Factory Pulse

I spoke with an automotive client’s IT team this week about a new process monitoring system, and was struck by a telling detail: none of them had ever visited their own factory floor. It perfectly captures a growing problem in modern manufacturing - we’re becoming masters of data while losing touch with the physical reality of how things are made. Yes, sensors and analytics are powerful tools, but there’s irreplaceable value in understanding how materials feel, how machines sound when they’re running right, and how experienced operators instinctively spot problems before they show up in the data. We need both: the digital insights and the tangible knowledge that only comes from time spent where the work is actually done. Tim Minshall’s new book, “Your Life Is Manufactured,” provides a first hand account of the ingenious sophistication of modern production processes.

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