Manufacturers and tech companies have suffered severe cyber attacks in recent months, timing that coincides with new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that force publicly traded companies to disclose when they've been hit by hackers, as long as the damages are "material" to the companies' performances. 

Smart Industry Managing Editor Scott Achelpohl discusses cybersecurity trends and the new requirements with Dennis Scimeca, senior technology editor at IndustryWeek.

Things got a lot better for manufacturers in 2023 when it came to getting raw materials into plants and finished goods to customers. But, the supply chain was still fragile and had to deal with several shocks, including massive capacity reductions at the Panama Canal.

Editors from several IndustryWeek parent company Endeavor Business Media’s publications discussed how 2023 shaped up and what to expect in the new year. Major topics of discussion were challenges in the Red Sea, continued problems in Panama, nearshoring and onshoring shortening supply chains and labor availability.

Speakers were:

• Adrienne Selko, senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics 

Like this episode? Listen to

• Has the Post-COVID Global Supply Chain Become More Reliable or Less?

Hear about the latest regulatory updates coming from OSHA, as well as current developments in mental health awareness.

High-tech businesses, creative types, luxury retailers, and property developers all want something that is inherent to operations at manufacturing’s most basic level – and if they cannot earn it they’ll just take it. 

Luke Clark is a reliability professional and senior program manager for HECO Apollo. In his current position, Luke identifies reliability value for clients by utilizing vibration analysis and IoT technology. Luke recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk about how the skillset for reliability and maintenance engineers has changed over the past 10 years. In addition, the two discussed the table stakes skills necessary for current professionals to succeed in their jobs. 

Electric vehicle sales were flat in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the third quarter, but automotive experts are still calling last year the Year of the EV because of the market's rapid growth. EVs accounted for 8% of vehicles sold last year, more than 1.2 million units. 

Still, the industry mood has been less optimistic lately as slowing growth rates have led GM, Ford and others to slow investments in new plants and lower some of the lofty sales targets they'd initially offered for 2024 and beyond. 

In our bi-weekly manufacturing livestream, Production Pulse, we discuss those issues with two automotive experts.

Speakers

• Kristin Dziczek is a policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a long time analyst of all things automotive. As she notes in the podcast, the opinions offered are her own, not an official report of the Federal Reserve.

Do you love the world of manufacturing technology? Are you always looking for news about the next cool tech invention? Do you wonder how everyone always knows about new products for the industry? Or maybe you just want to know how to choose between different machines. Listen to New Equipment Digest’s new podcast series for all things products for manufacturing.

Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence. Contributing to the podcast are 14 seasoned manufacturing journalists from Endeavor Business Media’s Manufacturing Group. In this round table episode, editors from American Machinist, EHS Today, Foundry Management & Technology, IndustryWeek, Material Handling & Logistics, New Equipment Digest, Plant Services, and Smart Industry share their plans and expectations for the new podcast series. 

Rue Phillips is the co-founder and president of SkillFusion, a platform that connects electric vehicle operations and maintenance service providers with a nationwide credentialed talent pool for electric vehicle service equipment O&M obligations. Rue has been at the forefront of developing online platforms that connect cleantech asset owners with a local and on-demand installation and service workforce, first in the solar sector with 365 Pronto and now in the EV charging sector. Rue also hosts EV Chat, a podcast with a rock'n'roll spin elevating industry leaders and making their knowledge and insight accessible to those across the electric vehicle space. Rue recently spoke with Plant Services editor in chief Thomas Wilk about the challenges of finding skilled workers for the EV infrastructure industry.

In this episode, Smart Industry Managing Editor Scott Achelpohl previews predictions for the new year we gathered from more than 20 experts in the areas of AI, machine learning, IoT, condition monitoring, and more.