Growing up in Chicago our hero Andrew Hastert had an early passion for learning how things worked. He took that passion to the next level and after completing a degree in mechanical engineering he pursued a career where he helps businesses solve their biggest challenges. He speaks to how staying curious and understanding your own personal values are critical in life. 

Andrew recognizes the talent gap in industry and is passionate to help mentor and support others in their journeys. He is a huge advocate for driving diversity and equality in the workplace. His heart is built to serve others and he gives several examples of how he's been able to mentor and coach people and how that is such an important part of who he is as a leader.

He has a wonderful family and shares some of his personal passions outside of his career.  He was featured on HGTV's House Hunters and shared that experience. You'll quickly hear why Andrew is our hero! 

Guest:  Andrew Hastert - Director of Channel Partnerships at Rockwell Automation
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources

• White Men as Full Diversity Partners: https://wmfdp.com/case-studies/rockwell-automation/
• Catalyst and Rockwell’s Culture of Inclusion Journey: https://www.catalyst.org/spotlight-story/rockwell-automation-a-decade-of-courageous-change/
• It Starts With You: What Being an Ally at Work Really Looks Like: https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/support/documentation/overview/it-starts-with-you--what-being-an-ally-at-work-really-looks-like.html

Books:

• Digital Transformation by Tom Siebel: https://digitaltransformation.ai/
• Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella: https://news.microsoft.com/hitrefresh/
• Drive by Dan Pink: https://www.danpink.com/drive./
• TSIA Technology as a Service Playbook: https://www.tsia.com/books
• Four Days to Change: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Days-Change-Radical-Overcome/dp/099734220X
• Blue Ocean Strategy: https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/

 Podcasts:

• A16Z: https://a16z.com/podcasts/
• Manufacturing Happy Hour: https://manufacturinghappyhour.com/podcast/
• How I Built This: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
• The Investor Podcast, Millennial Investing: https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/millennial-investing/

House Hunter Episode that Andrew was featured on

Inspirational Quotes:

If I look at the end of my day and see that most of it was spent with others, helping them, coaching them, supporting them, listening to them, I call that a win.

A world of opportunity can be opened when humans are enabled with technology, but technology on its own will not solve all our problems.

How do you build an engaged team?  It can be extremely difficult especially in today's business climate as everyone learns how to move forward with COVID.  The game is changing and Nirpal Sihota brings wonderful insight and wisdom on how he is addressing this and seeing amazing results. He defines an engaged team as when people feel comfortable and confident in bringing their best self to work on everything they do.  As a leader that doesn't happen over night and Nirpal unpacks areas to consider to begin changing the game for all team members, like taking ownership and creating alignment.

Sometimes there simply isn't alignment between parties and he walks through how not addressing that creates friction and at the end of the day sometimes making the decisions to find alternative paths may be best for overall growth. Nirpal is a big basketball fan and connects the dots on how his Golden State Warriors team approaches building synergy in their team and how that has a direct correlation to business. 

This is an information packed episode that will challenge your thinking and taking notes along the way.  Remember you are only as good as your team and being intentional about building the best team possible is critical for success in the future.

Guest: Nirpal Sihota - Director of Industry Sales at Rockwell Automation
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources:

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni 
• Silos, Politics and Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni 
• Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni 
• The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni 

Great quotes from Nirpal:

• "A good manager would actually help get the fire issue resolved and then pull that person's head back up and say, okay, now let's get above those forest trees again."
• "Worrying oftentimes is just planning for the worst."
• "People have to be willing to go ask that question and say, can I learn from you? Can you help me on this?"

Jason Simon is making big waves by helping those wanting to begin a career in industry learn the skills necessary to hit the ground running.  After serving his country as a United States Marine, he transitioned to a role in education and fell in love with training others.  He had the opportunity to lead AMTEC and develop cutting edge training solutions. Workforce attrition is a major issue in industry and Jason is helping the rubber meet the road by truly bridging the education/industry gap. 

He is an avid outdoorsman and fitness plays a big role in his life.  He began competing in ultra marathons - imagine 50 miles without stopping!  On his last run he burned approximately 21,000 calories and walks us through some of the planning it took to pull that off.  He shares about the farm he has where they grow the majority of the food for his family of six children and how faith plays a huge part in his life.

Jason Simon is a family man with a heart for serving others. After hearing his story you'll quickly realize why he is one of our heroes!

Guest: Jason Simon - Director at AMTEC
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources:

• Joe Rogan Podcast
• Dave Ramsey Podcast
• Catholic in a Small Town Podcast
• The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday 
• EECO's Inspire Blog: Closing the Industrial Skills Gap
• FAME - Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education
• AMTEC Website
• Jason's contact information: [email protected]. Phone (270) 686-4616

Wonderful quotes from Jason:

• "If I can raise my children in a way that they go out and make the world a better place, then I feel like I've left my mark."
• "I personally believe that the biggest difference I can make in this world is within my four walls."

With so many metrics out there in industry OEE stands out as important for all manufacturers to understand.  Mike Caccia walks through the different components of OEE and how that can be impacted in the industrial environment. He discusses production, event and fault data and how that affects the important KPI's that management focuses on.  An analogy of a three legged stool is discussed and shows the importance of each factor of OEE and how they affect each other.  In order to have maximum availability, performance and quality each must have an intense focus in order for all three areas to improve to desired operation metrics.

It is quite the juggling act for manufacturers to manage and when done correctly can make significant impact to meeting market demand and overall business bottom lines.  Mike also discusses who is typically involved in the OEE management and steps they can take to better understand this critical metric.  Thank you Mike for unpacking the crucial topic of OEE for the EECO Asks Why listeners.

Guest: Mike Caccia - Product Manager at EECO
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources:
EECO Inspire Blog - OEE and Cascading Objectives

Zach White is an amazing coach for engineers and shares his story on this hero episode. After graduating from Purdue he had a great opportunity at Whirlpool and from there found that his passion was helping others grow in their careers.  He took a leap of faith and created OACO and has never looked back.  Zach shares about his passion for serving others and some of the innovative items he's pursuing.  He has a great way of getting others to realize the potential that exists within and helps them build the confidence needed to keep moving forward.

He loves spending time outdoors and riding horses with his wife is always high on his list.  He shares an interesting hobby of acrobatic yoga and how he highly recommends that for all couples wanting to connect at a deeper level.  Zach is making such an impact in many peoples lives and we are proud to call him one of our Heroes!

Guest: Zach White, CEO at OACO
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources:

• Lifestyle Engineering Blueprint 30 Day Challenge
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• The 48 Laws of Power
• Mastery
• Awaken the Giant Within
• The Tim Ferriss Show

Wonderful quotes from Zach:

• If you want to change someone's life, believe in them more than they believe in themselves.
• Life's Purpose Statement: I am an Oasis along life's journey that gives you courage to walk on.

Joe Frank leads us through a discussion about the power of network assessments.  As the old saying goes “you have to know where you are to get to know where you’re going”.  This rings so true for industrial networks and the network assessment is key to getting started on the right foot. Joe discusses the ins and outs of an assessment for all the items on the physical layer.  He discusses what he looks for in an assessment for items such as grounding, cabling, switches, and the overall environment.

Security is such an important issue for all industries and understanding the risks is covered in a good assessment.  Areas such as physical and how key equipment is protected are all important.   Open ports or cabinets without locks are weak areas from a security standpoint and should be corrected quickly. Joe also discusses IT/OT convergence and how an assessment can be impactful for both sides of the table.

He has wonderful experiences that he shares about which could make a huge impact for others as they assess their own situations.  Network assessments are crucial to building a robust, powerful, and safe industrial network.    

Guest: Joe Frank - Industrial Network Engineer at EECO
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources:

EECO Inspire Blog: Do You Think You Have the Best Network Architecture in Place
EECO Inspire Blog: What to Consider with Industrial Networks

This episode provides a unique perspective on how to tie business goals with the OT network.  Amos Purdy has an illustrious background with having a Masters in both Electrical Engineering and Business Administration.  He had a passion to learn how to speak the language for everyone on both the technical and business side of a company.  He provides great insight on how operations and business leaders can align to achieve better results together. 

So often, as with IT and OT, the barrier of understanding is around knowing what is important to both sides. Amos speaks to how engineers could invest more time in learning from other departments and how to help them achieve their goals.  He unpacks how reviewing with HR or accounting can reveal areas to improve the company and could reveal areas for future investments. Understanding all the numbers and how processes impact them is critical for alignment with OT and business goals. 

The capabilities of manufacturing continue to grow.  New technologies will continue to disrupt, and operations will impact the success of many organizations.  Ensuring everything aligns to business goals is key to the desired growth moving forward. 

Guest: Amos Purdy - Lead Systems Engineer at Global Process Automation
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources: 

• EECO Inspire Blog: What to Consider with Industrial Networks
• NIST Framework

Connect with GPA on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, or visit their Website.

K Sorsenginh breaks down how Ethernet/IP and interoperability converge in industry.  Interoperability is the ability of a machine or product being able to exchange or send information and the other node that is receiving it can process and utilize the information.  When you begin to utilize Ethernet/IP the ability to move data throughout an industrial environment becomes even more critical.  K does a great job of breaking down these terms for those new to industrial networks while going deep in some areas for those that want to learn more.

He speaks about the importance of open vendor device association (ODVA) and how that ensures manufacturers follow the same guidelines to ensure interoperability.  From there K unpacks device profiles and how its important to understand the different profiles to best utilize them in your system design. 

For those looking to expand their industrial network K’s wisdom is sure to help you achieve the desired results and have a robust and connected facility.  

Guest: K Sorsenginh Solution Architect at EECO
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Additional Resources:

EECO Inspire Blog: Interoperability and Ethernet/IP
EECO Inspire Blog: Ethernet/IP and Operability

Scott McNeil is the expert in all things WiFi and does a phenomenal job of breaking down what exactly is industrial WiFi.  He walks thru the hardware and client requirements as there is a wide variety of things that impact a system and zoning in on the key objectives is key.  Connectivity is critical with an industrial WiFi system and ensuring that those that need access to the network can do so in a safe, reliable and secure environment.

The industrial environment can be challenging and reducing interference is important for a robust design.   Scott talks about some of the most challenging areas he's experienced with WiFi and items to explore on the plant floor. As smart manufacturing and industry 4.0 initiatives are becoming more and more prevalent a strong industrial WiFi design will ensure the data and processes that are important will be able to operate as desired as industry continues to grow in the future.

Scott is a passionate engineer and loves sharing his expertise around the topic of Industrial WiFi.  Be sure to follow Scott's blog where he digs deeper into these and other industrial networking topics.

Guest: Scott McNeil - Senior Network and Security Engineer at GPA
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Resources: 

• Industrial Wifi Shop
• EECO's Inspired Blog "Industrial WiFi 101"

In this episode Chase Boehlke gives a great breakdown of what a soft starter is and where they fit best in industrial settings. He walks us through how to properly size the solution as this can be an area that people struggle with. 

He digs deep on applications to help understand when soft starters are not the best solutions.   Finally he reviews when other alternatives should be considered. Chase brings a tremendous amount of knowledge to this topic and we hope you find the information helpful. Thank you Chase for shedding so much light on the exciting topic of soft starters!

Guest: Chase Boehlke - Motion Control at Siemens.
Host: Chris Grainger
Executive Producer: Adam Sheets

Additional Resources: EECOonline.com