Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Why Motion Amplification Is a Game Changer for Equipment Reliability

Dave Aebischer is a senior data analyst for Cintel. Throughout his career, Dave has focused on improving Army weapon system sustainment outcomes and developing new diagnostic technologies for combat equipment applications. He has introduced innovative technologies and techniques for meeting the challenges of sustaining complex weapon systems in combat environments.
Dave recently spoke with Thomas Wilk, editor in chief of Plant Services, about a project he and his team worked on to support the PATRIOT missile defense system program. In part 2 of their conversation, Dave explains how he used a new condition monitoring tool, motion amplification, to further improve the reliability of the tactical power generators by identifying additional defects that other monitoring methods would have missed.

Operators Performing Maintenance. Good or Bad? [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 offers insight into whether having operators perform maintenance tasks will help or hurt your company.

A Data-Driven Guide to Improving EHS Management

Today’s EHS professionals are at the nexus of some of the most critical priorities in manufacturing. Competitive pressures and continued automation of processes are creating new challenges in managing the internal and external environments surrounding a plant or facility, placing enormous pressure on the management of equipment, materials, and people to maintain a compliant environment. Meanwhile, compliance requirements continue to grow and intensify, bringing new requirements for capturing data and information.
All of this speaks to a big opportunity in EHS for manufacturers – centralizing and connecting data. The ability to capture as much data and information as possible in one place can not only ensure buildings, equipment, and people are safe and protected, but also unlock opportunities for greater automation that can help streamline processes and protect and preserve business continuity.
Emily Cash, M.S., Director of Global EHS and Regulatory Compliance, can take listeners through a “day in the life” of a modern EHS professional, sharing her experience in managing 17 facilities for medical device manufacturer Tecomet, Inc.

Improving the Reliability of the Patriot Missile Defense System With Vibration Analysis

Dave Aebischer is a senior data analyst for Cintel. Throughout his career, Dave has focused on improving Army weapon system sustainment outcomes and developing new diagnostic technologies for combat equipment applications. He has introduced innovative technologies and techniques for meeting the challenges of sustaining complex weapon systems in combat environments.
Dave recently spoke with Thomas Wilk, editor in chief of Plant Services, about a project he and his team worked on to support the PATRIOT missile defense system program. In part 1 of their conversation, Dave details how he combined vibration analysis and 25 years of experience on power generators to successfully identify and correct an issue with new generator assets.

The Changing Nature of Recycling and Its Impact on Manufacturing

The rising volume of aluminum in automotive production is changing the requirements for - and the means by which - those raw materials are sourced, and along with regulatory changes it is reshaping the scrap sorting and processing industry. This installment of the podcast samples a new article highlighting the benefits, limitations, and challenges of recycling aluminum from used cars, underscoring the importance of nonferrous metal recycling in a sustainability-driven world.
About the Article
Advances in Aluminum Recycling for MetalcastingThe shift from abundant, cheap energy sources with minimal waste reduction to stringent global regulations focused on minimizing pollution and resource consumption presents challenges and opportunities for the foundry industry.Written by Engin KılınçRead by Robert BrooksRead the article

Recruiting Middle and High School Students into STEM and Manufacturing Careers [Production Pulse]

Manufacturers have known for more than 20 years that they needed more engineers and science/engineering/math-oriented students to work in their shops. So, many are now starting younger, as early as middle school to expose young people to future manufacturing careers. Hear from:Megan Barrett, Director of Operations at Engineering TomorrowMichael Gretczko, Deloitte’s Chief Business ArchitectDavid Hook, R&D Engineer at CoorsTek Inc.and IndustryWeek's Anna Smith

Lean Manufacturing: It's Still All About People, Darnit!

No one will ever accuse Dave Rizzardo, associate director of the Maryland World Class Consortia of being shy or dispassionate about lean manufacturing and operational excellence. But, on a panel discussion at IndustryWeek's recent Operations Leadership Summit, the audience got an earful from the operations expert on treating people right, listening to your employees and how it's the leader's job to make sure everyone else can do their work. 
Joining Dave for this particularly lively panel discussion was his friend (well, they were friends at the start of the conversation) Carl Livesay, general manager of Maryland-based Mercury Plastics. Also speaking was Sarah Tilkens, CEO of the KPI Lab and senior manager for operational excellence at GE Healthcare. The moderator is Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief at IndustryWeek. 

The Myths of Fiber Optic Cables

Bust your misconceptions of fiber optic cables by learning about their construction, types, terminations, costs, and advantages when used for the industrial IoT.
About the Article
A Guide to Fiber Cable Types and Cost for the Industrial IoTBust your misconceptions of fiber optic cables by learning about their construction, types, terminations, costs, and advantages when used for the industrial IoT.Written by Henry MartelRead by Laura DavisRead the article

How To Identify and Eliminate Production Bottlenecks

It’s a story so familiar that it is also a children’s proverb: “for want of a nail, the kingdom was lost.” In this new podcast episode we cover how to identify and eliminate pinch points on the manufacturing floor. Our guests this week, Jerry Nation and Hunter Price of Ingenics Corporation, talk about their experience helping plants in the automotive sector get past production bottlenecks that were dramatically slowing down production, and stressing out downstream operations teams. 

AI’s Potential in Manufacturing? The ‘Use Cases’ Keep Growing

Sean O’Meara is CIO of Monticello, Indiana-based heavy-duty generator and power enclosure maker Girtz Industries, and Jason Ryska is director of manufacturing technology development at one of the big Detroit Three, Ford Motor Company.
Smart Industry’s Scott Achelpohl moderated a question-and-answer session with O’Meara and Ryska at IndustryWeek’s end-of-June Operations Leadership Summit in Indianapolis, and since the chat was all about artificial intelligence applications in manufacturing, SI is bringing it to you as part of our group’s “Great Question” series.
Sean will say he knows a lot about what Girtz Industries does, but he’ll also say he’s their IT guy, meaning it’s his job to support the real experts, the engineers and manufacturing people who make it possible to do what Girtz does. He has helped Girtz overhaul its IT landscape, encompassing system integrations, network enhancements, and the adoption of robust platforms.
As the “IT guy,” part of his life has been all about AI, and how he can help Girtz leverage the use of AI in advancing its business processes and manufacturing processes. And he’s been a regular speaker at our industry conferences lately on the topic of how AI to the factory floor, including the just-concluded Operations Leadership Summit.
Jason and his team serve as intermediaries between technology companies and the automaker. His team looks at what problems need solving, the available technology and whether a technology initiative ties into Ford's larger objectives and business plan. Jason has almost 30 years of experience in automotive manufacturing.