EECO Asks Why Podcast

Tessa Myers has a heart for helping others and her career has given her many opportunities to do just that. Since her days at Purdue, Tessa has been serving industry at the highest level and shares about her amazing journey. She's traveled the world and opens up about some of the amazing places she's called home such as Singapore, Canada and California. 

One of the areas that she sees as a hurdle for industry is the ability to attract the best talent possible. This inspires her to support many areas of STEM and is where she is intentional about supporting the next generation of innovators.

Tessa isn't afraid to take risks and offers great advice to those wanting to advance their careers. She encourages others to be willing and open to try new experiences as it may be those opportunities that you find your true passions and set a new course for your career. 

Tessa shares some of her personal favorites in the lightning round and talks about the time she enjoys at the soccer field cheering her two sons on. She loves helping others achieve what they have been striving for.  After hearing her story you'll quickly hear why Tessa is our hero! 

Guest:  Tessa Myers - Global Vice President, Software & Control at Rockwell Automation
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Audio/Video Editing: Andi Thrower

In a world where so many things are shifting to wireless we asked an industry expert to share their knowledge on wireless ethernet. 

Victor Parangelo breaks down how this technology has evolved and is now being utilized in many industries across the world.  Some of the trends that are discussed are eye-opening to reveal how far the evolution has come. 

For those new to industry Vic does a phenomenal job of breaking down the core of the technology and makes a great comparison to the wireless routers most people have in their homes. From an industrial standpoint, there can be headwinds that should be considered and Vic speaks to the engineers that insist that a blue hose has to be in place for their systems to work as desired.

Vic opens up the thinking around where wireless ethernet can be used and provides outstanding examples of where most people have experienced it in places such as theme park rides. He even covers items such as cybersecurity and explores ways to enhance your security position with this technology.

This episode is packed with information designed to help others learn about wireless ethernet and build their confidence as more industries adopt this technology in the future. 

Guest: Victor Parangelo - Regional Manager ProSoft Technology
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Audio/Video Editing: Andi Thrower

ProSoft Technology Website
Funtime Skyfall - World's tallest mobile drop Tower (Albanifest 2016 / Winterthur / Switzerland) - YouTube 

Try new things and don't be afraid to fail!  That's the type of wisdom that our hero Bill Migirditch provided in this fun hero conversation.  Bill has served industry in many capacities and his passion for making complex solutions possible is amazing.  He offers advice to those out there is to try new challenges more frequently as they may be the opportunities that stretch your abilities into new heights never dreamed of before. 

Bill is an avid sailor and loves to get out on the water as often as possible.  He also is a thrill seeker and enjoys getting on the trail on his mountain bike.  If he's outside he's happy! His why revolves around trusting his gut and driving for positive change in the world.  In this episode you'll quickly hear why Bill is one of our heroes! 

Guest:  Bill Migirditch - Manager of Manufacturing Systems at Rovisys
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Special Note* -  Since recording this episode, Bill took a new position as the Digital Pursuit Desk Consultant of Rockwell Automation. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.

In this episode Mike Rathbun defines what the differences are in low and medium voltage. This can be an often misunderstood area in industry and Mike does a phenomenal job of explaining the different ratings and how they can impact decisions in the field.  Then by going a few steps further the idea of load, cost and supporting resources are explored in depth.

Mike breaks down the underlying issue of voltage drop and for those that are not familiar with this concept or would like to learn more this portion of the discussion could be extremely valuate.  We hope the conversation helps those that are trying to define what voltage system to focus on for new projects and potential upgrades. Please let us know what you think and if there are additional questions that we can answer.

Guest: Mike Rathbun - Power & Control Solution Architecture Manager at EECO.
Host: Chris Grainger.
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets.
Audio Engineer: Luke Yntema.

Additional Resources: EECO's Inspire Blog "What to Consider when Evaluating Low Voltage and Medium Voltage Applications"

Renee Eddy is the first in her family to go to college and she has been making an impact in the world ever since.  She has the opportunity to work on F22 Joint Strike Fighters right out of school and learned quickly the importance of delivering on a solution and the importance of the system to meet all requirements.  Her career has led her through Defense, Data Analytics, Commercial Systems and now she's leading innovation at Eaton! 

Renee has wonderful advice for those considering industry and she says to be willing to take a chance on a company you may not know everything about.  Do your research as you may find they are highly innovative and align to areas that you are looking to grow in professionally. Her intentionality around mentoring others is inspirational and she speaks to several ways that she is able to help others.  Renee is very active in the Society of Women Engineers and worked through task forces with that organization.

The why Renee shared was truly impactful.  She is passionate about helping people achieve their goals.  She also LOVES the opportunities she has been given to work with some of the most innovative products and solutions that make such a huge impact on the world.  This is an exciting conversation from our hero Renee Eddy!

Guest: Renee Eddy - Director, Innovation, Methods & Operations at Eaton
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Audio/Video Editing: Andi Thrower

Resources:
Harvard Business Review
Wall Street Journal
BBC  Podcasts
NPR

What better way to hear about why Ethernet/IP is a great way to enhance your VFD solutions than directly from the engineer himself that designs these systems daily.  Matthew Simmons is a brilliant controls engineer and walks through how he utilizes this communication protocol to improve his systems.  He is joined with Harvey Eure who is the VFD specialist in NC for EECO and they talk openly about why this solution works for ANCO Rendering and what benefits they are seeing.

Matthew gives direct examples about process improvements and how he's been able to utilize data to make enhancements to the systems he designs.  He shares common headwinds that he's faced in the past and these are areas that may help others in their pursuit of this solution.  The conversation is packed with meaningful advice and for those that say this guy sounds familiar Matthew was featured as a hero in an earlier episode of EECO Asks Why and we are blessed that he is always willing to try new concepts with us to bring the most meaningful information possible to those that want to succeed in industry. 

Guest: Matthew Simmons - Controls Engineer at ANCO Rendering
Guest: Harvey Eure - Product Manager at EECO
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Audio/Video Editing: Andi Thrower

Matthew's Hero Episode 

Jay Flores is a hero to many and is inspiring young minds everywhere he goes.  He's focused on educating people about the wonderful world of STEM and is using extremely creative ways to reach people.  In this hero conversation he discusses how his passion got started and some of the twists he's taken along the way.  From creating amazing videos that are heavily consumed on YouTube and Tik Tok to giving inspirational TED talks he's living out his passion daily.

For those that love America Ninja Warrior you'll want to hear about this passion of Jay's and we hope that one day he'll take on the challenge head on and be successful in his pursuit.  He could be the first STEM Ninja Warrior and that's something he's training for rigorously.

Jay's "Why" is extremely personal and he shares about his childhood friend who was diagnosed with cancer.  Jay wants to make sure that the young mind that holds the cure to cancer has all the opportunities and education about STEM to make a huge impact in the world. 

Guest: Jay Flores - Global STEM Ambassador
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources:

• EECO's Inspire Blog: STEM Invent the Change
• Jay's Website
• Jay's YouTube Channel
• Jay's Facebook Page

Resources:
FIRST
Gary Vaynerchuk
Eric Thomas
Simon Sinek

Special Note* -  Since recording this episode, Jay took a new position as Founder and CEO of Invent the Change, LLC.. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.

When most people think about UPS systems they think about the basic system that may keep their computer running if power goes out.  In the industrial world this looks very different and can be a new area for people. Come along as Jonathan Fuller breaks down the key areas of an uninterruptible power supply system. He discusses brown outs, battery considerations and different types of UPS systems to consider.

Sizing up UPS systems can be tricky and Jonathan provides general guidelines that should be considered to ensure the functionality that is desired is what actually will occur when you need it the most.  This is a general introduction to UPS systems and please let us know if there are additional questions that we can answer.

Guest: Jonathan Fuller - Automation & Power Automation Product Manager at EECO.
Host: Chris Grainger.
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets.
Audio Engineer: Luke Yntema.

Additional Resources:
EECO Inspire Blog: What is an Uninterruptable Power Supply
EECOonline.com
EECOAsksWhy.com

What happens when you mix passions of manufacturing, rock bands, adult beverages and seriously amazing content? You get an industry leading show called Manufacturing Happy Hour and it's stellar host Chris Luecke.  In this episode Chris steps away from being a host and shares his personal story with us.  At his time at Rockwell Automation he was always trying to find ways to change the game and did so through many videos that helped many people understand about some of the changing technologies in industry.  He added a coolness factor to that by doing it over a pint of various beers and from there his leading podcast was born. 

He made the jump to full time in his new adventure in 2020 and is helping industry find new ways to spread their messages and create content that makes an impact. He talks about the need of marketers to become salespeople and vice versa to really help others the most.

Chris shares about some of his personal passions such as punk rock an how much music means to him.  He's also a HUGE roller coaster junkie and talks about some of his favorite coasters that will get your heart racing.  We learned a ton about Chris in the lightning round and his personal why was outstanding.  He wants to help people create!  He's doing a phenomenal job of that and we thoroughly enjoyed talking with our hero in this conversation. 

We highly encourage all the EECO Asks Why listeners to subscribe to Manufacturing Happy Hour and check out the great conversations Chris is creating weekly.

Guest: Chris Luecke - Host of Manufacturing Happy Hour
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Audio/Video Editing: Andi Thrower

Resources for connecting with Chris and Manufacturing Happy Hour:
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
Manufacturing Happy Hour Website 

If you change the oil in your car or replace the filters in your home HVAC system you're doing preventative maintenance.  It makes sense as you're trying to extend the life of your assets.  The same philosophy exists for electrical distribution equipment and in this episode Dan Leeman walks us through tips and best practices to give you the most reliable and safe equipment possible. 

Dan breaks down how to start a preventative maintenance program to yield the best results out of the gate.  He also discusses the nuances of outages and how to best maximize the time spent in those situations to do maintenance that is difficult to perform during normal operating times.  Dan provides a great example of how a PM on a medium voltage transformer prevented a catastrophic failure and how the end user was able to react in a non-emergency state and resolve the issue.

Dan is an expert in industry and shares meaningful insight and wisdom to help others get started with compressive and robust preventative maintenance program. 

Remember what Benjamin Franklin said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"!

Guest: Dan Leeman - District Services Manager at Eaton
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets
Audio/Video Editing: Andi Thrower

Resources:

• EECO Inspire Blog: Preventative Maintenance for Switchgear and Electrical Distribution Systems 
• EECO Inspire Blog: Why Preventative Maintenance on your Electrical Equipment is a Good Idea
• EECO Inspire Blog: How Close to My Electrical Equipment Can I Get?
• EECO Inspire Blog: What Testing is Important for Electrical Distribution Systems?
• EECO Inspire Blog: What Testing Should I Do?