Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

Peter Christian’s resume includes working as executive director at the Crayola Corporation, and he’s also worked as founding partner and president at the business consulting firm, Enterprise Systems Partners, Inc . His current focus is on why businesses and managers succeed or fail, and he has written two books on this topic, ‘"What About the Vermin Problem?’’ and ‘’Influences and Influencers,’’ b...

What would you do if your digital assets stopped talking to each other? Are you confident that you could find them all if they vanished from a network map, from large machines to tiny remote sensors? Ellen Boehm is VP of IoT strategy and operations at Keyfactor , which along with the Ponemon Institute recently released the first-ever State of Machine Identity Management report . Ellen spoke recent...

Dylan Erwin is the Technical Sales Manager for Fluke Process Instruments and has previously worked as a product innovation manager and regional sales manager, among other responsibilities. Dylan received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Montana State University and spent the first few years of his professional career in the industrial automation market. Dylan recently spoke with Thomas Wilk a...

Cloud computing is drastically changing the way many organizations operate. Forward-looking maintenance and reliability teams across industry are starting to explore how the cloud can help them improve their asset management practices. IFS recently launched IFS Cloud, which is the next step forward from IFS Applications 10 and which enables companies to manage the customer, people, and asset eleme...

In mid-2020, ARC Advisory Group and Wind River collaborated on a survey of manufacturing leaders to better understand the challenges industry faced during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain production as a result of disruptions to their supply chains and operations. That report, “ Industry 4.0 and 5G in the COVID Pandemic ,” explores Industry 4.0 initiatives and manufacturer's increased focus on su...

Paige Morse is the industry marketing director at Aspen Technology. Morse enables digital transformation progress at companies worldwide. She has significant experience with leading operating companies, including Shell, Dow, Sunoco and Clariant, covering R&D, marketing, commercial and strategy roles. Morse recently spoke with Thomas Wilk about the upcoming OPTIMIZE 21 event and the benefits MRO pr...

Compressed air is inherently expensive. On top of that, very often it is produced inefficiently. But it doesn’t have to be. Taking a look at your compressed air system’s equipment, layout, performance, and environment can help you improve the overall system’s reliability and efficiency saving you money on energy, maintenance, and life-cycle costs.  A review of thousands of compressed air systems r...

Haven Allen is CEO and co-founder of mHUB , a leading hardtech and manufacturing innovation center, and is a managing partner of mHUB’s $15M Seed-stage product impact fund. Allen is an entrepreneur and technology strategist who most recently concentrated on growing the manufacturing industry and strengthening its community throughout the greater Chicago area. Allen recently spoke with Thomas Wilk...

Plant Services met veteran millwright and newly minted predictive maintenance technician Michael Macsisak several years ago, and Mike has checked in with the editors as he began work in mining and then again last year to discuss transitioning from a predictive mindset to a reliability-focused approach. Plant Services Chief Editor Thomas Wilk recently caught up with Mike to talk about life in a pos...

Ron Brash is the director of Cyber Security Insights at Verve Industrial , a multi-faceted role that includes engaging with customers to work on identifying vulnerabilities that are often not disclosed, explaining and researching technical details buried in products onsite or in a lab, and staying on top of trends or tools. Plant Services Chief Editor Thomas Wilk caught up with Brash for a discuss...

Kevin Milici is the executive VP of marketing and technology for Kurita America, a global leader in water solutions and one of the world’s largest suppliers of water treatment equipment, chemistries and services. The Kurita Group takes an integrated solutions approach to water treatment, looking for the root cause of a plant’s real problem or inefficiency, and developing a site-specific remedy. Pl...

Ben Dickinson is Global Product Manager for Cyber Security at ABB . In December of last year, breaking news of the SolarWinds supply-chain attack moved cybersecurity into the top headlines, as news emerged that many U.S. governmental systems were at risk. Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk had the chance to talk with Ben about the links between cybersecurity, energy efficiency, and physica...

In this episode of The Tool Belt, Thomas Wilk sits down with Mara Hitner, director of business development for MatterHackers. Mara's mission is to empower, enable and equip everyone to create our future by turning the ideas they have into the things they use via desktop 3D printers, CNC machines and laser cutters. During the interview, Mara discusses how MatterHackers' COVID-19 Maker Response Hub...

In this episode of The Tool Belt, Thomas Wilk sits down with José Rivera, CEO of the Control System Integrators Association. Jose works to help independent system integrators build better companies through the adoption of the association’s best practices guidelines. During the interview, Jose discusses the changing role of system integrators.

In this episode of The Tool Belt, Thomas Wilk sits down with Donovan Tindill, senior cybersecurity SME for Honeywell Connected Enterprise Industrial Cybersecurity. For over 20 years, Donovan has specialized in cybersecurity and infrastructure for control systems. During the interview, Donovan discusses cybersecurity trends and best practices for 2020.

We’re all familiar with the old adage “always use the right tool for the job.” But as the industrial landscape continues to evolve, having the necessary knowledge and skills to keep your plant up and running might just be the most important tool of all.