Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Lessons learned from Disney: Why creativity is essential to your team’s success

Lee Kitchen has 32 years of experience at the Walt Disney Corporation across multiple roles, including Innovation Catalyst. In that role, Lee trained groups within Disney on the design thinking process, and he conducted many ideas sessions across the company. He branched out from Disney five years ago to found his business, Magical Dude Consulting. Lee delivered the opening keynote at the 2022 Leading Reliability conference in Clearwater, Florida, where he spoke about the elements of success when it comes to new idea development. Lee recently spoke with Editor in Chief Thomas Wilk about how to foster greater creativity with your team.

How to collect and utilize compressed air system data

Neil Mehltretter is Technical Director for Kaeser Compressors, and he has conducted and supervised thousands of industrial compressed air studies to help plant teams achieve significant energy savings and operational improvements.Werner Rauer is the Project Manager for Oil Injected and Oil Free Screw Compressors at Kaeser Compressors, and he's an active leader in the Compressed Air and Gas Institute, where he helped develop the widely used CAGI compressor data sheets. In this episode of the Compressed Air Podcast series, Neil and Werner explore the benefits of knowing what is going on in your compressed air system.

Knowing where your plant stands: How to conduct an honest self-assessment

Assets Anonymous is a 12-step podcast series designed to help you get grounded in reliability basics and create a culture of continuous improvement with your team. This series will feature interviews with George Williams and Joe Anderson of ReliabilityX. ReliabilityX aims to bridge the gap between operations and maintenance through holistic reliability focused on plant performance. In this episode, George and Joe explain why knowing where you stand is an essential first step in your maintenance and reliability journey.

The future of industrial work: Navigating current and future challenges

José Rivera is the CEO of the Control System Integrators Association, and has been working with the CSIA members on the role of the system integrator in digital transformation. José is focused on strategy and business development, and has a deep understanding of industrial markets and technology, as well as business-to-business marketing and sales. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk recently spoke with José about the people, places, and work that system integrators provide.

Regulating the compressed air industry for improved energy efficiency

Matt Smith is Vice President of Sales and Customer Experience at FS-Curtis, and he also serves on the Compressed Air and Gas Institute’s board of directors. Matt recently spoke with Plant Services managing editor Anna Townshend about his work with CAGI, current and upcoming regulations, and what the compressed air industry can expect for the future.

Alternative design strategies for your compressed air system

Neil Mehltretter is technical director for Kaeser Compressors, and he has conducted and supervised thousands of industrial compressed air studies to help plant teams achieve significant energy savings and operational improvements. Bill Kemph is a project manager for engineering solutions for Kaeser Compressors and has more than 20 years of experience with building, testing, designing, and installing compressed air systems. In this episode of the Compressed Air Podcast series, Neil and Bill address the opportunities and challenges plants face when they consider alternative compressed air system design strategies.

The secret to Lean transformation success

Plant Services Managing Editor Anna Townshend spoke with authors and manufacturing leaders Kathy Miller and Shannon Karels about their new book Steel Toes and Stilettos: A True Story of Women Manufacturing Leaders and Lean Transformation Success.
Karels is a senior operations manager who has led multiple Lean transformations and run operations for two large corporations across multiple industries. Miller is a senior operations executive, who has held numerous global vice president and director positions in manufacturing and Lean enterprise leadership. She is a Shingo Prize Recipient for Large Businesses as a plant manager.
The two friends wrote the book together about their journey as women leaders, but their leadership message transcends gender or experience.

Building credibility at your facility to effect culture change

Assets Anonymous is a 12-step podcast series designed to help you get grounded in reliability basics and create a culture of continuous improvement with your team. This series will feature interviews with George Williams and Joe Anderson of ReliabilityX. ReliabilityX aims to bridge the gap between operations and maintenance through holistic reliability focused on plant performance. In this episode, George and Joe focus on how to become a fire marshal.

How asset health monitoring is impacting safety and productivity

Modern technologies and innovative designs are enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of asset surveys, inspections, measurements, and analysis. With more and more smart equipment, factories have more data available for asset health monitoring, which leads to better overall safety and more productive facilities.
Plant Services talked with Keith Riley, Product Marketing Manager for Level+Pressure at Endress+Hauser, which provides measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering. They discussed asset health monitoring—what it is, how it impacts safety and productivity on the factory floor, and what’s next for smart instruments.

Common challenges to machine health and ways to overcome them

Earlier this year Plant Services and Augury conducted a research survey. Augury supports its customers by providing them with superior insights into the health and performance of their machines. The Machine Maintenance & Reliability study was designed to explore the common challenges to machine health faced by industry, and how organizations are putting it into action.
James Newman is Director of Market Strategy at Augury, with more than 20 years of experience focusing on understanding how assets and plants can operate better and more efficiently, and how that can be augmented by technologies. He recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk on the universal challenges that industry is facing, and how data from the survey shows how those challenges might be solved together by those on the front line and in the C-suite.
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