In this episode, we chatted with Logan Cooper from Belden–director of quality and lean manufacturing at their Richmond, Indiana facility–on his role in improving visibility into factory performance metrics. Initiating a cross-functional project to implement one of Belden’s own digital solutions, Cooper streamlined data collection across disparate equipment, taking a pen-and-paper system to an AWS-connected process. The result? Facility status information is accessible in real-time via equipment interfaces, heads-up displays, and remote cloud-based dashboards, all in addition to a productivity improvement of around 10%.

Join us as we speak with Zach Nimboorkar, SVP of Global Technology Services & Operations at Schneider Electric, on how he and his team enable IT modernization at Schneider. Zach is charged with making sense of the crowded environment built from mergers and acquisitions that at one time contained 78 distinct ERPs. From his experience, he explains the role of cloud and AWS in the development and adoption of a much simpler two-tiered SAP ERP strategy at Schneider. Explore the methods, strategies, and steps embraced by Zach and his team as they navigate cloud migration, system consolidation and simplification, infrastructure transformation, and change management–with special attention on expanding the adoption of updated processes.

This episode’s special guest, Dr. Oxana Pickeral, is the VP GM of Connected Life Sciences & Logistics & Software Business Model at Honeywell. For International Women’s Day, she joined us to discuss her career in STEM and how her experience empowers her to bring legacy technology, software, and consulting knowledge together to innovate in numerous ways and deliver new value to customers. Covering topics that range from the importance of mentors to suggestions on how to get more underrepresented people into STEM, Pickeral comes with a crisp perspective and plenty of advice. Listen now One Woman's Journey: Diversity in the Tech Industrial Space In honor of International Women’s Day, we spoke with Dr. Oxana Pickeral of Honeywell, the VP GM of Connected Life Sciences, Logistics, and Software Business Model. She supports innovation at Honeywell to drive business around their focus areas: industrial automation, the future of aviation, and energy transition. She joins us to discuss her varied career in STEM, covering topics ranging from mentors to building networks to the value of a diverse workforce to what female representation in the broader industry looks like today. Finishing with suggestions on how to bring more underrepresented people into STEM, she provides a crisp perspective with plenty of advice for the next generation of women entering industrial and technology fields.

.Whether in design or artificial intelligence (AI), generative technology is helping to unlock innovative solutions that are built to deliver the best tradeoff decisions. In this episode, we’ll talk about the potential generative design and generative AI has for augmenting both product design and manufacturing with its ability to iterate through hundreds, if not thousands, of simulations to solve for defined constraints. We’ll also touch on how embracing cloud compute and storage services provides scale and agility to easily reengage simulations to continue iterating with new considerations. Tune in as we discuss understanding the superpower of generative design and the future potential of generative AI to explore solutions in the manufacturing industry and beyond.

Establishing trust and open dialogue between IT and OT teams is crucial to the success of implementing new cybersecurity measures, yet it’s something that can be overlooked. Taking time to understand the other team’s priorities regarding operations is invaluable despite how tricky it might be given differences in process, business rhythm, and work culture. Tune in to the conversation with Steve Applegate, Chief Information Security Officer at Dragos, as he shares career wisdom from his experience bridging IT and OT communities for more secure operations. He speaks on leading by listening, minimizing the use of fear, uncertainty, and doubt in conversations, and recognizing the impact a threat or patch has on plant operations and even safety. Check out this episode for expert advice to bolster your role in championing your organization’s security journey.

Join us as we talk with Gabe Green, Chief Information Security Officer for Koch Industries, about taking an informed approach to security in manufacturing. In this episode, Green shares with us insights from Koch’s journey to provide consistent IT and OT security across their very different environments, and how a bottoms-up approach creates space to leverage each employee’s comparative advantage.

Listen in as we continue our conversation with Jason Bergstrom, Principal Smart Factory Go-To-Market Leader, and Stephen Laaper, Principal, Smart Factory Leader, from Deloitte and get their perspectives on striking the balance between people and automation in the factory of the future.

In this podcast, we’ll highlight how smart factories, also known as smart manufacturing, smart refining, or digital operations, leverage rapidly advancing technology to create an impact in the manufacturing environment by connecting data from across the enterprise, systems, and supply chain.

In our final episode during cybersecurity awareness month, we turn our discussion with Robert to examine the myths and misunderstandings surrounding industrial IoT systems that persist throughout the manufacturing industry. Robert tells us “A lot of the myths that are out there with regards to industrial IoT systems, unfortunately, misdirect us. They make us think in some directions that are problematic and you’ll end up trying to solve a problem that maybe doesn’t exist.”

Join us as we continue our cybersecurity awareness conversation with Robert from Cisco Systems, a leader in product management for secure firewall / industrial security, and discuss the significance of implementing a security architecture that meets your needs today and in the future. Robert shares insight from his experience working with the non-profit International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (INEMI) to develop a security roadmap. This architecture details guidance and best practices for the security of data and products across all touchpoints of the[manufacturing] industry’s supply chain. He also shares with us a great nugget of wisdom regarding security that is: “If you stick to basics, chances are you're not going to go wrong.”

Today’s episode is a continuation of our conversation with Robert Albach, a leader in product management for secure firewall / industrial security at Cisco Systems. We’ll dive into the complex world of securely managing vendor integration and the importance of doing it while maintaining control within your environment.