Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. This episode offers tips on how to create a safe space for spirited debate in industrial operations.

• Superficial harmony in meetings delays critical decisions—candor leads to better outcomes.
• Leaders should hold back opinions to foster open, fact-based team input.
• Clear decision-making processes prevent debates from becoming unproductive conflicts.
• Professional disagreement is vital—silence in meetings and complaints in hallways hurt reliability.

The clock is running toward 2035 – the deadline for businesses to neutralize their carbon liabilities, whether or not the technology or resources are available to do that.

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Robert Brooks, editor in chief of Foundry Management & Technology and American Machinist, explores the evolving pressures on the manufacturing supply chain as carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions targets accelerate industry-wide. With a focus on the metal casting and machining sectors, he highlights the emerging concept of carbon liability and its implications for manufacturers. A notable case study features Mazda’s development of carbon-neutral cupola melting using biomass fuels, underscoring how environmental goals are reshaping production strategies.

The size and scope of upcoming and existing tariffs on imported goods and components is changing rapidly as President Donald Trump's administration makes bold announcements followed by pauses and policy changes as it negotiates with targeted countries.

While administration officials say the rapid changes should benefit manufacturers in the long term by making it cheaper to produce things internally instead of importing them from overseas, the constant upheavals make planning difficult for manufacturers in the U.S. that rely on materials and components from foreign suppliers.

Discussing how companies can manage their supply chains during the back-and-forth of changing policies from Washington and abroad are:

• Darrell Edwards, a University of Tennessee System supply chain professor and a former chief supply chain officer and chief operating officer at La-Z-Boy Incorporated
• Ji Li, a supply chain advisor for J&J Investment and Consulting and a former supply chain director for Boeing
• Laura Putre, IndustryWeek's senior editor for leadership topics