Whenever you're faced with information overload on any subject matter, as is the case with many manufacturers considering Smart Manufacturing, it's important to take a step back and understand its first principles. ​ Without which it would be difficult and costly to realise the vision of Smart Manufacturing. ​ To help bring the First Principles of Smart Manufacturing to light, I invited Conrad Leiva for a podcast conversation. Conrad is the VP of Ecosystem and Workforce Development at the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, CESMII. ​ CESMII is a US Government funded institute with a mission to democratise Smart Manufacturing and make its methodologies and technologies more affordable and accessible to SME manufacturers. ​ Here's the outline of our conversation which you can watch by clicking on the video linked below. ​  Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII)  A Brief History of Smart Manufacturing  Smart Manufacturing Definition and Description of Key Terms  The Seven Principles of Smart Manufacturing  Flat and Real-Time Principle  Scalability Principle, Enabled by Cloud and Edge  Interoperable and Open Principle, Information Modelling  The Role of ISA 95 in Smart Manufacturing  Proactive and Semi-Autonomous Principle  Sustainable and Energy Efficient