Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast

John Dony, CEO and co-founder of What Works Institute , explains why policies, procedures and other accommodations for neurodivergent workers can make work safer for everyone. 

Large language model (LLM) AIs have captured the world's attention with their ability to interpret plain-language and convert simple queries into machine language. But, the big advances in manufacturing design and execution are going to rely on updated hardware, says Deb Golden, chief innovation officer at Deloitte .  At Siemens recent Realize Live event in Detroit, Golden sat down with IndustryWe...

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 this episode, listeners will gain insights into how air seal technology is revolutionizing the plastics film industry to reduce waste, save money, and promote more sustainable manufacturing processes. Addressing things like: Environmental and sustainability concerns, waste and housekeeping improvements and enhanced plant safety initiatives.

Electricity demand is soaring around the world, and in the U.S. electric supply is dwindling. Manufacturers may not have realized this – but they will, and very soon, as electric utilities begin to apply capacity charges to their supply costs. In this installment of the Great Question podcast, energy consultant Brian Reinke – author of a new article – diagnoses the problem and suggests how manufac...

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) at Work for Manufacturing , launched by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing , is a series of four courses designed to improve mental health literacy among employees and leaders in the manufacturing industry. Lynn Burke Hennighausen and Rob Vallentine , national trainers for the program, joined IndustryWeek during Mental Health Awareness Month to discuss mental...

For this episode, Tobii’s director of products and solutions, Keith Bartels joins Smart Industry’s Scott Achelpohl for a conversation about how visual data is helping teams streamline onboarding of employees, reduce errors, and strengthen standard operating procedures—all without adding complexity to day-to-day work.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Thomas Wilk , chief editor of Plant Services , is joined by Christine Nishimoto, director of asset management software at IBM, for an insightful discussion on how AI agents are reshaping data-driven asset management. Together, they explore the evolving role of artificial intelligence in improving productivity, sustainability, and safety a...

Suketu Gandhi, partner and chair of strategic operations with Kearney, offers advice on how to deal with supply chain disruptions in this new era of tariffs.

Hey, have you heard that this AI thing is a big deal? That companies are slapping AI labels on every product they sell? That our benevolent robot overlords will favor those humans who speak highly of them now before they take over?  There was a lot of talk about that at Automate in Detroit this week, the annual trade show for industrial automation in which we imperfect biological organisms really...

Glen Powell is a senior engineering analyst with Hydro, Inc.’s Global Engineering division. He has nine years of experience in centrifugal pumps, vibration analysis, machinery reliability, and 3D simulation and design. Glen recently spoke with Thomas Wilk , chief editor of Plant Services , about the evolving challenges of workforce development in the maintenance and reliability space. The conversa...

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Laura Davis explores how automation can help manufacturers navigate economic downturns, labor shortages, and rising operational costs. Based on insights from Wauseon Machine’s Scott Anair, this episode covers the real-world benefits of automation—from labor cost reductions to consistent product quality and scalable systems...

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....

The clock is running toward 2035 – the deadline for businesses to neutralize their carbon liabilities, whether or not the technology or resources are available to do that.  In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Robert Brooks , editor in chief of Foundry Management & Technology and American Machinist , explores the evolving pressures on the manufacturing supply chain as ca...

The size and scope of upcoming and existing tariffs on imported goods and components is changing rapidly as President Donald Trump's administration makes bold announcements followed by pauses and policy changes as it negotiates with targeted countries. While administration officials say the rapid changes should benefit manufacturers in the long term by making it cheaper to produce things internall...

Mahdi Jamshid, director of market intelligence for leading AM observer Wohlers Associates, joins Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl to detail Wohlers' brand-new annual report on the additive landscape and chat up the latest maneuvers of industry player Nano Dimension.

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, a...

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...

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 wi...

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.

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. Anyon...

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....

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.

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 man...

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.