Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

The impact of AI – How technological innovations are affecting the industry

Terri Lewis is a senior executive at Planet Connected and a 32-year veteran of Caterpillar. She began her career in technical field support before embarking on several "mini careers," including aftermarket parts marketing, service operations, product marketing, heavy construction marketing, product development, M&A, electronic supply chain, and end of life support. Terri then spent six years in digital strategy where she learned how digitalization could completely transform a business, from customer activities to client interactions and overall company goals. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk and managing editor Anna Townshend recently spoke with Terri about how to successfully implement digital transformation initiatives.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
How companies are utilizing digital transformation to improve business operations and decrease downtime
The connection between smart cities and smart manufacturing
How artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the industrial sector and how evolving technologies will impact companies in the future
On the record
"I think that the really interesting stuff is taking data and technology and knowledge, right, and my take away was making unplanned downtime a myth. And that seems a bit bold, but I think it's doable, right? It's bringing together the elements of people, process, and technology together, and leveraging that, starting with people – emphasize people, right, it's not just about tech – and I think most companies can get there."
-Terri Lewis

A family legacy of product innovation

Massa Product Corporation engineers and manufactures sonar and ultrasonic products for use in ocean, air, and fluids. Founded by the man who pioneered the field of electroacoustics 75 years ago, Frank Massa, the company specializes in solving problems in various fields and environments.
Massa transducers and sensors have been operating in air for industrial non-contact distance measurement applications for over sixty years. The company has designed hundreds of devices for use in many applications including liquid and bulk level monitoring, vehicle collision avoidance, distance measurement, web break detection, and tensioning. Massa technologies also function as “the eyes and the ears for naval ships and submarines to protect the US coastline with our undersea technologies.”
Dawn Massa Stancavish recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk about the wide range of applications for ultrasonic technologies.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
The history of Massa and how the company came to be
How Massa develops products for secific industries and applications
Trends in the wireless sensing market
On the record
"Sound goes all the way up to the megahertz range and all the way down to the infrasound range. Sometimes people dismiss ultrasonics based on what’s out there, and that’s really the wrong thing to do. I would say challenge your perception of what’s possible."
-Dawn Massa Stancavish
Learn more
Massa

The ABCs of EHS — How the industrial safety profession is evolving

Dave Blanchard is editor in chief of    Material Handling and Logistics and EHS Today. During his career, Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including Industry Week, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance, in addition to the two titles he currently manages. He also serves as a senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference and literally wrote the book on supply chain management, which is called Supply Chain Management Best Practices. He is also a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk recently spoke with  Dave about the evolving fields of safety and logistics, and what companies can do to keep supply chains and workers healthy and productive.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
The state of industrial supply chains
How the roles and responsibilities of safety professionals is changing
What to expect at this year's Safety and Leadership Conference
On the record
"A lot of times it's the safety person that the CEO is coming to and saying, 'we need you to help us figure out how we're going to comply with these regulations from the EPA' and everywhere else that not necessarily you would think would be a typical safety problem. The old stereotype is there: the safety cops, they're the ones that make sure you you're wearing your hard hat and you're wearing your gloves and you're wearing your boots, and you’re not running around when you're in a warehouse, you're keeping your eye out for things. "
-Dave Blanchard
Learn more
Material Handling and LogisticsEHS TodaySafety and Leadership Conference

The changing role of control system integrators in the automation industry

The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) is a global trade association with over 500 member companies in 35 countries that seeks to advance the industry of control system integration. Control system integrators use their engineering, technical and business skills to help manufacturers and others automate their industrial equipment and systems. For this year's System Integrator Roundtable episode, Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk spoke with three veteran system integrator professionals about how the industry is changing and which new technologies are poised to make a big impact. Kurt Wakeman is the business director for Materials Handling group at E Tech Group. Bob Pusateri is director of business development at Electronic Drives and Controls. Sam Hoff is President and CEO of Patti Engineering.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
The role and responsibilities of system integrators within the industry
Which new technologies are impacting industrial automation
How sustainability is changing the way integrators approach the business
On the record
"What that allows you to do once you have a true digital twin is instead of conjecture or experience to say “What can I do to improve this system?” you can actually model your improvements in the digital world before wasting any money actually performing changes in in the real world. We're using a lot of the digital tools that have been used traditionally for design of these systems up front to create the digital twins."
-Sam Hoff
Learn more
Control System Integrators Association (CSIA)E Tech GroupElectronic Drives and ControlsPatti Engineering

Making reliability a core value in American manufacturing

Bill Leahy is the Chief Executive Officer at Renaissance Reliability, a veteran-owned and operated reliability and maintainability engineering consultancy dedicated to American manufacturers. Bill has worked in manufacturing as an engineering superintendent, maintenance team leader, consultant, and service provider and is an expert in root cause analysis (RCA), reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), and design for reliability and maintainability (DfR). Bill served for 10 years in the United States Army as a West Point Cadet, NCAA Division 1 hockey player, and infantry officer where he learned the values of leadership, self-discipline, resourcefulness, integrity, and teamwork. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk recently spoke with Bill about why reliability is the cornerstone of manufacturing success, and how veterans can help companies achieve their reliability goals.
On the record
"Reliability has to be a core value, has to be something we embody. The part that I struggle with is that it is so evident to us in our industry at how these things tie together, because we know if you improve reliability, you improve safety; if you improve reliability, you improve environmental scores; you improve reliability, your OEE goes up. Everything improves with reliability."
-Bill Leahy
Learn more
Renaissance Reliability

Empower and engage employees with honest conversations and servant leadership

Ashleigh Walters earned a chemical engineering degree from Auburn University. Several years later, she found herself taking on the challenge of reviving Onex, a 50-year-old industrial furnace service business based in Erie, PA, which was owned by her husband's family. After she succeeded at Onex, she wrote a book about the experience called Leading With Grit And Grace, that recounts her journey and the lessons she learned along the way. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk met Ashleigh at the 2023 MARCON Conference, which is run by University of Tennessee, Knoxville's Reliability and Maintainability Center, where she shared her story,. Thomas and Plant Services managing editor Anna Townshend recently spoke with Ashleigh about her experiences in the industrial sector and her unique style of leadership.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
How Ashleigh rebuilt and reimagined her family's company
Why her company adopted a “coach approach” to management instead of a “command and control” leadership style
Why you need to empower your employees to make mistakes
On the record
"I think the other piece of that is we've never thought as leaders that we should be serving. We've always felt like we should be served, right? And when you flip that around and you start serving others, they do serve you, they serve you more because they respect you and they trust you. It's a two-way street, respect and trust, and when they feel that, they know it's OK to make a mistake. You can't ask somebody to try something new to experiment and not allow for failure."
-Ashleigh Walters
Learn more
Visit Ashleigh's websiteEmail Ashleigh

Why facilities need more and better stormwater data to improve disaster preparedness

Zorana Kojic is a regional sales executive for StormSensor, a company that links critical storm, sewer, and coastal infrastructure performance to climate data. StormSensor’s goal is to provide real-time advanced insights on flood and overflow risks across the community, including factories. The company offers advance insights and warnings when there might be a disaster or stormwater event that could impact plant operations. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk and managing editor Anna Townshend recently spoke with Zorana about how this new technology can help plants make better decisions about disaster preparedness to avoid unplanned downtime.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why it's important to monitor stormwater levels, and how stormwater can impact your facility
How new technologies are making stromwater data easier to obtain and utilize
How smart sensors can help improve disaster preparedness at your plant
On the record
"A lot of plants located near bodies of water and with sea level rise, things like that, changes are needing to be made. So the more data you have of what's going on in your particular area, the better decisions you can make about where to spend your money for those improvements."
-Zorana Kojic
Learn more
StormSensorCase studies

Learn, laugh, and connect at the 2023 Leading Reliability Conference

The Leading Reliability Conference provides participants with an opportunity to learn more about maintenance and reliability by attending live presentations, workshops, and trainings. In addition, attendees are also provided with ample opportunity to socialize and make connections – allowing participants to build relationships with influential professionals in maintenance and reliability from around the country. This year's event happens May 16-18 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk recently spoke with the team behind the Leading Reliability Conference, including Shon Isenhour from Eruditio, Blair Fraser from UE Systems, Mason McNally from RDI Technologies, and Brian Shanovich from ACOEM. The group reminisced about last year’s event and outlined what attendees can look forward to at the 2023 conference.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
What to expect at the 2023 Leading Reliability Conference
Who will be presenting and what new tech will be featured at the event
Which is better, Star Wars or Marvel
On the record
"I think the big thing that you'll see with this conference and I think it's it is that fun environment that we create, it's not so serious. You know, you get to a lot of conferences and I kind of feel like it's so choreographed and you don't really get to talk to people. Everybody's on a schedule and then that sort of thing. And I think that's one of the things that a lot of people will see at this conference is, we're going to have fun. We're going to have a good time, but we're also going to learn a lot of things while we're there. And because of it, we get to spend a lot of times really batting around new ideas like Blair was talking about with the underwater sensor."
-Shon Isenhour
Learn more
Leading ReliabilityRegister now for the conference

Product pulse — Innovative tools and equipment affecting the industry

Laura Davis is the editor in chief of New Equipment Digest (NED), a brand part of the Manufacturing Group at Endeavor Business Media. NED covers all products, equipment, solutions, and technology related to the broad scope of manufacturing, from mops and buckets to robots and automation. Laura has been a manufacturing product writer for six years, knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the industry along with what readers are looking for when wanting to learn about the latest products on the market. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk recently spoke with Laura to get her perspective on new products and innovations that are affecting the industry, as well as the upcoming partnership between Plant Services and New Equipment Digest.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:
Which product categories are seeing the most innovation
How smart technologies are affecting the industry
How Plant Services and New Equipment Digest are partnering to bring up-to-the-minute product information to our audience
On the record
“Now we're at a point where these products are coming out with AI integrated into them. There's a lot less connection steps, and we're really finally getting to that point of the smart connected factory. My machine can actually tell me not just the real time data, but it's smart data, it's doing rolling averages over time of everything that's happened, not just today. I think that's really interesting because we've been talking about these smart factories for years. It's always been like, “oh, we're here now. We're here now.” We're really just starting to get there, and as it becomes more ubiquitous, even smaller companies are going to be able to get in on the action. I just think it's really cool.”
-Laura Davis
Learn more
New Equipment Digest
Laura Davis ldavis@endeavorb2b.com

From mentee to mentor — Why good leaders never stop learning

Jeff Shiver, CMRP, is the Founder and Managing Principal at People and Processes Incorporated. Jeff guides people to achieve success in maintenance and reliability practices using common-sense approaches. He's also a contributing editor for Plant Services, authoring two columns to date. His current department, From The Plant Floor, features reports on what Jeff is seeing and hearing from a practical, hands-on perspective. He also authored a library of columns called Ask Jeff, where he answered readers' questions on a variety of topics, including planning and scheduling, reliability centered maintenance, best practices implementation, leadership, and much more. In the introductory episode of our Meet the PS Experts podcast series, Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk spoke with Jeff about the improtance of mentorship and fostering a culture of continuous learning if you want to developing future leaders.
Key takeaways
In this episode, you'll learn:'
Why backlogs should not have birthdays
How to build a network of both formal and informal mentors
How to cultivate a culture around asset reliability and improving reliability
Why employees should be allowed to make and learn from their mistakes
On the record
"How do you become a learning organization where you can make mistakes? We don't want to injure people from those kinds of mistakes, but we want to make sure that we have the opportunity to fail and learn from that. And when we talk about change management, I always say that people buy into what they help create."
-Jeff Shiver
Learn more
People and Processes Incorporated
From the Plant Floor
Maintenance and Reliability for Managers: 4-Part Series