to receive a previous layout, and make modifications if changes have been requested. Next is checking all gear required, and using the two days in advance to pack as slim and comprehensive of a gear pack as possible, then pack it tightly. The goal being to have a one way trip for all lighting, props, and furniture. Downtime for back and forth runs, as well as confusion from missing parts creates more downtime and lack of morale only second to inconsistent payroll. If one day advance notice or less is given, I must consult my current rolling inventory, and see what can be pulled for the job, bring my notepad, sketch the job, power distros, and available amperage from each feed as lights are being laid out. This is what I like to call one for all, and all for one mode. In the last minute zero hour instances, talking to other contractors and working together can push that hour hand back much farther from its expected time. Confusion and isolation from different elements doing "their job" leads to frustration, and pushing that clock close to, or into show-time.

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My process is not perfect, and I am always open to criticism, as sometimes I have to write reports giving criticism on how fat can be trimmed, proposals for jobs, diagrams, layouts, and training.

One constant on any job I have worked, and will work that I strive on is problem solving, especially when there is a lack of apparent solutions. I will make the show run, it will be safe, and all clients will get the wow factor, even if I have to buy lamp batteries, resistors, breadboards and LEDs to make my own lights at 2 AM. Once I enter a contract, I will relentlessly pursue it until it is complete to all required, and if possible, desired goals. Generally with enough time to consult with clients if requested.

Omega Production Resource LLC

Driver/ Lighting Technician

December 2013 - September 2014 (10 months)

Greater New Orleans Area

At Omega I ensure gear packs match inventory for load-ins and load-outs, I then drive gear to or from set, help set-up lighting, and special effects if applicable, and stay for show to fill any holes that require a mechanical technician. Spotlight, house-lights, programming and patterning, mostly lights, and anything that may come up on the job requiring a background in electronics or chemistry. Special effects are sadly rare with live audiences, but being able to get the contract to deploy them is a far more rare commodity. We work safely and efficiently along with other contractors on set to try and deliver the best show and client satisfaction possible.

Mardi Gras Productions

Lighting Technician

September 2010 - June 2011 (10 months)

Greater New Orleans Area

I learned to lead without managerial authority, and calm the chaos of every contract to a dull roar so they would be completed. Though my job was lighting, I was also mechanic and driver, responsible for loading all items that would make it to the event, and similarly for returning them to the warehouse at the completion of the event. Rarely were events limited to lighting, myself as personnel, or one event per truck. Whatever I gave this job, I took away from it an ability to zoom out and see the bigger picture, especially where I needed to be in it versus where I might want to be.

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The biggest challenge I faced at this job was that although there was one contract, one mission, one end result laid out for every job, there were many voices for how that end result could be best accomplished. My solution was to find those who did rather than talked, and ask them how to do their aspect of the job. I listened when they gave me time, valued their advice, and found that if we were working while others were talking, they found themselves at odds, and were soon "doing".

Smaller challenges were lack of resources, such as constantly breaking materials(trucks, lights, props, etc.), and having to become very versatile to ensure that contracts were completed. I learned to fabricate from molds, repair equipment, and learned much more about electronics from items that had to be designed for shows.

Working on one project, a 12 foot scaled replica of a gas streetlamp, I got to use trigonometry in my first real world application and contribute to the design and fabrication. An issue early on in the shop was that everyone knew what they wanted it to look like, and an over-all height, just not the exact length of boards and angles needed to keep it symmetrical. This was crucial as it was a piece that would be elevated with someone dancing inside it during an event. We collaborated for a day, completed fabrication within one week, and it deployed successfully.

A-1 Electrical Contractors

Assistant Electrician

October 2008 - December 2008 (3 months)

Harvey, La

Electrical work with A-1 was much different than for Key-Lite, A-1 was a much larger company with many more employees and contracts. The first part was being matched with a journeyman or master electrician, then working contracts they received for the day. Each vehicle was relatively new and ran clean, fully stocked and ready for residential or commercial work, new construction, remodelling, or troubleshooting.

Work flow varied depending on who I was working with, as they had a preference, or sometimes better ability for different settings. I got to find that new commercial construction is the best electrical setting I work in when helping with a new car dealership construction.

A-1 Mobile Shredding

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Driver

April 2007 - October 2008 (1 year 7 months)

Work can sometimes be really really fun. This job was perfect, my boss was someone whose trust I had earned when we had worked together previously, I got to drive big trucks all day, and help people get rid of burdens. That's how I always looked at it, whether I was selling a customer a bigger bin for their company, or more discretion had to be exercised in document/material destruction for an individual. Regardless, these items now caused stress, I got to destroy them, recycle their stress(paper at least) into usable products that could help other people, help my boss make money and have less worries, and he was helping me by working around my school schedule. The only thing I would change if I could is the space-time continuum so we could have kept working together when school became 5 days a week. I knew what days, what times I was expected to work, the contracts for that day's work were always crystal clear, and once the contracts were completed I only needed to call to see if there were more contracts, or if that was the day. Payment came at the end of each day, any damage to the work vehicle I was personally responsible for. It gave me a lot of pride, to have so much trust, and be able to show that it was well placed.

All-South Engineering

Quality Control

May 2006 - March 2007 (11 months)

60 hour work weeks and the change of scenery to Slidell and Kenner were very relieving. Besides the reduced hours more people were moving back in these areas, so there was more of a feeling that I was helping my community. An example would be the right of entry forms(ROE) that we were allowed to use for expediting the removal of trees killed by salt-water from their property. This resonated with me as my parents home was destroyed by tree damage. In New Orleans we could not go on anyone's property except in the case of blighted, abandoned properties to demolish them.

The ability to help people just coming home, trying to find contractors, and alleviate some of that stress by removing hazards from their property was very satisfying. I can't think of any situations that needed to be "defused" only working out between my chain of command what help was acceptable, and Page 7 of 10

with homeowners if they wanted to sign a right of entry and call the parish hotline so we could remove dead trees.

One unique issue is that as safety became less of a worry coming from other people, with an increase of residents and crew size, it became more of a worry from the work we were doing. Much greater attention had to be paid not only to our surroundings and the crew, but also how we presented ourselves and paced work to prevent injuries and remain welcome in the community. Cooley, Dennis and Denmon Engineering

Quality Control

November 2005 - April 2006 (6 months)

Overseeing New Orleans' clean-up efforts after Katrina was quite a harrowing experience. Though it was calming in a way after the rigidity of the Marines, and bustling Miami.

This job was an endurance competition of multiple dimensions. The first endurance was 96 hour work weeks with no vacation. The second endurance was indefinite contracts, making connections to find the next contract, or team that might have more longevity. The third was to not let my own frustration or fatigue impact my ability to empathize. I wasn't the only person displaced by that storm, but I did have a warm place to lay my head every night, and a steady paycheck. Many people that I ran into that had threatening dispositions did not have such luxuries.

Taking a moment to look at someone and see if they're looking at you hungrily, or with desperation could defuse those situations without anyone getting hurt. Asking something as simple as "Did you know who lived there?" would snap most of the addled ones back for a moment. Opportunistic I wasn't so worried about as it was daytime and we had National Guard, Federal Protective Service, along with a mix of other local, state and federal law enforcement bodies constantly patrolling.

In between stress, and rare threats, this job was meticulous logging. Ensuring the crew wore PPE, and that asbestos, white metals, hazardous waste, home demolitions, canal widening, and curbside debris removal were carried out according to contract.

Key-Lite Electric

Assistant Electrician

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September 2005 - November 2005 (3 months)

I worked at my uncle's electrical company following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He helped me get back on my feet, gave me work, and helped me find work back home while services in Southeast Louisiana were non-existant.

I worked for him as an electrician's apprentice, duties included: residential and commercial electrical service calls, residential remodeling, residential and commercial construction, service calls, and learning how to accomplish these tasks while adhering to state and industry standards. United States Marine Corps

Supply Clerk

September 2004 - August 2005 (1 year)

Camp LeJeune

I entered the Marine Corps out of high school as a PFC because of 3 years in MHS' Marine Corps JROTC program. Both experiences taught me that I do indeed have weaknesses, as all humans do. When we work together as a team, and truly want each other to succeed, not only as a unit do the strengths and morale intensify, but the weaknesses fade.

This effect is not just as a unit, it is teaching and helping members of your unit to grow and mature. One strength I found I could help other members of my unit with was with computers needed for supply chain. This led first to my reorganizing of a warehouse of radio parts(resistors, transistors, capacitors, etc.) as they were unlabeled. This was a two step process of learning how to identify individual parts, and then look them up in ATLAS to find the appropriate serial number and bin.

After I was finished organizing the warehouse I got to work with Combat Media designing motivational posters, video, vinyls, and any other tools that might assist in training.

The weakness my unit helped me with was letting go of worries and learning how to live. Whether it was for the moment or moving forwards, to make mistakes, take risks, and follow through to whatever the conclusion may be. Education

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University of New Orleans

Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Chemistry · (2007 - 2013) Southeastern Louisiana University

Credits Earned, Psychology/Theatre · (2002 - 2004) Mandeville High School

High School Diploma, Mathematics and Computer Science · (2000 - 2004) Page 10 of 10

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