Factory of the Future Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E80, Kate Assaraf on Local-First Manufacturing and Conscious Consumerism Join us as we discuss:  - Sustainability as a fluid concept, not rigid rules  - Why DIP avoids Amazon, Target, and hidden shipping plastic - How a team of seven cracked the secret to salon-quality bars that last - Building a company culture that puts people and quality first...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E79, From Solitary to Advanced Systems: Christian Torres on Decision Intelligence Join us as we discuss:  - Manufacturing inside Unicor - ISO internal auditing & Lean Six Sigma  - Founding Stark Analytics & the rise of decision intelligence - The four types of analytics: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive - AI as both opport...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E78, 2030s– The Decade of Dark Factories Join us as we discuss:  - Dark factories & lights-out manufacturing going mainstream  - Skills-based hiring vs. the four-year degree - Labor shortages driving advanced automation - Part-time work re-entering the market And so much more. Connect with A.W. Schultz  Email: aw@awschultz.org  Personal Websit...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E77, Manufacturing's Future: Why Automation Is No Longer Optional for U.S. Plants Join us as we discuss:  - Why AI data centers may head to orbit—SpaceX's solar-powered data center test and the Anthropic–SpaceX partnership  - The energy and supply chain squeeze: storage challenges, reshoring momentum, and continued reliance on Chinese mi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E76, How COVID, Reshoring & AI Reshaped U.S. Manufacturing in the 2020s Join us as we discuss:  - How COVID-19 exposed supply chain vulnerabilities and triggered a reshoring surge—roughly 360,000 jobs returned to the U.S. by 2022, a 53% jump  - On-the-ground pandemic realities: safety protocols inside plants, plus the personal cost and profess...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E75, From Food Truck to Robot Barista: How P!ng's Founders Are Automating the Coffee Drive-Through Join us as we discuss:  - From iRobot and Amazon Robotics to a food truck rush: how Rob's operator experience exposed the drive-thru bottlenecks p!ng now solves  - Hub-and-spoke model: central kitchens serving multiple pods, plus the Comete...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E74, Grid-Scale Battery Storage: Inside Inlyte Energy's Iron-Sodium Tech Join us as we discuss:  - Antonio's path from Stanford's Chueh Group and the Activate Fellowship to launching a utility-scale battery company - How Inlyte's iron-sodium battery uses a ceramic membrane and abundant materials like iron powder and table salt...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E73, Reinventing the Safe: Oscar Hedaya on Building Smart Security with The Space Safe Join us as we discuss:  - Oscar's "aha moment": why he set out to modernize a product category that hadn't meaningfully evolved in 30 years, and how The Space Safe combines touchscreens, cameras, and connected software  - Inside the build: ma...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E72, Leading with Character Across Cultures: Björn Vikard on Global Manufacturing Spanning 12 Countries Join us as we discuss:  - Managing unionized operations in India  - Stories of how Björn advocates for women in manufacturing  - Building an industrial park in Sri Lanka from scratch - The importance of self-awareness and listening skills requir...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E71, Unionization Crossroads: Ethical Leadership in Manufacturing Join us as we discuss:  - Core tension between operational efficiency and protecting workers’ safety and rights  - Two extreme approaches: actively obstructing unionization and fully embracing it - The “Mediated Ethical Bridge” framework with prioritization on transparency, open dia...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E70, Building the Future: Advanced Manufacturing, Workforce, and Tech with Bryce Carpenter Join us as we discuss:  - Advanced Manufacturing in Indiana   - Education and workforce development challenges and solutions  - The positive impact of technology adoption on workforce growth and wages - The evolution of manufacturing roles alongside automati...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E69, Beyond the Mold: How 3D Printing is Reshaping Supply Chains with Jason Rolland Join us as we discuss:  - Additive manufacturing technology and how it prints 10-100x faster than standard 3D Printers - The nuanced case for polymeric materials in medical devices, sports equipment, and performance footwear - Mechanical versus Chemical Recycling ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E68, The Lost Decade: How China's Rise & the Opioid Crisis Decimated U.S. Manufacturing in the 2000s Join us as we discuss:  - How the "China Shock" drove a 1,156% surge in Chinese imports between 1991 and 2007, devastating industries like textiles, furniture, and home electronics  - Why the 2000s became manufacturing's &qu...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E67, Electrifying Fleets & Automating Emissions Reporting: Inside GreenIRR's Carbon Accounting Platform for Supply Chains with Celine King Join us as we discuss:  - What trucking companies can do to reduce fuel costs while meeting sustainability objectives - How GreenIRR went from concept to commercialization - The technology carriers and...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E66, From Prototypes to Production: Building the Future of Bladeless Fans with CEO of Exhale Fans Join us as we discuss:  - Outsourced manufacturing and finding the right partner - How American made tooling is used offshore  - Energy savings of three dimensional air flow compared to traditional methods - Why hospitals, hotels, and other commercial...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E65, Manufacturing in the 1990s: ERP Implementations, Six Sigma Boom, and Job Declines Join us as we discuss:  - The birth of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Systems  - The beginning of lean manufacturing and the six sigma boom - The loss of 4-5 million jobs in manufacturing - Failed ERP Implementations–and what not to do  And so much more. Con...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E64, The 1980s Manufacturing Evolution from Blue-Collar to High-Tech Automation Join us as we discuss:  - Manufacturing trends from the 1980s to present in the US   - The evolution from Blue-Collar, unionized jobs to automated and technical manufacturing - How offshore labor and automation led to the decline in traditional American manufacturing ...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E63, The Turning Point in American Manufacturing: Peak Employment, Shifts in Corporate Attitudes Towards the Workers, and Rise of Lean Practices  Join us as we discuss:  - The peak of manufacturing jobs in the 1970s and the beginning of long-term decline - The start of Lean Methodology and how its challenged traditional American manufacturing meth...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E62, The Golden Age of American Factories: 1960s Boom, Lean Roots, and Early Robot Revolutions Join us as we discuss:  - The rise of lean thinking  - Significant growth of manufacturing in the 1960s - The early stages of computerized manufacturing - While not immediately realized, fears about job loss were eventually realized and serve as a cautio...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E61, Ending Forced Labor in Supply Chains With Justin Dillon: Mapping the Consumer and Supplier Slavery Footprint using Data-Driven Ethics Join us as we discuss:  - The Slavery Footprint – a project that went viral, exposing forced labor associated with consumer goods  - How companies can map and analyze their supply chains for ethical and sustain...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E60, The Future of Manufacturing: Renan Devillieres on the AI Gap, Universal High Income & Industrial Optimism   Join us as we welcome Renan Devillieres to discuss:  - The convergence of manufacturing and tech - New roles emerging in manufacturing  - Bringing humility to the factory floor and continuous improvement projects  - The widening div...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E59, The Peak of American Manufacturing: How Automation and Globalization Forever Changed Manufacturing in the US  Join us as we discuss:  - The evolution of manufacturing from the 50s to present   - Post-World War II industrial changes - The rise of the automotive industry's "Big Three" (GM, Ford, and Chrysler), the introduction of...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E58, Climate Control Pays Off: How Temperature-Regulated Factories Boost Productivity and Cut Defects Join us as we discuss:  - Benefits of temperature-controlled factories   - Why climate control not only improves comfort, but also efficiency and reliability   - How temperature-regulated facilities reduce production defects and downtime  And so m...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E57, From Smart to Dark Factories Join us as we discuss:  - The concept of dark factories  - Maturity levels of automated factories  - Why dark factories result in improved energy efficiency and output  - The art of balancing supply and demand with nearly unlimited capacity  - Why we think shared factories are the future  And so much more. Connect...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Factory of the Future, E56, How to Identify and Eliminate the 8 Wastes in Modern Manufacturing Join us as we discuss:  - Lean Six Sigma’s TIMWOODS 8 Wastes in Manufacturing    - How to apply Lean Six Sigma concepts at the factory and in the home - Why maximizing human potential is the greatest waste of all   And so much more. Connect with A.W. Schultz  Email: aw@awschul...