Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.

Meet the Manufacturing Group
Contributing to the podcast are seasoned manufacturing journalists from Endeavor Business Media’s Manufacturing Group:
- Robert Brooks, editor in chief, American Machinist
- Dave Blanchard, editor in chief, EHS Today
- Robert Brooks, editor in chief, Foundry Management & Technology
- Robert Schoenberger, editor in chief, IndustryWeek
- Dave Blanchard, editor in chief, Material Handling & Logistics
- Laura Davis, editor in chief, New Equipment Digest
- Thomas Wilk, editor in chief, Plant Services
- Scott Achelpohl, managing editor, Smart Industry
Episodes

Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
What’s ahead for manufacturing in 2024
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
As we prepare to close the books on 2023 and look ahead to the new year, IndustryWeek gathered top editors from several manufacturing media titles to discuss the year that was and the one to come. Sibling publications also owned by IndustryWeek parent company Endeavor Business Media offer unique insights on what manufacturers in different specialty markets have in common, and what's different.
The panel included:
Karen Langhauser, chief content director for Pharma Manufacturing
Lynne Sherwin, managing editor of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing
Jon Katz, executive editor of Chemical Processing
Anna Townsend, manager editor of Plant Services and Control Design
Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief, IndustryWeek

Thursday Dec 21, 2023
How to reduce the likelihood of workplace injuries
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
In this “in case you missed it” edition of Talking EHS, you’ll learn from two Travelers experts about the most common causes of worker injuries, and how to mitigate the risks of injuries on the job. Read the article here

Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
Don’t let compressed air problems cost your facility energy and productivity
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
Wednesday Dec 20, 2023
Ron Marshall is the founder of Marshall Compressed Air Consulting, a compressed air energy efficiency consulting firm, where he provides technical advice, system auditing, and training. He first developed his skills as an industrial compressed air systems expert at Manitoba Hydro, where he worked for 38 years, supporting more than 600 energy efficiency projects. Ron is a level 2 instructor with Compressed Air Challenge and conducts training internationally. Ron recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk about his most recent cover story, "8 ways to justify upgrades to your compressed air system," as well as how to persuade teams to invest in the compressed air equipment they need.

Thursday Dec 14, 2023
The key to successful AI application
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Thursday Dec 14, 2023
Future industrial professionals will look back on the year 2023 as the year that artificial intelligence truly started to scale and reshape plant operations. The increasing integration of software into manufacturing processes plus massive cloud compute power has laid the foundation for plant teams to apply AI to drive better business decisions, from supply chain and resource planning and scheduling to improved physical asset management.
Michael DeMaria is a product manager for Azima DLI, which is part of Fluke Reliability, where he manages the hardware platforms and integrations, diagnostic software and AI tools, and user portal deliverables and business metrics. Michael’s background is in Navy nuclear engineering, but he has been working in the vibration-analysis arena for more than 30 years.
In the following interview, DeMaria explains why starting with a pre-trained AI is critical to successfully using AI for machine condition monitoring.

Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Staying safe, staying SEC compliant
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
With SEC rules forcing disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents, it's time for all companies to assess their immediate cyber risks—so what are the biggest network vulnerabilities and potential damage from a successful hack that manufactures need to worry about and what preventative measures can they take immediately?
Our Dec. 7, 2023, livestream featured:
Dennis Scimeca, senior editor for technology at IndustryWeek
Ryan Cloutier, CISSP, CISO at Synaptech Services
Avishai Avivi, CISO at SafeBreach

Monday Dec 11, 2023
Lessons in safety leadership
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
In this “Talking EHS” episode of The Tool Belt, Dave Blanchard and Nicole Stempak offer highlights from EHS Today’s recent Safety Leadership Conference, and offer their insights into the best practices companies are using to keep their workplaces safer and healthier.

Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Moving beyond wrench time — How to improve productivity with fewer workers
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
Thursday Dec 07, 2023
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 new podcast series, 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 on how to best measure productivity.

Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Rick Baldrige, CMRP, CAMA, has worked at Cargill for over 40 years, most recently as the company's Global Reliability Leader. He has also served as chair of the Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals (SMRP). Before retiring, Rick spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk at the SMRP Annual Conference. The pair talked about the future of SMRP, where the organization and the conference is headed, and SMRP's aproach to training and certification.

Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Making the most of your oil analysis data
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Thursday Nov 16, 2023
Jim Fitch is the CEO of Noria Corporation and is the founding director and a former board member of International Council for Machinery Lubrication (ICML). Paul Hiller is ICML Marketing Manager. Jim and Paul recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk at the SMRP Annual Conference about the importance of industrial training, overcoming challendges associated with oil analysis, and the new ICML 55® standard.

Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Cyber attacks at Boeing, Clorox raise industry awareness
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
With high-profile attacks on Clorox and Boeing, cybersecurity has been top-of-mind for manufacturers for the past few months, reiterating advice offered from experts about the need to guard against attacks and be prepared for their fallout.
While we at IndustryWeek have certainly been writing a lot about it, we haven't been alone. Several other publications from our parent company, Endeavor Business Media, joined us to discuss where the industry is with cyber defense and what's coming next. Joining us on Nov. 9 were:
Scott Achelpohhl, managing editor of Smart Industry. Scott recent wrote about the growth of digital adoption in manufacturing, noting that cybersecurity is a driving factor for many companies.
Alix Paultre, editor-at-large for Electronics Design. Alix recently hosted a podcast discussing the cybersecurity implications of quantum computing.
Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing. In a recent podcast, Bruce spoke about steps manufacturers can take to defend against attacks.
Jason McDaniel, editor of Bulk Transporter magazine and part of Endeavor's fleet group that also includes FleetOwner and Fleet Maintenance magazines. Jason recently covered cyberthreats in commercial trucking, including a demonstration of hackers taking over commercial truck antilock braking systems.
Steve Lasky, editorial director of Endeavor's security group which includes SecurityInfoWatch.com and Security Technology Executive. Steve's recent work includes a podcast about digital twins.