Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. This episode offers tips on how to create a safe space for spirited debate in industrial operations. Key takeaways Superficial harmony in meetings delays critical decisions—candor leads to better outcomes. Leaders should hold back opinions to foster open, fact-based team input. Clear decision-making processes prevent debates from becoming unproductive conflicts. Professional disagreement is vital—silence in meetings and complaints in hallways hurt reliability.

The clock is running toward 2035 – the deadline for businesses to neutralize their carbon liabilities, whether or not the technology or resources are available to do that.  In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Robert Brooks, editor in chief of Foundry Management & Technology and American Machinist, explores the evolving pressures on the manufacturing supply chain as carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions targets accelerate industry-wide. With a focus on the metal casting and machining sectors, he highlights the emerging concept of carbon liability and its implications for manufacturers. A notable case study features Mazda’s development of carbon-neutral cupola melting using biomass fuels, underscoring how environmental goals are reshaping production strategies.

Darrell Edwards, a supply chain professor and former COO at La-Z-Boy, and Ji Li, a supply chain advisor and ex-Boeing director, delve into the evolving dynamics of supply chains amid changing tariffs. They discuss how geopolitical tensions and COVID-19 have forced companies to diversify sourcing strategies. With a focus on collaboration, they stress the importance of transparency, scenario planning, and leveraging technology for effective risk management, all while rethinking supply chains in a shifting global landscape.

Mahdi Jamshid, director of market intelligence for leading AM observer Wohlers Associates, joins Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl to detail Wohlers' brand-new annual report on the additive landscape and chat up the latest maneuvers of industry player Nano Dimension.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Tom Wilk, the chief editor of Plant Services, talks with Jose Rivera, the CEO of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA). In December, Jose announced he would be stepping down after a decade of dedicated leadership and strategic vision. Under Jose's guidance, the CSIA has seen significant modernization, increased resilience, and a strong financial position. We spoke with Jose when he joined the CSIA 10 years ago and it's my privilege to talk with him one more time to look back over the past 10 years, and then look ahead at next steps for both Jose and the CSIA, including the launch of the the CSIA Learning Hub.

This sponsored episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast focuses on building AI that works for manufacturing teams, and features two key thought leaders with MaintainX, a maintenance and asset management platform purpose-built to help frontline industrial teams run more efficient, resilient, and safer operations. Nick Hasse is the co-founder of MaintainX, and has spent thousands of hours on the factory floor helping manufacturing and industrial leaders transform their operations with frontline-friendly software and AI. Roshan Satish is the lead product manager for applied AI at MaintainX, who is leading the development of AI-powered maintenance tools including MaintainX Copilot. 

IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger and Senior Technology Editor Dennis Scimeca talk 5G in this episode, taken from our Production Pulse livestream series. IndustryWeek recently launched a documentary-style video series, looking at how large manufacturers tackle significant technology challenges. For the first episode, we feature John Deere's work in Waterloo, Iowa -- using private wireless networking systems to manage massive data flows needed to build tractors. 

Maria DeLorenzis Reyes, CEO of Training Innovations/MDR Brands, explains why a workplace culture is most successful when it encourages interactive feedback and takes a long-term view for safety training.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services chief editor Tom Wilk is joined by Maureen Gribble, the sales enablement leader for North America at UE Systems, to preview the upcoming Leading Reliability conference. The event takes place May 12-15 in Clearwater Beach, Florida, with four days of workshops, practitioner sessions, and networking in a gorgeous venue. Anyone interested in attending a conference with like-minded professionals from all kinds of verticals will find people at this event who have lived your experience and have something to say about how they solve problems.

Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. This episode offers how to use observation to be a better manager, why you should have a mentor and how to be a better mentor yourself.