Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Steve Strong of Concept Systems and Benjamin Kurth of Applied Manufacturing Technologies join the podcast and Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl to talk automation and why “easier” doesn’t always mean inexpensive and why plug-and-play isn’t always your answer.

The number one concern for US manufacturers continues to be the shortage of available labor – which has prompted their steady progress toward automation, and then to digitalization, and lately to Artificial Intelligence, to fill in the missing resources. All that progress is creating a significant volume of data that is vulnerable to attack. A cloud-based software developer assesses the problem and offers some tips for addressing the risk. About the Article How Manufacturers Can Effectively and Securely Manage Data As cyber threats escalate, embrace cloud-based systems and adhere to best practices for data security. Written by Matt Heerey  Read by Robert Brooks Read the article

Mike Holloway, president of 5th Order Industry and a seasoned expert in tribology, dives deep into the importance of oil analysis for equipment reliability. He highlights that only 10-15% of companies fully utilize oil analysis data, comparing it to regular health check-ups. The conversation also touches on the transition to AI and automation, discussing ethical concerns about workforce displacement and the need for a balance between technology and human expertise. Holloway emphasizes that human insights are crucial for effective data interpretation and maintenance practices.

From their (R)Evolutionizing Manufacturing program, Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl and Industry 4.0 enthusiast Jeff Winter get back into what's practical in your factory floor tech transformations. An intriguing discussion about mindset in manufacturing today and tomorrow.

Join Chris Butler, President of Embedded and Critical Power at Flex, and Matt Vincent, Editor-in-Chief of Data Center Frontier, as they dive into America's soaring electricity demands driven by data centers and electric vehicles. They discuss Flex's new facility in Dallas, producing essential components for energy-hungry data processing. The conversation highlights major investments in grid infrastructure, the challenges utilities face, and innovative solutions for future energy resilience. Tune in for insights on powering the digital age!

Benchmark Gensuite’s Natasha Porter explains creative applications for AI in the workplace and how AI-based tools can help move the needle on occupational health and safety.

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 insight into training the maintenance and reliability team and building credibility.

The scarcity of labor and the need to remain competitive means that producers of cast parts must embrace automated grinding. Jeff Antonic of Stratecasts explains why that decision leads to more choices.

Time-sensitive networking (TSN) has emerged in the industry, promising to change industrial communication networks for the better through guaranteed data delivery with minimal latency and jitter. In this episode of the Great Question: A Manufacturing podcast, New Equipment Digest editor-in-chief Laura Davis discusses the challenges that arise from implementing time-sensitive networking and how to overcome them for successful integration. About the Article Time-Sensitive Networking: The Benefits, the Challenges, and How to Integrate Successfully Learn about Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN)—an advanced ethernet technology—along with its benefits, its main challenges, and tips to help you integrate it successfully. Written by Moxa Read by Laura Davis Read the article

Education and training remain the best ways for manufacturers to protect themselves against hackers, but that can be a challenge when you're talking about hundreds or thousands of employees on shop floors instead of a handful of people in offices. IT managers often don't understand how the shop floor works or comprehend the difficulties of the tasks that manufacturing workers perform daily.  That's a key takeaway from IndustryWeek Senior Editor for Technology Dennis Scimeca's recent interview with Rob Larsen, security advisor for Silverfort and former chief security architect for General Motors.  In this episode from the regular Production Pulse livestream series, Scimeca and Larsen discuss why hackers love to target manufacturers (hint: it's where the money is), how not to shame employees for possible breaches and how to set up basic protections.