Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

AI, Automation, Supply Chain and Vending Machines: Grainger Officials Talk Manufacturing Trends

Most grownup professionals are smart people, but that doesn't mean we don't do some really stupid things from time to time. Think about your last expense report. Between filling out the forms, supervisors checking them, accounting reviewing them again (and sending them back five times because you used the wrong code for the rental car company), companies spend vast sums of money every year in hopes of preventing someone charging a bottle of cold medication back to their employer.
Procurement in manufacturing is similarly penny wise and pound foolish. At the Grainger Show in Florida in March, one poster showed how the average company uses seven people and $100 in approvals and management time to buy a $17 hammer. Sound familiar?
In a series of wide ranging conversations at the show, IndustryWeek's Robert Schoenberger and New Equipment Digest's Laura Davis spoke with:
Sam Johnson, group vice president for Customer Solutions at Grainger
Barry Greenhouse, senior vice president of Merchandising and Supplier Management
Rick Sigler, vice president of Onsite Services
Stan Solowski, vice president of Value-Added Solutions
Derek Hamilton, vice president of Onsite Operations
Full disclosure, Grainger did not sponsor this episode, but the company did cover travel costs for editors to attend their customer event.

Three CMMS Strategies To Eliminate Redundant Maintenance Work (Plant Services)

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services chief editor Thomas Wilk and Eruditio principal trainer and consultant Brian Hronchek discuss how many organizations underutilize their CMMS systems and miss opportunities for efficiency. They explore practical strategies to unlock more value, including standardizing preventive maintenance activities and leveraging built-in functionality for corrective work. The conversation also highlights how better resource planning can improve outage execution and reduce costly conflicts.

How To Get Smart About Manufacturing (American Machinist)

Smart Manufacturing is the label that has emerged to describe production systems that incorporate digital technologies, real-time data, and interconnected systems to make manufacturing processes more automated, adaptive, and efficient. It involves sensors, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and connected machines that monitor, optimize, and automate manufacturing processes in real time.
In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, and prompted by the developer’s recent State of Smart Manufacturing report, we asked Evan Kaiser, Rockwell Automation vice president for Global OEM and Emerging Industries to tailor the insights there for small and midsized manufacturers, to help them understand the smart manufacturing investments, practices, and strategies, that will help them get connected and stay competitive.

The Future of Procurement: Embracing Automation, Integration and AI (Supply Chain Insider)

Connected procurement integrates all stages of the source-to-pay process, providing real-time visibility and enhancing organizational agility. In this "In Case You Missed It" podcast, based on an article from two Accenture procurement experts, you'll hear how organizations are shifting from reactive procurement processes to connected, data-driven workflows that enhance agility, resilience and strategic value amid global disruptions.

AI Adoption in Manufacturing Maintenance, Stories from the Field

IndustryWeek's Dennis Scimeca recently hosted a roundtable discussion at Fluke's annual Xcelerate conference, an event centered around industrial maintenance and asset protection.
Joining Dennis were three professionals from three very different industries:
Jason Hahn, Amsted Automotive
Lee McClish, NTT
Nathan Kibert, Eaton
In the session, the panel discussed the impact of AI on supply chains, maintenance and production. 

Preparing Manufacturing's Future: How Kettering University's Co-op Model Provides Real-World Experience

With artificial intelligence (AI), mass customization and shrinking lot sizes changing expectations in manufacturing, companies need new skills and abilities from those who they hire. So, where do you find an entry level engineer with years of experience and training in how to deal with the constantly changing needs of production?
In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Kettering University President Robert McMahan says getting students experience while in school is key. The former General Motors Institute (a private university, separate from the automaker since the early 1980s) has long used factory floors and design centers as training grounds for student education. Current GM CEO Mary Barra is among the school's alumni who got their first taste of manufacturing while studying engineering there. 
In this episode, McMahan talks to IndustryWeek's Anna Smith about the school's educational co-op model and how schools need to collaborate with manufacturers to prepare the next generation of industrial leaders. 

Connectivity is the Missing Piece to Drive Manufacturing Performance with AI

Samuel Pasquier, head of product management for Cisco System's Industrial IoT Connectivity Portfolio, says manufacturers want to use more AI in factories to drive efficiency and growth, but many programs are stuck in trial and failing to produce expected gains.
New research from the networking technology company shows that two major factors are getting in the way: computing power and the network bandwidth to access that compute.
In this conversation with Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl, Pasquier discusses what challenges still face AI-driven digital transformation efforts and what steps manufacturers can take to set themselves up for success.

Maintenance vs. operations—Improving Communication Through Shop Floor Accountability (Ask A Plant Manager)

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 explores how to maintain a healthy level of tension between maintenance and operations, and how to resolve unhealthy conflict. Bonus: How to be a better mentor and how to find one for yourself.

A Fresh Approach to Tackling Workplace Safety Problems (Talking EHS)

Donavan Hornsby, chief strategy officer with Benchmark Gensuite, shares the results of his company's "EHS Pressure Point" report on risk, readiness and the shift to AI, and offers his insights into anticipated changes and trends in workplace safety in 2026.

The AI You Don’t Want To Use (IndustryWeek)

Pradip Singh, chief manufacturing officer at semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries, has seen it all when it comes to AI. Well, he would see it all if there wasn’t so much AI thrown at him that he needs people to weed through the slop and get to the good stuff – and even only a few “good” AI pitches ever get through.
That’s because AI developers don’t understand manufacturing. They don’t grasp the unique challenges of what AI might actually do for industry and instead focus on developing AI seemingly for its own sake.
In this episode of Great Question, Singh speaks with IndustryWeek senior editor for technology, Dennis Scimeca, about AI boondoggles, what the technology should never be used for and the words to listen to during an AI pitch that means the tech is worth considering.