Why did they succeed where so many others have failed? In this series, we profile manufacturing leaders who rapidly scaled digital innovations across their organizations. While united by a people-first mentality, they each come backed by their own experiences and style. For this edition, we talk to Alvaro Cuba Simons, who has worked his transformational magic worldwide across many industries. “If we put the best of ourselves with the best of everyone else, we can really get somewhere – and fast. It’s the people that make things happen.”

Alvaro Cuba Simons has been around the block. Born in Peru, he worked in 70+ countries throughout his career. He has also held many titles, from Operations & Supply Chain to commercial and general management, across various industries, including CPG, textiles, automotive, and electronics. 

His last role was as a senior vice president at Mondelēz International, where he led the E2E supply chain for North America and oversaw 9,000 people, 16 manufacturing sites, 78 warehouses, 35,000 delivery points, and a net revenue of $8 billion.

As a university professor and an avid reader of history, he has one rather surprising regret: not having studied enough. “I did engineering and business and then stopped. If I had done subsequent complementary studies that were more people- and finance-oriented, I think I could have gone further, faster. But it’s fine, the world became my classroom, and in the end, I got the breadth of experience through work,” smiles Alvaro.

And like other Fast Track Mavericks, he’s naturally likable, down-to-earth, and has a very liberal definition of “semi-” when it comes to “semi-retired” – since today, he stays very busy as a consultant, social entrepreneur, and volunteer. 

“Within two years, it’s ingrained and sustainable, and people are hungry to make the next leap. And by then, I’m off to my next adventure.”

Starting Fires

When describing his roles in supply chain and as GM, Alvaro makes it sound simple. “I try to understand the situation and everything that’s happening around, and then devise a strategy and why we’re going there. This ‘Why?’ is important for the next part: explaining to everyone – up, down, and around – what’s in it for them. Since they’re going to be the ones who will make it happen. Then, I give them the resources they need – whatever it might be: training, technology, capital, expertise, support. And with those elements, they get to work and get it done.”

“Normally, within a year, it’s on fire and spreading – with everyone recognizing the value. Within two years, it’s ingrained and sustainable, and people are hungry to make the next leap,” smiles Alvaro. “And by then, I’m off to my next adventure.”

Other Fast Track Mavericks On How To Scale Innovation: 

Scott Reed: ‘Going Beyond The Firefighting And Really Solving Something’
Terry LeDoux: ‘Nobody said you can’t move fast’
Dave Penrith: ‘If People Feel Safe, They Fly’

Global Understanding Through Agile Learning

Alvaro credits his diverse global experiences with helping him successfully push through innovation. “It already started in Peru. You still have to make it work even when you have minimal resources. So, you must be very curious and willing to learn new things. And it’s interesting: at the end of my career, the number one attribute to hire people was learning agility,” says Alvaro. 

“At the same time, there may not be many opportunities in developing countries, so you need to be open to go live and work elsewhere in the world – Brazil, Costa Rica, Canada or the US, as it was in my case. You need to be open to the opportunities that come to you.”

“All these experiences were a great school – different jobs, countries, industries. And I tried to understand the situation each time – the industry, customers, suppliers, internal customers, everyone. What needs to change? Sometimes, the changes were drastic. Other times, it was not dramatic, but change was always needed.”

“Once everyone got it and understood what was in it for them – that the new way made their jobs easier and more fulfilling – it all went very fast.”

Uniting Under A ‘Why?’

“One time in North America, we had a complex merger to do, not only in terms of supply chain and manufacturing, but also procurement and customer service. We had to bring together these two completely different teams with different strategies and create a common one. Again: we needed to explain the Why? to get all these different people connected and excited about the new project. And people and technology made it possible: once everyone got it and understood what was in it for them – that the new way made their jobs easier and more fulfilling – it all went very fast.”

“In fact, it was the first time I experienced a CEO saying you won’t have enough time to do all this. Usually, they push for tighter deadlines and higher targets. But I said it was fine and by the end of the year, we not only achieved, but surpassed, our goals. And as a team, we won the company’s biggest award.”

Right People, Right Place

“Once you understand what needs to happen in terms of change, the second part is getting the right people in the right place. You want the people who understand and who go, ‘Yeah! I love it!’ They understand what’s in it for them, what’s in it for the customers or consumers, and what’s in it for the business. Win-win-win.”

“Technology is on an acceleration curve in how it impacts what you do and makes things easier. You no longer have to take two years to achieve your goals.”

“And once you do this process, you can do it again faster because you already have the trust and support. They know it benefits everyone and technology is a huge enabler,” says Alvaro. “And as time progresses, especially in the last few years, technology is on an acceleration curve in how it impacts what you do and makes things easier. You no longer have to take two years to achieve your goals.”

Empowerment As Value Chain

Looking at his career highlights, it becomes obvious that Alvaro is in the empowerment business. “Back in Brazil, a lady who was a very humble and shy machine operator became the safety spokesperson for this 5,000-person factory. She got really busy living it day-in-day-out – and found her voice doing that. And she didn’t stop at the factory: she brought the same ideas to her community – because the same safety issues also apply to the larger world. In other words, she became a leader.”

Later, Alvaro inspired a group of lady operators in Mexico to become leads in the factory’s TPM efforts. “They were so passionate. They became role models. And we used to have a lab where we trained them. We agreed when the local university asked if their graduate students could borrow our lab. And it was these ladies who taught all the technical aspects to the graduates.”

“We can all be inspired by positive energy. Whether it’s Gandhi’s humble and non-imposing manner or how Mandela saw so much potential in everyone, these are universal truths we can all learn from.”

What’s Good For One Is Good For All

Whenever Alvaro moved on to another role, country, or company, he looked for a mentor. “They would be several levels higher. I never stopped looking for these kinds of people who can inspire me. I also look at world figures like Mandela and Gandhi and how they sparked a revolution. Of course, they were on a much larger scale, but many similar elements exist in the business world. We can all be inspired by positive energy. Whether it’s Gandhi’s humble and non-imposing manner or how Mandela saw so much potential in everyone, these are universal truths we can all learn from.”

“If the results are going to be a step change, it will benefit everyone on some level. Everyone grows.”

Certainly, Alvaro has a one-world philosophy. For instance, he didn’t use different approaches for C-Suite than he did for those working on the floor. “It was never like two different worlds. The ‘What’s-in-it-for-them?’ may be different. But if it saves time, effort, and money, you’ll have no problem finding support and capital. And if it improves the quality of your work life, you can convince the floor. And that’s when you get to your sweet spot. Normally, in my experience, if the results are going to be a step change, it will benefit everyone on some level. Everyone grows.”

“My big advice is to go in with all your energy and be open and curious – do the full listening to what’s being said with words and without words. Then, you need to leverage the idea of the full community working together. As people, we all have our good and not-so-good parts, and if we put the best of ourselves with the best of all the rest, we can get somewhere. Together we can make change. This applies not only to the business world but also to social-environmental work, charity work, and the community you live in. Looking back, it’s that sense of camaraderie that comes with change that I miss most.”

Learn about ‘Augury’s Fast Track Methodology For Full Enterprise Roll-Out’

The post “Be Open. Be Curious. Bring The Best Of Yourself To The Team” appeared first on Augury.

AI and IoT have introduced sweeping changes to modern manufacturing. While it’s tempting to focus on the rise of machine learning, there is no replacement for human intelligence on the shop floor.

Science fiction has become a reality: machines are now “thinking” for themselves. So if they’re thinking, where does that leave the human workforce? No worries – it turns out people are still in charge, and have the opportunity to do better, more meaningful work than ever before.

We invited Alex and Frieda (more on them below) to walk us through this new world on the final webisode of Flip This Factory. If you haven’t watched it, it’s not too late – sign up to get it on demand.

Meet the Experts

Alex Pastor, Analytic Systems Engineer, works for GAF, the largest North American manufacturer of roofing materials. His jam? Bridging the gap between process/manufacturing and data/analytics systems.

As Maintenance Department Manager and a Certified Reliability Leader for PepsiCo, Frieda Venechuk is on a mission to drive continuous improvements in day-to-day plant operations. 

During their conversation with moderator Stephanie Hartsog, Alex and Frieda shared how technologies like AI, IoT, and predictive, prescriptive machine health have created a new way of working. Here they spill the goods on how leaders and their teams can come together and succeed in a digital world.

#1:  Seeing is Believing

According to Frieda, when it comes to buy-in for new technology on the production floor, you’ve got to explain and show your team the “why”. 

“In the maintenance world, we talk a lot about critical analysis and what parts are gonna put you dead in the water if they break down. You’re down for four to eight hours on production and that’s not time you have. So, when you can tie in this kind of monitoring on those critical assets, you show that you’re able to make preventive fixes before they crash and burn. Mechanics are skeptical at the beginning. But as they start to see more wins before a catastrophic failure, it generates buy-in.”

#2: Listen and Learn from Your Peers

Peer-to-peer communication is key in Alex’s mind. Especially when you’re scaling up a solution across multiple sites.

“We have monthly champion meetings across all sites. It’s an opportunity for champions to get together, share their feedback, talk about any challenges that they’re facing, and get input from the other sites too. It’s not only an opportunity for them to showcase the wins at their site, but they can also get help from other people. 

#3: Focus on Upskilling/Reskilling

Some people fear the latest wave of tech will eliminate their jobs. But in Alex’s experience, the tech creates new opportunities for workers to learn and master new skills and opens them up for higher-value work.

“If they’re able to and willing to embrace it, they get a taste for success and what technology can do. Then they start asking ‘How do I get more information? What education can I do? How do I get access to certifications?’ It’s been empowering to a lot of our workers that didn’t have that background. Not only because it makes their job easier because they’re not scrambling, but because they want to continue learning both professionally and personally.”

Bonus: Celebrate the Wins at Every Level

Change management is one of those big ideas that needs to be broken down into easy-to-implement steps. So when the team gets a win, Frieda believes you’ve got to recognize it as part of that process to gain buy-in.

But Wait, There’s More!

We’ve only shared a fraction of Alex and Frieda’s insights. But we won’t leave you hanging. Hop over to Flip This Factory: A New Way of Working to hear the whole conversation. And why not invite a coworker to listen in with you?

The post 3 Thought Starters to Inspire a New Way of Working appeared first on Augury.

Why did they succeed where so many others have failed? In this series, we profile manufacturing leaders who rapidly scaled digital innovations across their organization. While united by a people-first mentality, they each come backed by their own personal experiences and style. For this edition, we talk to Scott Reed, a retired Senior VP of Quality & Operations at GAF, one of the largest building supply manufacturers in the USA. “Innovation is really about teaching. And if it’s taught, it can be perpetuated and function as a force multiplier.” 

A Continual Faith In Continuous Improvement

“I was a problem solver. But I never did it alone. It always involved others. And I miss that,” says industry veteran and advisor Scott Reed looking back at over 30 years as a changemaker executive in the building materials sector. “You could also describe my job as taking the best of what people do and making it better. And I can also tell you this: once you’ve done this successfully once, people will be clamoring for the next improvement.”

Basically, Scott was always following that established path of continuous improvement – focusing on quality control and breaking down problems into fixable chunks. Or as he formulates it, “Manufacturing has always been about having clear objectives”. 

However, in recent years, the tools have gotten much – much – more powerful. And also in this digital space, Scott was very much an early adopter.  

It’s About the Workforce
(Forget Superstar Managers or Dictators on The Floor)

In terms of why it worked for him and not others, Scott is modest. “I’m a good example of being a product of my environment. I was very lucky. And I can look back on the roadmap of my life and see I did do things a little bit differently. For example, I started out in accounting and was out in the workforce for a few years before I decided I wanted to be an engineer. And different experiences bring different perspectives.”

Other Fast Track Mavericks On How To Scale Innovation: 

Alvaro Cuba Simons: ‘Be Open. Be Curious. Bring The Best Of Yourself To The Team’
Terry LeDoux: ‘Nobody said you can’t move fast’
Dave Penrith: ‘If People Feel Safe, They Fly’

“After I got my engineering degree, I was very fortunate to go work for the ELK Corporation, which GAF bought in 2007. ELK’s founder had strong ideas early on about how it’s all about the workforce – and not about the superstar managers or the dictators on the floor. It was about leveraging. And I was given a lot of freedom to take some of these quality control tools and programs and see what worked in the culture of Texas where I was, versus Tuscaloosa, Alabama where we had another factory. And the general manager there was able to do the same thing. Collectively, we took what worked. And that’s what made us valuable enough for GAF to say: ‘Look, we don’t only want to buy you, but we’re handing you the keys to our 27 manufacturing plants so you can make them all as efficient as ELK plants.”

“So that in itself was a scaling exercise. And it involved not just me but many others. And we learned a lot of things about people and culture and about how you engage in one part of the country might be a little different than another part of the country. Their needs are different, or their levels of satisfaction are different,” says Scott.  

“It was about showing people that such an opportunity can not only benefit what we do as a company, but also help you work smarter and not harder as a human.”

Good for Business, Good for the Workforce

“For me, the goal was to offer the ‘big picture’, where everyone can go, ‘Wow, this program or methodology is really transformational’ – that it not only brought benefits to the company, it really enabled the workforce to grasp it, take it, and run with it.”

But first came a lot of heavy lifting. “It took time to really take the OEE concept and prioritize and break it down. And then show the young engineers, the production management and the supply chain people that our KPIs are not just measurements. They’re also there to help guide us and understand where we may be falling short, and where we might want to take our microscope and really start exploring where the opportunities are.”

“So I think for my journey, it was about showing people that such an opportunity can not only benefit what we do as a company, but also help you work smarter and not harder as a human – that it can relieve a lot of the physical burden. That it makes life easier right down the line.” 

Change That Lasts – And Percolates Throughout The Organization

Of course, these changes also had to be lasting and infiltrate all the levels of the company. “It couldn’t be something that just happens and then a week later, it’s lost. You need to sustain that level of performance.”

“Now with these new digital insights, we can go to a whole new level.”  

“If it lasts, you can also hear the language being spoken changing. You can literally hear the adoption of the methodology from the floor, throughout the management ranks and during the weekly planning meetings. Supply chain would start using the same words. Everyone starts talking about the level of performance, and how we’re getting closer to our goals, or how material orders are becoming more predictable. And then you can truly recognize a significant step change has happened in how people are working. You know you’ve done something and really changed the organization.”

But then the challenge became moving on to the next step-change. “It can be scary: how are you going to get even further now? And that’s what digital transformation brought with it. Initially thanks to the early adoption of certain quality management tools, we were able to make these step changes. Now with these new digital insights, we can go to a whole new level.”  

Snowballing Innovation

In other words, digital technologies are able to tell you more about what’s actually happening on the floor. And the more you know, the more you can activate and inspire your workforce to deal with the problems as they arise. And the earlier you see the problems, the easier it is to organize a viable solution. 

“Digital tools and their insights bring more clarity to what’s happening. And this is a big reason why this increased clarity becomes a force multiplier for all the programs that you already have in place.”

“It all starts with the true insights provided by Machine Health with condition-based monitoring, and Process Health with event-based detection. These help you to begin to understand the events and the conditions in which things happen. And with that, you can really leverage value and the capability of the workforce to respond and react,” says Scott. 

“Digital tools and their insights bring more clarity to what’s happening. And this is a big reason why this increased clarity becomes a force multiplier for all the programs that you already have in place – they can actually work better, and work better together, with those insights.”  

“And as everyone starts looking at it from the same life perspective, it becomes a choir and solidifies in itself. And it’s at this point where you will be able to scale quickly.”

Snowballing Across the Organization

And once again, as people on the floor and their engagement perspectives start to become more in line, this spreads to become company-wide perspectives, according to Scott. “It’s not just on the shop floor or with the maintenance and production people. It’s also the people from procurement, finance, accounting… There’s this kind of coming together as a business.”

“And as everyone starts looking at it from the same life perspective, it becomes a choir and solidifies in itself. And it’s at this point where you will be able to scale quickly. If the workforce understands it, they’re going to be pushing to scale quickly because they want to see the benefit.”

“I believe leadership is really about teaching. Because if you can teach people what it is that helps them succeed – and bring success to the business – then it can be perpetuated. The knowledge will not only perpetuate that next force multiplier that comes in, we’ll be able to build on those successes.” 

“So yes, your work does carry over in your family life, and life in general.”

Team Spirit

As a teacher and problem-solver, Scott does admit to feeling restless at times now that he’s retired. “If you ask my family, they’ll tell you that with everything that comes up, I’m willing to solve a problem. So yes, your work does carry over in your family life, and life in general.”

“I was never in the military, nor would I ever compare any of my struggles with their struggles, but there are similarities in terms of people being fully engaged in what they do in a very regimented way, day in and day out. And now that I’ve been unplugged, there is a feeling of loss and not knowing how to replace that.”

“What I really miss is the fast engagement with the people, helping them solve problems, and seeing the satisfaction when things work – those smiles and high-fives. Those moments when you are going beyond the firefighting and really solving something.” 

Learn about ‘Augury’s Fast Track Methodology For Full Enterprise Roll-Out’

The post “Going Beyond The Firefighting And Really Solving Something” appeared first on Augury.

Why did they succeed where so many others have failed? In this series, we profile manufacturing leaders who rapidly scaled digital innovations across their organization. While united by a people-first mentality, they each come backed by their own personal experiences and style. For this edition, we talk to Terry LeDoux, retired VP of Digital Manufacturing at Nestlé Purina Pet Care. “First off, we never used a term like change management – especially on the floor.” 

Bringing Work Home

When Terry LeDoux retired as VP of Digital Manufacturing at Nestlé Purina Pet Care, he had an established mantra: “Think big, start small, scale quickly”. And as a practiced communicator, he was able to share this vision with both C-suite and the plant floor – to get the job done.

“As a child, I was very shy and quiet, but extremely observant,” says Terry. “And as you get older, go to college and get a job working with people, you start to learn you have to know more about a person than just their job. Life has to have meaning and work must have purpose. What’s going on at work and what’s going on in their homelife are very connected. And I think that’s what I caught on to at a very early age: that sometimes a mishap at work was really driven by something outside – and vice versa. So, you have to take the time to really talk to people, get to know who they are, and let them know who you are,” says Terry.  

“You have to take the time to really talk to people, get to know who they are, and let them know who you are.”

People Are People – Not Washing Machines

“So, twice a year, I would meet with every team member for 30 minutes. We didn’t talk much about work, we talked about life. How are things going at home? How are your kids doing? What are your passions or hobbies? Is there anything I need to do for you? And they would ask me about what I was doing outside work. So, it was building that relationship and building trust. So, they knew they could come to me with anything, and we could sit down and really talk about it. You build lifelong relationships this way.” 

“At the same time, people working in large groups can do some really powerful things. And by working with others to help clarify your vision, this quickly becomes our vision as a team. And once you have a joint vision, you as leader now need to focus on removing barriers to that vision. Do these two things and people will give their all to achieve that shared vision.”

“These two ideas really drove me: 1) that organizations can be amazing and 2) people are people…”

“And together, these two ideas really drove me: 1) that organizations can be amazing and 2) people are people. You have to treat them like people and not washing machines that perform repetitive tasks.”  

Starting Small With Digital Duct Tape

“Seeing the forest through the trees requires you to ask the question in a different way. I always used to challenge the team and myself by asking, ‘If we absolutely had to do it, how would we do it?’ And then I’d coach people that it’s okay to break rules as long as we mitigate risk. Like with scaling, nobody said we couldn’t go fast. The only people holding us back was us,” says Terry. “Okay, there will be naysayers, but you have to learn to work with and around them. Eventually they will come along.”

 “it’s actually okay if it breaks a bit while we’re testing it.”

“But when it comes down to it, if you get in a room with people, and give them that perspective, and brainstorm ideas, you start to really identify those things that are keeping you from moving forward. And that’s where a term like ‘digital duct tape’ came from. You get in the room with the infrastructure guys who say you have to do it in a certain way otherwise it will break. And my response is: it’s actually okay if it breaks a bit while we’re testing it. Let’s remove the industrialization side of things, focus on mitigating risk and just go fast. And if we see benefits and ROI, you now have the justification to industrialize the solution quickly.”

Looking Beyond The Technical

When looking back at his career, Terry is proudest of those times he could prove something was in fact not impossible. “It’s those moments when you build the trust of  leadership in what we could do,” says Terry. For instance, when Nestlé bought Purina in 2001, Terry was asked to lead the reverse integration of the established Nestlé Pet Food manufacturing and distribution sites and have them go on the Purina systems. “And this needed to be done in six months with no customer service failures. Of course, many said, ‘You can’t do that!’ And I answered, ‘Why not?’”

“It was more than just technical. It needed an organizational strategy, with the right players and right support/escalation processes. Most of the integration team on the ground were from the factory floor or corporate team members who only supported factory floor operations,” says Terry.

Other Fast Track Mavericks On How To Scale Innovation: 

Alvaro Cuba Simons: ‘Be Open. Be Curious. Bring The Best Of Yourself To The Team’
Scott Reed: ‘Going Beyond The Firefighting And Really Solving Something’
Dave Penrith: ‘If People Feel Safe, They Fly’

“It worked. Six months later, and a whole lot of hours and plane trips bouncing all across the country, we had reverse integrated the six factories they requested. We had no significant customer service upsets. It wasn’t perfect but it was fast. It was an enormous level of cultural change where we learned the best of both Nestlé and Purina cultures to create an amazingly successful business and organization.”

And Terry did not look back as Nestlé Purina Pet Care continued to roll out cutting-edge technologies.  

Why So Slow?!?

“But in terms of the industry as a whole, I’m actually confused and concerned about where we are after seven years of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. We still have so many companies in pilot purgatory, or with single point solutions, or massive AI projects that take years to stand up. They are all missing all this low-hanging fruit digital transformation provides by enhancing human and machine performance,” says Terry. 

“But in terms of the industry as a whole, I’m actually confused and concerned about where we are after seven years of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation.”

“I often hear people say you can’t change factory culture in a factory in 90 days. And, of course, I disagree! The tech is there, along with the UX design and the behavioral science, that allows you to move this fast. It’s more about engaging people in a way that has them really emotionally participating in the manufacturing process. And then giving them tools to do it.”

Move Fast – And With The Right Partners

“Look at Augury… What operator doesn’t want a machine to come and tell them, ‘Hey, there’s something wrong with me and I need your attention before something really bad happens. Here are the three things to look at’? Who doesn’t want that on their production line – especially when that line is running at a thousand cans a minute? Every operator wants that.”

“So we were able to apply these great technologies in a very short time with the help of some great partner vendors. And now that I’ve retired, it’s not as if the team at Nestlé Purina Pet Care and their vendor partners are slowing down. They’re not stopping. They want to keep innovating. Once you taste the benefits, you just want more. And it’s just fun and exciting to be a part of a broader industry team engaged in a common vision or common problem solving. This is how you achieve things.”  

Bringing Everyone Along For The Ride

A big part of Terry’s job was to act as interpreter between C-Suite’s latest ambitions and the plant floor’s enduring realities. “First off, we never used a term like change management – especially on the factory floor. We broke that mold,” says Terry.  

“Each factory created their own success leading to ever increasing successes.” 

“I think as we started this transformation, we learned that if we had a really good UX design, we didn’t need to train as much. And what we really needed to do was enlist the factory floor teams. They knew better than anyone where the issues were and so needed to be a part of the solution from the very beginning. And that was our approach. We never went out and said, ‘Hi, we’re from the change management team and we are here to help you do your job better!’ We’d go out and ask if they could help us test this new tool and they were an integral part of defining how this tool worked for them on the factory floor. Our job was to provide the factory floor with support and resources to be successful. Each factory created their own success leading to ever increasing successes.” 

Accept The Failures, Celebrate The Wins

“People jump on that. And then as they go through that pilot, you really need to push the  recognition of success or failure, not just inside on that factory floor, but across all the factories. If we failed in the pilot, we recognized and thanked everyone (and often even celebrated). We then asked them what they wanted to try next, because the problem didn’t go away. And this led to factories always wanting to be the pilot.” 

“If you give the people a platform to participate and contribute,
it is simply amazing what they can accomplish.”

“Even during scaling a successful solution, we’d always go into each factory with the same approach: Help us test this further. Every successive site taught us something we didn’t know and they could share back with their sister sites. If you give the people a platform to participate and contribute, it is simply amazing what they can accomplish.”

‘By God, We Care’

“Project management is also key. That meeting cadence needs to be established. A player on the ground has to meet with you once a week to get information so you can be very responsive to the needs of the manufacturing floor. You also have to have a monthly or quarterly meeting cadence with senior leadership to keep them apprised of progress or slow downs that need their support. You cannot move at the speed of digital without these meeting cadences.  

Success in manufacturing is connecting people to people, 
teams to teams, people to machines, and machines to people.“

“Again, this all very much follows this idea of: This is your tool for your factory and we are here to support you. And by God, we care! If they tell us something’s wrong, we’re going to jump in and try to help. I’ve said it hundreds of times: Success in manufacturing is connecting people to people,  teams to teams, people to machines, and machines to people.“

“Focus on enhancing human and machine performance as a single purpose and not mutually exclusive objectives. And that’s the path that we took in every factory. Only then can you move at the speed of digital.”

Learn about ‘Augury’s Fast Track Methodology For Full Enterprise Roll-Out’

The post “Nobody said you can’t move fast” appeared first on Augury.

Why did they succeed when so many others failed? In this series, we profile manufacturing leaders who rapidly scaled digital innovations across their organization. While united by a people-first mentality, they each come backed by their own personal experiences and style. For this edition, we talked to retired Chief Engineer at Unilever, Dave Penrith. “Here’s my big lesson: you need to pay twice as much attention to the people’s journey than the technical journey.”

You can safely call Dave Penrith a maverick – one unafraid to reinvent the wheel. You can also call him extremely loyal. “I started at the lowest of the low as a 16-year-old apprentice at Unilever,” he says. And by the time he semi-retired almost 36 years later in 2021, he was the Chief Engineer who had overseen countless technology roll-outs. 

These efforts included creating a full closed-loop digital twin in six weeks. While this achievement made him a shining star for Microsoft Azure, he was slow to tell his bosses about these plans. “I don’t always play the permission game,” understates Dave with a smile. I believe that energy and innovation can come more from unstructured free thinking than from control and permission.”

“I can tell you about one choke moment: it was when some junior people presented to the board of Microsoft led by the CEO Satya Nadella.”

Packing The Ultimate Journey Survival Kit 

“At the time, I’d describe my job as having the responsibility to take over 7,000 souls spread across 300 locations on a journey that they’ve never been on before.”

As to what to pack on such a voyage, “I think the only survival kit you ever get in life is your own personal resilience and energy. As that famous man Mr. Drucker once said: ‘Your first and foremost job as a leader is to take charge of your own energy and then help manage and orchestrate the energy of those around you.’ And I think managing that personal energy is probably the biggest battle you’ll ever fight. But it will give you the depth to be resilient and resourceful enough to then help other people get to where we set out to go,” says Dave. “But of course, this sense of energizing is a circle: I very much feed off other people’s energy and input.”

Other Fast Track Mavericks On How To Scale Innovation: 

Alvaro Cuba Simons: ‘Be Open. Be Curious. Bring The Best Of Yourself To The Team’
Scott Reed: ‘Going Beyond The Firefighting And Really Solving Something’
Terry LeDoux: ‘Nobody said you can’t move fast’

As Chief Engineer, Dave felt proudest when he could push those below him into the spotlight. “I can tell you about one choke moment: it was when some junior people presented to the board of Microsoft led by the CEO Satya Nadella. They did the real work: creating a digital twin in six weeks when everyone thought it was impossible,” says Dave. “Actually, it took them five weeks, but they were afraid to tell me,” he laughs. 

Dave also got a kick out of seeing his own CEO’s reaction. “He saw them and his jaw just dropped. Because we had never told anyone what we were doing,” smiles Dave. “But I was Chief Engineer of one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world. I was responsible for large capital and revenue budgets. And if I can’t find the money hiding in there for a pilot, we’ve got a whole other problem.” 

Avoiding Problems Over Solving Problems

Dave attributes his success to a combination of things. “I come from a hardworking working-class background. My mom was a school cook and my dad was a bricklayer. So, I’ve always worked hard. There’s never been a substitute for hard graft.” 

But at several points in this career, he realized it was less about working harder than working smarter. Even while he was still the “lowest of the low”, he learned important lessons that would later bleed over into his management style – namely: recognizing the power of predictive maintenance. 

“When I was about 21 or 22, I was the only technician on shift at a very large factory: working 12-hour days and 12-hour nights. I did that for about eight years. Nobody is there to help you, so your resilience builds. You start to realize that what you do on Monday night will pay back on Friday night. So rather than just respond to breakdowns, a few of us started looking at how we could not have that problem on Friday. And that was probably where the problem avoidance thinking started coming in…”

Indeed. Why deal with a problem when you can avoid it altogether? “We were doing like a low-tech version of what Augury offers: recognizing the problem before it becomes one.”  

“If you make things complicated, you will fail in complicated ways. Happiness is much more basic and straightforward.”

Game Plan: Happiness

At one point, his talents were recognized. “This old guy was the head of engineering for Europe. He called me ‘Boy’ – very old school. He called me over and said, ‘Boy, I’m sending you to university and then you’re going to work for me. Don’t argue. Come see me next week’.” 

Dave’s career took off from there. “But it wasn’t as if I ever had a game plan. My goal was to be happy. I got a job to earn money. And every time an opportunity came up, I asked: Is it interesting? Will it stretch me? Will it get me out of bed in the morning? I also figured in larger organizations, by the time you’ve done one job, the organization has redeveloped and changed. So, what’s the point of planning? If you make things complicated, you will fail in complicated ways. Happiness is much more basic and straightforward.”

“I start with the assumption that everyone genuinely wants to do a good job. And my job is to give them the environment to do that. And if they fail: it’s me, the boss, who should look in the mirror.”

Good Leader, Bad Leader

“When you grow up in a large organization – and especially if you go from being a petrified 16-year-old in green overalls, to having board-level conversations – you meet a lot of people you respect. You also meet a lot of people you don’t respect. So, you experience the impact of both good leadership and bad leadership both inside and outside your own organization. We usually don’t talk about bad leaders. But I detest bullying and people making themselves appear superior in all the wrong ways. It really gets under my skin. It’s something to be avoided at all costs. So, I think taking in both sides really formed me.”

“When it comes down to it, if people feel safe and secure, they will fly and you’ll get the best out of them,” says Dave. “I start with the assumption that everyone genuinely wants to do a good job. And my job is to give them the environment to do that. And if they fail: it’s me, the boss, who should look in the mirror.”

Once The Fear of Failure Is Erased: Magic

Dave loves mistakes. “But then the ones you admit to, learn from and share with others – so they can avoid it themselves. I was always sharing my mistakes. It makes people feel better knowing the boss screws up. Like when I was a cocky 23-year-old developing a machine for splitting bottles. I thought I had thought about everything. I figured it was absolutely perfect. But then I hadn’t measured the door it had to go through,” says Dave – still having fun chastising his younger self. “On the plus side, it did give some brickies some work when the wall had to be put back up.”

“But this idea stuck with me: when everybody’s focused on the details, somebody has got to stand back and go, ‘Hang on a minute, what have we missed?’” In the end, Dave turned his own mistakes into questions that became the basis of a risk profiling tool for capital projects – not to mention a long series of video blogs he shared with the company’s engineering community he established.  

Communities Eat Organizations for Breakfast

The fact that Dave could share his mistake videos so easily was because early on as Chief Engineer he had sent out a group email to all of Unilever’s engineers welcoming them all to a new engineering community. “There was no community. Morale was often low. And since communities eat organizations for breakfast, it was a fast way to share and elevate the pride we had in our work – to better energize and inspire each other.”

“Just because I’m in charge doesn’t mean I know everything.” 

He also made the workforce more diverse – for instance, by significantly boosting the percentage of female workers. “Another thing I’d do is never recruit people in my own image. I think that’s another common mistake leaders make. I want people who think the opposite of me, and then give them the courage to challenge me. Because who says I’m right? Just because I’m in charge doesn’t mean I know everything.” 

“When I talk to people about their failed digital journey, the overriding factor is they forgot the people’s journey. They thought it was like buying stock off the shelf – ‘Oh, I’ll take that blue one’.”

Leading From the Heart

“I pay twice as much attention to the people’s journey than the technical one. And when I talk to people about their failed digital journey, the overriding factor is they forgot the people’s journey. They thought it was like buying stock off the shelf – ‘Oh, I’ll take that blue one’,” says Dave. “They always fail at the interfaces.”

“When we decided to do something in the industry 4.0 space, we had a very smart HR lady who suggested we do a people strategy before a tech strategy. As a result, people felt as though we were investing in them, and not some piece of tech. And this was very true: we were investing in them to help the company even more.”

“Again, this was something I did not ask permission for. It’s a very corporate thing to ask for permission for everything. And with a lot of people, they’re not actually asking for permission but asking to share accountability if they fail.”

“Either you’re a leader or you’re not. You can make mistakes, but you have to lead from the heart. Otherwise, you are not authentic and you’ll get sussed out pretty quick.” 

Learn about ‘Augury’s Fast Track Methodology For Full Enterprise Roll-Out’.

The post “If People Feel Safe, They Fly” appeared first on Augury.

Manufacturing is not just an industry. It’s a community, and one that will continue to come closer together  in 2024, predicts Steph Hartsog, Augury’s Senior Director of Global Community & Customer Marketing. “We have an opportunity to really help each other.”

A lot happened in 2023 with Augury’s own community of leading manufacturers. But across the industry, we are witnessing trends that indicate manufacturing has to increase its collaboration efforts. While we are in fact in the middle of a manufacturing boom, we are also being held back by challenges around the current ‘Grey Wave’ of retirement and continued snags in the supply chain. 

Happily, we have galvanizing organizations such as CESMII, the Smart Manufacturing Institute. Funded by the U.S. government, this non-profit was established as the unifying force to promote smart manufacturing. By sparking efforts around education, networking and initiating research projects, they hope to inspire manufacturers of all stripes to begin on their journey of digital transformation. 

So it seems like perfect timing to now look forward and share how we think 2024 will play out for the greater manufacturing community. Remember: we’re in this together. 

1. The use of cutting-edge technology will be recognized as  imperative in attracting and retaining talent

We frequently hear manufacturing leaders say it’s hard to attract new talent – which is critical for today’s organizations if they are going to continue addressing the needs of the market. But here’s a fact: by highlighting how you are using cutting-edge technology, you will actually attract the next generation of team members and leaders. 

Today’s digital natives are looking to make an impact via their jobs. So inspire them by giving them the digital tools they need to maximize their impact!

2. The role of education continues to expand

And in the name of attracting and retaining this talent, an increasingly important role will be played by education, such as through online courses, live training, user group meetings, and knowledge repositories.

In addition, by using new technology to address business challenges, your current employees will also have the opportunity to learn new skills and thereby change their day-to-day – improving safety, increasing efficiency, creating more work-life balance, and opening the door to promotions.

While Augury has its own in-house Academy, the previously mentioned CESMII is an invaluable education resource for not only reskilling but also supporting those in leadership roles. 

3. The need to support one another as a manufacturing community is a must-do 

We’re all part of communities – whether it’s the neighborhoods in which you live, the schools your children attend, or the local place of faith you may visit. Uniquely, today’s manufacturers also have an opportunity to help one another. However, we often hear the objection: “I can’t talk to people outside my company because I might give away our secret sauce.” But the fact is we can learn a lot from one another without having to share our trade secrets. Think:

• How you successfully rolled-out a new piece of technology
• How you streamlined your standup meetings
• Tips on how to celebrate a team achieving their quarterly KPIs

Just look at Augury’s The Endpoint to see firsthand how manufacturers are helping one another succeed. In fact, we just participated in a roundtable with manufacturing leader Terry LeDoux that stressed the importance – and power – of building mutual trust across the ecosystem. 

4. The importance of celebrating team wins has never been more clear 

Change is everywhere. We keep trying new ways to not only meet market needs but to also face down that ever-present requirement to cut costs. The pressure can build – especially if team members are also navigating personal challenges. Life can turn into a grind – and fast. So, as leaders, you need to cut through the chaos and really take time to celebrate team successes. It helps everyone stay focused on the wins rather than getting mired in the things that aren’t going right. And you can do this in many ways:

• Call out team accomplishments 
• Give a spot bonus
• Write a note to a high-performing team-member’s manager 
• Make a recommendation on LinkedIn
• Highlight the success on a team or company call 
• And the list goes on… 

Many people in your workforce are motivated by recognition. So step up and be that person driving this important part of your culture.

5. The value of active participation in change management will be increasingly embraced

After helping hundreds of factory sites rollout new technology, Augury has seen and learned a few things. One of the steps we often see executive leaders skip is change management. Our newly-launched Fast Track Methodology not only contains the playbook for launching enterprise rollouts, it also prescribes how executive leaders need to play an active role in change. Remember, no outcome is possible without the support of your team. If you don’t help them manage the change, you’ll never see the payoff you want.

So let’s do this, people! Here’s to making 2024 a great year for both manufacturing and the customers we serve. 

Join The Endpoint and work together as a community to make 2024 the best year yet!

The post 2024 Manufacturing Predictions: It’s About Community, People! appeared first on Augury.

Innovation in industrial manufacturing is needed to solve complex business problems. Yet, managing the change that accompanies the innovation is complex. But once you’ve busted through some common myths and found the right partners, the process becomes much – much – easier. 

That change is hard is something we encounter all the time, both in business and our personal lives. And yet, innovation and change are what drive organizations forward, growing and delivering increased value to  customers, the ecosystem, and the market.

We at Augury work daily with industrial manufacturing executives, plant managers, maintenance and reliability managers, technicians, maintenance planners, maintenance schedulers, and other team members critical to building Production Health programs.

And in addition to driving transformation and change, today’s executives and plant managers are also responsible for bringing new products to market – and doing this ever-faster and with ever-higher margins. They also have to compete for talent in a competitive market, work to make their operations more sustainable, and be a meaningful member of their communities. 

That’s a lot to juggle.

Read ‘Augury’s Fast Track Methodology For Full Enterprise Roll-Out’

Busting The Myths

To reduce the friction that can be involved in implementing new technology and help our customers achieve value at scale at a rapid pace, we just released our Fast Track Methodology, designed to make it easy for our customers to bring innovation to their organization while managing the change required.

As we developed the methodology, we identified certain recurring myths across the industry that were obviously slowing any efforts at implementing innovation at scale. 

So, we’re here to bust these myths in the name of driving the industry forward.  

Myth #1: I can delegate transformation

We still see leaders skipping the process of change management. And driving transformation always involves managing change. Sure, it’s a lot easier to approve a big transformational project and then ask for updates from the team executing the change. It’s much harder as a leader to stay involved. 

Yet, as an executive sponsor, the team needs you to set the priority, help manage the roadblocks, give the business context, and create alignment internally. And it’s most efficient for the sponsor of the project to do this. It saves the team hours of time and helps ensure you get the results you are investing in. 

For example, one busy Saturday, I asked my son to go clean our pickup. He loves anything to do with vehicles so he readily said yes. But it was his first time ever, so we had to start over again. This time we did it together, with me showing him how to do it, step-by-step. Whether you’re 11, 28 or 43, having leadership involved helps drive new ways of doing things. 

Our Fast Track Methodology was developed with milestones for keeping you, the executive sponsor, involved while giving you tools to make your engagement an easy lift.

Myth #2: Change is top-down and not a team sport 

Context is everything. When I was a kid, my parents told me not to leave my shampoo in the corner of the shower. It made me so mad—stupid I know.. I remember thinking – like any kid – Don’t tell me what to do! I finally asked them why, and they told me water would pool and cause mold. Once I had the context and understood the problem we were trying to solve, I was onboard. (It was actually very easy to put my shampoo somewhere else.)

Just like 13-year-old me, no employee wants to be told what to do. They want to understand the problem you’re trying to solve, understand how you’re thinking about solutions, and be given an opportunity to weigh in on options. And, they want confidence that this isn’t another special project that will be deprioritized once the next leader joins. As a transformational leader and change agent, this makes all the difference in creating advocates for your project. 

With the Fast Track Methodology, we have built in opportunities for you to bring your team along.

Myth #3: Once the ball is rolling, your job is done

It’s the old saying: seeing is believing. Besides context, your end users of any technology need to see the product in action, understand how it will make their lives better and what goals it will help them achieve. (It’s also important to instill the confidence that they will still have a job even after the technology is live.) And once the ball is rolling, celebrate those wins. Word will spread, hearts and minds will be won over, and trust will be built. 

Good teachers have mastered the art of engagement. For instance, my son’s elementary teacher recently led an ethics class. Together, they then created a poster outlining the ethics of their classroom. The teacher then continued to reinforce the message by offering kids slips of paper to write a positive note to someone who they witnessed taking actions supporting the ethics of the classroom. Sure, she could have easily talked about ethics and left it at that. Instead, she reinforced it over time by showing how it applied to them and then gave them ownership to celebrate the wins. 

Through the Fast Track Methodology, we’ve built in ways to share successes and instill confidence in new users. It’s the only way to generate the buy-in required to go big with your transformational project.

Myth #4: Each site should pay their own way

Speaking of confidence, leaders need to give their teams the confidence that comes with corporate providing the full budget. Remember, change is scary and intimidating. Not only do teams need your help setting the priority of the transformation project, they need your wallet to build trust. 

In fact, we’ve seen the organizations that fund initial rollouts for the first two years generate greater adoption and ultimately the impactful outcomes they are looking for. This removes a significant barrier to execution and increases speed-to-value. 

Take the example from my 13-year-old. She loves to write but doesn’t want to journal because she’s afraid we will read her musings. We suggested finding a safe for her journal. True to any teenager, her next words were, “Do I have to pay for it?” Knowing it is her preferred way to decompress, I told her no, because the outcome of her getting her feelings out outweighed any cost involved.

We’ve helped hundreds of sites roll out Augury technology. We have the best practices in our pocket. As part of the Fast Track Methodology, we provide the knowledge and tools to get you set up for success from the beginning.

Myth #5: Fast means a half dozen sites a year 

Now, let’s get technical again. Manufacturers are thinking too small and slow when it comes to scaling. Many think implementing technology in four to six new sites a year will be a big win for them (and of course this number varies between industries). Yes it may take a bit to gain alignment at the plant leadership level and to formulate the correct sequence of sites to deploy into. 

Despite this, the forward-thinking leaders in our ecosystem are driving full global rollouts (north of 25 sites) in 12 to 18 months – without compromising quality for speed.  

Myth #6: This site is not technologically mature enough

We also see leaders assume their sites need a certain level of technological maturity for something so advanced as AI. The truth is, sometimes the sites that are less interested in adopting new technology have the most to gain from a Production Health program. 

As part of our Fast Track Methodology, we will work with you to prioritize sites to rollout in consecutive waves – based on our experience from rolling out hundreds of sites. The steps we take are tried and true.

Myth #7: It’s too expensive

If a solution has proven ROI in months, why is price even part of the conversation?

Myth #8: You have to build it alone

Leaders need to find a vendor with a partnership mindset. Gone are the days of buying software like you order hardcover books, only to find them on the shelf years later having never been read (or installed). Today, you need a vendor who understands your business, falls in love with your problem, and is dedicated to helping you drive business results. But yes, you still have to pull your own weight (see above).

With the Fast Track Methodology, we’re with you every step of the way.
And it doesn’t end with your rollout wrapping up. We have an online community, user groups, an Academy, and ongoing ways to provide feedback throughout your relationship with Augury.

Change Is Hard But Good

Innovation and transformation are hard. Yet the disruption is what will allow you to achieve critical business objectives in new and different ways. Managing the change that runs in parallel are steps that are often skipped. 

In short: Augury’s Fast Track Methodology was built to get your Production Health program rolled out, at scale, as quickly as possible, while running change management steps in parallel. 

The post 8 Myths Holding Back Manufacturers From Innovating At Scale   appeared first on Augury.

When an AI-driven tech solution proves its worth, it only makes sense to scale it across your business as soon as possible. Any lost minute is a loss of value. But sadly, it’s here where things commonly fail – often partly due to a disconnect between the executive office and the plant floor. After years of successful rollouts with some of the biggest names across industries of all kinds, Augury has now formulated a Fast Track Methodology to overcome the specific issues manufacturers face during rollout. So what do you need to know to get all stakeholders on the same page – and fast?

The Only Way Forward…

It sounds straightforward enough… “Dream big, start small, scale quickly,” as one customer described the ideal route to full enterprise roll-out. However, the industrial manufacturing industry is notorious for stalling at “small”. Success depends on ditching “pilot purgatory” and ramping up speed and scale. 

We certainly need to apply technological innovation to solve manufacturing’s complex business challenges. But tech is only part of the equation. Companies also need the right people and processes in place to unlock the tech’s value in the most efficient way possible. This is why, after over a decade of working with global customers, we have developed a proven approach that can overcome the hurdles facing most tech initiatives. 

And yes, the methodology involves milestones, best practices, tools, tutorials, et cetera. However, at its core, the methodology comes down to seven key insights that make rapid scaling possible.  

1) Don’t Skimp On Change Management 

Innovation is always a challenge. But industrial manufacturing is a special case since large organizations typically give their individual sites a lot of autonomy for decision-making. So, you can’t just show up at a site and say: change. Everyone needs to be involved, convinced, engaged, and brought along for the full ride. 

In other words, driving transformation is a team sport. Yes, you as the executive sponsors need to stay involved – clearing roadblocks, making the business case, creating internal alignment. But there should also be support from the right mix of leaders and champions at each site who can bring the local culture into the loop and make it their own.  

2) Give Clarity and Context

Context is everything. Leaders need to deeply understand what they want to achieve with a particular tech – while also having a deep grasp on how the change might affect those who will actually use the solution. In this way, leaders are better equipped to explain why this change is essential. By being a strong advocate, you breed other strong advocates. 

Everyone just wants to understand the problem that needs to be solved and how the offered solution can help. They want to be able to give feedback on how this solution can best be applied in their plant. They need to be reassured that leadership is not just chasing yet another shiny object. 

3) Win Hearts And Minds By Building Trust

At the end of the day, change management only succeeds when you have the right leaders in the right place – capturing hearts and minds of people on all levels and helping erase any fear of failure and distrust of change. The technology’s end users need to understand how it will improve their professional lives – and what specific goals it will help them to achieve. They need to see the tech in action. They need to know it’s not going to end up taking their jobs away. That, in fact, it will open them up to other meaningful work that AI/IoT cannot do – such as leaning into the opportunity to upskill and create a more satisfying career.

4) Invest Fully In New Technology

Leaders need to give their teams the confidence that comes with providing a full budget. At Augury, we’ve seen that the organizations who fund initial rollouts for the first two years generate greater adoption and ultimately increased speed-to-value. It’s also not only about investing in the tech, but also in the training so people are optimally equipped to embrace the tech.  

5) Set Your Expectations On ‘Fast’

With implementation, leaders often rate a rollout of 4-6 new sites a year as successful. But while every situation is different, we’ve seen many forward-looking leaders driving full global roll-outs within 12-18 months – while managing the change along the way. In other words, it pays to be more ambitious. The key is to choose a tech that focuses on a global core business need – that it’s a solution that solves a specific problem and one that has already cracked the scalability issue.

6) Don’t Wait For A Site To First Reach A Certain ‘Tech Maturity’

Certainly, you should prioritize your sites into different rollout waves – and there are definitely best practices worth sharing around this. And yes, some sites are less interested in adopting new technologies than others. However, these are often the sites with the most to gain. People tend to focus too much on their lighthouse factories – their poster children for success. The question often becomes “How can we bring the success of our most advanced sites to our less mature sites?”  While this may be a common question for many organizations, the better question is “What sites have the most to gain from this technology?”

7) Find The Right Strategic Partner 

As one successful change leader describes his perfect vendor: “They need to be in love with solving my problems.” Certainly, the right engaged partner can help you chase, track, and embrace success throughout the full process. And they should consider it their responsibility to provide all the tools you need to achieve success. 

The goal is clear: improved and sustainable productivity worldwide. The vendor helps you get there. This is the beauty of the right SaaS purchase. It’s not a one-off like buying a car or some CapEx investment. It’s an ongoing partnership that scales with you – building a relationship and trust.

In other words, vendors should be there every step of the way – from install to driving adoption to scaling and beyond. The vendor should make sure their tech will work in your culture – wherever and whatever that might be. 

The Code Is Cracked: Stability In Transformation

At Augury, we’ve already covered a lot of miles with other manufacturing pioneers. We’re proud and ready to share what we’ve learned. Everything we’ve experienced over the past decade working with our innovative customers has led us to this moment, creating the Fast Track Methodology that is simple, proven, and repeatable – providing a sense of stability in transformation. 

In the coming months, we will share more on this methodology and debunk the myths that slow the scaling of innovation. This new approach is a result of many conversations and experiences. Like our vast library of machine data that forms the basis of the success of our algorithms, this method has been crowdsourced. We thank everyone who played their part. 

And if we were to summarize our Fast Track message: Put your focus back on thinking big, starting small, and scaling fast – we’ve got your back.

If you’re interested in scaling your Production Health program with Augury, reach out to your Account Executive or your Customer Success Manager.

The post Augury’s Fast Track Methodology For Full Enterprise Roll-Out  appeared first on Augury.

Henkel, the chemical and consumer goods multinational, has always been a pioneer. As Augury expands its partnership with this iconic company, we speak to Global Maintenance Engineering Manager, Tyler Beckett, about his varied career and how Henkel’s predictive maintenance program is pushing the company forward. “There’s always room for improvement!” enthuses Tyler.

Founded in 1876, Henkel is an established German company with beloved brands across adhesive technologies, beauty care, and laundry & home care. So, how does a 140-year-old company like Henkel discover and execute on manufacturing innovations internally?

In 2020, Henkel turned to Augury’s Machine Health platform for cutting-edge machine health monitoring service as a solution. However, it’s really employees like Tyler Beckett – Global Maintenance Engineering Manager at Henkel and outdoor-loving father of five – who drive innovative improvements.

Our team at Augury caught up with Tyler to learn more about his layered journey from academia to plant to corporate. And it certainly showcases what’s possible with an engineering degree – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. While built on essential education and hard skills training, Tyler’s successful career and dynamic contributions to Henkel really demonstrate the power of drive.

Tyler, we’d love to learn about your background. Can you tell us how you got started as a maintenance engineer?

Tyler: Sure! Well, originally I had my eye on studying marine biology, but I switched majors and earned my Mechanical Engineering degree in 2008. Then I worked in Caterpillar’s transmissions facility for a few years before going to work at a university on an oil research project.

I was interested in making machines last longer through lubrication contamination control. My research consisted of burning fuel oil in a reactor, recreating the combustion conditions found inside land-based gas turbine engines. So, I collected and studied the morphology of the ash to determine how certain fuel additives reacted and affected the combustion characteristics.

Eventually, I realized I really preferred maintenance and engineering to academia, and that led me to Carpenter Technology Corporation. I found a job at one of their steel mills based in South Carolina. I worked there as a plant engineer for five years, eventually progressing to mechanical engineering and reliability manager. At Carpenter, I gained broad experience – from reliability and intensive lubrication work to machine design calculations, project management and heat treating.

So, what led you to Henkel?

Tyler: I loved living in South Carolina but wanted to move closer to the upstate area. I really like rock climbing and outdoor activities in the mountains. And so there’s a lot more of that there. When I started looking for a job in Greenville, I found Henkel.

I’ve had a three-pronged idea of where I’d like to see my career go: I wanted to work in manufacturing, which I did at Caterpillar, Inc. I wanted to work in heavy industry, which I did also during my time with Carpenter Technology Corporation. And next, I wanted experience in the chemical industry. That’s where I am right now at Henkel and I’m very happy.

When I was at Carpenter I wore many hats, including project management, machine and tool design, and reliability. I became especially interested in condition-based monitoring and predictive maintenance. So, I started with lubrication, which I was most interested in, and ended up earning three levels of certification in oil analysis and lubrication.

We took the plant from a zero state of lubrication and brought it up to regularly monitoring, sampling, and filtering 168 lubricated assets. This provided significant savings to the company. We didn’t have a single hydraulic or gear-based lubrication failure in the following two and a half years once the project was completed.

When I moved to Henkel, I continued to build upon the success I had at Carpenter Technology, but without the project management part.

Wow, so your role at Henkel is really focused in comparison.

Tyler: Yes, I was primarily focusing on maintenance engineering. I converted all the gearboxes to accept offline filtration and oil sampling. Then I began focusing on sustainability, working on our steam and compressed air systems. As part of that, I performed a compressed air leak survey and found $90,000 worth of air leaks.

The predictive maintenance work I was doing at the plant attracted the attention of the global maintenance team based in Europe. 

We also acquired devices and equipment to enable us to perform precision alignment and motor/transformer testing and trending. The predictive maintenance work I was doing at the plant attracted the attention of the global maintenance team based in Europe.

In September 2019, Henkel asked me to apply for a global maintenance position. I applied, was offered the position and gratefully accepted it. The original plan was for me to provide global maintenance support to various countries and regions where Henkel has a presence. Well, I went to Europe for two weeks in January 2020 – and shortly after that, the world drastically changed.

Right, COVID-19. So what did the new normal mean for you in a role originally meant for traveling?

Tyler: Henkel has adjusted their outlook for flexible working locations due to the global pandemic, so I spend some of my time in a home-based office. Now, I provide webinars and training to global locations. This means I help plan and manage air leak surveys, lubrication modifications, and the Augury implementation, amongst many other things.

I’ve always had an interest in maintenance and a strong drive for it, which has helped me get to where I’ve ended up in my career so far. I have also worked hard to expand my knowledge through classes and certifications. That’s why I have earned the CRL, CMRP, steam trap surveyor, ultrasound level 1, and ICML certifications. I am currently working toward becoming Vibration CAT II certified.

I’ve always had an interest in maintenance and a strong drive for it, which has helped me get to where I’ve ended up in my career so far.

That’s so inspiring. What accomplishments are you most proud of in your work with Augury?

Tyler: I am very grateful to be able to partner with Augury in advancing our condition-based monitoring capability at Henkel. I am also pleased that our initial success has blossomed into being able to recommend Augury to other Henkel plants that have a need and/or desire to increase their predictive maintenance capabilities.

What’s next on your roadmap at Henkel?

Tyler: As far as my future journey with Henkel, I plan to keep pushing forward implementing predictive maintenance technologies and increasing awareness about the benefits of condition-based monitoring. There is always room for improvement!

We’d like to thank Tyler for sharing his story.

The constant desire to reach the next level pushes people, and the companies they work for, to grow. But when established businesses like Henkel decide to invest in talent like Tyler, a kind of rare magic happens: the best of traditional brands harness innovation to get even better.

Interested in learning more about how Augury is impacting Machine Health at other manufacturers? Check out our case studies.

The post Hear from a Maintenance Engineer: Tyler Beckett appeared first on Augury.