Today, David & Jake are joined by Walt Harrison, Controls & Automations Engineer at Swarco Reflex LLC. Swarco is an industry leading manufacturer of retro-reflective marking systems which guide traffic, keeping road users safe. You probably see their tiny glass beads embedded in road paint each night you drive home as they steer you in the right direction. Having been with the organization for almost two years, Walt is leading the charge on their predictive maintenance practices and commitment to “downtime on their terms.” 

Walt shares a wealth of knowledge today, with topics spanning from how he transitioned into the manufacturing space after starting his career in IT, how he and the team at Swarco think about predictive maintenance, why he believes in always training your replacement, and what industry leaders need to focus on as we pave our way into the future. 

One of the key takeaways you’ll gather from today? It might be how after Walt examined each piece of equipment and graded them based on how critical they are to the entire operation, he learned that every piece is critical. Or it could be that something as simple as transparent communication can increase productivity and allows the people around you to share in the tricks of the trade you use everyday. Regardless, this episode is packed full of tangible advice. 

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Guest Bio

Walt Harrison is a Controls & Automations Technician for Swarco Reflex, LCC. Swarco manufactures reflective glass beads for road markings and has been around since 1969. Their tiny beads (<2mm) are applied directly after road paint and are found worldwide. Having been with the company for nearly two years, Walt has been instrumental in the upkeep of the manufacturing floor. Prior to Swarco, he has been with organizations such as Dematic, the City of Waco, and Kforce Inc.   

Before entering the manufacturing space, Walt’s first passion was computing technology, which began after his time in the military. Graduating from Sam Houstin in Texas with a business systems degree, Walt dove headfirst into IT and managed over 2,000 computers alongisde the entire fiber optic and copper networks for the Mexia School District. Following this role, Walt took a position of Senior Programmer Analyst of IT Automation Systems at XTO Energy. 

Working at XTO for almost a decade, Walt slowly transitioned from the IT world into controls & automations…with absolutely 0 prior experience. Crediting his leadership at XTO for the collaborative, detail-oriented attitude he holds today, he installed and setup SCADA systems for automated well testing and setup Lufkin Well Manager for Talco Oil Field. He also supported the  DeltaV Distributed Control System for three natural gas treating facilities including upgrades, programming and industrial networking. 

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Guest Quote

“When we did an analysis of, 'where are our critical points of failure?' It came up to: It's all critical. So our goal is to stop the devices from failing on their terms. We can detect a device that is out of spec and have a replacement ready. Downtime on our terms is really what we're looking for.” – Walt Harrison

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Time Stamps 

*(01:43) Ice Breaker

*(02:09) Walt's Background

*(06:51) How to navigate career transitions

*(08:06) Segment 01: The Maintainer Mashup

*(10:48) Swarco’s process of manufacturing glass beads

*(12:28) The reliability culture at Swarco

*(15:34 ) Ways Walt ensures consistent uptime

*(19:42) Segment 02: What's in Your Toolkit?

*(22:08 ) Finding a great mentor

*(24:07) The simplicity of strong communication

*(28:27) Segment 03: The Future of Factories

*(30:41) Is the industry ready for new technologies?

*(33:31) Why digital security is critical moving forward

*(36:38) Segment 04: Fix It Funnies 

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Links

• Connect with Walt Harrison on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Swarco Reflex LLC.  
• Connect with David Lee on LinkedIn
• Connect with Jake Hall on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Tractian