Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Michael Bearman is the chief customer and administrative officer and general counsel at Vecna Robotics. For the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company he manages customer deployments and helps ensure the successful adoption of autonomous mobile robots. Before Vecna, he served as the chief operating officer at Vecna Technologies and is a member of the ASTM Committee 45 on Robotics, Automation and Autonomous Systems Executive Subcommittee.
He joined Smart Industry’s managing editor, Scott Achelpohl, to talk “robot wranglers” and how Vecna’s Pivotal Command Center and other products like it can remotely monitor the machines 24/7/365 and almost eliminate the need for humans to intervene in plants and warehouses, drawing people toward other, higher-value tasks and away from all that “wrangling.”

Whether you're a small business or a large industrial operation, choosing a compressed air service provider can significantly impact your efficiency, productivity, and bottom line. This sponsored podcast chat features Tony Montalto, the Director of Technical Product Management at FS-Curtis, as he reveals practical tips and strategies to help you navigate the selection process with confidence and make an informed decision that aligns with your goals and requirements.

For our bi-weekly Production Pulse series, Smart Industry managing editor Scott Achelpohl spoke with Dale Tutt, VP of Industry Strategy at Siemens, and Aaron Merkin, CTO at Fluke Corporation, about where to draw the line with AI as a tool or an overlord.

EHS Today’s editors analyze current workplace safety trends and developments, including a review of the 2024 Ohio Safety Congress, robot safety, and lessons learned from the Baltimore bridge disaster.

Brian Hronchek is a principal trainer and consultant at Eruditio. Over the years, Brian has worked as a maintenance manager, reliability engineer, and planning manager, and his background includes stints in the U.S. Marine Core and Purdue Aerospace Engineering. Brian recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk about how to fill out the FMEA (click here for example template), and then use it to build robust equipment maintenance plans. 

The relocation of manufacturing capabilities is a true phenomenon, making supply chains shorter and more sustainable, and reducing business's carbon footprints. The Reshoring Institute's executive director explains what's happening and what to expect.

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 how maintenance managers are failing their businesses and their direct reports.

The March 26 collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge resulted the losses of six lives, one of the busiest land routes on the East Coast and the temporary halt of shipping traffic through the No. 1 port for automotive imports and exports in the United States. Throughout the past week, editors at several IndustryWeek parent company Endeavor Business Media publications have been writing about the catastrophe, none more so than Roads & Bridges magazine. 
For our bi-weekly Production Pulse livestream video series, we invited several of those editors to talk about the loss of the bridge, what that will do to shipping, how it could impact worker safety, how other reports will respond to the snarls and what's next for Baltimore. Speakers were:
Ryan Curtiss, digital editor of Roads & Bridges.
Anna Smith, news and supply chain editor of IndustryWeek.
Rod Sutton, editor of Construction Equipment.
Nicole Stempak, managing editor of EHS Today.
Josh Fischer, editor-in-chief of FleetOwner.
Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief of IndustryWeek.

In today's industrial world, keeping the gears turning smoothly is a big deal. Checking on those bearings and staying ahead with maintenance is key to avoiding those dreaded moments of downtime and equipment meltdowns. In a world where everyone's scrambling for efficiency, these new solutions for taking care of bearings and sealing things up tight are like secret weapons for staying ahead. They're making it a whole lot easier for manufacturers to stay on top in this ever-changing landscape. Listen as Laura Davis, Editor-in-Chief discusses six new products and solutions that are making maintenance and optimization easier in the world of bearings and seals.
If you would like to read more of Sheila's work and learn about new advancements in the industry, visit: https://www.plantservices.com/home/contact/11394358/sheila-kennedy.
About the Article
Advancements in industrial bearings and seals help improve longevity and functionalityWritten by Sheila Kennedy Read by Laura DavisRead the article

What is an FMEA? When should you use it? Why is it an important step in helping maintenance teams move from a break-fix maintenance state to one that is more proactive? In this episode of Great Queston: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk spoke with a specialist in the reliability field, Brian Hronchek, to start answering these questions and more about failure modes and effects analyses. Brian draws from his former experience as reliability engineer for U.S. Steel, maintenance manager for Exxon Mobil, and a 16-year veteran of the Marine Corps, in addition to his current work as a principal trainer and consultant at Eruditio.