Manufacturing Revival Radio is a Dreamland Radio production with hosts Todd Schnick and Todd Youngblood. On this show, we feature the companies, the leaders, the innovators leading the charge and driving the innovation. Through the blood, sweat, and tears of working men and women from here at home, to around the world. Learn more at Manufacturing Revival Radio.

Tony Overy, vice president, and Alan Sharrow, engineering group leader for electronic and mechanical motion control supplier Advanced Motion Systems, contend with new safety issues every day. It could be machines without safety designed into them that have been re-shored or figuring out the hard and soft guarding needed for a collaborative robotic application.

Free DVD: Upgrade Today! MDM Premium provides in-depth research and analysis for distribution executives. Subscribe today & we'll send you Top 10 Trends in Distribution, free! Learn more or subscribe now.

Already a subscriber? Renew & we'll send you the DVD.

They also talk about the lack of experienced senior controls and automation engineering resources. Until recently, that sort of skill was considered to be expendable overhead. Tony and Alan both see way too many situations where a lack of engineering resource inhibits their customers’ ability to get equipment installed, up and running. They sometimes can’t “pass the baton” of ownership.

Software is a big bright spot, though, with no more Windows 95 crashes to wrestle with! The new stuff is easy to use, reliable and has things like hardware emulation built right in. It also enables a lot of remote support, again saving substantial time and money.

In this discussion, listeners can also learn more about what customers expect, like CAD drawings, point-to-point electrical schematics, code examples and maybe most importantly, a consultative approach. Customers want to have their designs questioned. “They want us to poke holes in their designs and find something more efficient or less expensive.”

Click on the play button above to listen to the interview, or download the audio file at Manufacturing Revival Radio.