We connect with Jason Hehman, leader of Industry 4.0 at TXI, to understand the use of digital twins in supply chains operations — how they help manufacturers predict and manage supply chain disruptions and assess the impact of raw material shortages or logistics delays, and we explore the key data sources manufacturers need to build an effective supply chain digital twin.

In this episode we connect with Alex Greenberg, director of robotics 4.0 simulation at Siemens Digital Industries Software, to learn how immersive virtual reality, photorealistic simulations and AI are accelerating robot deployment assessments and manufacturing cell design.

In this episode, we connect with Dusty Alexander, CEO of Global Shop Solutions to explain ERP’s role in the digitization of manufacturing production, how it enables real-time production management, and how small to mid-sized manufacturers can justify the use of ERP for their business.

In this episode we connect with Critical Manufacturing's CEO Francisco Almada Lobo to understand how MES and industrial data platforms enable legacy equipment connectivity to drive real-time analytics, proactive maintenance and operational excellence.

Andrew Harris with system integrator ACS explains how cybersecurity fits in with equipment safety as part of a risk assessment, and the use of digital twin tech and safety PLCs as part of the safety risk assessment process.

Kevin McClusky, chief technology architect at Inductive Automation, explains why and how IT technologies such as containers, DevOps, application management and MQTT are impacting industrial operations technologies.

Tim Gaus, smart manufacturing business leader at Deloitte Consulting, explains agentic AI and how it differs from AI data analytics and AI chatbots, how manufacturers can use AI agents and where they will likely have the most impact in industry.

We connect with Ken Crawford, senior director of automation at Weidmuller, to explore the differences between open control systems and proprietary control systems, the security and reliability of open control technologies, and the process of adopting open systems for manufacturers who are using either proprietary control system technologies or those that are part of a vendor/partner ecosystem.

We connect with Brett Finley, CEO of PLZ Corp., to get first-hand insights into PLZ’s digital transformation efforts that range from the plant floor to the enterprise and into the company's supply chain operations.

Evan Novakowski with system integrator Actemium Avanceon explains the primary factors that influence how data polling over Ethernet impacts PLC cycle time, if specific Ethernet protocols are more efficient for PLC data polling, strategies to optimize PLC cycle time and more.