The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek

Welcome to Season 4 of The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek. This season we welcome back our host, David McKenna. David is Grantek’s Smart Packaging Practice Leader. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufacturers.

Jim Toman is a Senior MES Advisor at Grantek. Jim has 30+ years of experience creating data driven systems for manufacturers.   In this bonus episode, the discussion centers around the upcoming Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Rule 204 enforcement. FSMA falls under the authority of the United Stated Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The changes coming with FSMA 204 will go into effect and become enforceable in January 2026, at that point food manufacturers who sell product in the United States must be in compliance with these updated regulations. FSMA Rule 204 requires planning, budgeting and engaging with suppliers as well as end customers since quality data has to be transmitted downstream through each step in the supply chain.   The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Grant Daft is a Software Applications Specialist at Videojet. Based in UK, Grant has been with Videojet since 2004. During the almost 20-year tenure, Grant has served in leadership roles focused on solutions support, software application development and product management.   Since the 1960s, Videojet is a global leader in the development and manufacture of high-quality product identification equipment for coding and marking – including Continuous Ink Jet printers, Laser Marking Systems, Case Coding, Print and Apply Labeling, Thermal Inkjet Printers, and Code Assurance Software.   Videojet products and services allow customers to apply variable data such as best-by date, production date, lot number, and operator information – as well as linear and 2D bar codes - to virtually any kind of product packaging, shipping container or pallet. Videojet work with vendors in packaged goods, pharmaceutical, and industrial goods industries, improving productivity, growing brands, and staying ahead of industry trends. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Robin Maurice is the District Leader of Grantek’s Montreal Office. In this role Robin oversees the work done by Grantek in New England, Quebec, Eastern Ontario, Atlantic Canada and the Northeastern United States. Robin lives in Montreal, QC. His primary language is French, with English being his second language. Don’t be surprised to hear some funny translated expressions from Robin on today’s episode, he is famous for those. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Doug Yerger is a Principal Engineer at Grantek. Doug’s 30-plus years of experience includes the architecting, design, implementation, commissioning, and support of PLC Control Systems, Robotic Applications, Vision Applications, Database Applications, MES Implementations, Warehouse Management Systems, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems, and HMIs. Doug serves as a leader within the organization, providing governance, technical direction, and facilitating knowledge propagation, Doug also helps advance the manufacturing industry through his membership on HMI and SCADA standards committees (ISA 101 and 112 respectively) with the International Society of Automation (ISA). Doug has been driving Grantek’s adoption of new design tools, shortening and improving the design cycle. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Angela Morris is the Head of Global IT Manufacturing Capabilities at The Kraft Heinz Company. Angela is a driver of strategy and vision, passionate promoter of operational excellence, classically trained musician, love of gardening, student of culture, and active in community engagement and service. Today, Angela is accountable for strategic planning and to drive digital automation and integration in her current role at Kraft Heinz. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Andrea Ruotolo, PhD. is the Global Head of Customer Sustainability at Rockwell Automation. As Rockwell Automation's Global Head of Customer Sustainability, Andrea drives sustainability innovation and champions AI/ML for industrial sustainability. With 18 years of global executive experience, she co-founded a smart grid consultancy, led global energy initiatives, and held senior utility roles. Andrea holds a Fulbright Doctorate in sustainable energy systems, two Master's degrees in Engineering and Business Administration, and a specialization in Digital Business Strategy & AI from MIT Sloan School of Management. Andrea was recently named a Top LinkedIn Voice on Artificial Intelligence. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Emilee Cook is a Director of Product Strategy at Apprentice.io, leading technology to help Life Sciences companies get life-saving drugs to market faster by connecting global workforces and scaling complex manufacturing. Over her 10 years in life sciences, she’s spent time in R&D producing biomimetic devices at Draper Laboratory, developed Syncade solutions for 260+ customer issues, founded new user-driven product development approaches, and crafted strategies for next-gen pharma solutions at Emerson and now at Apprentice.io. She recently won Manufacturing Institute’s STEP AHEAD Emerging Leader Award for 2021 for these efforts. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Lisa Cronk is currently an Operations Manager at Grantek. Lisa has over 13 years of experience in Engineering and System Integration. Lisa currently focuses on projects for large Food & Beverage manufacturers. Lisa has served in the Canadian Forces and she also has experience working in the Mining, Life Sciences and CPG industries. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Welcome to Season 3 of The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek. This season we are proud to welcome our new host, David McKenna. David is Grantek’s Smart Packaging Practice Leader. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Huck Bales is Grantek’s Director of MES & Digital Solutions Engineering. He has over thirty successful years of providing systems development, project management, and consulting services in the manufacturing sector. Huck has managed large projects with scope, schedule and budget responsibilities. He has a solid understanding of business and technical issues and a natural ability to communicate with clients, managers, peers and staff. Huck has spent a lot of time working with clients to define the functional requirements to drive better production using improved technology. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Patrick Harrigan is a leader with Tulip Interfaces. Patrick is a technical sales leader focused on identifying and delivering digital transformation solutions for Fortune 500 Manufacturing customers. With over 12 years of leadership experience, he is a forward-thinking consultant with exceptional understanding of manufacturing business processes and how technology can be leveraged to deliver disruptive enterprise solutions. Currently, Patrick is Head of Global Alliances at Tulip. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Rick Roszkowski began his career with the vision group at Allen-Bradley as a software developer and as a vision application engineer before joining Cognex in 1998. Rick now has over 35 years of experience within the machine vision industry holding a variety of technical and marketing leadership roles.  Since joining Cognex, Rick has served as Director of Engineering driving technology development of Cognex’s largest product line (In-Sight Vision Systems) and as Director of Marketing for the Vision Systems Business Unit. He is currently working in an executive consulting role focusing on Vision Guided Robotics and Industry 4.0.  Rick received a BS degree in Computational Mathematics from Marquette University. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Logan Terry is Grantek’s Senior Manager, Strategic Account Management – Life Sciences. Logan works in Grantek’s Vancouver office, and joined the company in early 2016 as a Systems Designer. Logan has been involved in a long list of successful activities and projects within Grantek within the engineering, project management and business development groups at Grantek. Logan has showed incredible project and technical leadership managing small, large and very complex projects. Logan is primarily responsible for providing industry oversight and defining growth strategies for customers within the Life Sciences vertical. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Saurabh Bahl is a Digital Transformation Industrie 40 Manufacturing and Industrial Business Development Leader with AWS. Saurabh has 22+ Years of IT and Engineering Services Experience across multiple Industries which includes Retail, CPG, Industrial and Process Manufacturing. Experience across Delivery, Sales Leadership, Solutions, Customer Relation Management and managing 100+ Mil Dollar portfolios and businesses. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

James Burnand is a 20+ year veteran of the industrial automation ecosphere who has now turned his focus towards providing the infrastructure for manufacturers to reap the benefits of the cloud for their plant floor applications. Weaving cyber security, operational requirements, and management into 4IR Solutions’ offerings and providing education and consulting for companies looking to begin their journey into a cloud-enabled and highly automated OT infrastructure. 4IR Solutions is the leading provider of Cloud-based Platform Solutions for Manufacturing to enable digitalization and embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 4IR Solutions is a proud Grantek partner. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Vlad Romanov has over 10 years of experience working for leading Food & Beverage and CPG companies in the United States and Canada. Currently Vlad is the Co-Founder of SolisPLC, a growing company that provides technical content to leading OEMs and End-Users in Manufacturing. SolisPLC delivers easy-to-follow technical tutorials in written and video form in order to upskill employees, get them acquainted with new technologies, and aid them in running their manufacturing operations better. From a young age, Vlad was drawn to problem-solving, technical solutions and an avid thirst for knowledge. He built his first electrical circuit at the age of 12, programmed his first C++ application by 14 and decided to pursue Electrical Engineering as a career. Dave Griffith & Vlad also host “Manufacturing Hub with Dave & Vlad”, one of the few manufacturing-oriented live podcasts. They’ve had the opportunity to speak to various leaders from the industry, learn about their companies, their roles, their approach to leading the industry, their outlook on the industry, and much more. “Manufacturing Hub with Dave & Vlad” is live most Wednesdays at 6pmET/3pmPT. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Welcome to Season 2 of The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Welcome back. Before we kick off Season 2, we’re excited to share a bonus episode of The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek. On this episode our host Sam Russem has a great “conversation” about manufacturing and Industry 4.0 with ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a large language model chatbot developed by OpenAI based on GPT-3.5. It has a remarkable ability to interact in conversational dialogue form and provide responses that can appear surprisingly human. Large language models perform the task of predicting the next word in a series of words. Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) is an additional layer of training that uses human feedback to help ChatGPT learn the ability to follow directions and generate responses that are satisfactory to humans. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions. Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.

Ian Tooke is the VP of Strategic Business Development at Grantek. Ian leads Grantek's Strategy, Marketing, Partner Management and Business Development groups. In this role Ian is responsible for the creation of growth strategies, new product categories, services or business models that change the game and generate significant new value for our customers and Grantek. Ian is responsible for all business growth and customer success. Ian is an experienced executive leader who has worked in manufacturing and utilities technology-based businesses for the past 25 years. Ian has served in various roles in his career starting in the British Armed forces as an electrical technician, and then as a SCADA/Telemetry and Controls Engineer for the biggest utilities company in the United Kingdom; Before coming to Grantek Ian had a tenure of 15 years at Rockwell Automation where he served in the various senior customer facing and product development roles in Europe and North America. These experiences built a deep understanding of manufacturing technologies and their associated marketplace, and provide insider knowledge of the ecosystem in which they exist. The Industry 4.0 Podcast with Grantek delivers a look into the world of manufacturing, with a focus on stories and trends that lead to better solutions.   Our guests will share tips and outcomes that will help improve your productivity. You will hear from leading providers of Industrial Control System hardware and software, Grantek experts and leaders at best-in-class industry associations that serve Life Sciences and Food & Beverage manufactures.