ASSEMBLY Audible

Humanoid robots are moving closer to real factory deployment, but manufacturers still face major challenges around safety, testing, repeatability and workforce integration. Bruce Richard of Jabil explains what manufacturers need to understand before humanoids can scale across industrial operations.

Keith Miao, CEO and founder of Birdstop, explains why the Detroit-based company is building autonomous drones around the automotive supply base and why domestic production has become increasingly important. The conversation explores drone supply chains, automotive suppliers, automation, and quality testing.

DECKED committed to U.S. manufacturing long before reshoring became a major trend. CEO Bill Banta explains how automation, supply chain control and rapid product iteration are helping the company compete while manufacturing in America.

Lean manufacturing doesn’t fail because of the tools—it fails when leaders lose touch with the plant floor. Dr. Terra Vanzant-Stern, author of Leaner Manufacturing: How to Make the Lean Production Process Easier, Faster, and More Cost-Effective, explains why trust, engagement and collective intelligence are critical to making lean work.

Manufacturing leadership advice often sounds great — until the line goes down at 2 a.m. Julian M. Allen, Jr., manufacturing veteran and author of Operational Leadership Uncensored: Real Talk for Burgeoning Manufacturing Leaders, explains why so many new leaders struggle on the plant floor and what actually earns trust from frontline crews.

Georgia Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility is using AI, robotics and autonomous experimentation to accelerate manufacturing development. Dr. Tom Kurfess explains how the self-driving lab is helping manufacturers test and de-risk new technologies before they reach production.

Manufacturers are investing heavily in AI and automation, but many still can’t access or organize the data needed to make those systems useful. Aron Semle, CTO of HighByte, explains how fragmented factory systems and proprietary data structures are limiting smart manufacturing—and why initiatives such as i3X are becoming critical to making industrial AI practical on the plant floor.

Tariffs have reduced direct imports from China, but that doesn't mean manufacturing is coming back to the United States. Patrick Van den Bossche of Kearney explains why companies are building supply chain flexibility instead of committing to reshoring — and why much of the production leaving China is simply moving somewhere else.

Manufacturers are rapidly adopting AI, but most deployments remain limited to small-scale pilots. In this episode, Mike Sabin, CEO of Revalize, explains why scaling AI across the enterprise is proving far more difficult than expected. The conversation explores the key barriers, including fragmented data, legacy systems and the need to shift from viewing AI as a technology project to treating it as an operational transformation.

Joe Teague discusses AME’s new independent chapter, including this year’s metalworking hall, humanoids and expanded manufacturing focus.Sponsored By: