Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.
Episodes
Industrial AI software heavyweight IFS chose its New York show to debut virtual agents equipped with 50 skills that autonomously manage high-volume tasks. For this episode of the Great Question podcast, Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl and Plant Services' Tom Wilk were there to chat about the product, IFS Loops, with its CEO, Somya Kapoor.
Discussion around mental health is still rare among industrial workers. It's a cultural issue that needs to be re-examined and made a workplace priority, says podcast guest Stephen Dummit, founder of Tradewinds Leadership.
Join Matthew Dixon, Swagelok’s global technical lead for grab sampling, as he talks about the complexities of gas grab sampling—a critical, yet often misunderstood process in industrial operations. From the science behind phase changes to the design of safe and accurate sampling systems, Matt will share insights that help demystify the challenges of capturing representative gas samples. Whether you're in operations, engineering, or...
In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk speaks with ICML CEO Bryan Coggins and ICML Marketing Director Paul Hiller about the evolving culture of reliability and maintenance within industry. The conversation explores how ICML is strengthening its role through training, certification, and real-world case studies that demonstrate measurable ROI in lubrication management. B...
Typically, Big Tech and software aren't manufacturing topics. The latest data products don't generally come out of a factory in a box or barrel. However, the rapid growth of AI is having a domino effect that's benefitting large manufacturers.
AI needs lots of computing power, creating opportunities for semiconductor makers to boost U.S. production. Construction companies are building data center facilities all over the country, cr...
Manufacturers understand the skills gap: every day they recognize that do not have enough people or enough of the right people to execute the difficult and sometimes dirty, often dangerous tasks like pouring and forming molten materials, grinding or machining parts, treating and handling those parts, welding and finishing components and systems, etc. It’s more than a practical problem. It’s an economic and institutional crisis.
Supply chain managers are employing a number of strategies to address the almost constant changes due to disruptions in the supply chain. Michelle Comerford, practice leader for the Industrial & Supply Chain practice at Biggins, Lacy, Shapiro & Company, explains what actions companies across the country need to be taking to stay on a steady course to supply chain proficiency.
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, As...
Trae Mazza and his team at RMC Global this year found and reported hidden cyber risk in common Siemens industrial networking devices. Mazza wrote for Smart Industry about the flaws, which Siemens has patched, and joins the Great Question podcast to review the investigation and chat about how exposed OT really is to intrusion.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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 c...
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.
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, As...
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.
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 sa...
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 equipm...
In this sponsored episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services chief editor Thomas Wilk sat down with Ryan Smith, a Solutions Engineer with TPC, a Certus company, whose areas of training specialty include industrial maintenance topics for electrical, mechanical, and HVAC systems. Today's great question is: How do you calculate the ROI of training?
Popular Podcasts
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!