In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Plant Services chief editor Thomas Wilk and UL Solutions Senior VP of Industrial Testing, Inspection, and Certification Jeff Smidt explore the growing role of independent sustainability certification in the industrial sector. Their discussion centers on ECOLOGO and how it evaluates materials, manufacturing practices, and full product lifecycles. The conversation also highlights the connection between reliability, risk reduction, and transparent environmental performance. Together, they examine how rigorous standards like UL 2711 may shape future expectations for industrial products.

Could a dual-layer metallic coating be an innovation in jet-engine design?

There is a line of innovation from product design to metallurgy, to production, and to product performance. For aerospace and defense systems, precision parts that operate under intense heat and high pressure are critical to performance and reliability. In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, American Machinist chief editor Robert Brooks explains how researchers are proposing a new coating process that will make alternative, high-entropy alloys perform at significantly higher temperatures – which could mean greater fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs for jet engines.

Industrial exoskeletons are gaining traction in manufacturing and logistics, but misconceptions still overshadow what they actually do. New Equipment Digest chief editor Laura Davis breaks down the biggest myths with insights from HeroWear’s Matthew Yandell, PhD, to reveal the truth behind this fast-growing technology. To learn more, visit: https://www.newequipment.com/55325220

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 explores how to celebrate and reflect at the end of the year, while maintaining operations and planning for the next year. Bonus: Is Santa's workshop the ultimate factory?

Caroline Johnson shares some of the lessons she learned about leadership from her time in the U.S. Navy and how her fellow officers continue to inspire her as an executive advisor and coach with DEKRA.

Mike Payne, president and owner of Hill Manufacturing & Fabrication loves data and metrics. If he can pull information from a machine, he's doing it. Mike talked with IndustryWeek's Dennis Scimeca about why he collects all of that data, what he does with it and why, despite all of this technology, succeeding in manufacturing is still all about relationships and performance, not technology.

Payne noted that before data collection, managers would assign tasks to machinists with a time estimate. And, wouldn't you know it, that's how long it turned out they needed to make each part. Was the machine in use that entire time? How much of that time was setup vs. production? Could the company have cut those time allotments by 20% without harming quality?

Without data collection to monitor what was really happening, nobody knew.

Ben Wynne of Intrepid Automation helps Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl veer from the M&A soap opera and get into the weeds about what industrial 3D printing is doing for aerospace, defense, automotive, health care and semiconductor production.

Industrial AI software heavyweight IFS chose its New York show to debut virtual agents equipped with 50 skills that autonomously manage high-volume tasks. For this episode of the Great Question podcast, Smart Industry's Scott Achelpohl and Plant Services' Tom Wilk were there to chat about the product, IFS Loops, with its CEO, Somya Kapoor.