Nov 02, 2024 
Melanie Shelton has nearly two decades of experience in the O&P industry. Her expertise spans from establishing and overseeing distributorships for orthotic fabrication equipment across Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, to account management, Crisis Communications, Marketing and clinical support. In her previous role at HP, she spearheaded the development and adoption of the Arize Orthotic Solution for four years, demonstrating her commitment to innovation and digital workflow automation. She is currently leading HP’s efforts to advance 3D printing adoption and manufacturing efficiency in the O&P Industry. Her depth of experience and record of success in technological advancement in the O&P arena point to her commitment to help drive the industry forward. Melanie will be a speaker at our upcoming virtual event focusing on 3D printing in o&P.
When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing?
Melanie: About 8 years ago I left the O&P industry. At the time I felt that innovation in the industry was stalling – at this time 3D printing wasn’t even a consideration – and I was concerned that my career would stall out a bit too. I consulted for a good friend who was building her communication firm and did some other marketing projects. A few years later a doctor friend called me and let me know he was working on a project with HP in their 3D printing organization and he thought I would be a good fit for the job. I met with the lead product manager who talked about all of the ways that HP was being used in the O&P market and the project they were currently working on. I found it so exciting! I felt that it was finally the innovation needed to move O&P forward to the digital era.
What inspired you to start your journey?
Melanie: As I stated above, I was lucky that it fell into my lap, but I was familiar with 3D printing in general. What I find fascinating in retrospective is how little I understood about the various methods of 3D printing. Like many people not familiar with the industry, we tend to believe that 3D printing is one defined way of printing, when there is a vast array of products, all with different strengths in varying applications.
Who inspired you the most along this journey?
Melanie: I have a wonderful friend and mentor, Jason Kraus, who has been in the foot orthotic business for practically all of his career – well over 40 years. I asked him to consult for our orthotic project because I needed someone with a deep understanding off all the various facets of traditional manufacturing that we needed to consider and build into our digital workflow. What I greatly appreciated about that experience was his dedicated focus on the customer’s needs. He didn’t get too swayed by the shiny bauble of 3D printing, but kept our team very grounded in understanding the customer at that moment, their need at that moment, and staunchly defending that from our “big ideas”. Not that he was against innovation, but we had to have a strong understanding of every single stakeholder and every single step to understand where and how we could change processes to a digital workflow that would make the customer’s and patients experience better, not just different.
What motivates you the most for your work?
Melanie: There is nothing more exciting than talking to practitioners and designers in this industry that are passionate about what they do! At the end of the day, we all want to make patient’s lives better and you can feel that energy when talking with them. I get opportunities to help them with a process, an idea, or just sit there and learn about what they are doing. The fact that I get to do this every day, and there are still so many more people to meet and be inspired by, that’s what gets me motivated.
What is/are the biggest obstacle(s) in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions?
Melanie: At HP with my role specifically, it’s about adoption. An HP MJF printer is really just one part of many decisions that a company needs to make as they are transitioning or adopting 3D printing. To help costumers understand what their journey is, how to navigate it, and to understand when and how they can leverage HP’s MJF printers is a huge challenge. We are trying to better understand the customer journey to help guide them, but at the end of the day the decisions about how they want to incorporate software and digital workflows is completely out of our hands but can have a big impact on if/when and how they use HP MJF printers.
What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?
Melanie: I think it goes back to users understanding the different capabilities of various 3D printing technologies so they can make informed decisions about what best to adopt for their needs. I would love to say it should always be HP’s MJF, but of course that is not true.
If you are granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be?
Melanie: I would revamp the entire CMS HCPC coding system. It would probably take all three wishes to make it happen. It’s such a mess!
What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advices you heard should they ignore?
Melanie: A very easy, practical tip is that if you are ever in a discussion where you don’t agree with someone’s assessment/plan/idea, the first thing you do is ask the question “Why?”. Don’t say or imply you disagree immediately, but just try to understand what informed their decision or opinion. You will sound so much more informed, thoughtful, and you will have a better time getting them to hear your disagreement because you gave them the opportunity to be heard first. It took me way too long in my career to learn this!
This is so old school, but I remember a former sales manager telling me to never apologize because it makes you look weak. That’s the worst advice!
What’s your favorite book you read this year and why? Alternatively, what’s your favorite book of all times you read and why?
Melanie: One of my favorite professional development books I read this year is Crucial Conversations. It does a great job framing the ingredients for very combative, high-stakes situations, the science behind what happens when we “lose it,” and how to stay focused and deliberate to reach a resolution. I took away a few good tips from this book.
My all-time favorite is Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. It’s an absolutely beautifully written book. It subverts the idea of the traditional cowboy with swagger and confidence. They do have that, but they also struggle with themes of morality, purpose and the necessity of violence. The women are fascinating and well-developed, not just love interests but there to hold their place firmly alongside the men’s stories. It’s well-paced, and easy to get lost in. I recommend it to everyone, and no one has been disappointed about it yet.
Related Links:
How AI and 3D Printing Enhance Crafting Custom Orthotics and Prosthetics
3D Printed Orthotics and Prosthetics (On Demand, 2021)
Biomaterials for 3D Printing Bioprinting (On Demand, 2024)
3D Printing for O&P (On Demand 2023)
Interview with Brent Wright: 3D Printed Orthotics and Prosthetics
Interview with Chris Baschuk: Partial Hand Prosthetics
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