Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell

Discussions of transformed technologies and empowered people that make manufacturing and production safe, efficient, and profitable.

ICC 2025 Recap 09/18/2025

ICC 2025 Recap ICC 2025 Recap I recorded this as I was leaving Inductive Automation's Ignition Community Conference 2025 in Sacramento. The event team performed wonderfully moving ICC from the smaller Harris Center in Folsom to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento with double the attendance. Lots of energy, many partners. The event had to be credited a success. Of course, the highlight was introduction of Ignition 8.3. This update included many long-sought additions. Note: Inductive Automation has been a long-term sponsor for my work. However, we do not have an "influencer" relationship, that is, they do not pay me for writing content. They just appreciate my work. If this information is useful, please pass along. /episode/index/show/automation/id/38270815

Intelligent Application of Technology 08/21/2025

Intelligent Application of Technology When I set initial editorial direction for Automation World, I was focused on exploring the Intelligent Application of Automation emphasizing the teams that made it happen. Recently I interviewed Mike Payne, co-owner and president of Hill Manufacturing. His story of using intelligent applications of technology both for the machines and for software showed how even an old-line manufacturer can be new and profitable. Sponsored by Inductive Automation at https://www.inductiveautomation.com /episode/index/show/automation/id/37913610

Interview With Travis Cox, Inductive Automation Chief Technology Evangelist 08/04/2025

Interview With Travis Cox, Inductive Automation Chief Technology Evangelist Inductive Automation Chief Technology Evangelist Travis Cox talks with me about the newly expanded Ignition Community Conference and the beta release of Ignition 8.3. This is a major release with many usability and IT-friendly upgrades. We talk about what's new with Ignition Community Conference and the beta release of Ignition 8.3. /episode/index/show/automation/id/37670525

AI Obfuscation 07/14/2025

AI Obfuscation AI has generated more hype and obfuscation than all the words from ChatGPT. OK, maybe I exaggerate, but the amount of scare talk is endless. I try to take a more rational and down-to-earth look at the issue from the point-of-view of manufacturers. I argue that AI now and in the future should be viewed as a tool that will help humans work better and more productively. I use an example from an interview with Mike Payne, co-owner and president, of Hill Manufacturing--a production machine shop operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mike was introduced to me by Hexagon. This podcast is sponsored by the . /episode/index/show/automation/id/37403685

Complexity is the Enemy 06/25/2025

Complexity is the Enemy CEOs in a recent survey complained they were not seeing results from digital transformation. Too much complexity, dashboards too complex, information not clear, silos of data. Maybe we're looking at the wrong part of the problem. Maybe it's not technology; it's people. /episode/index/show/automation/id/37155000

A Tale of Two Trends 12/20/2024

A Tale of Two Trends This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation. Two topics dominated my inbox this year--and will probably continue to do so. These are AI Large Language Models and Cybersecurity. /episode/index/show/automation/id/34556465

Apple, Google, Open, Too Large? 10/05/2024

Apple, Google, Open, Too Large? Looking at Google v DOJ and Apple v EU, Gary draws lessons for industrial automation. /episode/index/show/automation/id/33341682

Market Dynamics 08/16/2024

Market Dynamics Many times in my career I have hired into a company during the initial surge of a market. Good jobs. Excitement. Opportunity to work on new things. Then the market matured or collapsed usually due to external forces such as technology changes or consumer behavior. I hit recreation vehicles at a high point followed by high inflation and gasoline price surges. Then a consumer product company where Consumer Reports published a poorly researched article—but the external market also changed. Then PC peripherals. The latest was automation where a few of us started a magazine to cover it. The market was good for about 10 years. Then we went into brief cycles of IIoT, edge, networks, collaborative robots, IT companies looking at the manufacturing market. This podcast began life in 2007 as Automation Minutes. I morphed it into Gary on Manufacturing to make it more general. That was more than 10 years ago. Must be time for another change. That all is quite mature now. Where do you think the offsetting new technologies or customer behavior will lead now? Or, is the market just going to begin to either consolidate further or split? What do you think? /episode/index/show/automation/id/32616122

Boeing and Good Manufacturing Leadership 05/02/2024

Boeing and Good Manufacturing Leadership Gary offers observations on the continuing saga of former GE executives running Boeing changing the culture from engineering-driven to Wall Street-driven. Also thoughts on good manufacturing leadership. /episode/index/show/automation/id/31092458

Descent Into Normal--State of Automation Market 04/04/2024

Descent Into Normal--State of Automation Market Gary discusses the current state of the automation and control market. Why it seems to be a stable market and why the media in the market are shrinking. He riffs from Seth Godin blog The Drift to Normal. As an organization grows in scale, the idiosyncrasy and distinctiveness that was originally informed by the taste of the founders moves toward the mean. Over time, things get more average. I have arranged a special deal with energy drink makers Magic Mind. Listeners can visit https://www.magicmind.com/garym and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code GARYM20. After 10 days, you can still get 20% off for one time purchases and subscriptions. My sponsor is Inductive Automation. Check out their flagship product Ignition and the Cloud and Edge editions. If you would like to get a message out to about 200,000 people, you, too, could be a sponsor. Reply to this email to find out more about sponsorship opportunities. /episode/index/show/automation/id/30687768

Slow Productivity 03/24/2024

Slow Productivity Gary discusses productivity, slow productivity movement, busyness or pseudo-productivity. Sponsors Inductive Automation inductiveautomation.com and Magic Mind, magicmind.com/garym and use code GARYM20. /episode/index/show/automation/id/30520543

Standards, Standards Everywhere 03/06/2024

Standards, Standards Everywhere I've seen successes of industry standards. I've also seen industrial standards struggle to break through the logjam of large companies drive to lock customers into their ecosystem. What is the latest of OPAF and what is the meaning of Schneider Electric's announcement of a product built with with Red Hat and IBM and development of a new computer communication standard? I have arranged a special deal with energy drink makers Magic Mind. Listeners can visit https://www.magicmind.com/garym and get up to 56% off your subscription for the next 10 days with my code GARYM20. After 10 days, you can still get 20% off for one time purchases and subscriptions. That’s magicmind.com/garym with the code GARYM20. This podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation. https://www.inductiveautomation.com /episode/index/show/automation/id/30256248

Where Do Profits Come From? 02/09/2024

Where Do Profits Come From? Boeing is a company that has lost its way. I have no idea why the board has not sacked the CEO. The 737MAX program was a fiasco and continues to haunt the company. The 787 program ran way behind schedule costing the company billions. This is what happens when you ignore product and serving customers instead focusing solely on financial numbers. We are a business company not an engineering company, said one Boeing CEO. How right he was. They can't build an airplane anymore. But they can still count, I guess. /episode/index/show/automation/id/29875988

Leadership: The Art of Listening and Conversing 12/04/2023

Leadership: The Art of Listening and Conversing Gary gives leadership growth tips based on Dan Lyons "The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World" and David Brooks "How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen." /episode/index/show/automation/id/28926958

Why Are Industrial Technology Vendors Moving to Software? 10/11/2023

Why Are Industrial Technology Vendors Moving to Software? After attending several technology supplier user conferences this summer and fall, a colleague asked why suppliers are emphasizing software. I ponder this question in this podcast essay. And ask what the new breed of engineers will bring with new ideas. Maybe Arduino control platforms? Worth asking. /episode/index/show/automation/id/28293320

Have Digital Productivity Tools Failed Us? 08/28/2023

Have Digital Productivity Tools Failed Us? Do digital tools have the effect of adding more things to our plate rather than helping us get things done? Gary looks at how software helped him get productive and then seemed to bog down and still accomplish a lot, but it seems slower over all. Even more, what is more important—getting more done or doing what is impactful? /episode/index/show/automation/id/27874773

252 Technology Market Innovation to Maturity Cycles 08/16/2023

252 Technology Market Innovation to Maturity Cycles My career spans the innovation to maturity cycle of three technology markets--PC, IT, Automation. I wonder what's next. /episode/index/show/automation/id/27771003

251 HUG 2023 07/17/2023

251 HUG 2023 I went to this year's Honeywell User Group with many questions. They were all answered as you will hear. There were many questions begging for answers as I traveled to Florida. What was Honeywell HIVE, and how does it relate to the ExxonMobil initiated Open Process Automation group? What is Honeywell Digital Prime and what customer problems does it address? What successes have Honeywell achieved with sustainability initiatives? Honeywell was an early mobility developer. What has progressed in that regard? What role does Honeywell see for AR and VR? /episode/index/show/automation/id/27491589

250 Siemens Digital Conference 23 06/14/2023

250 Siemens Digital Conference 23 Gary talks about the successful integrations of software by Siemens since the 2007 acquisition of UGS. He reflects on early conversations with Siemens executives regarding the Digital Factory and then how far the company has traveled along that path becoming perhaps the most successful industrial automation and industrial software supplier. /episode/index/show/automation/id/27149139

249 Industrial Technology What Comes Next 06/05/2023

249 Industrial Technology What Comes Next Surveying the past of automation and control tech and the tech media market over the years, then taking a look at future coverage for Gary on Manufacturing and The Manufacturing Connection. /episode/index/show/automation/id/27052017

248 observations automation and control and media market 2023 05/15/2023

248 observations automation and control and media market 2023 Observations, thoughts, questions about automation and control market, the companion media market, and innovation. Thoughts welcome. /episode/index/show/automation/id/26847630

247 Disruption and Innovation 04/14/2023

247 Disruption and Innovation I presented a Webinar on April 5. You can find it here https://www.manufacturingtechnologytoday.com/frs/23189866/going-beyond-digital-transformation--the-real-innovations-in-manufacturing/email . I talked about how digital data isn't new, my 1978 project, how we need to watch for disruption coming from anywhere, the importance of people, and how you, yes you, can and should be a change agent. /episode/index/show/automation/id/26546682

246 Open OT Technology 02/28/2023

246 Open OT Technology Why is it that open systems work in IT and not OT. The work of the Open Process Automation Forum. /episode/index/show/automation/id/26081322

245 Metaverse to AI, Twitter to Mastodon, Video 02/08/2023

245 Metaverse to AI, Twitter to Mastodon, Video Update on the industrial metaverse essay and podcast given the Google, Facebook, and Microsoft news to AI, ChatGPT, and search ads. Thoughts on merger and acquisition including new thoughts on Emerson bid for NI. Finally, a new take on video for manufacturing. Sponsored by Ignition from Inductive Automation. /episode/index/show/automation/id/25875090

244 Industrial Metaverse Reality or Dream 01/15/2023

244 Industrial Metaverse Reality or Dream Yes, I'm back after a long hiatus due to some projects that soaked up my time. Metaverse remains the hot topic in industrial technology discussion circles. Are we getting closer to reality than what I spoke of in episode 241? There are some interesting new concepts from both Rockwell Automation and GridRaster plus others. /episode/index/show/automation/id/25615911

243 Sustainability 07/23/2022

243 Sustainability Press releases come to me from a variety of sources. The topics are often in batches. There was 3D printing, then cybersecurity, now sustainability. Check out a new book instigated by Seth Godin (check his podcast out at akimbo.link) called The Carbon Almanac (thecarbonalmanac.org). Electric is big, as in electric cars. Everything needs big engineering ideas. What will you contribute? /episode/index/show/automation/id/23835218

242 Hype Curve 06/30/2022

242 Hype Curve Two developers reflecting on Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference in terms of Gartner's Hype Cycle--about getting enthused at the event and then reality settling in when the amount of work is realized. I reflect on the several trips I made in May and June in the same model. I'm not saying all I got was hype, but the trip from enthusiasm to realism is worth taking. /episode/index/show/automation/id/23596775

241 Manufacturing Metaverse 05/20/2022

241 Manufacturing Metaverse Gary discusses 20 years of trying on headsets for manufacturing applications. Is the Metaverse finally upon us? Probably not. /episode/index/show/automation/id/23182022

240 Leaders are Readers 05/06/2022

240 Leaders are Readers Perhaps if President Nixon had read 500 books rather than watching 500 movies during his time in office... What happened to all the free time we were supposed to get from increased productivity? Oliver Burkeman discusses time management in Four Thousand Weeks. And no, it's not a new system. Plus Karels and Miller wrote Steel Toes and Stilettos, a story of Lean Transformation of three manufacturing plants. It's The Goal for a new generation. /episode/index/show/automation/id/23031746

239 Whatever Happened to IIoT? 04/18/2022

239 Whatever Happened to IIoT? There was Internet of Things, IoT, then Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT, and companies formed groups to build product and exploit the area. Then they went away. What happened? What's new? Taking a look at data orchestration and data ops. /episode/index/show/automation/id/22830215

Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell

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