This week, we're at Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade show.

We’re foregoing our usual episode this week, but, we’ll be recording our annual on-site episode at the show later this week covering the state of the industry, analyzing the trends we’re seeing, and cutting through the hype to figure out which of the latest technologies on display here at Hannover will have real impact on the shop floor.

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

This week’s guest is Audrey Van de Castle, Senior Director of Operational Excellence Technology at Stanley Black & Decker.

Audrey breaks down the challenges of scaling digital initiatives across 100+ manufacturing sites, how to balance governance with citizen development, and the need to move past the buzzwords and invest in technology that can make a difference on the shop floor today.

She also shares insights into her unconventional career path from running a makerspace to becoming a digital transformation leader, best practices for working with IT, and her passion for building fighting robots.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Audrey Van de Castle.

This week’s guest is Erik Udstuen, Co-founder and CEO of TwinThread.

Erik shares insights from his 30+ years in industrial software, discussing how AI and digital twins are transforming manufacturing by standardizing data, optimizing operations, and driving operational excellence.

He also dives into the challenges of industrial data standards, the importance of empowering engineers with no-code/low-code tools, and why AI must go beyond insights to deliver real-time, actionable recommendations on the shop floor.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Erik Udstuen.

This week’s guest is Nicolette Naya, Senior MES Engineer at a leading luxury jewelry manufacturer.

Nicolette shares insights into how she helped digitize centuries-old manufacturing processes, the challenges of introducing technology to the shop floor, and the importance of a structured governance model to successful digital transformation.

She also explores the role of citizen developers, sheds light on her own career path from intern to digital transformation leader, and shares advice for others looking to follow in her footsteps.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Nicolette Naya.

This week’s guest is ZJ van de Weg, CEO of FlowFuse.

ZJ shares his journey from an intern at GitLab to now leading FlowFuse, how open-source technology is transforming industrial operations, and why Node-RED has become the go-to platform for low-code manufacturing connectivity.

He also takes a deep dive into the challenges of scaling open source solutions in enterprise environments, the value of an ‘open-core’ business model, and the future of IT/OT collaboration.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: ZJ van de Weg.

This week’s guest is Vijay Chinnasami, former COO of Ultra Clean Technology.

Vijay shares an inside look into how electronics supply chains and manufacturing practices have evolved over his 35+ year career, the rise of EMS and ODM business models, and how the semiconductor industry is shifting in response to global pressures.

The discussion also explores best practices for building a culture of continuous improvement, balancing humans with automation, and adapting management approaches to local cultures.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Vijay Chinnasami.

This week’s guest is John Harrington, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of HighByte.

John shares how his experiences working on Kepware at PTC led him to co-found HighByte, why Industry 4.0 requires a fundamentally different approach to interoperability, and the importance of contextualizing data in manufacturing.

He also breaks down the real value that a Unified Namespace (UNS) approach can bring, whether frameworks like ISA-95 are still relevant, and the age-old OPC vs MQTT debate.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: John Harrington.

This week’s guest is Kence Anderson, CEO of Composabl.

Kence and Natan explore the role of AI agents in industrial processes, how manufacturers are using them to solve complex problems like scheduling or machine control, and the challenges of building startups in the manufacturing space. Kence also lays out how his concept of machine teaching differs from traditional machine learning techniques, and why he believes in taking a composable approach to building solutions for problems on the shop floor.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Kence Anderson.

This week’s guest is Fabio Violante, CEO of Arduino.

Fabio and Natan explore the importance of open source technology in manufacturing and how the democratization of embedded systems development is reshaping the industry. Fabio also shares the history of Arduino, and how he led the charge to evolve their approach from focusing purely on makers and hobbyists, to supporting enterprise grade applications with a new line of hardware.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Fabio Violante.

This week’s guest is Kevin Kidd, Director of Software and Analytics at RFK Racing.

While advanced manufacturing might not be the first thought that comes to mind when you hear the word NASCAR, Kevin sheds light on the complex processes and digital tools that go into building high performance race cars. He also explains how citizen development helped the team go from running on Excel to building the custom software they need, as well as the key role that data governance and advanced analytics play in putting a car that’s ready to win out on the track every week.

Augmented Ops is a podcast for industrial leaders, citizen developers, shop floor operators, and anyone else that cares about what the future of frontline operations will look like across industries. This show is presented by Tulip, the Frontline Operations Platform. You can find more from us at Tulip.co/podcast or by following the show on LinkedIn.

Special Guest: Kevin Kidd.