Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Data for Frontline Workers, AI and Candy: Hershey and Nestle Stories

We're about a week away from Halloween, and what could be scarier than the technologies that are disrupting manufacturing—artificial intelligence and connected-worker technologies. The 4th Annual Connected Worker Manufacturing summit in the Chicago suburbs this month gathered tech leaders from dozens of large manufacturers to discuss the impacts of data tools, wearable technology, tablets and other connected devices.
What does that have to do with Halloween? Well, there were a lot of food people there, including digital transformation executives at Hershey and Nestle, and we spoke to them about their efforts.
Participating on this podcast are:
Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief at IndustryWeek
Logan McNear, digital manufacturing program lead for The Hershey Company's Lean Production System
Mike Brauckman, head of focused improvement for Nestle

Smarter, Safer, Stronger: The Evolution of Industrial Ergonomics (Talking EHS)

Kristianne Egbert, senior corporate ergonomist with Briotix Health, discusses the evolution of industrial ergonomics in recent years, and offers insights into how managers can cost-justify investing in ergo technologies to better protect their workers.

Linking PM Optimization to Safety and Operational Excellence

This episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast was recorded live at the 2025 SMRP Annual Conference, in Fort Worth, Texas. In this episode Brian Hronchek, principal trainer and consultant for Eruditio, talks with Plant Services chief editor Tom Wilk discuss how companies are using PM optimization to achieve quick, measurable improvements in both reliability and safety.

How “Weird” Tech Is Reinventing Sustainability in Manufacturing and Beyond

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, discover how unconventional innovations from UMass Amherst, Bluewater, and the Italian Institute of Technology are redefining sustainability across energy, water, and waste.

Desktop Metal and the Future for Additive Manufacturing Following Bankruptcy

New York-based Arc Public Benefit Corp. bought 3D printing pioneer Desktop Metal last month out of bankruptcy. The purchased followed about two years of merger-and-acquisition mania that shifted from assigning billion-dollar valuations on equipment makers to pushing some of the same companies through bankruptcy. 
Bryan Wisk, CEO of Arc, says the path to future success is clear -- focusing on running the company instead of getting caught up in the buy-sell drama of corporate mergers. 
“There’s only one word at DM right now internally; it’s focus,” Wisk says. “We’re not a distressed debt investor or private equity. We’re really deep-growth investors, and we’re looking to focus on the core technologies that we bought.”
This Great Question episode features a conversation between Wisk and IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger

Stop Playing It Safe When It Comes to Workplace Safety (Talking EHS)

Mike Jones, president of Discover Leadership Training, explains why sometimes the best thing you can do to protect workers is take more risks. He explains how safety professionals can go beyond "best practices" to "next practices." And he offers a preview of his upcoming keynote presentation, "Playing It Safe," which he'll deliver at Safety Leadership Conference 2025, held October 20-22, 2025, in Glendale (Phoenix), Ariz.

Ask a Plant Manager: Why system problems, not workers, hold plants back

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. In this episode, Joe how to tackle reliability and maintenance as a new manager.

The Future of Energy, the Future of Manufacturing

Ryan Hawk of PwC US surveyed hundreds of C-suite executives across the manufacturing and energy sectors to determine what is influencing their thoughts and guiding their decision-making. He found five “unstoppable forces” reshaping how America builds, moves, and competes.

Manufacturers Must Prepare for Increased ICE Enforcement

High-profile raids of manufacturing facilities by federal immigration agents are likely just beginning, labor and immigration attorney Jorge Lopez said. Increased federal funding for Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents still hasn't hit the agency and won't have a measurable impact on staffing there for months.
So, expect site visits and raids to increase in Q4 of this year and especially in the first half of 2026, Lopez says. He also offers advice on how to prepare your paperwork for federal investigations, what companies are (and are not) obligated to provide and how to limit legal exposure.
Speakers:
IndustryWeek Senior Editor Laura Putre
Littler Immigration and Global Mobility Practice Group Chair Jorge Lopez

Why IT and OT Remain Out of Sync in Modern Manufacturing

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Scott Achelpohl and Almog Apirion explore why IT and OT often remain misaligned and what it takes to close the gap. The discussion highlights how digital transformation, cybersecurity risks, and regulatory pressures are driving the need for convergence. Together, they examine the role of Zero Trust, identity-based access, and secure connectivity in protecting legacy equipment while keeping operations productive and resilient.