When systems break down in manufacturing, it’s easy to blame the machine, the software, or the spec. What’s harder to face is when failure starts upstream, inside the team dynamics, cultural norms, and delivery expectations that define how work gets done in the first place.

In this episode, Jay Patel is joined by Dana Korf, a veteran engineer and manufacturing insider, for part one of a two-part deep look into the human side of systems engineering. With stories drawn from decades of experience across the engineering and manufacturing industry, Dana reveals how unwritten rules, territorial behavior, and knowledge hoarding can quietly undermine progress, even in highly technical environments.

From tribal knowledge to the myth of clean handoffs, this episode looks at what really happens between the lines of code, behind the standard operating procedures, and inside the organizations trying to build better processes.