Typically, Big Tech and software aren't manufacturing topics. The latest data products don't generally come out of a factory in a box or barrel. However, the rapid growth of AI is having a domino effect that's benefitting large manufacturers.  AI needs lots of computing power, creating opportunities for semiconductor makers to boost U.S. production. Construction companies are building data center facilities all over the country, creating manufacturing opportunities for construction materials and equipment. Tightly packed computer servers generate lots of heat, creating opportunities for materials companies and hydraulics manufacturers that can cool data centers.  And these data centers are super hungry for power. So, expect more gas-powered and renewable energy plants to be built in the near future (it's already happening but expect more). Makers of switchgear and grid-improvement systems also have full order books. Discussing this trend are four editors from Endeavor B2B: Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief of IndustryWeek Matt Vincent, editor-in-chief of Data Center Frontier John Caulfield, senior editor of Building Design + Construction James Morra, senior editor of Electronic Design

Manufacturers understand the skills gap: every day they recognize that do not have enough people or enough of the right people to execute the difficult and sometimes dirty, often dangerous tasks like pouring and forming molten materials, grinding or machining parts, treating and handling those parts, welding and finishing components and systems, etc. It’s more than a practical problem. It’s an economic and institutional crisis. The Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship and Learning program (METAL) established by the Dept. of Defense in 2024 is moving fast to resolve it, setting up and coordinating practical training in critical disciplines for metal casting and metal forging processes at seven universities, and drawing in fresh minds who ensure that knowledge and practical understanding continue to be available to engineers and investors in the decades ahead of us. Mike Kubacki, project coordinator for METAL describes the program and its progress.

Supply chain managers are employing a number of strategies to address the almost constant changes due to disruptions in the supply chain. Michelle Comerford, practice leader for the Industrial & Supply Chain practice at Biggins, Lacy, Shapiro & Company, explains what actions companies across the country need to be taking to stay on a steady course to supply chain proficiency.

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, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. This episode explores how to blend predictive tools with decades of shop floor know-how.

Trae Mazza and his team at RMC Global this year found and reported hidden cyber risk in common Siemens industrial networking devices. Mazza wrote for Smart Industry about the flaws, which Siemens has patched, and joins the Great Question podcast to review the investigation and chat about how exposed OT really is to intrusion.

We're about a week away from Halloween, and what could be scarier than the technologies that are disrupting manufacturing—artificial intelligence and connected-worker technologies. The 4th Annual Connected Worker Manufacturing summit in the Chicago suburbs this month gathered tech leaders from dozens of large manufacturers to discuss the impacts of data tools, wearable technology, tablets and other connected devices. What does that have to do with Halloween? Well, there were a lot of food people there, including digital transformation executives at Hershey and Nestle, and we spoke to them about their efforts. Participating on this podcast are: Robert Schoenberger, editor-in-chief at IndustryWeek Logan McNear, digital manufacturing program lead for The Hershey Company's Lean Production System Mike Brauckman, head of focused improvement for Nestle

Kristianne Egbert, senior corporate ergonomist with Briotix Health, discusses the evolution of industrial ergonomics in recent years, and offers insights into how managers can cost-justify investing in ergo technologies to better protect their workers.

This episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast was recorded live at the 2025 SMRP Annual Conference, in Fort Worth, Texas. In this episode Brian Hronchek, principal trainer and consultant for Eruditio, talks with Plant Services chief editor Tom Wilk discuss how companies are using PM optimization to achieve quick, measurable improvements in both reliability and safety.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, discover how unconventional innovations from UMass Amherst, Bluewater, and the Italian Institute of Technology are redefining sustainability across energy, water, and waste.

New York-based Arc Public Benefit Corp. bought 3D printing pioneer Desktop Metal last month out of bankruptcy. The purchased followed about two years of merger-and-acquisition mania that shifted from assigning billion-dollar valuations on equipment makers to pushing some of the same companies through bankruptcy.  Bryan Wisk, CEO of Arc, says the path to future success is clear -- focusing on running the company instead of getting caught up in the buy-sell drama of corporate mergers.  “There’s only one word at DM right now internally; it’s focus,” Wisk says. “We’re not a distressed debt investor or private equity. We’re really deep-growth investors, and we’re looking to focus on the core technologies that we bought.” This Great Question episode features a conversation between Wisk and IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger

Mike Jones, president of Discover Leadership Training, explains why sometimes the best thing you can do to protect workers is take more risks. He explains how safety professionals can go beyond ”best practices” to ”next practices.” And he offers a preview of his upcoming keynote presentation, ”Playing It Safe,” which he’ll deliver at Safety Leadership Conference 2025, held October 20-22, 2025, in Glendale (Phoenix), Ariz.

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, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. In this episode, Joe how to tackle reliability and maintenance as a new manager.

Ryan Hawk of PwC US surveyed hundreds of C-suite executives across the manufacturing and energy sectors to determine what is influencing their thoughts and guiding their decision-making. He found five “unstoppable forces” reshaping how America builds, moves, and competes.

High-profile raids of manufacturing facilities by federal immigration agents are likely just beginning, labor and immigration attorney Jorge Lopez said. Increased federal funding for Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents still hasn't hit the agency and won't have a measurable impact on staffing there for months. So, expect site visits and raids to increase in Q4 of this year and especially in the first half of 2026, Lopez says. He also offers advice on how to prepare your paperwork for federal investigations, what companies are (and are not) obligated to provide and how to limit legal exposure. Speakers: IndustryWeek Senior Editor Laura Putre Littler Immigration and Global Mobility Practice Group Chair Jorge Lopez

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Scott Achelpohl and Almog Apirion explore why IT and OT often remain misaligned and what it takes to close the gap. The discussion highlights how digital transformation, cybersecurity risks, and regulatory pressures are driving the need for convergence. Together, they examine the role of Zero Trust, identity-based access, and secure connectivity in protecting legacy equipment while keeping operations productive and resilient.

In this sponsored episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services chief editor Thomas Wilk sat down with Ryan Smith, a Solutions Engineer with TPC, a Certus company, whose areas of training specialty include industrial maintenance topics for electrical, mechanical, and HVAC systems. Today's great question is: How do you calculate the ROI of training?

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Thomas Wilk and Maya Schwartz are joined by Ron Marshall, Frank Moskowitz, and Joe Ghislain to reflect on 25 years of the Compressed Air Challenge. The conversation explores the program’s origins, its evolution in training methods, and its impact on system performance and energy efficiency. The group also discusses shifting industry priorities, the role of end users and vendors in training, and how new technologies are shaping the future of compressed air systems. Together, they provide insights into both the history and the next chapter of this influential industry initiative.

You may be good, but you can always be better. That’s the approach Coca-Cola Consolidated has taken toward workplace safety. The publicly traded bottling company started a new safety campaign in 2024, the First 100 Days of Safety. It was so successful that Coca-Cola Consolidated expanded to three safety campaigns in 2025 and has no signs of slowing down. Dennis Padgett, senior director of risk control at Coca-Cola Consolidated, discusses what’s worked and what’s next with EHS Today’s Managing Editor Nicole Stempak. Padgett will be speaking at Safety Leadership Conference 2025, being held from October 20-22 in Pheonix, Arizona.

We're a quarter of the way into this century, and a lot has happened. When we think about today's connected factories, in many cases controlled by tablets and smartphones, we should remember that virtually none of that was possible as recently as the turn of the century. Throughout the past few weeks, editors at IndustryWeek have been publishing game changers stories, a look into the 25 events that have reshaped the manufacturing landscape. From terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to the 2008 economic collapse to COVID-19, it's been an eventful century so far. In this podcast, our editors talk about what they learned from the giant look back -- which game changing events took them by surprise and which ones did they enjoy learning more about?

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, New Equipment Digest's Editor-in-Chief, Laura Davis, explores the differences between wireless bridges and access points, and why most facilities will need both to keep operations running smoothly. Listeners will learn how each technology works, when to deploy them, and the real-world benefits they deliver across industries from logistics to oil & gas. This episode is based on an article originally written by Henry Martel, a field applications engineer at Antaira Technologies.