Smarter Machines, Stronger Businesses: AI’s Role in the Next Era of Manufacturing
Release Date: 09/15/2025
PII Podcast
Host Dave Howell is joined by special guest Mark Nicholls, Business Development Manager at Beamex, to explore the critical role of data integrity, calibration and compliance in the water and wastewater industry. In this episode, we uncover why the demand for reliable, traceable data has never been greater, and how digital calibration solutions are enabling utilities to move away from outdated paper-based systems towards smarter, more efficient workflows. Drawing on insights from the Cunliffe Report and real-world examples from a major UK water supplier, we discuss the challenges operators...
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ABB’s latest innovation - the ACS380-E machinery drive, is redefining industrial automation. With built-in dual Ethernet ports, robust cybersecurity features and simplified commissioning tools, this next-generation drive is more than hardware, it’s a complete platform designed for connectivity, compliance and performance. In this episode, we explore how the ACS380-E helps machine builders streamline integration, prepare for upcoming EU Machinery Regulations and future-proof operations across applications like conveyors, bottling systems and extrusion lines. From cold commissioning via...
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In this podcast with Keith Smith, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of IntelliAM, we are considering the role of AI in manufacturing – exploring the current challenges facing the industry as well as myth-busting the common barriers to adoption. IntelliAM – which stands for intelligent asset management – is a UK tech company specialising in AI and machine learning for the manufacturing industry. Many of the world’s largest manufacturers – including half of the world’s top 12 FMCGs – are using IntelliAM’s solution to unlock insights from billions of machine asset data...
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In this episode, we’re exploring the future of real-time process monitoring with a spotlight on Metrohm’s 2060 RISE, a high-tech Raman spectrometer designed to deliver lab-quality analysis directly within production environments. As industries grapple with growing demands for efficiency, safety and compliance, the ability to monitor materials in real time, without sending samples to a lab, is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Joining host Dave Howell, is Paul Hamilton, Business Manager for Metrohm Process Analytics in the UK, to break down why Raman spectroscopy is proving to be a...
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In this latest PII Podcast, Dave Howell speaks with Jeff Shaffer, Sales Director for Process Manufacturing at Graco, to explore how electric diaphragm pumps are redefining performance and sustainability across the process industries. Diaphragm pumps have long been the unsung workhorses of manufacturing—from paints to pharmaceuticals. But while demand for automation, energy efficiency and lower costs has soared, pump innovation has lagged behind. That’s now changing. Jeff shares insights into the rapid growth of the electric operated double diaphragm (EODD) pump market, projected to reach...
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In today’s industrial landscape, calibration and measurement are essential for efficiency, safety, and compliance. They drive advancements in automation, robotics, IoT, and digital transformation, ensuring precision and reliability. In this episode, Dave speaks with Sami Kosiken, Director of Digital Transformation, who discusses how process managers can implement accurate calibration to prevent disruptions, enhance safety, and ensure regulatory compliance with Beamex digitalised calibration solution, forming the foundation of modern industrial success.
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In this episode, Dave speaks with Aaron Lober, Vice President of Marketing at CADDi, a trailblazing company in the field of manufacturing intelligence software. With over 15 years of experience in driving growth across various industries, Aaron shares his insights on how CADDi is revolutionising the manufacturing sector through strategic marketing and cutting-edge technology. We’ll dive into CADDi’s flagship product, CADDi Drawer, which utilises patented AI to transform supply chain data and enhance product development. Join us as we explore how CADDi’s innovations earned...
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In this episode, Shawn Dagley, Kahuna’s Director of Manufacturing, discusses how Kahuna’s data-driven approach to skills management enables leaders to understand their skills supply and demand to make informed staffing decisions in dynamic environments. Kahuna digitises, manages, and validates workforce skill, competencies, experiences, certifications in one to increase efficiencies, standardise training and development programs, close skills gaps, mitigate operational risks, increase safety, and guide strategic operating decisions with validated skills insights. From a manufacturing...
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"Sensors are great, but they have their limitations" - that’s where analysers come in! In this episode, Paul Hamilton from Metrohm discusses simple and innovative ways for Process Engineers to perform complex chemical analysis. Metrohm is best known for producing analytical laboratory hardware and software, but Paul explains how the process analysis side of the business brings all of the typical laboratory analysis techniques and integrates them into the process plant, producing lab-quality data in the plant, fully automated. Compared to some other countries, the UK is behind when it comes...
info_outlineIntelliAM – which stands for intelligent asset management – is a UK tech company specialising in AI and machine learning for the manufacturing industry.
Many of the world’s largest manufacturers – including half of the world’s top 12 FMCGs – are using IntelliAM’s solution to unlock insights from billions of machine asset data points.
IntelliAM is on a mission to revolutionise the machine asset management industry – using AI to increase productivity, cut operating costs and drive smarter decision-making on the factory floor.
About Keith Smith:
Keith is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of IntelliAM. He has 27 years of experience in the manufacturing and engineering industry, including extensive expertise in the FMCG sector.
He specialises in the development and promotion of Asset Care Standards that help manufacturers unlock the full potential of their operations.
In his role at IntelliAM, Keith leads all operational teams, driving the development of the IntelliAM platform to help customers achieve world-class asset care standards.
He’s able to speak about AI adoption within the manufacturing sector and how it can help manufacturers to unlock greater productivity, quality, performance, efficiency, and safety, while also reducing waste and increasing throughput in the UK’s manufacturing sector.
Topics include:
Why traditional predictive maintenance systems are struggling to keep up with modern manufacturing environments
Examples of how outdated maintenance methods are leading to costly downtime or inefficiencies on the plant floor
Ways AI fundamentally changes the maintenance game, particularly in interpreting asset data and predicting failures before they happen
Limitations of traditional condition monitoring tools and human interpretation and how does IntelliAM's approach go beyond them?
IntelliAM’s six-step AI model: a structured journey rather than a quick fix
The importance of industry-specific knowledge in AI deployment and how IntelliAM bridges engineering expertise with technology
Common misconceptions about AI adoption in manufacturing, from job loss fears to ROI concerns
Shifting mindsets from reactive to proactive maintenance and how AI helps manufacturers lead rather than follow
The future of intelligent maintenance and how manufacturers can prepare today