Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

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

April 24, 2025 26 mins

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Tom Wilk, the chief editor of Plant Services, talks with Jose Rivera, the CEO of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA). In December, Jose announced he would be stepping down after a decade of dedicated leadership and strategic vision. Under Jose's guidance, the CSIA has seen significant modernization, increased resilience, and a strong financial position. We sp...

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This sponsored episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast focuses on building AI that works for manufacturing teams, and features two key thought leaders with MaintainX, a maintenance and asset management platform purpose-built to help frontline industrial teams run more efficient, resilient, and safer operations. Nick Hasse is the co-founder of MaintainX, and has spent thousands of hours on the factory floor helping manufa...

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IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger and Senior Technology Editor Dennis Scimeca talk 5G in this episode, taken from our Production Pulse livestream series. IndustryWeek recently launched a documentary-style video series, looking at how large manufacturers tackle significant technology challenges. For the first episode, we feature John Deere's work in Waterloo, Iowa -- using private wireless networking systems to manage...

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April 15, 2025 16 mins

Maria DeLorenzis Reyes, CEO of Training Innovations/MDR Brands, explains why a workplace culture is most successful when it encourages interactive feedback and takes a long-term view for safety training.

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In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services chief editor Tom Wilk is joined by Maureen Gribble, the sales enablement leader for North America at UE Systems, to preview the upcoming Leading Reliability conference. The event takes place May 12-15 in Clearwater Beach, Florida, with four days of workshops, practitioner sessions, and networking in a gorgeous venue. Anyone interested in attending a conferen...

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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...

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Discover the differences between AI types, explore real-world applications, understand the challenges around adoption, and get actionable insight on strategic implementation to boost efficiency on your factory floor.

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President Donald Trump's 10% tariffs on all imports to the United States, rising to as high as 49% for some countries, promise to upend the manufacturing landscape, forcing many producers to look for new suppliers and creating dramatic opportunities for companies that already have their production here. 

It's too soon the know all of the impacts, but a few things are clear:

  • Costs will go up on manfacturers that rely on foreign...
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Falling from heights is a recurring safety problem at workplaces. Mike Van Bree, president of the American Ladder Institute, explains why training, education and efforts like National Ladder Safety month are helping to reduce the number of reported ladder accidents.

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In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO of Critical Manufacturing and an Industry 4.0 evangelist, educator, and author, joins Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl to chat about what real transformation looks like, which steps to use, and how not to leave outdated processes still in place.

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James Lane is a plant manager with Trivium Packaging. He works out of their Youngstown plant, which is the largest of many plants that Trivium operates, and he's skilled in operations management, continuous improvement, and business process improvement. James is also a strong media and communications professional, having earned a J.D. degree focused on corporate law from Capital University Law School, which has informed his leaders...

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This podcast discusses the opportunity around digital commerce for mid-market manufacturers. It explores how digital commerce can drive growth, how AI-powered solutions reduce barriers to entry, and how companies can scale their approach strategically. Businesses that invest in digital now can position themselves ahead of the competition, creating seamless buying experiences that meet customer expectations and drive efficiency thro...

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ProMat 2025 continues this week, bringing tens of thousands and supply chain and material handling professionals to Chicago to see what's new and innovative.

Several major themes were apparent in talking to exhibitors and show attendees:

  • Labor reduction. Most distribution center operators say they're struggling to find enough people to do the daily work, and finding seasonal help when they want twice as many people...
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March 18, 2025 15 mins

Christie Smith, former VP of Diversity & Inclusion with Apple and founder of The Humanity Studio, explains why US companies will lose their competitive advantage if they don’t build DEI into their culture.

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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...

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Facing network challenges in dusty or wet conditions Explore the importance of IP67 ratings for industrial networking, gaining practical guidance for choosing the right devices to prevent failures.

About the Article

Understanding the IP67 Rating for Industrial Networking Devices Learn how IP67-rated enclosures protect your critical industrial networking devices from dust and water damage, ensuring reliable performance in harsh ...

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Stop pretending to know it all if you want to be a great manufacturing leader, and AI tools could help you do that.

Those were a few of the insights from an experts panel discussion on the proper uses of kaizen, lean and other continuous improvement strategies in the modern factory. Responding to an audience question, AI took center stage and some of the brightest minds in operational excellence detailed how these tools could impro...

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Steve Strong of Concept Systems and Benjamin Kurth of Applied Manufacturing Technologies join the podcast and Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl to talk automation and why “easier” doesn’t always mean inexpensive and why plug-and-play isn’t always your answer.

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The number one concern for US manufacturers continues to be the shortage of available labor – which has prompted their steady progress toward automation, and then to digitalization, and lately to Artificial Intelligence, to fill in the missing resources. All that progress is creating a significant volume of data that is vulnerable to attack. A cloud-based software developer assesses the problem and offers some tips for addressing t...

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In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, chief editor Thomas Wilk talkes with Mike Holloway, president of 5th Order Industry, about the intersection of artificial intelligence and oil analysis. Mike has more than 40 years experience in industry and holds 16 professional certifications, a patent, an MS in polymer engineering, a BS in Chemistry, and a BA in philosophy. Mike is a subject matter expert in tribology, ...

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