Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Grow your maintenance and reliability skill set at Leading Reliability

The Leading Reliability Conference provides participants with a great 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 registrants to build relationships with influential professionals in maintenance and reliability around the country. The ability to share ideas and perspectives with industry experts is always a great thing and will only be more beneficial as we continue to work our way back to a normal way of business. You can expect to learn a lot, have fun, and take valuable ideas home with you to your very own facility. Thomas Wilk recently spoke with Maureen Gribble, Shon Isenhour, and Dawn Kayatta from the Leading Reliability team to discuss the upcoming event, happening May 10-12 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Agenda, speaker, and registration information is available at www.leadingreliability.com.

Setting and achieving your plant’s sustainability goals

Oswaldo “Oz” Rodriguez is a technologist with a background in software engineering, and is currently the head of product Go-To-Market strategy with Lloyd’s Register digital products. His LinkedIn profile also says one of his goals is to save the world by building one cool product at a time. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk met Oz several years ago at the ARC Industry Forum, where they talked about the value that a shared library of asset data could bring to industry. In this interview, Oz suggests it’s time for industry to come together in similar manner to promote sustainability and protect the planet.

Breaking the reactive circle of fire at your plant

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. The first two steps in this podcast series were centered on understanding reactivity and proactivity. Episode three focuses on the circle of fire and how you can break the reactive cycle.

How to prepare your plant for evolving cyberattacks

Andy Kling is the vice president of cybersecurity and product security officer for the industrial automation arm of Schneider Electric and member of the International Society of Automation (ISA) Global Cybersecurity Alliance (GCA). At Schneider he’s responsible for numerous industrial control system and process automation-type product families across the company. His responsibilities are to ensure that Schneider delivers secure products, systems, and services, and that covers a wide variety of topics from standards committees to government influence and government involvement. Andy talked with Plant Services Managing Editor Anna Townshend about this important standard today, as well as other cybersecurity topics like where to start with your cybersecurity program, cloud security, and cybersecurity in the future.

Workforce training: Equipping employees for long-term success

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many employers to reduce their staffs, but having workers who have the know-how and nurturing their growth is still important. In this podcast episode, Amanda Del Buono, Digital Engagement Manager for Control Global and Control Design, and Tom Strong, director of employer action for the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, discuss the importance of investing in and training employees for the long haul.

Automating OEE data collection can help solve problems on the line

Larry West is a sales engineer for Perceptive Controls who has been in the engineering and electrical field for industrial use for roughly 25 years, and before that he served in the U.S. Navy as a gunner’s mate and missile tech. In January, Larry touched base with Plant Services Editor in Chief Thomas Wilk for a podcast on how control systems and SCADA can support energy savings and sustainability. Recently, Wilk spoke with West on why automating OEE data collection can help solve problems on the line.

How grants and funding can help manufacturers implement improvement projects

For the past year or so, many manufacturers have struggled to keep up and running, maintain staff, and adjust to the digital changes the pandemic required. Making these changes or funding a new project, like a digitalization effort, for example, can be expensive, but there are grants and funding available to help. In this podcast episode, Amanda Del Buono, Digital Engagement Manager for Control Global and Control Design, interviews Micki Vandeloo, president of Lakeview Consulting, a consultancy that works with manufacturers, not-for-profits, and other organizations to help them obtain grants to support major projects and initiatives.

Understanding proactivity: Are you managing your assets or are they managing you?

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. The second episode focuses on understanding proactivity.

Top trends and technologies impacting industry in 2022

Aaron Merkin is Chief Technology Officer at Fluke Reliability, and he is responsible for the development and execution of industrial IoT strategies. Aaron is an experienced technology executive with a deep understanding of technology and product strategy, solution architecture, M&A, and organizational transformation. Plant Services Editor in Chief Thomas Wilk recently spoke with Aaron about the changing landscape of industrial maintenance, including remote condition monitoring, supply chain disruptions, and industrial cybersecurity. 

Leading your team into the post-pandemic future

Whether it's a global pandemic, inclement weather conditions, or other unforeseen challenges, being a good leader is key to making it through difficult times. In this podcast episode, Amanda Del Buono, Digital Engagement Manager for Control Global and Control Design, interviews Jay Richards, a member of the founding team and senior consultant at Denison Consulting, to discuss a little bit about leadership in a post-pandemic world.