In this episode of the Manufacturing Stream Podcast, host Eric Whitley tackles a critical issue in the industry: Why are talented professionals walking away from manufacturing? To explore this, Eric welcomes a special guest—his son, Brandon Whitley.Brandon shares his journey through manufacturing, from assembling products on the line to becoming a continuous improvement specialist, and ultimately leaving the industry. Together, they discuss:The challenges of driving change in traditional manu...

AI is dominating the thought process within manufacturing. But most of the brain power being spent on this topic centers on how to have a practical application of this technology so that it enhances the Availability, Performance and Quality of the factory floor.In this episode we discuss the practical application of AI and how it can be used to remove wasted time and motion in the day to day lives of factory workers.l2l.comYoutube: @leading2leanl2l.comYoutube: @leading2lean

Joe Resko, Vice President of Operations for Worthington Enterprises joins Eric as a guest in a new L2L webinar. Eric shares this webinar on this podcast. Joe and Eric discuss the findings of L2L's report on What is Holding Manufacturing Back in 2024 and how Worthington is using L2L and its Connected Workforce solution to solve the the labor crisis facing manufacturing.l2l.comYoutube: @leading2lean

Press Release:In this weeks episode of The Manufacturing Stream Podcast, Eric discusses that L2L has announced the acquisition of Swipe Guide, a move that brings together two powerful technologies to enhance the connected workforce in manufacturing. Eric is joined by, John Devagian, CEO of L2L and Willemijn Schneider, CEO of Swipe Guide. The two CEO’s discuss that this merger aims to address long-standing challenges in the industry, such as labor productivity stagnation and the loss of skille...

In this weeks episode of The Manufacturing Stream Podcast, Eric welcomes in as guest Scott Springer from Chelwood Consulting. The discussion this week centers on Scott's approach to improvement and leadership in his career as a manufacturing leader.About our guest:Scott is an accomplished Executive Consultant and President of Chelwood Consulting Group, where he provides strategic leadership to revitalize underperforming organizations and enhance business operations. He specializes in manufact...

In this episode of The Manufacturing Stream Podcast Eric has Maureen Fahey of Productivity talks about her days when JIT and Lean started in the West. Working as a young assistant to Norman Bodek, Maureen tells stories of the days when Dr. Shigeo Shingo would visit the United States and Maureen was there during these visit. Maureen also expounds on when SMED and TPM were introduced to Western manufacturers in the early days of JIT.l2l.comYoutube: @leading2lean

In this episode, Eric & Phil welcome into the studio Tyler Whitiker, CTO and Co-founder of L2L, to discuss the future of AI in manufacturing and how companies should be using the technology to solve the labor crisis facing Manufacturing. In recent blog post, Tyler has helped explain how manufacturers should be using technology to free up much needed resources, especiall when it comes to labor utilization on the factory floor.l2l.comYoutube: @leading2lean

In this episode Eric interviews Mike Pierce COO of Honeyville Inc and Co-host and new VP of Information Technology at Honeyville, Inc. Phil Anderson as they discuss why Honeyville has chosen L2L as their Connected Workforce Platform and why Mike has chosen L2L to be his system at four separate companies. l2l.comYoutube: @leading2lean

In this weeks episode, Eric, Malcolm and James Wells from LNS Research discuss Unified Performance Excellence. Unified Performance Excellence (UPX), is a modern approach to industrial performance management that integrates advanced digital tools and methodologies into traditional operational improvement processes. This framework seeks to enhance operational agility, flexibility, and resiliency by leveraging digital technologies like AI, machine learning, and digital twins within a connected...

In recent years, the manufacturing sector has been swept up in the wave of Industry 4.0, a revolutionary movement that promises to meld physical production and operations with smart digital technology, machine learning, and big data. The goal of this movement is to create a more holistic and better-connected process for industrial companies.  Industry 4.0 has been hailed as the future of manufacturing, offering the potential for significantly increased productivity, efficiency, and...

Welcome to a unique edition of The Manufacturing Stream Podcast, where your hosts, Eric Whitley and our special guest co-host Malcolm Faulds from L2L, sit down with the legendary Kyle Petty. Today, we're diving into Kyle's extraordinary journey, growing up amidst the royalty of racing. He shares with us tales from the track and highlights from his biography, "Swerve or Die," offering an inside look at the lives of NASCAR's elites. Join us as we explore the intriguing similarities between the...

You don’t always have to overhaul your processes to improve them. Sometimes, digitizing them is all you need to do. In this episode of The Manufacturing Stream, Eric and Phil talk to Alex Pacheco, Director of Operational Excellence and Reliability at Dart Container, about the dramatic process improvements he’s seen since implementing L2L. Whether it’s swapping whiteboards for screens or last week’s handwritten notes for real-time data, Alex offers a wealth of insights into how L2L has boosted...

In this episode, Eric and Phil discuss L2L ground breaking new feature, the L2L Teamboard. How it can be used by shopfloor teams and managers to seriously reduce the amount of wasted time and motion in planning and executing manually prepared team huddles and tier meetings. Use the link below to watch the live demo of this new product every manufacturing company can use. Teamboard Demo L2L Website l2l.com Youtube: @leading2lean

In this episode of The Manufacturing Stream, Eric and Phil kick off 2024 with some exciting event announcements from L2L and a topic that’s never been more relevant to manufacturers: Uniting departments around a shared view of factory data.  If job-critical information is locked away in systems like ERP, MES, SCADA, and PLC, shop floor employees — and your plant — are operating with a serious (but fixable) handicap.  Enter the concept of a “Data Sandwich.” Eric and Phil explain what a Data...

In this episode, Eric & Phil welcome in Eric's boss and VP of Marketing for L2L Malcolm Faulds to discuss his recent attendance and learning from the LNS Research IX event held in Chicago. l2l.com Youtube: @leading2lean

A special bonus episode of The Manufacturing Stream (emphasis on Stream in this episode) Eric, Phil and special guest devote an entire episode to their fishing trip fly fishing for Silver Coho Salmon in Cordova Alaska. Enjoy!  l2l.com Youtube: @leading2lean

When we say “L2L was made for manufacturers, by manufacturers,” we mean it literally. L2L was born on the shop floors of our now-customer, Autoliv, where Eric, Phil, and this episode’s special guest Mark Jenkins put their heads together to figure out a better way to track operational availability (OA). That’s right — we’re taking you through a brief L2L history lesson! Learn how the Toyota Production System inspired the creation of Dispatch, L2L’s flagship module, and how the product evolved...

We’ve discussed the importance of digitizing Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) on this podcast. Now, we’re excited to share a real-world example of this digital TPM in action! In this special episode recorded for a Plant Services webcast, Mike Brewster of Owens Corning joins Eric Whitley to talk about Owens Corning’s transformation with L2L’s connected worker platform. Learn how Mike and team tackled their biggest maintenance challenges and built a culture around continuous improvement with...

In this episode Eric and Phil welcome special guest Justin Skaggs and Corey Olsen to discuss the importance of ERP integration to a new generation of connected workforce software like L2L. The four talk about the importance of creativity and the use of API integration to utilize that creativity in creating custom feature sets for the shop-floor. l2l.com Youtube: @leading2lean

So you purchased L2L. Now what?  Typically, implementing digital factory software takes time, attention to detail, and a whole lot of patience. But did you know that L2L can be stood up in a matter of weeks instead of months? In this special episode of The Manufacturing Stream Podcast, Eric interviews L2L’s own Jon Richardson on how quick and simple it is to implement our connected worker platform in customers’ plants.  In fact, our customer team has been able to get L2L up and running in...

Digital transformation shapes your company culture as much as it shapes your technology. This week, we’re excited to discuss tech-driven cultural change with special guest Keith Holliman, Plant Manager at JELD-WEN! A veteran of the building materials manufacturing space, Keith shares how his plant shifted from relying on traditional, manual processes to embracing a digital-first strategy that makes everyone feel empowered.  Throughout JELD-WEN’s digital transformation journey, L2L’s...

In this episode Eric, Phil and special guest Jim Morris talk about what it will take to give a new generation of manufacturing workers the skills to build a new culture of manufacturing. They dive deep into techniques and tactics experienced leaders can us to make culture change happen as manufacturing moves into the digital age. l2l.com Youtube: @leading2lean

In this weeks episode, Eric & Phil discuss how  Connected Worker Platforms like L2L are changing the way Total Productive Maintenance initiatives are being managed digitally.  New features like digital abnormality tags, operator maintenance checklist and skills are being managed via mobile devoices saving manufacturing plants hundreds of hours of administrative busy work. At the same time, providing the data needed to implement solid early equipment design pillar projects. You can find...

In this episode of the Manufacturing Stream Podcast Eric Whitley interviews John Davagian, CEO at L2L - Carly Anderson of Westinghouse - Jason Bryan of Sonoco Packaging - John Fishell VP of Product for L2L and Ashley Henery of Worthington Industries. All interviews were done live on the floor of the 2023 Connected Workforce Summit presented by L2L in Salt Lake City, UT l2l.com Youtube: @leading2lean