finding-automation

Derrick Harrison | Seekers Technical

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 19:58:06 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Derrick Harrison Episode 21

In this episode, we talk with Derrick Harrison , the co-owner of Seekers Technical . We talk about what makes his company unique compared to other staffing and recruiting firms. We discuss the onboarding process for clients and employees. We also discuss some of the lessons learned and mistakes he’s made as a new small business owner.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm the host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode we're going to be talking with Derrick Harrison. He's the co-owner of Seekers Technical. We're going to talk a little bit about owning his staffing and recruiting firm. We're going to talk about some of the struggles he's had the first year. We're also going to talk about the onboarding process for employers and job seekers. Now, let's talk automation!

KD : And welcome to Episode 21. I'm here with Derrick Harrison, he is the co-owner of Seekers Technical. Derek, welcome to today's show.

Derrick Harrison – Guest (DH) : Glad to be here.

Derrick Harrison’s Professional Background:

KD : Great. And let's just jump right into it. Can you tell us a little bit of background about yourself?

DH : I’ve been in the industry for over 10 years, in industrial automation. Came from an engineering background. Saw a greater need in the talent solution space. So, we formed a company to kind of solve that.

Seekers Technical:

KD : Okay, great. And what is that company?

DH : Seekers Technical.

KD : Okay, and when did you guys start?

DH : About a year ago. So I've been doing this about a year. So, I think we're in year two now.

KD : Okay. And I always like to ask, how'd you come up with the name?

DH : Um, I just talked to about a couple other buddies, we're trying to come up with cool names. And we felt that was pretty intuitive to say, “it's a search firm.” So seeking. So some people confused, like, I had someone wear this hat at Disney World. And I was like, “Where'd you get that hat?” And, and, and they thought it was like the Harry Potter thing like the seekers. We did not name it off after that.

KD : That's funny. And then, how did you get your start in staffing slash recruiting?

DH : Just did it just picked it up and just started doing it tried to apply some principles I knew from what I learned from how businesses operated and what the industry was like, hired a couple of consultants to try to try to get me up to speed. Get as many certificates as I knew, possibly, which doesn't matter in the end. But I don't like 10 different certifications in recruiting just so I'd be up to speed, but you know, so I just tried flooding myself and learning as much as possible, learning the tricks of the trade. And you really, you learn it by experience and just doing it so.

Staffing and Recruiting:

KD : Yeah. Yep. And I did want to touch on it. You are doing staffing and recruiting? Can you tell me a little bit, to you, what's the difference between the two?

DH : Oh, well, um, I, to be honest with you, I don't I don't know. I think people have different terminologies. I think some people call it contract staffing and contract staffing as temp to hire and recruiting. I guess recruiting is a little bit blanket a blanket statement. I think it maybe encompasses all of that you have to recruit in order to do staffing. So we do staffing solutions, so anything with HR, recruiting, anything that touches that we provide software engineering services and stuff that help meet staffing needs. So, I guess that's, that's my understanding of it.

KD : Okay. And then you kind of mentioned it there. I did want to kind of go into what roles are you helping place? What positions?

DH : Primarily executive positions in industrial automation, whether it's VP sales positions, or control or anything all the way down to controls engineers position or controls, managers, directors, anything that is anything you'd find in a typical systems integrator role, we fill those positions.

Staffing Solutions:

KD : Okay, and then how are you finding these individuals? Do they reach out to you? Or do you go in search for them?

DH : Mostly, it's, it's, it's usually I guess, it's, it's kind of a balance between the two. We get a lot of inbound, but usually you don't get inbound on the REQ you have. So you kind of have to file that and come back to it later. A lot of the candidates we find we go seek them, we get connections, like we're going to Modex next week, so we're they're growing connections growing our network and, and, and we I guess we seek after we search and find.

KD : Yeah, cool. And then and then how are you finding the clients where to place? You know, these open roles? Do they reach out to you guys do you? Again, I'm guessing kind of do the same sort of thing. Reach out to those businesses?

DH : Yeah, we do a bit of both. We've had guys come out of the blue and say they need people yesterday, kind of kind of ordeal, and we have clients that we've developed relationships with over the year and or prior? And who lean on us for that? So, there's a lot of, I guess, organic and created clients as well.

Onboarding Job Seekers:

KD : And then can you kind of walk me through a process? If I apply for your company? If I'm an engineer, or an executive? What's kind of the process? Can you walk me through that.

DH : So I guess, if you're the, if you are looking to apply for a job for a role that we have a REQ for?

KD : Yep!

DH : Okay. So what we like to do, we have a wit, we have a process, or we call it a spear methodology. And, and in that methodology, we take we have, we have contracted talent solutions advisors, that our company utilizes, so it's just industrial, sorry, industry professionals. We’ll use them as like a board or panel to that you would have to be filtered through. And so it's kind of like a pre interview before you meet the client. And then you also are you also conduct a video form interview. And that keeps scheduling pretty optimal, where the candidate can take in can do self service interview on their time. And also the client can view and rate and get feedback on the interview. It has, you know, AI AI-generated transcript of the interview, and you can shortlist etc.

So, once you get through that that stage, you have either a face-to-face or technical interview on-site with the client with the hiring manager. And or you have a, you know, a virtual interview as well. And then that's, that's, that's the last step.

Onboarding Employers:

KD : Okay. And then let's go the opposite way. If I'm a new client, what's kind of the process looking through engineers or executives?

DH : Like if you are wanting to work with us?

KD : Wanting to hire, wanting to hire, right, if I'm looking to hire.

DH : Like wanting to hire me or use me to make a hire?

KD : Like wanting to use you to make new hires.

DH : Yeah, so yeah, so the so what's the customer the client journey utilizing us?

KD : Right?

DH : Okay, so, so the client would be on boarded, we would, we would gather, we would gather the needs, etc., build the Job List, excuse me. We would build the Job List. Sorry, job description. And we would use that information to build out that video form, which is what's used to for the candidate to do the self-interview. We would build them a custom client portal that they can access, and they can see a chart of who's in this state, who's in the what stage of the process they're at. It's like a Kanban board. And they can see all the notes of the candidates, their contact information, and process they are in the stage, as well; as they're inside this portal, there's also access to all the candidates that have done this self-interviewing portal.

So, it's like kind of like a hiring managers dream of, of not having to go back and forth and operate within the email or call or talk back and forth. It's everything we call it Eval View. So they just log in, it's got all their stuff there all the metrics they need, they can make a very informed decision. And it's also got our talent advisors notes on that as well. So they have everything at their disposal on the client portal. So they access that they make the decision there. And we scheduled follow ups.

Solution Provider:

KD : Okay, cool. Yeah. I mean, that sounds very creative. I haven't heard of anything like that. So pretty unique. That's cool. I did want to ask, what's some of the biggest learning curves that you've seen so far, this first year of business? I mean, obviously, the first year, there's always a lot of learning curves to go through. Yeah, what's some of the biggest stuff that you've seen?

DH : Um, I, I think the biggest learning curve is, is understanding that even if you have a solution, even if it's a solution that you're 100% passionate about, and just because like, you know, it's going to work and you know, it's going to solve their solution, solve their problem. It doesn't matter. They're some things are just immovable, and you can't change it, and that's how it is. And I think the biggest learning curve is taking that and just still trying to make your product better. But I guess I guess the learning curve is understanding that even if you have a son solid product not everybody wants it.

KD : So yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I get that I work on that kind of stuff myself. I did want to ask I always like asking this one too since you are a relatively new business, I could list 100 things within my first year. But what was one of the biggest mistakes maybe that you've had so far?

DH : Um, I would say I would say probably possibly. I don't know. What I just said is a pretty big, big mistake making that assumption. So sorry if I'm messing up the podcast, but uh.

KD : No, no. Good.

DH : Um, I guess I would say maybe biggest mistake. That's, there's a lot of mistakes. There's too many of them.

KD : I know. That's what I am saying. My first year I can list a ton.

DH : Maybe not making enough of them. How's that? Yeah, not making enough mistakes, because I wish I'd made more mistakes quicker. How's that?

How Seekers Technical is different from other staffing and recruiting agencies.

KD : Yeah, there you go. That's, that's good. And honestly, you gotta you gotta learn fast, right? Fail fast, I think is a term that a lot of people like to use and, and like said, I know I did 20 different things, I can list right now that I'm thinking of stuff on my website, or, you know, client reach out, or a contractor reach out, etc. It's just, and now looking back at how smooth things run, you could just go, oh, man, if you just did this, or change that around, and you'd be you'd be way better off. So I've always liked to kind of touch on that one. So I also this one is a big one for me, because there is sort of a lot of competition in the recruiting industry and field. So what makes Seekers Technical, different than your competitors?

DH : Um, I would say, I think it's hard to list competitors. I think there's a I think you have to kind of look at it in the right perspective. I think. I don't think there's that many competitors to be honest with you. I think there's your run of the mill general recruiting recruiters. Then there's your niche down recruiters, which I know some really good headhunters that are in that they do an awesome job. And I would definitely say that they're my competitor.

And then there's like me; I've met a guy today via LinkedIn, just one other person, but me I'm kind of infield, which is the differentiator because we provide infield expertise to find that infield talent, right? So we come from the field we, we've, we've been in your boots, we've been the hiring manager, we've been there. And we created this company from the ground up understanding the pain, the exact acute pain of the hiring manager that controls manager, we understand that. And the only thing the essential way we built this company was based off that alone. So, and that's our biggest differentiator. And that sets us apart from many people, I believe.

National Staffing Provider:

KD : Yeah. Yeah, that's good. I did want to touch on too. Are you guys? I believe you're based out of North Carolina. Are you guys regional there? Are you national? Are you just in North Carolina? What's kind of the location that you do a lot of your placements?

DH : National.

KD : Okay. So you guys, you guys have clients and all over the country, then?

DH : Yes.

KD : And then I always like to ask is, do you have a number of clients? How many clients do you have? Do you focus because there's also the kind of thought between, you know, focus on three or four or five clients and just, you know, hammer those out and kill it? Or, you know, spread is far and wide as possible and bring in as many clients that you can. what's kind of your strategy there? Are you guys slowly building? Are you really focused on you know, a handful?

DH : Um, again, we're new, but I think our strategy has been from the get go, we don't want to work with everyone. We've turned down more business than, than when we've been given. And that's kind of I think that's a fair way. We want to make sure that we're a fit for the company. We definitely don't want to convince and beg and, and, and just like, I don't think that makes sense. For us. I think taking a slow approach and finding good a good partnership has been our approach and it's worked very well so far.

KD : Yeah, okay. Wow. That's a good point. I do like to ask you, do you have any advice for somebody who is looking to change jobs? You know, someone who may be stuck in a rut in their current job. Do you have any advice for someone like that?

DH : Um, yeah, I would say. I would say I think one of the most common things I talk to candidates about if they are looking for a job because I don't always have a REQ, I mean, somebody's looking for a project coordinator. I don't have that REQ, my clients are looking for that position. I can't just create that. So oftentimes I'm helping them and giving them advice.

And so one of the things I tell them is, is go talk to a bunch of Headhunters, you don't know who has REQs, like I got list names like Drew or Jordan Humphries. Go talk to them as well go talk to other Headhunters, search up industrial automation headhunting firm or recruiting firm. Find a headhunting firm in your niche and just go talk to them. Because they're privy, they got their ears on the ground, they know what's open, what's coming. And you might, they might know something. So I think putting yourself out there and making connections is good. Get connected with hiring managers. And if you if you are serious about changing jobs, especially if you're having to change industries or a roll, maybe you're not completely familiar with or you think you might be a fit, go ask about or go talk to somebody that's in that shoes already reach out to them, and figure out what it's like, I guess.

Business in 2024:

KD : Yeah, good. Good advice. I'd say. We are, you know, I don't want to say we're wrapped up with Q1 already, but we're getting close. How are you doing this year? So far? Did you set some goals for 2024? How are you doing currently?

DH : 2024 is not as on track as I was hoping it to be. But it not, at least not on the money-making side. We're always working. I mean, I'm working from Monday to Saturday, as many hours as I can, and I love it.

KD : Guilty!

DH : But uh, that's another mistake, you know, I've made in 2023. You’ve gotta put your time and energy around the money-making activities, and then be efficient at it, be quick at it. And I think the better you are at that, the better you're going to be as a business. You so 2024 is, is basically push away the development part of your business. Excuse me, the dogs, put push away your I guess push away all the distraction and stuff and trying to develop your business and all the operations, all that stuff, and get on the sales, get on the money and go go make some things happen. That's kind of where I'm at is trying to have a successful execution portion of 2024. So, I think we're on track. It just hasn't turned all the way.

Derrick Harrison Of Seekers Technical:

KD : Yeah, not yet. Yeah, good. And Derrick, before we head off here, I always like to ask, you know, where can people find you? Where can they find seekers technical? How do people get ahold of you?

DH : Um, text me call me. I'll answer the phone, check out our website or message me on LinkedIn. I mean, you're gonna see me on LinkedIn. I'm trying to be active there.

KD : Good and I know that's how we connected. I'll put all those links in the description as well. So Derrick, I appreciate you sitting down and talking with me. I learned I learned quite a bit here about the recruiting industry. So thank you. So if you enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe, and we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

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Learn more about recruiting at Seekers Technical .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

JOINER Services sponsored this episode. A platform where self-employed engineering contractors can showcase their own talents, and businesses have an opportunity to hire their services. If you want to learn more about JOINER Services and its engineering service platform for contract engineers, follow them on social media or sign up on their website.

Christine Frank | TCIC Inc.

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 23:14:50 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Christine Frank | Episode 20

In this episode, we talk with the President and CEO of TCIC Inc ., Christine Frank . We have in-depth conversations about how to buy a business. We talk about the struggles that occur when new management takes over and how to keep employees happy. We discuss why she chose to purchase instead of going back to work for someone else, and we talk about the biggest challenges she’s faced as a business owner.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm the host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're gonna be talking with Christine Frank . She's the president and CEO of TCIC Inc . We're going to talk about buying her business. We're also going to talk about growing the company, as well as we're going to talk about some of the difficulties of being a business owner. And then we're also going to ask her for some advice for someone who may also be interested in purchasing a company. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : Welcome to Episode 20. I'm here with Christine Frank. She’s the president and CEO of TCIC Inc. Christine, welcome to the show.

Christine Frank – Guest (CF) : Thank you for having me. I’m excited!

Christine Frank’s Professional Background:

KD : Good, good. And can you give everybody just a little bit of an intro about yourself?

CF : Sure, so my name is Christine Frank. Born and raised in Minnesota, don't you know? Just kidding. So I own TCIC, but I've been in the industrial automation and wireless space for over 25 years, but we won't tell you how many more over 25. Because if we do that, then you know how old I am. Can't tell you that. No. So my background, do you want to know that too?

KD : Yeah. Yeah.

CF : Okay. So my background is, like I said, factory automation, process control, and building automation, and I started out in water wastewater. And now, after I left that lovely, many years ago, I now own a company that sells to water wastewater. Pretty exciting.

KD : It comes full circle.

CF : Never thought I’d come back to it and here I am again, full circle.

The purchase of TCIC Inc.:

KD : Yeah, exactly. And then I just want to jump right into this question right off the start here. You did purchase TCIC. What caused you to do that? What was the catalyst for you?

CF : Insanity! No, I'm totally kidding. So covid hit. And I was sitting in my backyard with my husband after I got laid off from a software company, running an IoT partnership globally. And I said, “Honey, I don't know if I want to go back to corporate America. And I don't want to buy a nail salon.” So, my husband and I were talking, and when I first started out in the industry actually worked for a very small distributor, similar to what we are in the water wastewater industry, and also automation and engineering. And so my husband goes, “Well, there's this company called TCIC, that's for sale. And they do everything that you've been doing for the last 25-plus years.”

And I was like, “I think I've heard of them.” I didn't. So I looked on their website. The first thing I said was “Well, if I buy that company, we're going to redo that.” So, a week later, I met with the owner and a broker. And we started the dialogue. And approximately two and a half months later, I closed September of 2020.

KD : Wow, congratulations.

CF : Yeah, so I’ve owned it since September of 2020. It's been pretty exciting. It's been, Oh, how do we say it, an adventure?

How to purchase a company?

KD : Yeah, yeah, I bet. Um, I mean, how do you even go about purchasing a company sounds like you said you worked with a broker. How do you how do you even find a company? How'd your husband find out about TCIC even being for sale?

CF : Well, my husband is in the same industry. And he could see that I didn't want to go back through the meat grinder. So, before I bought TCIC, I had worked for four companies in the IoT space, or IIoT industry 4.0, the industrial side. And each one of them lasted for a whole two years. And I decided I didn't want to go back to work for industrial companies, because I was getting paid too much in IT space. Yeah, seriously.

And at the same time, I didn't want to take all my knowledge, give it to a company. And then in two years, they decided, thanks for teaching us everything see yeah, bye-bye. So, I started looking at TCIC, and what intrigued me the most was they were doing IoT and they didn't know it. Really traditional industrial automation, but a lot of remote monitoring. A lot of starting to get into analytics with predictive maintenance. We are an NDNO, which means we sell data plans for industrial devices, and they're not the same as phone devices.

And I started looking at the company and I was like, “Wow, I could really put my stamp on it and take it to the next level,” so, of course, you have to do your due diligence. Number one, what does that mean? It's not believing what the broker and the owner told you, it's believing what the financial people tell you. So you have to make sure that you run all the financials, you have to look into all the vendors make sure all the contracts are there.

I also bought it as a stock sale. So a lot of people don't understand why you buy a company as a stock sale. Well, the reason why as an industrial automation distributors, is what we mainly are, besides engineering and other stuff, is that if you buy a company as an asset, all those contracts are null and void. And when you buy it as a stock sale, and I learned this 25 plus years ago, you do it because all of your contracts with the manufacturer or vendor partners, at least will go to 90 days. That way, you can at least build a build a relationship, or if one of them goes in the tanker, then you can at least find somebody over that 90 days to replace them. So you're not left high and dry.

The other thing that it does, when you buy it as a stock sale, is you get the bank accounts, you get all of the credit and financing that goes with all of it. Where if you buy as an asset, you start all over even after the start over your HR. So everything flows over, when you do as a stock sale.

And my I remember when I told my, my accountant, he goes, “Why are you doing?” And I said, “This is why,” and he goes, “Absolutely make sense.” So what I actually did is I had to incorporate twice. So when you buy it as a stock sale, you buy it, I bought it under one entity, and then run it as another one. A lot of people don't know that either. It's for tax reasons. And also for if I want to do expansion, I can acquire another company under a stock sale the same way. And I don't have to change everything. So yeah, but a lot of due diligence. And no matter what you do, there are always going to be skeletons in the closet that you find out later. Because the owner and the broker are not going to tell you all of that until after you close and sign on the dotted line.

KD : Right. Right.

CF : So that was an adventure.

Roles as President & CEO:

KD : I bet that definitely, probably threw you off there a little bit and being a new business owner. You know, I do want to ask, I see that you are the president and CEO. What are the difference between the two roles for you?

CF : They're one in the same.

KD : Okay.

CF : The only differences is for from because we're incorporated, and we're not an LLC. We actually have a board of directors. So, I sit on both of those. And then, I have a silent partner, my husband, who is in the background. And also the reason why I did it too was because being in the industrial space, we work with a lot of federal government types of accounts because of water, wastewater, and infrastructure and public works. It looks really good when you're 100%. female owned, for a woman owned. So that's why we did it that way. Was really because then as things go out to bid, the federal government and the state and the local have to look at not just what we can do, but oh, wait a minute, we have two identical beds. But she's 100%. woman owned and we have to meet that criteria. I really don't care about that. But it looks good to them.

KD : Yeah. Right.

CF : What I care about is being really a value and a resource. And yeah, I'm a female. Oh, well. So I don't harp on that. But that's the reason why we did it was for those type of reasons, because of the type of business that 1/3 of it is, is with businesses specific, I mean that businesses, but targeting that water wastewater industry, you really have to have a little bit of an edge when it comes to, to bidding in those kind of things. Make sense?

New Company Turnover:

KD : Makes sense to me, makes complete sense. But I do want to ask a lot of times when you hear of somebody buying a company or a company, you know, getting bought by another company. Did you see any turnover? Was that an issue that you guys saw, or, you know, had to go through some of those growing pains sometimes?

CF : That's an understatement. Yes. So my essential employees, my original team, I have one person out of the four, excuse me, five that were originally here. So, the owner and his wife did stay on for a year under a consulting agreement. But when those two went away, I took over all of both of their duties. My operations person stayed with me, but my application engineer and my top sales guy actually moved on to other pastures. I don't know if they're greener, but other paths?

Keeping company morale up, during times of change:

KD : Yeah. Okay, well, yeah, that's good to know. And then, you know, is there a way to do that? You know, again, a lot of times these companies, as people get bought out and things like that, you do see morale sometimes change? Is there something that you did that, you know, maybe got everybody's morale boosted a little bit? You know, because sometimes people come in, and they're like, “Oh, I'm, and the new guys work, and they're gonna push us, and there's all this change coming.” And you know, you come in, is there anything you did unique that you think, you know, to help kind of keep people, you know, on the up and smiling and positive?

CF : Originally, in the purchase agreement, we actually put together, we put together in the contract two year agreements, where they would get bonuses paid out. Didn't keep them. And I think the change was too much. They weren't ready for it, I added on quite a few new product lines, I was really changing the way we were going to market.

And they the two other people that were here had been here 25 years, their website was awful. Everything was getting changed. And so I think really what it was, is they were so used to working for the former owner, that it was a good time for them to look internally at themselves. But hey, not a problem. And it worked out. And I ended up with some really good people to continue to support me. And the vendors, that's all been the same too.

So we haven't really changed much, but we've added a lot more and, and the reason why we add a lot more is. So originally the company was selling hardware, but they weren't selling the fries with that, meaning they weren't offering the cables and the cord sets and the additional components, which really is a benefit because of vendor consolidation. When your customer can buy more products from one vendor, it's a lot easier to manage and maintain. So that's really the reason I did it, not just because we wanted to add new products to complicate things, it was really to enhance the portfolio.

TCIC Inc. Products:

KD : Okay, great. And that literally rolls into my next question I wanted to talk about: what are some of those products that you guys supply?

CF : Yeah, absolutely. So the unique products that we supply, are a lot of cellular gateways and edge devices. That's on one side. So we offer Red Lion, HMS, we have about four other product lines, but I'll just mention Red Lion and HMS first, which is really cool, because now they're one company and I have both lines. I think I'm literally one of five across the nation that actually can represent both. So that's on our automation side.

But it also spills over to our wireless side because of cellular, right. So on the wireless side, we do radios actually do all different spectrums, whether it's Wi Fi radios, licensed unlicensed for RF radios is one of our top lines on that. And then we also fold back in all of those other gateways and things like that. And why it's unique is because anyone who's in the industry can sell a PLC, but not a lot of people understand networking, protocols, communications, and how wireless works. So we do that plus we offer the data plans that go with all the devices.

And that's really important because if you ever taken industrial device into an AT&T store, because someone told you to go get some data, they'll tell you to leave because those products don't work on those types of networks for phones. So not only do we supply to our own customers, we also sell nationwide data plans. And we also sell them because those IT companies that are trying to sell it to him don't understand static IPs. They don't understand security and industrial and they don't understand protocols. And so networking products and IoT products or industrial automation wireless products are really important that you understand it and how you deploy them. And a lot of the distributors and solution providers out there don't. And they actually come to me and ask for help.

Customers of TCIC Inc.:

KD : Wow, that's good. And then, you know, I wanted to touch on from products. And then who do you guys supply a lot of this too? I know, you talked a little bit about water treatment, you know, who are some of your other major, you know, industrial areas that you guys are working on?

CF : Yeah, absolutely. So we work with all different types of industrial customers, as I call it, anything on this cement side. We can work in agriculture, we work in dairy, we work in food and beverage, we work in machine tool building. So it's really split up this way.

We work with end users, OEM equipment manufacturers. And then we also work with system integrators. And we work with engineering firms, as well that sometimes are blended. But we're also a system integrator for wireless. And it's kind of weird. But we don't do any of the programming for the controls, necessarily, unless someone needs some help. And we will build panels specifically for networking types of projects. So we're not, we're not doing a lot of the PLC work, but we're doing the networking and the communications. Does that answer your question?

TCIC’s Growth Strategy:

KD : Yeah, yeah. I did want to ask, you know, since taking over this company, do you have a plan or strategy to grow it for the next, you know, five, ten years? Have you developed any sort of plan for that?

CF : Oh, yeah, absolutely. So our strategy is really to be a solution provider. Not only do we offer boxes, like every other distributor, but we offer engineering, and design services, as well as consulting. And that's free of charge, I don't charge people to come in and tell me to go through and help them optimize their machine. So my backgrounds, tell you a little bit of my education and why I'm talking about this consulting.

So my background is fluid power hydraulics, pneumatics, and electrical, and then industrial technology. And what that allows me to do is actually walk into, say, an end user or an OEM equipment manufacturer, and really look at, are they doing everything they could to maximize efficiency, reduced troubleshooting, whatever it might be, because I can look at it from the pneumatics, the hydraulics and the electrical and kind of look at it as a whole, a whole machine. Versus a lot of folks out there can only talk about the discrete side of it, or the process side of it. And I'm also blended across all, everything on the cement side of the house.

So it really helps with being able to look in and help customers find new ways to do things. And the other reason is, because, and why we're expanding and doing things is because my background is global. So, a lot of the distributors in Minnesota or the seven states around me, have only sold to those areas. Well, the truth is, I've probably been to over 3000, different manufacturing processes, manufacturers, plants, facilities, and I've done a lot of high-level development on networking protocols, and now into the IoT space with more advanced remote monitoring, where a lot of the folks out there haven't. So that's changing as far as our strategy is going and the types of customers. They're not necessarily set on how to do it, they need help. So I provide a lot of consulting on that. Well, our whole team does.

The challenges of running a company.

KD : Right, right. I do want to ask also, I know that, being a business owner is got a lot of difficulties. What's the biggest thing that you've seen now being a fairly new owner here? You know, what's the biggest thing that you've seen? The biggest difficulty?

CF : I think the most challenging is getting to know all the customers, we have so many in our repertoire, or, you know, database. I can't get to everybody. And the other thing is, is that the former owners didn't do a lot of education.

So when I worked for Siemens, we had a strategy of how we kind of thought about working with customers in the industrial space, and it was promote, educate, convert, and then keep. So we've been working a lot on the “Keep,” but also educating them on new technologies because if you don't do that, then you're just another box seller. Nobody cares. All they're doing that is going out and looking for the cheapest and cheapest doesn't always give you the right thing to use in your application.

And I think a lot of people forget about that. That you got to really look at the application before you even suggest a product just will even go out and help them find other products. That doesn't bother me at all. I'm not territorial, if there's something better that they should be using, and I don't provide it. They can buy it through me or I tell them exactly where to find it. It's, it builds a better relationship, and you become partners versus, “Hey, call that vendor.” Call her a partner.

Advice on buying a business.

KD : Yeah, yeah, that's, that's great. I do want to ask you to, again, the first person I've talked to you, that's that's bought a business. So I'm really interested in what advice would you give to somebody who's thinking about doing the same?

CF : Do your homework, do your due diligence, make sure you really understand what you're getting into. That’s the customer base, the understanding the relationships with all of the vendors. Your subcontractors that you use, because sometimes I go out and use other folks to build and engineer things for me that I can't do in house. Build those relationships, and make sure the first 30, 60, 90 days, that's the most important thing beyond understand the financials, is getting to know your partners.

Because they're the ones that support you. And if you're not building those relationships with those partners, whether it's a customer or a vendor. Well, finances are great, but they won't be there. If you don't know who you're talking to. And you're not building out those solutions, and also building on your brand. I didn't change the name TCIC in the sense of rebranding it, because it's been here for 30 years, build on that name. Sure, you can change things that don't go and throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Free time as the owner:

KD : Yeah. Great, great advice. I did want to ask you to you seem pretty busy. When do you get your free time? You know, if you're running this company, it sounds like you're on the go all the time? When do you get that moment to break? Do you do in the evenings, say, ”Okay, this is my time, my phones off, computers, off weekends.” What's your strategy there?

CF : Both. So what I mean by that is my brains always going and whether it's a strength or a weakness, some people would consider it. Um, so I have ADD, I don't have the H. So I'm not hyper. So my brain is always going. So one of the things in order for me to relax, is sometimes those things pop into my brain. So then I put a note on my phone and come back to it.

But where I like to spend my time is in the evening, and I like to do a lot of art. After my kids, both of them are out of the house, I'm an empty nester. After my kids left and COVID hit, I didn't know what to do. So I started picking up and doing drawing again. Before COVID, my daughter and I my oldest we were actually going to ceramics classes. Well, that got cut off. So I think I bought, don't tell my husband, probably $10,000 worth of art supplies. No, not really. It just started picking it up again.

Because during COVID, people were only talking about politics. And I thought I don't want to hear this anymore. So, I started drawing people's pets. So over the course of COVID, I did around 300 pictures, and sent them out to everybody framed for free. I didn't care. And it got people talking again, because they were just fighting over politics. What's the point?

So now, it's the same thing when I get home. I'm always thinking, take a note. And then I kind of hang out and do art. Or I do research or I write articles. And no, that doesn't sound very exciting, but I like doing it.

Connect with Christine Frank

KD : yeah, I'm with you there. I do some of the article stuff, and my wife does the painting. So I get it. I do want to ask you, where can people find you? How can people get a hold of you? Where can they connect with you?

CF : Yeah, absolutely. So you can go to our website, which is TCICinc.com . We didn't get the it didn't just get the TCIC. So if you send it, send it anything there. We're not the same. But they'll probably send me the email because we're friends, and my email address you can send it. If you want information, just do info@TCICinc.com . And then, you can find me on LinkedIn . I really don't do Facebook because not a lot of industrial people do. And I got kicked off Twitter, or X or whatever its called. But that's, that's a story for another time.

KD : That's another podcast.

CF : It's called. It's called. Yeah. Don't do it. Nobody reads it anyways from the industrial space, so I'm okay with that.

KD : Yeah, yeah, I try to focus on LinkedIn mostly. So, Christine, well, I have to say it was very great talking with you. And I learned a lot and thanks for sitting down with us today. And we hope that you enjoyed today's episodes. If you did, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe and we hope you join us here next time on on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

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Alicia Gilpin | Process & Controls Engineering

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 01:11:26 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Alicia Gilpin | Episode 19

In this episode, we talk with Alicia Gilpin (Ali G) , the owner of Process & Controls Engineering LLC . We discuss how she started her career in automation, coming from a chemical engineering background. She discusses why she decided to start her company and how she plans to continue to build it. We also discuss her automation podcast and her way to get more kids involved with automation, through her non-profit organization.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm the host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Ali G. She's the owner of Process & Controls Engineering. We're going to talk about her background and how she got started in the automation industry. We're going to talk a lot about growing her business and starting her business in this industry. We're also going to talk about how she's a co-host on a podcast. We're also going to talk about her organization to get more kids into the automation industry. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : Welcome to Episode 19 and it's a new year. I'm here with the famous Ali G. She is the owner of Process & Controls Engineering. Ali, welcome to today's episode.

Alicia Gilpin – Guest (Ali G) : Thank you for having me.

Alicia Gilipin’s Professional Background:

KD : Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you on. I know we've kind of communicated back and forth on LinkedIn for a long time now. So, it's great to get some time to spend some one-on-one time with you. So why don't you just give everybody a little bit of background about yourself?

Ali G : Sure. So, I was a, I studied chemical engineering in college. And that, you know, was kind of what all I wanted to do was just spend the rest of my life doing chemical engineering. And then about three years in, I was part of this layoff. And I, you know, had to find something else. And had me looking for work. And there was pretty much only semiconductors. And I happened to upon a systems integration firm. And I didn't know what that was, I just happened upon them. And actually, they must have, I think I actually applied online, I found them maybe on Indeed, or something, one of those like, because I was looking everywhere for some kind of job, and I was a process engineer, but they were hiring people straight out of school and turning them into an either there was called industrial automation engineer, or control system specialist.

So, if you were like from the Navy, or you don't have specifically like a chemical or an engineering degree, then they could still make you basically the exact same thing. They just charge you on a different, you know, you charge differently because you don't have an engineering degree, but like it's, um, I swear the work is I that's controversial when I say that, but um, the work that we were producing, like, is it stamped by like professional engineer. So like, that's what makes kind of that difference. But anyway, so they were teaching people straight out of school how to do that. And even though I had four years of experience, I was like, “Well, I've done loop checks, and I've done some of this stuff that is involved.” And I had led some contractors that did that, like either did the controls part, or wiring or, you know, trying to actually check out new control systems.

And so yeah, I went, I went and did that job. And I didn't last that long, because I was, I was used to, like, already being part of a greenfield build. And so yeah, I guess I wanted more responsibility. So I went and seek but I loved like turning into a controls engineer. And so I went and did field engineering, because that field controls engineering, and I would travel around the country, starting up actually Coffee Roasters. And the coffee roasters were like huge, giant industrial people think like brewing coffee, I mean, like burning the green beans, not burning, roasting, you're not allowed to say, burning, you're Roasting the beans, but they turn brown, right. And so and there's a lot of stuff that comes off of them called chaff and smoke.

But anyway, I started up and I designed a lot of my own systems, and then I like started them up. And so I kind of got that taste of like, what's it like to travel? What's it like to actually, like, be responsible for starting up your own system that you designed, and so kinda got to see those struggles, you know, between the field engineers and like the design people, if the if they're not the same people, which a lot of the times there's a giant disconnect there.

And then after doing that for a little bit, I got this like, amazing opportunity to basically run my own panel shop. And so I was like, I have to do this because like, that's just the next like, to me, the next level of understanding was like, how do I build control industrial control panels. And so I took that opportunity and they actually wanted, it was a machine shop. It was an aerosol machinery that they made, and I took them through the process of becoming like a UL certified panel shop? So I worked with their production team and built them their custom control panels. And then but they were UL listed, so they could actually be. Yeah, they were to UL spec. And I was trained as the UL gatekeeper to kind of get these machines through.

And then, yeah, I ended up after that going and working for an architectural engineering firm. And that's where I learned a lot of the quoting. So how to do proposals of like, not just engineering work, but also like electrical work, or design work, or commissioning, like, how do you quote that? What's it gonna cost to, you know, to do that, um, based off very little information.

And after that, and then being kind of my own project manager, I was like, Okay, I've done too much. What, what's next, I am one of those people. I know, there's lots of people like this, but that are never satisfied, or after they learned something, they just, they need more again, soon. Soon afterwards, they needed something else. Again, even if they conquer something really hard, it doesn't really matter, because like the high goes away, and so they're stuck again, finding something else, that's really difficult. And I think that's why I've kind of ventured into business. But this is really hard, and it's gonna take me a long time to try to conquer. Um, it's not the easiest thing to conquer. I mean, maybe engineering took me, and I didn't conquer engineering by any means. But I at least got to a point where it was like, I can't really get a whole lot more money. Ah, on this, these pay scales. I kind of like, I jumped a lot of jobs. So I could see what those numbers were. And yeah, so I was like, I kind of want more. And if you want more, what maybe that's greedy. But if you want more, you can help more people if you get more money. That's why, yeah, but that's kind of my really fast background, maybe too long a background.

The start of Process & Controls Engineering.

KD : No, that's great. And then, when and why did you start processing controls engineering? When did that happen?

Ali G : So it was a long thing in the making. But in 2018, I basically just started it as like, a, I have this 400 bucks, and I'm going to invest in it. I literally made like a Delaware corporation, online. And, um, but when I was like too scared to actually try to go do like business, I was like, I'm not really going to do and it was like, I don't know, like Daring yourself to see if you could just like I'm like, Okay, I own a business. Like I don't, it doesn't make any money. It doesn't even have a bank account. But you know, I own a business and I had an EIN and so I had that business, and I paid the, you know, the, like corporate taxes for like three years, three and a half years.

Before I actually like I did three more years, basically of like, engineering full time, like, I wasn't even Moonlighting, I wasn't even Moonlighting. And I would admit that, because I tell people to moonlight and you should, you know, tell your employer that you want to moonlight because they may say you can't, and then you can't, but they may say you can, and a lot of them are like, I don't care, just don't work on my time, whatever. And they're just like, whatever. So they're there. It could go both ways for people, by the way, but um, I was not Moonlighting, I actually straight up quit my job and said, I'm going to do this, it was with a lot of help from a friend of mine who did done the same thing.

And so he had, you know, gained his engineering knowledge and then quit his job. And you know, had already I think four years in, he was in, he was like, you can definitely do this same thing, where you could just, you know, have a couple clients, and that could sustain, you're enough money to pay for your normal bills that you're, you're basically because you got to cover your own insurance and your own everything, right. So whatever your, whatever your W2 job is covering for you, you at least need that to start. And so that's where people freak out, and they're like, Oh my God, if I don't have this, I don't have that. But anyway, I did that. And I had that friend that was willing to help me. And within two months, I had my first $40,000 Purchase Order. And so yeah, and so it usually takes people longer than that.

KD : It took me six months to get my first contract. And then after that it was a one-week contract. And then after that, I think it took me another I didn't have, so that was in July. I didn't have another one till November. And then I have had one ever since.

Ali G : Okay, so I want to blame the size of my network for finding that customer faster because and I was going to talk about how, like, you know, speaking of how did you find that customer It was a plant manager that saw that I went out on my own, and came and said, “Hey, like, are you working with me? Do you want to work for me?” And I was like, “Of course I do!” And so it took like months and maybe six weeks or more to get my company through that process of like, we want. Let me see your different certificates of insurance, which of course I didn't have. So I had to go get those all.

KD : Figure out who to go to.

Ali G : And then I didn't have the numbers, the limits they wanted. So that had to be negotiated. There had to be like, yeah, um, you know, yeah. So, but yeah, I learned really fast. And the whole time, I'm just thinking like, this is impossible like this is, there's no way this will work. And it just keeps, but I like just try it anyway. Because I'm like, okay, with failure. That's maybe one of my biggest strengths is like, I've failed so many times. That like, I just know, like, oh, well, you know, it'll suck but done it before. And so I get ready to fail a lot. And sometimes I don't, which is really cool.

KD : Good for you for being able to pick yourself up, then. That's awesome.

Ali G : Yeah, well, yeah, cuz we're, I'm good. Yeah, I lose money. I've done I've made decisions. Even now. I've only been doing this for two years. I have made certain calls and learned from them. But I've made calls that lost me money. Either the calls in people or calls in, like how I quoted something. Or just like, yeah, just totally like, under estimating like revisions. underestimating drawing revisions is hilarious. Like, that's a really good way to lose a ton of money. Yeah. But yeah, it's been super fun. Losing all this money. I literally consider it like, tuition kind of learning.

KD : Yeah, it's learning. Right? I mean, you're paying to learn.

Ali G : It’s college.

Growing a business.

KD : And then, just another question. Now, how many? Sounds like you've had some employees, some contractors added to your business? Where do you stand there.

Ali G : Um, so I have been able to, people are like, Oh, my God, your company's huge, and it's not. It's huge. And, like, Let me count, like, I have my 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. The 16 people, I got to pay on a monthly basis, not all of the 17 people. And not all of it, including me. So, 18 people. So, if I include me, there's 18 people, that gotta get paid. But they're not all full-timers. So, if I were to say like, how many like full time equivalent is a thing to say, like how many if they were all working full time, I would have 18 full time equivalents. But I don't have that. I have, like, four or five worked full-time equivalent. And then I just have all these people that helped me do different things on a part-time basis. So people helped me do like, automation.

I got someone, a woman named Lyza. That helped me. I love Liza so much; she helped me get everyone to put their hours into the QuickBooks workforce. So now it's spitting out, you know, like automatic, because I was doing that myself. For two years, I was putting, I was taking their invoices, their like paper invoices, and copying and pasting their hours into my sheet so that I could invoice my customer and be like, Okay, there's this many engineering hours, this many project management hours, this many admin hours. And so I would be doing all this in Excel. And like, that's not automatic at all. That's like an embarrassment.

And so I'm having people now help me build the systems, not just doing the engineering, but obviously, that's where it started was first giving away some of the engineering and then giving away I'm actually giving away the subject matter expert job so that I can actually be a real CEO, and not do all that engineering because it does take all of the time. Like sitting there and making sure the engineering goes right is a full-time job. So I'm like I'm not I don't want to do that job. I want to build my company and make it bigger, and you know, right now, I cut off I'm not hiring any more people even though I only have my five times full-time equivalent, whatever.

I've also been warned that you know, growing too fast is not a good thing. And you know, I don't want that either. And so I am not anywhere near as big as people think because like yeah, they see those 18 people but like yeah, they're not all working. A lot of them are students there you know, I will hire them maybe in the future but like right now they're just kind of like learning to work with me and like I am one of those super hybrid workplaces. Where, you know, everyone is remote. I'm not Breathing over anyone's neck ever. In fact, they almost miss me. Like, they almost like want me to talk to them more than I do. I almost neglect them and feel bad because but I gotta let them do some of that stuff on their own. And then, you know, then I'll come in and just, like be mad or whatever, and like, fix stuff. And then there's, you know, they learned from it, and then it just, it gets going really well. I think.

I know that. I wish I were in more places at once, but I can't be. And that's why I'm really hoping that having like, another subject matter expert, being on my team, being able to handle like, answering them will, will somehow save me from I gotta keep them happy. That's number one. Because this is a worker's workforce, so if they don't want to work somewhere, they're not going to. And I know that for sure. So and I need them. So, um, yeah.

Building a client list.

KD : And then, are most of your clients on the West Coast? Sounds like you said, a lot of people are doing remote slash hybrid work. Because you're out in the Portland area. So is that mostly focused?

Ali G : Yeah, I've made over the past two years, maybe I've had like, four or five customers, but I have one really like major one that is kind of like, you know, you're not supposed to put all your eggs in one basket, but it's happening that way. And it happens that way. For some people. That's why I'm trying to diversify. And I have like the subject matter expert, but um, yeah, so I have two right now that are active. Because I closed out like some other ones that actually no, I guess I have a third one that wants to engage again. And one like my a couple more that are in the like, they might turn into projects type of thing. But, like, I have a five-year government contract, and that's the one that I have to staff and, like, be ready and have all the insane insurance that would need $3 million for cybersecurity insurance. Yeah, that's not cool. Just kidding. No. And then when I first learned, like, payroll taxes look like I was like, Oh, that's not cool either.

KD : Yeah, right, right.

Ali G : Oh, this is so much fun. But um, yeah, no, we're actually gonna get health insurance. And since we're tiny enough, we can do small group insurance, I'm going to learn a lot more about that from my sister and like, teach people like little businesses, because we all need that health insurance. And like, we need to give it to people, and like, it's really not as bad as I thought it is expensive. The process isn't horrible.

KD : If you can group it, its not as bad.

Ali G : Yeah, and like, they can pay part of it, or all of it, like you can make your employees pay. Um, you should pay you should cover some of it. Like, that's how we kind of had it is like, you know, our employer would cover like, half type of thing. But, um, yeah, and then, and then covering like, dependents is, is cool, very expensive. But it's just part of, as part of this game, we're all slowly moving into it. My first employee didn't need insurance. But it's time now like this next one coming. She's gonna need it. So we're gonna need, we're doing it. We're doing it.

Challenges as a small business owner.

KD : You’re getting there and building that business. That's great. Yeah. I did want to ask you, what are some of the most difficult challenges that you've seen as a small business owner?

Ali G : I'm trying to do everything yourself. Um, so like trying to do like trying to be your own accountant, and your own CPA? That's a horrible idea. I'm trying to. Yeah, like how long I spent, not make not automating the process and making everyone give me what, like a formatted thing. So that I could just like, import it like, that was terrible. So I guess the feedback loop, you have to have a really healthy, strong feedback loop early on, and not be afraid. Just be like, you have to tell them what they have to do. And it's really engineers just want to be like, I'll do it myself. I'll do it myself. Nope. I'm not gonna sit here and show you how to do this. Because I'm frustrated. And because I'm going to do it better anyway.

And yeah, that's true. But then you're stuck with this tiny business and you're never ever going to grow. So if you want to grow your business, you have to suck it up, buttercup. And you out and it sucks. It's not It's it. It is absolutely painful to try to teach something that you already naturally know. So easily, like it's just second nature to us some of the stuff and to teach that stuff to someone without that experience is, I think, the most frustrating thing for an engineering business owner, maybe with every kind of engine owner, because you can't expect anybody to be you, and but you have to give them a chance. And you have to let them you have to pay them to fail at tasks that you could have done yourself. And, but then you're, then you will grow. But that part is so painful because you're like, oh my god, I should have done it, someone else should have done it, you know, or you're like, oh my god, I'm losing money. And it's like, you have to let it go. You have to let go of the mistakes they make. And you have to still keep them happy.

Like, don't also like to go and be like, trying to ruin their day because they're learning, like, and so are you. I'm learning, I'm learning how to be a boss. And, uh, you know, you're either learning how to do the job, or you're learning how to be the boss. But, like, we're all just learning and, like, so the negative stuff is, has no place in my business. The ruling by fear like has no place. I don't do ultimatums or anything like that. I give you 1000 chances. And then if you quit, like that's, you know, people have been doing that. But like, whatever.

KD : Well, that's great advice, though. And that's, especially as a small business owner and an engineer myself. That is also one of the hardest things to do is just to let go and to delegate right. It's definitely hard to do.

Ali G : And forgive yourself when they fail, because they will.

Building a successful social media following.

KD : Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's, that's a good point. Yeah. Very good point. I did want to ask you, though, you have such a massive following now on LinkedIn, what do you equate all of your success to?

Ali G : Oh, um, so I, because I offered. Like, at first, I offered help. It didn't seem like help. But it was, I was curating YouTube videos. And so I was building this gigantic network of like, people that I knew worked in my sector somehow. So you either were like another engineer and other controls engineer, or process engineer, or an electrician, or a panel builder, or maintenance, you know, manager, and I just started adding all these people.

But what I was posting was not my own content; it was actually curating YouTube content because I was so impressed by what was there. And I wanted people to know that that was there. So I was like, like the inside of a centrifuge, like the working animation of like, literally anything that I've ever seen inside of a plant, a solenoid valve, pumps, valves, piping, servos, proximity switches like it just goes on, and on and on, and on and on. And I've even got into like, bending conduit, I'm like, “Look how to make these different offsets.” Like, it just, there was so much information on there.

And I was like, why? It's so sad that like, some people will even like, asked me to Google something for them. And I Google, it's so fast, and they're so thankful. And I'm like, this is all available to everybody. And so I started just being like, I have to show this. And so that was my first interest was like I wanted to do it on Facebook, but I was like, no one cares. So I was like, I'm gonna do it to this random community, because they you press like, and for some reason, they were as nerdy as me. So it was an outlet. And then I figured out that they were taking it well because they just liked it. And they kept adding me.

And so then someone, that same person that like helped me start my business, also told me like, Hey, you see how good have a following you have, when you curate other people's stuff? What happens if you post your own content and make your own content and just tell people about what you do? Literally, that's it, just tell people about what you do. And I was like, “Well, I can do that.” And, then, so I have these PLCs behind me, right? Someone else a different person said to me something like, you know, you're you're a controls engineer, and you want to be an influencer. And I wish I didn't even want to be an influencer. But they're like, you want to have this presence. I'm like, but you don't even have like, you know, like, you don't have your own what was it called your own little like lab slash shop, whatever.

And I was like, I can get PLCs like to mount behind me. And so I built like the turbo and cab you later, like, I had so much hardware. I was like, okay, I can show hardware and my face like this is stupid. But it helped. It helped kind of build a brand. And then the hat thing, I didn't want anything to do with the hat thing. And then I was like, Oh, I get the hat thing now, but because I understood the like branding thing. And so I guess I just this was like this has been a social experiment gone wrong or right, if you want to call it right, I guess.

KD : I think it's gone pretty right for you.

Ali G : That's what that's where it came from is I do have a way to connect with pretty much anyone I can talk to anyone pretty much about anything. I don't know why. I think it's, my parents are like that, they're salespeople. Yeah. I don't know.

The start of Automation Ladies.

KD : A good quality to have in this industry. And speaking of meeting people, let's briefly talk. How did you meet Nikki? And then how'd you girls start Automation Ladies ?

Ali G : Um, I knew I had talked to her before, but I hadn't really I know a lot of people, right? A lot of people talk to me, and are trying to talk to me. And some people, I used to talk back to everyone. And then the numbers got too big. And I feel really bad. And there's guilt related to that. But Nikki was, first of all, I saw her a little bit, but like, I didn't really pay too much attention.

And then she messaged me, because I was posting about Pack Expo. So I was posting like, all these robots from Pack Expo. And he was like, you know, that's so cool that, like, we get to basically be there because you're posting these, and we get to see the stuff. And then we can still ask the questions like, so she was basically thanking me for like, posting about Pack Expo. Because it because it had been a while. And I also had, you know, was like, during COVID. So it was like, you know, meanwhile, we're all kind of just still like, I don't know what it's Yeah, human contact, we had all not forgotten what that was like. And so yeah, so it was, I guess it was partially that it was like, Thanks for showing us again, that like, we can still have, like, these trade shows are coming back to life.

Selecting guests for a podcast.

KD : So, get out of our house. Right? Yeah. How do you girls you know, bring on guests. How do you select guests for your, for your show?

Ali G : Yeah, so we, we had differing views on that. And I wanted, you know, certain people and slash groups, and what actually ends up working better is just letting them come to you. And so there's actually a lot of companies that will just show up after you. So you have to put you have to get the ball rolling, right. But that's kind of how we've been doing it is our policies. Actually, we're not, we don't really go looking much for it unless they're already, like, related to some other like an organization that was already like, you know, like talking to?

So it's a lot of just like, yeah, it's different than the way I do engineering business where I'm like, I, you know, I actually do want to go after, um, for the sales part, but like, for these shows, we kind of want people that already see themselves in us. Um, because, you know, that we have had like, sponsorships that didn't go. Perfect. And, you know, we just, we need to jive, you know, vibe with the people. So, yeah, they're usually like other people on marketing teams. You know, that's kind of like the people that you tend to or owners, if they're small businesses, business owners will come to us, but a lot of the times if it's a larger corporation, it's, you know, they're their marketing teams. And so they have values that, you know, vibe with ours.

Kids PLC Kits:

KD : Yeah. Yeah, that I guess that makes sense. And then also, I definitely want to touch on, you are the founder of another organization. Again, it seems like you get your hands a little bit everywhere, in Kids PLC Kits can you talk about that? I'm excited for that. I just had a daughter recently. So looking forward to get in her into some of this automation and robotics stuff. But can you talk a little bit about that?

Ali G : Yes. So the needs been there, and people have their opinions on it. But like, we have a, ah, what is it a skills gap? Because we told all the, you know, people not to go to the trade school and to get a college degree. And then we told them, you know, like, even high school teachers were like, “Oh, you're so smart. Why would you go get a trades? You know, why would you go to trade school? If you're so smart?” Like, because they're gonna make me more money?

KD : And not have to pay for college, right?

Ali G : For real. And so we did this reverse terrible psychology game on young people. And now that they've all entered the workforce, they don't have those skills. And so I randomly happened upon them. And we've, like, you know, my other podcast has found that everyone is accidentally finding controls, which is horrible, but also other trades, but whatever.

So we're focusing on automation and industrial controls. And people are not finding that except on accident, and we want to change that to on purpose. So how do you do that? Well, we we're not going to like go we're not going to get anywhere with the people that are already out there. We're trying that anyway, but we're gonna have to do something to the incoming workforce. So that's where you go and look at middle schoolers and high schoolers. And then you look at other countries, other countries like Germany, you can be, by the time you finish your trade school, you could have like 10 years or something of experience, because they were doing it in school.

Like, we can have our high schoolers learning how to wire control panels, there is no reason why we couldn't do that. And also how to program like, let's be serious, like can a high school student program a pump station? My answer is yes. And I can even say that a middle schooler could, depending on the middle schooler, but we'll just leave it at high schoolers for now. But the point is that I met this girl named Jordan. So this girl I met her dad Jordan Day. This girl's name is Elena Day, and she was nine, and now she's 10, but she was nine years old when I sent her first PLCs and her dad because he is a master plumber and master HVAC and he helps the schools with like they're building automation systems. So he can dabble he understand like the concept behind like a PLC and like communications because of his background.

And so I started sending them stuff. And it got to the point where she created this video, she has a channel called Lil’MissFixIt . And there were already amazing videos. She was already amazing, right? This was a she I'm not taking any credit for she's incredible. But she was fixing replacing toilets. Right? This is like master plumber stuff, right? Replacing toilets, rewiring the dishwasher, and putting a new dishwasher in and doing the wiring and everything and the plumbing for the dishwasher. So then I sent her this stuff.

And of course they I didn't expect it to be like this. But I sent her a basically an HMI and a PLC starter pack. And they brought compressed air into her room. So they could use the solenoid that I gave them. She was wiring she had, there's a video there two or three videos like now she has an analog card and like a transmitter. But anyway, she was able to shoot a little air rocket in her room. And after that, after I saw that video, I was like, we have to replicate this.

And that's what Kids PLC Kits is, is how do you put the hardware from that they're going to see in the factory so that when they go to the factory, they're like, “Oh my God, I've seen this before, like, I know what this does. I know how to use this.” Um, I think it will be an incredibly empowering thing. But it's a long game. So right now, we just have all this hardware. And so because of my following, I'm able to get like, you know, partnerships with companies and say, “Hey, hey, Siemens, give me PLCs.” “Hey, Phoenix Contact, give me PLCs.” “Hey, PAXLight, like give me stack lights.” “Hey, people give me give me stuff.” And it started as “Hey, just give me I know, you guys have hardware from extra projects, just give me that.” And it grew from that too. We have shipments of brand new everything. Because the companies want to show kids though their brand names because that's what you should be doing right now. And so everyone's kind of joining in this effort. And that's it is a nonprofit is official, 501 c three nonprofit that is trying to do something about do something trying to do something, everyone's talking about it right, we got to do something.

And however, and then it also kind of gets in people's mind heads because they're like, Wait, how can this little girl be 10 years old and be better than like some technicians? And it's like, you know, because we got to get ourselves to these kids are better than us. That's just a thing. Yeah, like, and I'm excited to see what these kids that come out of these programs are going to do, because I fully expect them to whip us at our own games. People say that. I'm like breeding, not breeding, but I'm like creating my own competition. And I, I don't feel that way. We'll see.

KD : Well, hopefully you'll be retired by the time they come up, right.

Ali G : I doubt it. They'll take care of me. They'll give me a job. I'll be fine.

Contact Alicia Gilpin:

KD : There you go. Oh, that's great. And I guess one last thing here before we wrap up, you know, where can people connect with you? How can they get in touch with you? Obviously, I think we briefly talked about you know, your LinkedIn following. Is that the best place to get hold of you?

Ali G : It is. But I also yeah, I have my website, PCE.LLC . And then you can also talk to AutomationLadies.io . And then, you know, come donate at kidsPLCkits.org .

KD : Cool, cool, and we'll put links in the description to all those places, so we'll make sure that if people want to go to those now, LinkedIn is able to do that. So, I hope everyone enjoyed today's episode here with Ali. I know I did. If you did, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe. And we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Follow Alicia Gilpin on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Process & Controls Engineering LLC .

Watch the podcast, Automation Ladies .

Find Kids PLC Kits here.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Industrial Robot Trends In 2024

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 21:25:37 GMT

Top 5 Industrial Robot Trends In 2024

Robots are becoming more sophisticated and skilled as robotic technology advances at an extraordinary rate. From industrial manufacturing to food and beverage and pharmaceutical, robots are being used in numerous industries to automate what were once manual tasks by improving inefficient production lines and enhancing overall productivity. With the year 2024 upon us, it's worth looking at the top five industrial robot trends that we can expect to see in the coming year.

These industrial robot trends include advancements in machine learning, the integration of cobots into our daily lives, the development of more affordable robot services, and the continued expansion of the global industrial robotics market. Let's explore these exciting developments a bit more as I break them down in more detail below.

The top 5 trends in industrial robotics for 2024.

Below, I list what I consider the top five trends in industrial robotics for 2024.

#5 Cobots

Collaborative Robots, also known as cobots, have become a significant part of the industrial automation industry over the last several years, and we will continue to see that trend grow in 2024.

A cobot is extremely versatile since it can work in conjunction with humans in production because of various safety features. Cobots are very useful with tasks such as:

Packaging
Palletizing
MIG Welding
Polishing
Machine Tending
CNC
Stamping
Injection Molding
Visual Inspection

What are the benefits of collaborative robots?

Below, I list the many benefits of using a collaborative robot.

Low-Volume Flexibility : The most significant advantage of using a cobot over a standard industrial robot is its flexibility with low-volume production of multiple product variations. Robot programming time is very fast, giving the robot programmer less required setup time during a part changeover or with product variations.
Floor Space : Cobots can easily be moved and take up much less of a footprint and floor space than the more traditional and larger industrial robots.
Easy User Interface : The user interface experience is often much simpler and easier to learn than programming an industrial robot. This means the barrier to entry for programmers is significantly lowered while at the same time the deployment and return on investment (ROI) of the robot is quicker.
Collaborative With Humans : Cobots are small enough that they can share the same workspace with an assembly line worker to complete tasks together. Most collaborative robots have safety features that include extremely sensitive collision sensors, so if something touches the robot, it will stop the motion to avoid a crash with a human or object.
Energy Efficient : Cobots are more eco-friendly than industrial robots. Companies are looking to reduce electrical costs to help them become more sustainable in their manufacturing process using cobots.
Cost Effective : Small companies that need to be cost-conscious and have lower budgets can now look to cobots to help with production due to manufacturing labor shortages.

#4 Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS)

Robots-as-a-Services (RaaS) allow companies to leverage automation equipment and related automation software on a subscription or pay-as-you-go basis. This service allows companies to pick and choose the automation equipment they need when they need it. Companies can now replace or upgrade automation and robotic equipment without highly expensive setup costs traditionally seen with automation infrastructure, lowering the barrier for companies to enter the space.

What is the benefit of robots-as-a-service (RaaS)?

Below, I list the many advantages of using RaaS.

Lower Cost : Companies implementing RaaS have far less upfront equipment costs, leading to a faster ROI than costly-owned equipment.
Increased Flexibility : RaaS solutions are great for companies with increased flexibility in their automation implementations. The installation process is much easier. Therefore, it is faster than the traditional installation of automation equipment. It is also much easier to increase volume to meet production demand or change and remove programs depending on production needs. RaaS customers do not have to worry about an owned solution that could become obsolete in a year or two because they can easily upgrade their automation systems to the latest and greatest.
Access To Experts : One of the best aspects of RaaS for automation is the continued support and guidance from the automation provider. Having a direct line to the automation experts for troubleshooting production, experienced integration teams, or finding new automation technology, the service provider can help their customers.

#3 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AVG) will continue with their growth momentum. Experts believe that the mobile robot market forecasts will grow tremendously as we move towards 2030, especially in smart factory warehouses and logistics companies as they look to innovate their operational efficiency. This is why many companies are turning to autonomous mobile robots for help.

AMRs are untethered robots that use highly sophisticated sensors, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI), and they can calculate for path planning to interpret and navigate through their environment. AMRs can move around objects, avoid collisions, stop, and even reroute themselves because they are equipped with cameras and sensors to help them navigate their environment to complete their task.

What is the difference between AMRs and AGVs?

It is important to know the difference between AMR and AVG robots. Below, I list the definitions.

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) : This type of robot that understands and moves around its environment independently.

Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) : This type of robot relies on predefined paths or tracks to follow and often will require some operator oversight.

Why use an autonomous mobile robot?

Below, I list the many advantages of using AMRs.

Increase Flexibility : These robots are designed to interact with their environment while completing a variety of programmed tasks, making them unique robots that can be used with many applications and industries.
Increased Safety : Many companies use AMRs for tasks that would be considered too dangerous for humans to transport or move.
Increase Efficiency : Companies use AMRs to assist with locating, picking, or moving objects. This allows employees to focus on higher-value work activities.

#2 Machine Learning

I expect to see a continued increase in industrial robots using machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve robotic processes. I believe that one of the most significant areas of improvement will be the capabilities of an industrial robot to adapt and learn. Over the past several years, we have seen significant advances in machine learning algorithms. Now, industrial robots can process and analyze enormous amounts of data so quickly that they can make real-time decisions to improve performance.

We will also start seeing more industrial robots notify their users of scheduled maintenance and identify preventative maintenance before failure. A robot that can use these machine learning algorithms to plan its own preventative maintenance schedule has a massive potential to decrease downtime for its user.

#1 Refurbished Robots

Refurbished or used industrial robots are becoming increasingly common as companies try to find the most cost-effective solutions to implement robotic process automation in manufacturing. Buying refurbished robots allows companies to visit the robots before purchasing or installation. Refurbished robots are freshly greased and have new paint, and worn-out parts are replaced with new ones. Used industrial robot companies to put the robot through vigorous cycle testing of the entire system to ensure it will operate correctly.

What are the benefits of purchasing refurbished industrial robots?

Below, I list a few key benefits of why companies buy refurbished industrial robots.

Decreased Lead Times : Many robot manufacturers have lead times that are greater than six or nine months for purchasing new robots. It is likely that you can find the used robots that you are looking for and have them shipped to your facility within a month.
Robot Variety : Companies that sell used industrial robots often have a variety of choices a customer can choose from. So, no matter what make or model you might be looking for, the supplier or a supplier is likely to have that robot model in stock.
Cost Savings : The cost savings can be massive depending on the number of robots purchased, as used robots can be cheaper by 50% or more.

Industrial Robot Trends in 2024

In conclusion, 2024 is another promising year for the robotics and manufacturing industry because of the continued advancements within the industrial sector. The use of machine learning with AI to predict downtime, the collaborations between robots and humans, and the increasing popularity of using refurbished industrial robots are just a few of the critical robotics trends shaping the future of the industrial robotics industry.

Additionally, with an increased focus on cost efficiency, the increase of robots as a service is more beneficial to many startup companies. We are also seeing a major uptick in mobile robots being used in warehouse factories to help with material transportation.

I expect industrial robots to become even more adaptable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective than ever before in 2024. As the industrial robotics market progresses, it will undoubtedly revolutionize various industrial sectors, making them more efficient, productive, and safer. These technological advancements in robotics and their programming tools have made it easier for programmers to create and modify robotic programs, reducing the time and resources required to implement and maintain robotic systems. This trend will continue for many more years to come.

Jacob Sanchez | Automation Industry Analyst

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 14:46:42 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Jacob Sanchez Episode 18

In this episode, we discuss with Jacob Sanchez how he got his start in the automation industry. We discuss why he thinks his social media following has grown so large and how to build your unique following. He also talks about becoming more comfortable in front of a camera and gives a few tips on public speaking. We also discuss his future plans for helping the younger generation get involved with manufacturing and automation.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm the host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Jacob Sanchez. He's an industrial analyst and a social media content creator. We're going to talk a little bit about his background getting his start in automation. We're going to talk about his current role as a host on a very popular YouTube channel. We're also going to talk about his current roles and what he does in his free time. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : And welcome to episode 18. I'm here with Jacob Sanchez. He's an industry analyst and content creator. Jacob, welcome to today's show.

Jacob Sanchez – Guest (JS) : I'm hyped brother. How's it going, everybody?

Jacob Sanchez International Robot Exhibition In Japan

KD : Great. It's great to have you. And also great, you're the last one of the year. So, I appreciate you joining in December here. How are things going for you so far this year? Can you give us a little bit of, you know, how's your year been since we're close to year-end right now?

JS : Good. I mean, I literally just celebrated how much of a good year I've had by going to Japan for 20 days. The whole reason for that one, one of my buddies in the end industry, Chris Elston, he works for a YRG Robotics for Yamaha. He threw out this idea of “Hey, one of the biggest robotic shows in the world happens in Japan every two years, blah, blah, blah.” I was like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, that's cool. It's cool. I'll go, I'll go,” and I wasn't gonna go.

And as I got closer, towards the end of the year, I was like, you know, what all the success that I've had and been lucky enough to have and humble enough to have the experience I've had like, celebrate a little bit. So I planned this whole trip and went out there for a four-day robotics trade show. And then the other like 15 days was just traveling through Japan.

Difference Between Trade Shows in NA vs Japan

KD : Oh, cool. I bet that was absolutely amazing. Let me ask though, what were some of the things that you noticed that are different from trade shows over there than they are from over here, maybe in North America.

JS : So that was one of the coolest, like the reason I wanted to do this was for the vacation, but also for would like the experience of seeing how business is done in general in a foreign country. And when it comes to trade shows, in particular, I loved I'll start with something I loved. And it's something I thought was just a little I won't say it was bad, it was just funny.

So, I loved that. It didn't matter that if it was in the US, Japan, I bet it doesn't matter if it's in Europe, they have a focus on educating and education. So, on Saturday, they redid like a portion of one of the halls. Busted everything out of there, and turned it into like this play area of education for kids to come in. They had a VEX Robotics area where kids can actually come and sign up for times and build a robot. You can do a little like test competition. There was like this paper mache business thing where they could build like these apes and bugs and stuff and then fight with them or something.

There was a maze-running robot, and the kids could make their own little maze. And then they talk about how the robot uses vision to see blockage and it remembers where the blockages and it will path its way to eventually find the exit.

There was aquatic robots that the kids could drive and learn about. Um, that was it was refreshing to see that and know that these trade shows everywhere. I hopefully everywhere around the world realize the emphasis you need to put on educating people, like just ordinary people just to kids to just have fun, like not none of that stuff was like, “Oh, hey, if you're if you're gonna drive this aquatic robot, this is gonna be your job and like 20 years, blah, blah, blah.” It was just having fun, cool. It was just fun. There was some VR and augmented reality stuff for drones and things. That was cool to see.

KD : Very, yeah, very, very cool to get the younger generation involved there. I think you and like many others are always pushing for having the younger generation involved in teaching them about robotics and automation. So that's cool to see that they're doing that with their events there.

JS : That made me really happy. I'm a big I've been in education for a long time, even when I was in high school, still going to school. I was in education, teaching teachers and we'll get into that later. But one of the things that I thought was funny was how many parts of people's booths that had these big like do not film signs on it, but the product that they didn't want you to film was like a product release like it was like a new product.

They're like, “Hey, here's this new product, check this out.” But like, “don't show anybody.” And I'm like, and I may not understand it fully, but just a part of me was like, “if I have a new product out, like when Apple comes out with a new iPhone, they're not like, don't show off your iPhone.” You know what I mean.

KD : Don't show anybody you just bought this.

JS : I thought that was pretty interesting. I had some leeway because I was press. So I actually got a press badge for all the show. I got to talk with the show owners and a lot, lots of cool stuff. But even some of the things that booths even the press badge that people were like, “no, like, do not film this.” I was like, “okay.”

KD : Interesting. Yeah, weird, I've never heard of that, especially if you are literally showing everyone your product at a show like that.

JS : Like one of the guys told me too, I was like, “Well, what is this?” And they're like, “Oh, it's our newest product.” And I won't say what it was, but I was looking at and I was like, I've seen a product like this at least three other businesses. Like it's not that, innovative. You know what I mean? But I was like, “Oh, to each his own, okay,” you know.

Jacob Sanchez’s Start In Automation

KD : Cool. And let's back up just a second here, then let's go all the way back. How did you get your start in automation, then?

JS : Yeah, my start automation didn't come until I got a start in manufacturing. So, CNC machining to be specific. And this came from like me having nobody in my family in this background. I never knew this industry existed. I thought engineers were like Tony Stark growing up in Iron Man. So, I obviously thought it was like, impossible. It's like a fantasy to be an engineer. And so that was my that was my idea. That's all that I had in my head about this industry.

The only reason that I even got into a manufacturing class in freshman year of high school, is because I moved to a new place my I had to follow my mom's job, because single mom and all that. So wherever the job went, we had to go. Move to a new place. No friends, no family, picked my high school. And then I was signing up for electives and stuff. And I was like, I wasn't a delinquent. I was a tough kid. I guess in school, I got like, tried to get C's and talked back when I probably shouldn't have. So that was me. And I was trying to get the easy A's.

So I signed up for cooking class, because in every high school movie ever, like you sign up for cooking class for an easy A. And obviously everybody else knew that so it was full, and the school throws you into whatever is open. And engineering class was open. And I was pissed. My first week of school, I found out my elective got changed. And I go into this engineering room with all these like computers. And the first like thing we did was you have to, like make a paper airplane out of construction paper, I hate arts and crafts, I was I can't express how mad I was.

So that was my first like, touchdown into the engineering manufacturing world. Long Story Short with that I didn't really dive into CNC machining is what I would end up getting into. Until like, I just asked the teacher because I didn't like going home. I was like, “Hey, can I just like, clean your shop,” and I don't have to go home, I will just clean your shop. And so I got to get away from the computers and see the CNC machines and see what a machine shop looks like. I was like, oh, that's kind of cool. Like, what's that sharp thing over there. And I learned outside of class how to like run a manual lathe, I made a ring and .01 lines for sets across the thing, dialed in beautiful. And people were impressed and they thought I bought and I was like “No, I made it.” And that made them even more impressed. I was like, “Oh, this is a skill like not everybody has.”

And I just went down that rabbit hole rabbit hole and I eventually started working for a company called Titans of CNC Academy. They're the world's largest teacher and distributor for education in the CNC machining realm. And I got hired by them right out of high school and became a five-axis machinist, programmer, setup guy, four-axis, running different types of CNC mills; Haas, FANUC, Doosan, DMG, and we ended up turning into like an education studio where we started doing videos teaching people. Getting sponsorships. I was on camera doing educational videos.

And then I found out about robots. So like it took me what how long was that five or six years in the CNC machining world before I even saw my first robot. And then once I found out about robotics and like automation, I was like, “Oh, dude,” and I was like “I love cutting chips, but I don't want to do it forever.” So I moved from California to Texas with this Titans of CNC company, and then had a company that I met at a trade show once. Hire me, Edgewater Automation from Michigan. So they flew me out from Texas to Michigan moved away from family and friends again to knowing nobody, and started my automation journey as an Application Engineer, which I did for, I think almost two years. Yeah, two, almost three years. Designing cells for, they were a custom automation integrator.

Jacob Sanchez Industry Analysis and Content Creator

KD : Yep. Yep. I'm fairly familiar with them being from Michigan as well. And then. So what are you doing now then what? What's on your plate now? I know you're fairly busy.

JS : So now I just left my engineering job, I think eight months ago, nine months ago. I'm an industry analyst and a content creator for an industrial marketing company. And I've also been putting a lot more time and effort into my own personal development of my brand, and my content. So my LinkedIn channels where I do all of my stuff. And the cool thing that I do with that is I do educational videos to teach people about products, solutions, industries, organizations, like FIRST Robotics, stuff like that. I use it as a platform for people to tell their stories, whether that's their story of their profession in a company or whether that's their story of their life, as a professional. Just doing that.

KD : Now, you're on the other side here, and you're telling your story.

JS : Yeah, I love how I've, my journey started with like me in front of a camera. And then I had to learn how to do things behind a camera. And I never thought I'd get back in front of it. And then I've been on 13 podcast. I've spoken at three trade shows. And I'm the host for a YouTube series. So now I'm on the front end again.

Jacob Sanchez The #MFGKid

KD : Yeah, that's cool. I wanted to ask, how would you come up with manufacturing kid? I know that's kind of your slogan there. Did you come up with that? Did somebody else come up with that and give that to you? Can you tell us a story behind that?

JS : So I did come up with that. I mean, it started it started as like, I've been called a kid since I was a kid. Because I started out in CNC machine when I was like 16. And I'm going to schools and businesses to help teach their workers about like machining and like doing other than they're like, “Why we listen to this kid?”

So that always stuck. I was like, “Oh, yeah, I'm like an MFG Kid.” And then it developed into, “Well, like, I'm not going to be a kid forever. But it doesn't mean that you can't have the qualities of a kid.” Because like, I don't like that people use the kid word to try to demean me. Or like undermine people. I don't like it that it's a bad word.

Because you know, if anybody calls, “Oh, yeah, you're like a kid,” like, you're gonna get a little offended. Like they're not saying childish, but if they call you, “Oh, this kid.” You’ll be a little offended.

KD : Actually, that's one of the reasons why I grew my beard out after college was because I looked so young. And I was always same thing. Always call “the kid,” “the young guy.” So, I started growing it out. And I've literally never cut it for the last 15 years, I've always kept the beard now. So same sort of scenario.

JS : I didn't like that. I don't like that. It's used like that. I don't like that people feel like that. So it's actually turned into more than just my slogan. Now. Um, and I've only talked about this on to other platforms, because I'm still rolling it out. And I'm, it's going to roll out next year. But I'm actually turning the MFG Did into a website. So I bought the domain names for MFGkids.com. And automationkids.com. And I'm working on a website that it's going to be this place where industry can go and learn about these schools and kids doing this amazing things from around the world. And it's also going to be a place for teachers to connect with one another. Kids to connect with industry, and see and learn just all this awesome stuff that's out there without it being like, forced down their throats as like, “Oh, if you like this, I mean, you have to do it forever. This is your job now.” I just want it to be a place for people to learn, communicate and network.

And so the MFG Kid brand is actually going to be given away to who I think is going to be the next MFG Kid. And then I'm going to give them a six month all expenses paid, traveling with me through the country to trade shows to kickstart their career. So, I'm at it whenever they're I don't know if the next MFG Kid wants to be a welder, a fab guy, a laser girl. I don't know, whatever the person wants to do. I'm gonna pay for them to come with me to trade shows and introduce them to my network and hopefully get their career kicked off.

The Host of MSC’s “How To” Series

KD : I'll be able to put those links at the bottom in the description. So then that way people will be able to follow those websites and go to those websites from our description, directly from there. But I did want to touch on a little bit too about how you became the host, I guess for MSC. Could you talk a little bit about that process?

JS : One crazy story after another. I wasn't even trying to do this, I was going about my normal days as an application engineer, I think I was hit. I remember being heads down, and like this $1.2 million project for a customer. And then I had three other things in the pipeline I was trying to do. I get it, I get a call from like, this guy that hit me up on LinkedIn. So like, I recognize the name, I didn't know the number, but I was like, “Okay, this guy somehow got my number,” called me. And it was the creative director, the VP for a company called industrial studios, said that he heard about me through LinkedIn and through networks, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in learning more about this series. And I was like, “Oh, yeah,” so told them we just talked and just told them about me tell him about my experience what I'm passionate about. And then he was like, oh, cool, like, I'll make sure to jot this down, call you back. Calls me back. But the next time he calls me, it's, it's over, like video call. And it was a video interview, it turned into a video interview that he recorded to send to the client.

KD : I guess, I guess better to not know. And then that way, you aren't as nervous. Right?

JS : I don't have to think I knew it was for MSC still like at this point. Yeah. So long story short, like it turned this thing where like, “Oh, I don't care. Like, it's just this thing that's coming up. Like I don't I don't want this, but I'll try for it.” And then I think I had to beat out. I forget the exact it was at least 100 or 150. But it was some it was in the hundreds of people in America to get this role.

And then when I found out I was in the top, like 10. I was like, “Oh, shoot, this is kind of cool.” And then I got in the top two. And I was like, “Oh my God,” and like I was freaking out. Now I really wanted it it was all that I was thinking about every day.

And then I got it. I got it. I found out I was going to be the host for a series called How To for MSC Industrial Supply . I found out that I got to pick the first place that we shot at, I picked my good colleague shop in Champaign, Illinois. We went in their film two episodes, one on how to maximize machine productivity . Another one on how to know if automation is right for you .

And I learned a lot I learned how to dress. I didn't I didn't wear like belts at the time. Like I didn't tuck my shirt in. And so like so I had to wear this collared shirt for MSC tuck my shirt and the director. And at this shoot, it's a director to film guys, one audio guy. And the director is like, “Where's your belt?” And I was like, “I don't, I don't know. I don’t wear belts.” And he's like, he took his belt off of his pants, Jim Olin, and gave me his belt.

And that was those were the first two episodes and the first episode in two weeks got 10,000 views. It ended up getting, they ended up getting up to 50k. It bumped up their YouTube channel from 3.7k followers to, after that first episode went out 10,000 in almost a month. And then right now between this series and two other series that we produce for them with different hosts. They're at 25,600 followers now.

KD : Wow. You got to be pretty proud of helping them build that. That's really cool.

JS : I mean, just being proud of being a part of like building How To, but also being a part of the team because that team. This team with MSC and Industrial Studios also produces Tooling Up, they produce Quick Tips, they produce Help Wanted, so just even being associated with a team that gets to produce all of that, is awesome. People love seeing it hearing about it. I've talked about the series on, like, four podcasts. I talked about it at one trade show, and it's in a magazine.

I got nominated for SMEs 30 under 30 this year, and I talked about it in there. People love it. It's just, it's fun. It's not me trying to sell anything. It's not somebody else trying to sell anything. It's me going in there as a guy that loves this industry. Is excited about what we're talking about, what I'm learning. Like people think that, like, like, I have to fake like my excitement on camera, but like, when I go into these businesses, I'm genuinely like, like they have to keep me on track.

KD : Oh, that’s really cool over there and it get you wandering over there. Oh no, come back this way.

JS : You should ask my director about keeping me on script. I go off script a lot.

KD : Well maybe that's why they're so good, right? I mean, I’ve seen a couple episodes myself. Do you have a favorite How To episode?

JS : Yes. So, and this is not. This is like picking your favorite child. This is like picking your favorite puppy. Like, I love all my dogs. But my favorite episode was probably, it's either how to maximize efficiency in process measurement , which is when we went to Hexagon. That was fun. Just because there was so much going on. Like I was, we planned this interview, where I was talking from one of the guys from Switzerland. That was awesome.

Or it was when we went to the Norton Saint Gobain. That's the one that was the one. It's the one when we went to the Norton Saint Gobain facility. It's episode number three ( how to know if automation is right for you ), go check it out. Oh, I dawned on this entire grinding gear. Like, I asked him, I was like, I was like, “Do you guys have power tools here?” And they were like, “Yeah,” and I was like, I looked at my director, I was like, “Can we get them to let me use a grinding tool, because I want to show people that like, this is the dirty way. And this is the way that like, men grew up in the industry. Having to work 12 hours a day in this stuff. And now, you can use robotics to help amplify productivity with R&D, when you're testing your parts in your wheels.” And so I want to send that home and they let me do it. So there's the opening video is me just grind it on this thing. And in this attire?

KD : Yup, I've seen that one.

JS : They let me keep the wheel after too. So that's probably my favorite.

Jacob's Tips On Presenting

KD : And on that, I guess you kind of did touch on presenting a little bit. You know, what are some of your tips? When you go to some of these events and present? You know, how do you, you know, do some research? Do you, you know, have PowerPoint slides? What do you do to prepare yourself for some of these events.

JS : So, I'll say what I do to prepare myself that also if anybody's trying to, like get into doing more speaking for their industry. Like, I don't care if you're in healthcare or automotive, whatever, there's shows and events for everybody's industry.

Pick, like, maybe 1 to 3 of your favorite things that you feel like you're in a mentor in, or you can be a guide in and hone in on that for like your PowerPoint and your speeches and your titles and stuff. So 1 to 3. And then I recommend if you do get a gig, doing your first gig as a two piece, so whether it's you and somebody else on stage. I think that'll just help a lot of people that are used to being on stage because now it's more conversational, instead of just you talking to the audience.

That was that was my first one was with me and my buddy, Ian stork. We talked about finding your passion in manufacturing. And it was cool because we hit on it from two angles. He is a hardcore incredible, video guy, videographer. Has his own business, editor, is amazing, and fell into manufacturing. And then I was in manufacturing and then fell into video. So, it meshed really well. It made for an amazing kickoff to now. After you get that first speech done. Other people saw that speech and they're like, “Oh, well, we want this guy to come talk about this.” And that's how I got my other ones.

I try not to get in my own head a lot like and people all do their speeches differently and stuff I have a lot of. I make it very much like a like a play, or a theater. Like I bring props when I when I speak, like I have my robot arm onstage, either machinist briefcase that has all my machine parts in there. Like I bring that stuff I'll have somebody helped me pass things out to the audience while I'm talking like it's very hands-on visual.

KD : Interactive.

JS : Oh, yeah. That's how I like to do mine. And then I add a lot of video into my speeches. So it's not just like slide, slide, text, text. So that's kind of my vibe when I go out and speak.

KD : Yeah. Cool. And do you think is that also what's helped you build such a great social media presence and following, do you think? From you know, your onscreen presence from your recorded stuff, plus doing all these different events? Like, like you said earlier? I mean, you are a social media guru, so you definitely got a good content you're consistently putting out a good following and building more and more each day.

JS : I try to do, I try to do what I can, and definitely the people that do follow me and support me are the only reason that I can do it sometimes because there's been plenty of times where I do not think I'm a guru of any sort or I don't I think the content that I'm doing is good. And then I have the DMs slip in from somebody saying it's a stranger saying, “hey, like I saw this video or heard you talk about this. I really loved what you said here, like, can we connect?” I had a woman that DM me one time after I did a mental health talk. And she said, “Hey, you don't know me, obviously. But I do mental health TikTok’s. And you talked about imposter syndrome in this article. And so I made a impostor syndrome, TikTok for you.” And then she sent me this TikTok that she made for her audience and because of me.

So, I definitely don't think I'm that big in the social realm. But the audience that I have, and the people that support me, definitely make me feel like I'm on top of the world. And I've heard, because they've told me, I've heard that. Two of the things that the reason that certain people liked my platform is, there's no ego in it. So, when I started my platform, you can go back to and look at the videos, you never saw me. It was it was videos of products of people telling their stories. You'd like you wouldn't even know it was my account, if there wasn't me as the profile picture. And somebody was like Jacob, you got to get to show them you like, people want to hear about you, too. So they loved coming there for that.

And they also love coming to a place where everything is original. Everything that is on my channel is filmed by me, edited by me. Its people's stories, or it's me talking about something like it's not anything that I took somewhere, and then just put it here for you to see. There's other places for you to go and do your own research or find other people's channels that do that for you. And because the channels like that are people that do that, where they take something and post it and talk about it is great for awareness and getting conversations going. So, I definitely don't knock that. But I definitely like that. Everything that you'll ever see here is original and it's real.

Work-Life Balance As An Automation Industry Content Creator

KD : Yeah, that's great. That's actually one of the things I do as well as I am usually posting only my content from my different companies or social media stuff that that I do. It's just it's different, unique. You know, you don't need copycats out there doing the same thing as everybody else. Right. So I think that's definitely something that I've noticed as well as I will get a lot of followers if I do certain posts about a certain topic that no one else is really talking about. I did want to ask though, you are a very busy guy. It sounds like how work life balance. What's that mean to you? I mean, are you grinding Monday through Friday, and then the weekends you're off? Or what's, you know, what's your schedule look like?

JS : So this is the other thing too, that like people try to make themselves feel bad about like, “Ah, Jacob, like, I can't do that, like how you do and blah, blah,” and I'm like, “Good, that means you have a family.” Because I don't I don't have a family. It's just me. So it's just me, I'm able to I have my colleagues, I have work friends. I don't do much outside of that. So I have all this time.

I do a lot of volunteer work. Like I like investing my time into schools, and I go and do public speaking at schools. I'll go and work with the classes and help like teach and stuff. I volunteer as FIRST Robotics judge the past six years. So that's kind of like, that's kind of my life aspect, I have to get away from work, even though it's still kind of work. And that makes me happy.

So, I do that. And I spend a lot of time like going outside and go into gardens and museums or cooking. I'm a big little home cook. So that's kind of how I balanced that. But a good portion of it is work. So I do have to have a variety of non-work things to kind of try to weave in there.

Follow Jacob Sanchez

KD : Yeah. Good. Good. And then before we wrap up here, where can people you know, reach out and connect with you? Are you only on LinkedIn? Is there anywhere else that they can reach out? I know we talked a little bit about your other websites, we'll put the description of those below. But is there anywhere else you'd like people to contact you?

JS : Yeah, LinkedIn, Jacob Sanchez, for sure. You'll see all my content there. Because of this Japan trip, I'm actually starting to TikTok so I've been working on getting a bunch of videos like clipped up and done so I can have like a good little batch. So I'll have a TikTok too.

We can drop that in the comments. I'm going to try to see if Jake Makes is available as a name because like, ever since I started my career, my family whenever they try to talk about like what I do. They're like, “Oh, Jacob makes videos or he makes like robots or he used to make like aerospace.” So it's always like Jake makes this, Jake makes this.

KD : Maybe that's what your new slogan should be, when you change from MFG Kid.

JS : Once I get MFG Kid to somebody else.

KD : Yeah, that's what you should do. So, Jake, appreciate you being on today's episode. If you guys enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share. Don't forget to subscribe. And we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks.

JS : Thank you.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Jacob Sanchez on LinkedIn.

Follow Jacob on TikTok @JacobMakes .

Watch the “How To” series with Jacob Sanchez on the MSC Industrial Supply Co . YouTube page .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Benjamin Bohn | Bohn Engineering Services

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:44:55 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Benjamin Bohn | Episode 17

In this episode, we talk with Benjamin Bohn , Chief Engineer and Owner of Bohn Engineering Services . We discuss how he built his side gig, into a full-time engineering service business. We also talk about what he likes about being a business owner and some advantages he gets to enjoy during his free time as the owner of a company. We also talk about building his social media presence through memes.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Benjamin Bohn. He's the chief engineer and owner of Bohn Engineering Services, we're going to talk a little bit about starting his company kind of from a side gig to a full-time business, while we're also going to talk about his amazing social media presence. And we're also going to talk a little bit about what it's like being a small business owner, looking for new clients. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : All right, and welcome to episode 17. I'm here with Benjamin Bohn. He's the chief engineer and owner of Bohn Engineering Services. Welcome to today's show.

Benjamin Bohn – Guest (BB) : Yeah, thanks.

Benjamin Bohn’s Automation Background

KD : And let's just go ahead like to always jump right into it, can you give us a little bit of background about your engineering in automation background that you have?

BB : Well, so I would say my background, I, my first engineering job was in automation. So I was hired on a friend of mine had a consulting business, mechanical design, absolutely would not touch any kind of controls and whatever. And, and this was back in 2008, and couldn't find a job anywhere else. And it's, you know, found my way in there. And away we go. So that's where it started. I ended up taking quite a detour through pretty much all the different aspects of product development. But I mean, at the end of the day, as a mechanical engineer, the end of the line where everything gets put together, I mean, that's really where the, all this design and all the rest of the work that I've been working on, that's where rubber meets the road.

So, you know, I'm quite fortunate for the career path that I've had. Because otherwise, you know, my, my designs and things that I would come up with, would be pretty mediocre, like most other engineers coming up with things, but because I came from that world, came from the land where, you know, things are actually built and assembled. All that got shoved into the design from the, from the beginning, and it made quite an impact on the things that I was able to put out there.

Why Start A Consulting Company?

KD : Yeah, good. Good. And let me ask Benjamin, what made you want to start your own company?

BB : So I would say, it's kind of in my blood more than anything, I don't, I don't seem to fit in well, with most companies going, going that route. My father is a cabinet maker. And I grew up in that shop, building houses, building cabinets, doing all that kind of stuff. And he owned his business had a few people working for him. Now and then, but mostly it was him and I and we're doing this stuff. And I figured, okay, got my degree, we're gonna go get a job and get in there. And it's like, you know, I like to work, but I just don't fit in this realm. It's not, I'm not built for it.

Because there's so many times where that service aspect that I was taught and brought up and brought into, you can't really put it out there the way that you need to. And so my, you know, I, I always wanted to eventually get into a consulting role or something like that, to be able to have the freedom of motion, but it's been the last 10 years or so it's just like, that's, that's where I need to be because this this is not, this is not where I fit.

Turing A Side Business Into A Full-Time Job

KD : Yeah, interesting. And then I saw it you were it looks like working a little bit too. In the beginning. Was it kind of a side gig to start and then now it's, it's moved more into a full-time thing for you?

BB : Right, right. So I started I officially started the company in 2015. I was oddly enough, I got my papers registering the company in the state of Texas the exact same day I got laid off from Baker Hughes. So that was kind of a fun day. But unfortunately, that downturn that we had in the oil and gas industry was so bad that, I mean, I was I had to go physically from Houston all the way to Iowa to even have a real shot at a job opportunity because it just drained opportunities.

And that's where we wound up. And the last I would say since In November of last year, I was really hitting it pretty hard going part-time on the business and full-time work, and come March, it got to the point where I'm working 60, 70 hours a week. Going “wait a minute,” I've essentially got two paychecks at this point. The job that I want to do is projecting that we’ll be good here for at least quite a while. Okay, we're done. We'll talk to the missus. And we came up with a plan and we cut ties and off we go. We jumped off in the deep end here.

Bohn Engineering Services Business Location

KD : Yeah, well, congratulations, then. Are you still based? It sounds like out of Iowa?

BB : Yep. Yep. We're in Dubuque, Iowa.

KD : Okay, and that's Do you have an office there? Work, you know, work from home type office? Or, you know, what's kind of the plan there?

BB : Well, as of right now, pretty much everything that I've done is all remote, easy to support remotely, things like that, I have put in a couple of proposals that we're looking for. Potential start next year, we'll see how those turn out. If those end up coming true, then we're going to be looking pretty hard for an actual workspace and an office and all that good stuff.

KD : Oh, cool. Congratulations. And I do want to ask a number of employees? It sounds like we talked earlier a little bit. Now you have two.

BB : Officially have two. Yes, myself and my wife. My wife is I it took me about three months to finally convince her that it was not be a bad thing to work with me. And she's finally like, “Okay, well give this a shot.” And, with her, she's got just an amazing ability to plan and, and plan sequence of events and things like that. She has a, I'm not, I'm going to try to tell you what that degree was. It has nothing to do with the engineering or anything like that. So, we don't have any of those fights and arguments. But she's just got this innate ability to plan things out like this, and to very, very deep down into the weeds kind of level.

And I've been pushing for years, it's like you. I need you as my project manager, that's all I need. Well, it took about three months. And I finally got her convinced to, and she's like, I don't know anything about this. But I got her in there, I got her doing it. And she's actually a project manager on this job that we're doing right now. And she's just doing an amazing job just keeping on top of everybody and everything. And, and I'm getting compliments from the field that are talking to her and dealing with her as well. It's like, yep, that's exactly where she needs to be. And what that does, it helps me to focus on the engineering and all the other details that we need to and I mean, we're just making a great team out of this.

Bohn Engineering Services

KD : Oh, that's great to hear. Being able to work with your spouse. You know, a lot of people I'm sure couldn't do that. So if you guys are making it work, that's, that's really special. I did want to ask them, what kind of services do you provide?

BB : So really, any type of engineering services in general, so the way I originally structured the company is to be able to if a company has a need for, you know, has some sort of skill gap or just don't have quite enough people in their projects, they can hire me in to fill those gaps, mechanical engineering background, so and I've got every aspect of product development from crazy concepts all the way through production testing, and you know, everything in between. I've got a lot of experience in the analysis realm, vibration, and FEA, things of that nature.

Also CFD, I've also got I do a lot of a lot, I would say the product development side, there's a lot of experience that I bring to the table that there's been a number of places I've worked at, I've, you know, just the background that I can bring, I've been able to say, “Okay, how about you do something like this?” And everybody's like, “I don't know anything about that.” And it's like, “Well, I do and this is what we did over in such and such industry prior to,” and brought that knowledge in there and brought in different ways to do things. And we ended up every single thing that I've every single product that I've worked on has brought cost reduction, complexity reduction, you know, overall, fewer parks and things like that. So I mean, that's what I'm bringing to the table.

Likes As A Business Owner

KD : Yeah, cool! And let me let me ask then. What are some of your likes being a business owner now that you've been in it 100% for the last seven months?

BB : I would say I got to one, the ability to walk away from that dumpster fire. Because plenty times when you're working on a project like this, this is not working, nobody's listening to you know, you got all those issues. At this point, I can say, “Nope, I can't help you any further, there's nothing else I can do, because it's just not going to work. And it's not good for anybody.” And I just have the ability to say yes or no, and when and how far.

The other thing is the abilities to really the bigger ones for me is the ability to put my name on the side of something. So you know, I grew up, my dad stuck his name on that business and everybody everywhere he went, he had people it's like taking a celebrity into town kind of thing, right? People stopped talking to him, they knew who he was people he, he didn't know they knew. Because the because that name that was out there. And the reason for that is because you stand behind what you're putting out there.

And so I did the exact same thing names right there on the company on the side of the truck and everything else. And I mean, that's, that's what it is. There's no, there's no oh, well, here's some random nope, that's who it is. It's there's an individual that made those decisions that decided this is how we're going to do things this is, this is what we're doing and backing it up. And, you know, if something's not right, we're gonna fix it, or we'll go after, you know, whatever we need to do. Till the clients happy with what we what we're doing out there. We're not done.

Dislikes As A Business Owner

KD : Yeah cool, cool. And let's go with the opposite side. I think I know what you might say. But what are some of your dislikes? You know, being a new business owner.

BB : Just likes I hate trying to figure out how to get new jobs. That's the absolute worst thing that could possibly be.

KD : Finding new clients, right?

BB : I was very fortunate up to this point. What's that?

KD : Finding new clients, right?

BB : Oh, yeah.

KD : Can be difficult.

BB : Oh, yeah. It very much is. I've been very fortunate for the clients that I do have up to this point. Good folks, good folks to work with. We're doing a lot of good, good things over there, helping them do what they're doing on. But yeah, I mean, the trickiest part is I'm an engineer through and through. I've got a project manager. She's good at what she does. But sales and marketing, I have no idea.

Marketing Your Business

KD : Well, that's a great lead, because I think you're actually pretty darn good at sales and marketing. Because I obviously have following you on, on LinkedIn, you and I wanted to talk about this anyway, you post some great funny, like memes and content on there. Where do you come up with all these ideas? Man, that's, that's what I want to know.

BB : Um, I would say, I don't know that I necessarily come up with them. I'm just not holding it back, I guess. Because most, pretty much every single one of those things is there was a real thing I really saw it really was there really had to deal with it. And I'm just sitting there thinking to myself, and one day, I thought, you know what, let's just put this down and see what happens. And that's all it's been is, you know, my thought about some random thing and, and a few of them have gone crazy nuts.

But, you know, at the end of the day, that's really what it is. That's what, that's what anybody hiring me is gonna get is, I'm not gonna be, “Oh, well, I can't say that. I can't talk like this. I can't, whatever.” It's like, No, you're hiring me, you're gonna get every bit of me. And that means I'm gonna call it out and say, you got a mechanical engineer to put lockwashers and everything there is and you really need to question his ability to do what he's doing. Because you do that shouldn't be, right.

KD : Yeah, the fact that you're not going to sugar coat it for any of your clients. I am sure they appreciate it.

BB : Yeah, because they really do because, well, the ones that like to work with me do. Some others, they, you know, people, some people do take offense to it, which okay, whatever. But the nice thing about it, though, is the ability to say it straight to people, you can really tell whether or not you're going to be able to work with them anyway. Because at the end of the day, if something's not working on a project, and I don't care what it is, or how it's structured or who did what. If the team or the client can't listen to somebody, say, “Look this and this person, or you or whatever,” and that turns them off, and you there's no way I can help them because we can't have a conversation about what's the root cause here, and how do we actually deal with that? Right?

KD : Yeah. Yeah, and like I said, that's a lot of times being a consultant, that is one of the benefits that you kind of can open your mouth and be straight up and honest with people. And sometimes people don't like to hear the honesty or the hard truths, right?

BB : Right.

Finding New Clients

KD : Yep. So I did want to ask, you know, you are fairly new, you said clients is somewhat difficult for you sometimes, is there a handful of clients that you're kind of using right now rotating through them? And then kind of what's your next step strategy then to build your client list?

BB : Well, so right now I've got a fairly steady stream from the clients that I do have, we've got this big project that I'm working on right now is going to take us through probably, February, just a lot of things going on there. I've got a couple proposals that I'm working on are helping support that we're looking for January timeframe. If we get approved for those obviously, outside of that I don't really have a whole lot of a strategy at this point of, of how we go after new clients, new work and things like that.

KD : And I mean, another, I've talked to one of my good buddies, does engineering consulting, and his strategy is basically look, I've got six clients, and I just keep them happy, and they keep coming back to him. So, some people have different ideas of you know, building a large client list. So, I'm just keep a small handful and just keep them satisfied. Right. And as long as you're happy, and their happy.

BB : Well you kind of have to do a little bit of both, right? Because I mean, you have to have the work to keep the lights on kind of situation, right? But you also have to, you have to keep going after the other things as well to help build that and spread that word around. I don't know that's kind of what it is. I remember when we moved when I was like four years old, down to Oklahoma from Minnesota, we didn't know anybody here we just up and left. And it was like six months before he had any job. But you know, the type of work and everything that he put out there. He was retired, and they were still calling him, right, he was not out of work a single day. And that's really, the type of thing that I'm trying to do here is to be able to put out the work in such a way that it just keeps doing its doing its thing, and that's fine. Quality work sure speaks for itself. I'll tell you that.

Work-Life Balance As A Business Owner

KD : Absolutely. And with that work and hard work that you're putting in, again, being a business owner. Now, what's your work life balance look like?

BB : Um, I don't know that. I don't know that I really believe in such a thing, right? There's a, there's cut offs, right? It's you know, you put that phone down and you're not looking at it, and you don't do anything with it. And the clients know that. Once that time comes, you ain't get nothing. I do have one client that we do have arrangement for some emergency support and things like that. And okay, but unless that number comes up with that particular name on there, you're not it and getting it.

Because, you know, part of the part of the benefits of being able to run a company like this is the ability to attend those things with your kids go out go fishing more often go camping more often, whatever. Bring those kids really important is bring those kids into the job to see okay, this is what it really looks like you can you can go and get your job at the restaurant and whatever else and get that experience. Yes, but this right here is a whole different ballgame because you're doing something and you're doing it back in it by your own word. And that's what you could have stand up for. And to me that's really what what's driving all this is to be able to teach my kids to be human beings that I really want to be around, right?

KD : Yep.Yep. And basically, like your father did to you, right? Show you the path. Yeah, show you your hard work and you know, what you can do with, you know, your own hands, right?

BB : That's right. I mean, there's a lot to it. I mean, heck with this project that we're doing right now we've had dozen or more contractors, subcontractors that said one thing couldn't do it fell through all this nonsense, and it's like, what do we got? We got two rght now that I would tell anybody and everybody these guys are who you want. I don't care. What were whatever. Those are the guys because they're like, Yep, we're gonna be there. They're on time. They're showing up early, they're staying late. They're I mean, they're just busting it trying to get this stuff done, and they're standing behind everything they're doing. And it's just such a rare thing. And people have the ability to stand behind what they're doing anymore.

Business Goals

KD : Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Um, and we are coming up here. on your end. Have you set any goals for this year? Did you have any, you know, targets you were trying to meet? How did you deal with that? And if not, are you? Are you thinking about setting some goals for yourself then for 2024?

BB : Um, well, right now my only goal that I've got is to continue to maintain our income so that we don't have to go looking for a cardboard box. At least that's what's the goal that the wife made me commit to, and we cut loose. So far, we're doing pretty good we are we are going to exceed that a little bit. So we'll have a little bit of cushion coming into 2024. At this point in time, we've got, you know, we've got a few prospects that we're looking at. But, you know, that's kind of what this is trying to make a goal on that is it, it always seemed kind of silly to me. But because I can't, I can't make much of a plan not knowing, you know, I can't I have no pull with the clients as to when they're going to do something, and when they're going to call me up.

And usually, when I get called up, they're like, 90%, into the decision-making process. And I'm like, hold on a second, back up about 20 paces. And let's question what we're doing first, and then, and then sometimes I actually kind of lose the job happened to me a couple of times, I kind of lost the job. And then they come back around. I was like, “Okay, so we want you to finish this thing.” After we did all the stuff you already said. Okay. Yeah. Because, you know, just a little bit different path. I mean, it'd be really nice if clients would come talk to us from the get go and get our opinion. I mean, I have no problem having a conversation with anybody.

It's like, okay, here's what I think here's the things that you're going to need to look out for. You might want to look into these things, and vet it out a little more, because you get a lot of a lot of times you get a roomful of people, you end up with kind of a group think and they're like, this is the one and only option for us. It's like, yeah, or you can save like, twice that amount of money by doing it this other way and slightly easier. But nobody was in the room to even offer up a suggestion. Right?

KD : Right. Yeah.

BB : So yeah, we just kind of roll with it.

Connect With Benjamin Bohn

KD : Yup, yup. Well, I'm sure again, your clients appreciate that. Before we wrap up here. Can you let everybody know where they can get ahold of you?

BB : Um, yeah, I mean, I'm on LinkedIn. Anybody wants to connect? Go for it. Click that button and away we go and yeah.

KD : Okay. And then we'll also leave a link to your website too, as well. And a link to your LinkedIn at the bottom in the description. So, if you guys enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe. And we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

BB : Thanks, everybody.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Benjamin Bohn on LinkedIn.

Learn more about engineering services offered from Bohn Engineering Services .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Vladimir Romanov | SolisPLC

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:38:36 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Vladimir Romanov Episode 16

In this episode, we talk with Vladimir Romanov , the Co-Founder of SolisPLC . We discussed how running a blog and creating helpful YouTube videos then became an online PLC training company. We talk about the different types of online training programs offered and what he likes about being the owner of his own company. We also discussed how the current economic burdens affect companies' training budgets.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Vladimir Romanov. He's the co-founder of SolisPLC. We're going to talk a little bit about his background in automation. We're going to talk about why and how he started SolisPLC. We're also going to talk about building his social media presence on YouTube, as well as some of his future goals for the business. Now let's go talk automation!

KD : Welcome to today's show. I'm here with Vladimir Romanov. He's the co-founder of SolisPLC. Vlad, welcome to the show.

Vladimir Romanov – Guest (VR) : Thank you so much for having me.

Vladimir Romanov’s Automation Background:

KD : No problem. Let's just jump into it. Can you give us a little bit of background about yourself and how you got into the automation industry?

VR : Sure. So that's a really good question. I guess to take a bit of a step back, I graduated back in 2013 with an engineering electrical engineering degree from Concordia University. If anyone's familiar, that's a school in Montreal, Canada. I initially started applying pretty much everywhere. So, I moved to where my parents were at the time, which is Los Angeles. I didn't have a network. So, I started applying, you know, through the common online portals, just sending out my resume, and trying to find to be honest with you, whatever that was in electrical engineering.

And so, after a couple of months, I landed a job as a field engineer for Mitsubishi Electric doing troubleshooting of elevators and escalators, which was interesting, but I want to say, a bit more bureaucratic, then let's call it hands-on. It was a unionized environment. And ultimately, as the engineer would show up, you know, with a notepad and kind of get what happened from the installers or the mechanics, and then do a lot of paperwork. They didn't really love that position, to be honest with you.

And so while I was applying initially, I also had an interview process with Procter and Gamble. And so, the way they do it is they give you two rounds of interviews. And then, based on, I guess, how you do at those interviews, they will give you a placement anywhere in the US. And so, I ended up being invited. And that took that process, I thought, you know, that was kind of like a done deal. They didn't call me back after the second interview. But they actually reached out six months later, saying like, “Oh, now they have an opening for a process controls and information systems engineer in Auburn, Maine.”

And so, I relocated everything from Los Angeles to Maine after visiting the site, it's, it's hard to describe, right? So when I went to the manufacturing facility, it's kind of like you want to be there, you know what I mean? Like, you see the robots, you see the servos, you see the automated lines that you normally only experienced through, like how it's made. And so that's ultimately how I got into automation.

And, you know, for those listening, maybe I had zero background, I had, I didn't know what a PLC was, I had never seen, you know, a control panel of that nature. So I had, obviously the engineering knowledge that I've acquired through university, but no automation-specific skills. And so they trained me up, and they brought me up to speed, you know, with, like, senior engineers, and ultimately, I was sent to the, you know, like the five-day Rockwell training out of a facility in Massachusetts.

The Start Of SolisPLC.

KD : Wow. Yeah, that's, that's pretty interesting, and always great to get the training from the actual experts. And then also through your senior level managers and other engineers, that's a great way to learn, especially getting your hands on a product, right? So then let me ask, how did you start SolisPLC?

VR : So SolisPLC was much later and, I guess, to give you a brief timeline, so I had left P&G after three years, then moved into a role at Kraft Heinz back in Los Angeles doing more maintenance work. So, at that point, I was the maintenance manager. And so, I was exposed to a different environment than what you do in, let's say, installing control systems. Due to a merger in 2015, between Kraft and Heinz, they decided to close down with facility in 2018.

So, I ended up joining a very small systems integration firm that did a lot of consultant type of work and integration type of work for Kraft Heinz and Post Holding, so I started flying between different sites. And I want to say like living in hotels, for better for worse, I think that's the reality for, you know, many people in systems integration. But to get to your question, I started having, let's call it free time in hotels, right. So, I started to document in many ways, some of the things that I was working on in the evenings that I would come back, you know, from the facility. And because of that, I guess I created content first, you know, just like in written form. And then I had created a tutorial and a course on Udemy. And slowly but surely it started taking traction and kind of became what SolisPLC is today.

SolisPLC Business Location:

KD : Very cool. And so, is that then based in LA still, or where's the location then?

VR : So I was, so again, my home base was in Los Angeles, I was not doing many projects in Los Angeles, I was traveling a lot, primarily to Georgia, and then some facilities across the US. But Georgia was a very big hub, there's a peanut butter factory that I worked out of for almost like a year and a half. So, I would say, traveling from LA, but mostly doing a lot of the SolisPLC, we'll see if you want to call it work from Georgia.

Creating The Name “SolisPLC.”

KD : And then let me ask, I do want to know, how did you come up with the name?

VR : That is a good question. So initially, I looked for a name that was sort of like just general. And so I, I like to, I guess I look at other languages. So Solace is sort of like it's an eclipse in Latin. And it's related to the sun. And so, I just browse, like random names a lot. There's, you know, like name generators on the web. And I, honestly, like I liked because the name was fairly neutral. And what I realized is that the domain was not available.

And initially, I wanted to focus on PLCs only. And so that's maybe also like a trap for those who are listening is, you know, if you want to, let's say do integration type of work. And right now, you might be only focused on like PLC and HMIs. Don't necessarily call it PLC, because then you have that image that makes it difficult to, let's say, provide, like SCADA or any other platforms. But at the time, I wasn't necessarily thinking a lot about branding, right? Like I was just trying to put out some content out there and making sure that I provide value on the like, PLC programming side.

SolisPLC Training:

KD : Yeah, that's a great point. And that was one of the things when I did my name is I originally had in a welding and robotics was in the name and in one of the few of the ideas I had. I did the same thing was like, Okay, well, what about in the future if we branch out into different sectors or different areas? So that's also something really good to touch on? And then what types of PLCs? You know, are you doing all your trainings on? Is your one specific one, or do you guys do multiple different versions?

VR : So due to the nature of the work that I had done, it's predominantly or at least like it got started as Allen Bradley, right. So, both P&G and Kraft Heinz are fairly standardized on Rockwell, you know, from top down, it's negotiated, you know, the VP levels like way, way higher than an engineer could influence. So, it was very difficult to go outside of those boundaries.

Now, once I started working for a smaller systems integrator, there was a bit more leniency as to what kind of systems I could learn or employ. So, it started to, like, grow to a larger library. Now, you will notice, if you go to SolisPLC, it's not going to be necessarily me creating the content on each one of those platforms, we have instructors that specialize, let's call it even Siemens. So now I can program TIA Portal, but I don't have enough, let's go, I don't have 10 years of background, to be as efficient as an instructor that we have on SolisPLC. So, we have different instructors for different platforms, and we cover Siemens, PLCnext, Phoenix Contact, we cover Opto 22. We're always trying to, you know, like work on more opportunities. But those are, I want to say like at the core. And then on the robotic side, we currently only have FANUC. But we have an instructor that also knows, like KUKA, UR and a few other platforms.

SolisPLC Online Training:

KD : So, and then is that all strictly online training?

VR : Yeah, so that's a question we get a lot when companies reach out to us, I think that we try to position ourselves as online first. And the way I guess like our selling point is that it's not that it's meant to replace the in-person training , I think that you should still go through the materials with the physical hardware and software and sort of get that hands-on experience. And then we try to supplement that through online lessons. Right.

So what happens typically, and that's what happened to me, right? Like, that's why I even had the intent of building something like this because I was sent, as I said, to five days Rockwell training, and I think it was good, right? Like they explained to me like different functions, different features. And then a few weeks later, you ultimately don't get to use all of them. So, you very quickly forget, right? So we aim to be this sort of space where after you've long forgotten the training, you can go back and rewatch something that we've made available. And I think like again, we've seen this type of transformation in other industries, right like the traditional software. I think if you wanted to learn like Python, C++, Java, whatever that is, you're gonna go online. You're not going to go to sit in the classroom. So, I think that's what our goal was with SolisPLC.

SolisPLC Social Media Marketing:

KD : Well, and, and I've seen that you guys have got a pretty big following now, especially on YouTube. Do you guys upload weekly? Monthly? What's kind of your cadence there? And how do you think you establish such a large following there?

VR : Um, to be honest with you, we don't have as good of a cadence as we probably should. So as I was telling you, like, initially, when I was doing a lot of travel, I would be very diligent in publishing, I want to see like on a schedule, but even at the beginning, I think it was just like, what made sense for the listeners, but also what was I experiencing as either a problem or a necessity in the field, and I would cover that topic and release that as soon as I could, right.

And so today, I want to say we're a bit behind where we would like to be on the YouTube side, to be completely honest with you. And I guess, like, how do we figure out like, what to cover? Well, we first we go through the search terms, right, like, so if you go on YouTube, you can typically find what people are looking for. But then we also talk to engineers, primarily from our customer base, right? So we have companies that will tell us like, hey, and I'll give you like one example.

So a couple of weeks ago, we spoke to a company that's looking to extract tags from an Allen Bradley based system into a Siemens based one, right, so on TIA Portal. So, an example of that would be there's a couple of libraries that Siemens has released, that use the CIP protocol, there's an Ethernet based library. So long story short, you know, like, we figured out like, there's a need there. So we're going to create some content, both in written and video form on that topic, because we know there's a, there's a need. And it's a bit troublesome to figure it out, based on just reading the document, right.

And I think like, again, like with content, people sometimes think that maybe like, we create something out of nothing, but ultimately, a lot of the documentation is already there. Like the goal is to structure the learning and to maybe simplify access to information.

Signing Up For SolisPLC:

KD : Yeah, yeah. Good. And then how are you guys gathering new students, new people to take your training?

VR : So we do a couple of things, right. So there's obviously the audience on YouTube, when there's always you know, like a link, like go back to SolisPLC, we have more materials, we use a couple of I want to say like marketing instruments or tools, which are like a newsletter, right? So when you go to our website, you get to sign up, you ultimately get notified of new tutorials, you also get notified of new content that we've released. We also do direct outreach on the sales side, as you can probably imagine, and you probably know, on the integration side, it's very difficult to reach customers directly. But we still we still try to build those relationships. Right?

So calling an engineering manager and asking them like, well, what kind of problems are you facing with onboarding? Let's call it new engineers, new technicians, and what might they need in order to be effective at their job? Right. And so we have that approach as well, that is a little bit more I want to say like white glove, but also a little bit more challenging. From that side front, like the sales side.

SolisPLC Training Subscription Platform:

KD : Yeah, I understand that. Let me ask this. How many students do you guys currently have in your training programs? I mean, is it a continuously open door, removing people and moving them out? Or are you just slowly building and building and building?

VR : So it's, um, so we run a subscription model, right. So I think the intent is never that people will be like, retained forever. The way I wanted to structure it, even like for the, at the beginning is. I want people to be able to sort of take the shortest time that they need to learn. So the reality is, if you go online and SolisPLC, and you buy let's call it a monthly subscription, it's possible for you to finish everything we have in a month, right? It's also possible that it will take you a year.

So we have some people who have been there, you know, almost three years, and they constantly kind of real, like get the new content and they go through it. And then we have people who finish everything in a month and move on. And I think I want it to be like I said, I want there to be an incentive for them to want to keep learning.

Yeah, hence the reason like why they're paying because so and this is maybe like a slight aside when I had released some courses on Udemy. And there were like some forces I was not charging for like completely free. You know, you can go through it at your own pace. The reality is that when there's no incentive, people just don't go through it. And so, I think there needs to be this balance where you charge them a little bit, but ultimately, again, the goal is not to be like a university degree, right? Like that's gonna cost you 30 plus thousand. Like you want to make it affordable, you want to allow people to go through it at their own pace, and some people are going to stay on, like I said, three years and some, a lot of the people are going to take it for a month and then leave.

So, there's always the question of churn. And I guess like, if you want to, like discuss that a little bit, we're trying to release more content on a more diversified platform. So that let's say, if you come in with the intent of learning, let's call it Allen Bradley, or Rockwell, which let's, let's imagine you learn Studio 5000. And you learn how to program like Factory Talk View HMIs, then you're exposed also like, oh, maybe like, I want to take a look at Siemens, maybe I want to take a look at PLCnext. But it's not a necessity. Right. Does that make sense?

SolisPLC Training Levels:

KD : Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, interesting. It makes complete sense to me. I know there's a few others that are similar like that in the training sector as well. And I think if you price it right, I think that's definitely the way to go. Because everyone's got their own schedules, so yeah, definitely makes sense. I did want to ask, though, of these students, are you guys looking at people who, you know, that beginner that intermediate that expert level? Are you focusing just in one sector of those three, potentially?

VR : And that's a good question. Right. So, I don't think we have a very specific focus, to be honest with you, I think that a lot of the initial content was I want to say, like more intermediate, but I also think that we receive comments on both sides. Right? So and I'll explain what I mean by that is. I would put out a tutorial on I want to check PID loops, right? And then someone's going to come in and comment, well, like, “This is way too advanced. Like Vlad, you're going too fast through this.” And ultimately, is because I, you know, like, sometimes I can't put myself that well into the shoes of someone who's never seen that topic before.

And then on the flip side, you know, I'm not saying let's call it video as a given as an example, someone will come in and say like, “Well, like, you're only exploring, like the basic features of that function. I want to see the PID setup.” right? And so, it's almost like, you can't please everyone all at once. But I think if you're looking, I guess, if you're asking that question, from the point of like, we're looking to create, like more content, there's a larger audience, I think, for more basic content, but there is a, I think, like a higher impact where you create the more advanced content, right, like, so there's less competition, and ultimately, not many people like cover that.

So, I think, for the customers that we have, you know, that are working at companies and that understand like and have some engineering background, we tend to create like very advanced videos. And then let's say like for YouTube, that is like the free platform, we tend to create more like basic training that sort of serves like as a funnel, right, like, so you get some interesting information you're trying to get started in PLCs. And we want to encourage that, but then if you want to, you know, like build your career, you have a bit more like invested in the space. You’re looking for something like more solid than it's going to be, you know, like the paid and like more advanced course.

Benefits of being a business owner.

KD : And that's it, that's a great sales funnel to right there, right? You get out some of the easier stuff for free, then you turn around, okay, if you like that, you want to get a little bit more advanced. Here's, here's our platform. So great business model. Um, what do you like about being a business owner? What's some of the positives?

VR : Um, I think the biggest positive is flexibility, right, like at the end of the day, and we talked about this off stream a little bit so I now have a six-month-old and I certainly require being able to take time for her. And you know, like, as a small business owner, you can do that, right? Whereas if you're working a nine to five, it becomes very difficult obviously, it's possible depending on what you're doing, but certainly, the flexibility is, is unlike anything else when it comes to a small business and of course, you know, the expression is you eat what you kill, right?

Like so you have to sort of like work on your own contracts you need to like figure out some of the strategies and I think it's maybe it's a mistake that some business owners make where I think they're a really good experts, but then they don't enjoy those like little business aspects that come with it. But actually, like I like it, right? Like I liked interactions, I like to like be able to negotiate for myself I like to be able to decipher the world of like sales and accounting I think that is very interesting to me.

SolisPLC Students:

KD : Cool. And I do want to touch base again real quick. I forgot to ask this earlier. What about your students are a lot of them from the States, from Canada? Are you kind of reaching out globally as well?

VR : So based you know, like, again on the like a very, I want to say a good foundation on the Rockwell side. It almost like silos us to North America. So definitely, you know, like US and Canada, or I want to say are like the biggest markets. But now that we have other offerings, you know, we see people from Europe, we see people from Middle East and so, but I want to say like, predominantly it is North America.

SolisPLC Business Goals:

KD : Very cool. And since we are just now hitting Q4 here. How have you been doing this year? I mean, how is business performing? Do you set some goals for the year? Have you met those goals? How are you doing there?

VR : Um, we are always very ambitious with the goals. But I will tell you that I think the client or the economic climate on the manufacturing side is a little bit different this year than it was last year. I think that the budgets have certainly tightened up a little bit. And as you can imagine, training is not I want to say like it is a necessity, in a way, but at the same time, it is hard to say it like it's sometimes nice to have more than anything else.

KD : It seems to always get cut first, right?

VR : Exactly, exactly. So, I think a lot of companies are still automating, right, like everyone's putting new machinery on the plant floor and new robotics. But when it comes to training, the budgets are a little bit smaller. So, we've said really ambitious goals, I think we're going to be growing based on the previous year, but we're not necessarily going to be like doubling or tripling the business. So, I, you know, like I joke about this a little bit, but in a way, I have a lot more flexibility. But at the same time, you know, when I was traveling 90% of the time and working kind of 80-hour weeks as an integrator. I was making more money, right. So, I think that there is this component of reality where, depending on obviously, like what you want in life, you will have to like make different choices.

KD : Different sacrifices, right?

VR : Yes

Contact Vladimir Romanov:

KD : Yeah. And then, before we wrap up here, where can people find you? How can they get in touch with you? How can you know, visit your website? How can people reach out to you if they want some more information?

VR : Sure. So I think the easiest way if they want to reach out to me directly is going to be on LinkedIn. But then, you know, in terms of what we've discussed, so SolisPLC.com is obviously the website that I run if they want to see the kind of materials that we've put together. There's a lot of tutorials there that they can kind of browse through and read without any payments. And if they're interested in the courses, happy to chat about that.

I also, as you know, run the Manufacturing Hub podcast . And so, we do a live every Wednesday on different topics in the industry, if they want to check that out. More than happy to answer some questions. we bring in different guests as well with which we have different conversations and high-level topics on manufacturing.

KD : Yeah, great. Great. Well, thank you for being here. We'll put all that information in the description below. So go ahead and check it out. So, if you guys enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe. And we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

VR : Thank you so much for having me.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Vladimir Romanov on LinkedIn.

Learn more about online automation training with SolisPLC .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Brennen Dugger | Blue Collar Automation

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 23:35:14 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Brennen Dugger Episode 15

In this episode, we talk with Brennen Dugger , the President of Blue Collar Automation . We talk about why he started his company, how he finds new clients, and his goals for 2024. We also discussed how he plans to improve his work-life balance by developing better project management processes.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Engineers In Automation | Brennen Dugger

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, I’m Keegan, and I’m your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Brennan Duggar. He's the president of Blue Collar Automation. We're going to talk a little bit about why he started his company. We're going to talk about quickly growing his business. We're also going to touch base on some of the likes about the automation industry that he has. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : All right, and welcome to today's episode. Today I've got Brennan Duggar. He's the president of Blue Collar Automation . Brennan, welcome to today's show.

Brennen Dugger – Guest (BD) : Yeah, thanks for having me, Keegan.

Brennen Dugger Introduction

KD : Yeah, of course. And let's go ahead and jump right into it. Can you give everybody a little bit of background about yourself?

BD : Yeah, so I'm an automation engineer. We're based out of Memphis, Tennessee, and we started Blue Collar Automation. Actually, two years ago, yesterday.

KD : Wow, congratulations, and happy birthday then.

BD : I didn't even realize that, actually, that today's a 12. Yeah. So, two years ago, I couldn't find a job in Memphis that I liked. And so I started up Blue Collar Automation and I've been traveling the country ever since. I mean, I'm at good old, where am I at right now? Constantine, Michigan.

Brennen Dugger’s Automation Background

KD : Okay. Yeah. So you're in my home state. So welcome. And then let's just touch a little bit on your background. How did you get into the automation industry? It sounds like your backgrounds in controls, I'm guessing.

BD : Yeah, yeah, backgrounds and controls and PLC programming. So, I got into it by kind of being forced by my dad. When I was originally enrolling in college, I wanted to be an electrical engineer. Well, backing up, I wanted to be a DNR officer when I first went to college, and then I realized it was a tough field to get into. And so, I enrolled in electrical engineering because my dad is an electrician. So he was always just saying, like, how he wished he could have went beyond the electrician portion and understood what these guys are doing. So I went double E. Miserable, hated it. So bored. I dropped out of college. And I apprenticed as an electrician at my dad's factory.

And that's when I ended up meeting a couple of people who did PLC programming. And he's like, “Yeah, that's what I meant. That's what I wanted you to do.” And I was like, “Well, wrong, wrong bachelor's degree, because that really sucked.” And so, I reached out to the university, and I enrolled like two weeks late into the Electrical Engineering Technology program at Purdue, Indianapolis IUPUI. And I just had a good professor named Joe Davis, who kind of pointed me in the direction and helped me kind of find my path. And once I took my first PLC class, it was over. That's what I wanted to do.

Work After College

KD : Yeah, good. Good for you. And then and then, it sounds like you worked a little bit. For a company or for maybe a few companies before jumping on and starting your own company here two years ago?

BD : Yeah, yeah. So, in college, I took five years to graduate because I missed a class. It was only offered in the fall. So, I was working at a process company called ACE Technologies in Indianapolis. I worked there full-time, my whole senior year as an engineer, so I was doing projects for them. And then I went to a career fair, and I met the guys at JR Automation. And the process stuff kind of bored me. So I was like, well, let's see what, let's see if I can get a job here and moved to Michigan and see what happens. And so I ended up getting a job at JR. Up in Michigan, and I worked there for two years, and then got homesick, and moved back to Indianapolis to work for Rockwell. And then my girlfriend got a PhD position in Memphis. So, I moved down there. worked for a company that built package sorters for FedEx, got tired of traveling, then I worked for manufacturer got tired of working there. And then I started this.

The Catalyst To Start A Company

KD : Good for you and congratulations. And I guess let me ask this. What was the catalyst that made you decide, “Hey, I want to be a business owner and start my own company?”

BD : Yeah, funny enough. I actually never wanted to own a business. I would have argued with you three years ago that running a business like this is stupid. And if you catch me on the right day, I might still tell you, it's stupid. But the catalyst was my good friend and mechanical engineer. Now Tim Hayden, he owns Hayden Automation. And he was a lead design engineer at JR for like six years. And he was the one that kept telling me it was a good idea. Good idea. Good idea. Good idea. I was like “Nah, nah, nah.” And then once I started to dislike my plant job, just due to the environment. I started talking to him more and I'm like, you know, this might be a good idea. And then we just kind of had a deal where I was gonna go out on my own. He was gonna do all my mechanical design. I was gonna do all his controls and He kind of talked me into it.

But also in Memphis, there's not a whole lot of engineering companies to work at, there's not a lot of manufacturing there. And so there's one really big one there. But what they did didn't really interest me that much. And so I kind of just wanted the freedom to design my own projects. Because as a controls engineer, you know, once you're a Yes, man and a company, you get handed all the fires. And I just knew that if I went work for another big company, I would do good on one or two projects, and I'd be on the road forever. And so I just decided to call up my old employer, see if they needed a contractor. And they did. And I went worked for them for a month.

And that's kind of what started it was cool. I saw the there was an opportunity to actually do it. Because right, that's the hardest part is when you started how you gonna make money you got it's it is not as easy to find jobs as I thought. And so it took a lot of kind of figuring out how to network and, and reaching out to old, old connections to make it work. But I don't really know what the full catalyst was, you know, I think I was just looking for a job that interests me.

KD : Yeah. Yeah. And it definitely, I'm sure, you know, as I know, as well, being a business owner, it keeps you on your toes, and every day is definitely interesting.

BD : It's it's definitely given me the ability to own all of my own problems. You know, there's no finger pointing when you own company, which I never really did before. But it's a it's a hard kick in the stomach when you make mistakes, and you own the company because guess who has to fix them? You!

Blue Collar Automation Business Focus

KD : Yeah, exactly. Let me ask this. It sounds like your backgrounds, obviously controls, is that your main focus? PLC programming?

BD : No. So we in the beginning, it was yes. But now we're building we've been building full machines for over a year now. So, my main focus is a little bit everything but mostly PLC programming, electrical design, and robot programming, you know, as we got over here, you can kind of see this panel in the back not to 70 to two-inch panel controlling to KUKA robots, to vision systems to HMI’s. So we're kind of getting into all of it.

But I'd say the core is we're trying to do small robotic cells. And we do a lot of upgrades and retrofits, which I've been really enjoying recently. We do a lot of like hydraulic press upgrades where we take old relay panels, put a PLC and HMI and make it smart. So it's kind of a full gambit of everything, but it just depends on the project, you know like some projects don't even have a PLC we got an Epson robot project the shop right now no PLC, we did a robot cell with UR with no PLC. So it's kind of all over the place.

When I first started out, I wanted to do what I did at Rockwell and upgrade PLCs. Because that's all I did when I was at Rockwell. But I've only done one PLC upgrade in two years.

KD : So it's funny how the self-employment route will take you down a different path maybe than what you originally thought.

BD : I never would have thought I'd be doing wanting wanting to do and doing robotic cells just because I was so good at upgrading PLCs like working for Rockwell. We just we had customers, that's all we did upgrade upgrade, upgrade upgrade. So me coming in. I'm like, that's what I'm gonna do.

The Location Of Blue Collar Automation

KD : Cool. And let me ask you kind of you kind of mentioned it sounds like you do have a facility, a shop?

BD : Yeah, we have a shop in Memphis, Tennessee. So we've got like, a full shop and offices. That's me. And I have one controls engineer full-time. I've got a contract controls engineer in Detroit.

KD : That was gonna be my next question, how many employees do you have?

BD : So yeah, just me and one other guy. And then Tim, my mechanical guy and some controls, guys.

Finding New Clients

KD : Cool. Cool. And you kind of already mentioned it is, you know, finding new clients. Have you found you know, marketing through social media? Has that helped you a lot? Also, or is it just word of mouth? Is that how you're getting a lot of a lot of new business?

BD : Mostly word of mouth and previous employees? You know, I found early on because I had that first month contract. And then I ran out of work in January of 22. And that was really where I was struggling to find. I could find a lot of small business, you know, “hey, go here for two days,” “Go there for four days,” “Hey, can you come troubleshoot this?” But I was tired of doing that. So, I wanted to find my own projects. So I started just blasting LinkedIn. And if you've talked to Preston Hadley, you know, that doesn't work. People ignore your messages. I have one really good customer that found me on LinkedIn. I didn't reach out to them, they reached out to me.

But mainly, it's just been networking and word of mouth, you know, like we do. We'll do a project that a customer like we did a project for customer in Middle Tennessee. And then I reached out to the project manager, I was like, “Hey, there's a plant like two hours south of me can you get me in contact with the plant manager.” And so now we're doing three projects in there right now. So it's kind of just once we do a successful project getting the word out because I haven't wanted to go full blown marketing yet just because I only have one other guy and our facilities only 2000 square feet. So it's like if I go when I could project of this size, you know this is taking up 4000 square feet in one of our customers facilities that we work with. And I could never fit a project like this So far, we haven't really had the need to do that yet.

Work-Life Balance As A Business Owner

KD : Yeah. Interesting. And, you know, it sounds like you're kind of on the road a lot. How do you, you know, balance work life balance, you know, living in Memphis there and traveling on the road and being a business owner calls don't stop work doesn't stop. How do you balance that yourself?

BD : Well, this year, I've done a very terrible job of doing that I quoted a lot of work in January, and I didn't plan it out very well. And they all hit at the same time. So I've been just working nonstop for six months doing all this work. So after this project is when I'm really gonna get my project management down pat, and understand that you could win all the work, and you might not, and I need to plan accordingly. So, I kind of I'm learning as I go. I guess is is what I'll say I have not had a good work-life balance. It's just been a work balance at this point. But it's my own fault. And it's due to rapid growth.

So it's good problems to have. But I put I put too short of timelines in between projects. And so when one goes over, and then I got to just go from next to next to next to next. So that won't, that won't happen again, though.

Being A Business Owner

KD : Yeah, yeah. So it sounds like you, you almost need, you know, a good way to balance all these potential incoming projects with timelines and scheduling. And I'm sure you I'm sure you'll be able to figure that out. You know, what are the what are the some of the things that you'd love? Because obviously, these last two years have been probably a whirlwind for you. And especially it sounds like last six months, you know, what's it been like being a business owner?

BD : Oh, man, there's a lot of ups and downs, dude, there's, there's days where I love it days where I asked myself, Why am I doing this to myself, but when you boil it down, it's all just self-inflicted problems. And there's, you know, this is kind of the cycle of running a business like this is, in the beginning, you're struggling for work, right? So then you want to quit everything and be a yes, man. But then when you went all the work, now you're struggling to manage it. And so I did really good on my own by myself, just doing jobs here and there. I managed it great. I had no problems. I just did one project at a time. But when you went through four projects at a time, you're managing three contractors, and you're traveling like I do, it gets tough, but I'm kind of glad I grew this fast because I was able to learn these hard lessons and know that I will not make the same mistakes down the road.

And the company I'm working for up here, he does a really good job of managing his projects and just doing, you know, one after another. And so it's all a learning process. But when you talk as much as I do, and network as much as I do, I should have known that I would have won this much work. But it's hard to foresee when you're hungry, you know?

Goals of Blue Collar Automation

KD : Yeah. Well, and you kind of mentioned it there. When you're talking about, you know, business goals. Do you have? Do you have some set goals that for this year that you've wanted to reach? How are you doing there? Have you set any 2024 goals? Have you laid anything out? From that perspective, “Hey, I want to win X amount of projects or bring in X amount of revenue?” Have you gone through any of that stuff? And if so, how are you doing this year and or potentially for next?

BD : Yeah, so my goal this year was to bring on one full-time engineer and win some of our own turnkey projects because we do a lot of work, where they'll just contract us to do only the PLC programming or the PLC and the electrical design in the install. And so my goal this year was just to win our own robotic cells, or our own turnkey projects. And I wanted to do five this year, I think we've done seven already. So I first asked that, and then I have an employee, he, he's embedded in a customer three days a week, and then he does work at the shop the other two days a week.

But I'd say for 2024, I just want a better work-life balance. And so we're going to try to continue to do the same amount of projects, kind of the same revenue, per se. But my goal for 24 is to win the same amount of work, but timing out better. You know, because the problem is, is when you mentioned dates to customers in the preliminary meetings, they want to hold you to those. And so I tried to do that. And we have, for the most part, it's just been at the expense of median gone all the time. So 2024, My goals are to organize the business a little better to where we're more streamlined at the shop, because I want all these projects and got the shop at the same time. So I haven't really had time to set up all of our parts bins and set up our panel area and then you know, do all the necessary things to you're looking for tools everywhere, and I'm looking for parts and so it kind of all happened at once.

So 2024 goal is to get organized. And space these I hired a project manager part-time. Now that's right. And so the goal is to pass him to the projects and him map them out so that when we go to customers, you know, “Hey, I can't start this till November,” type of deal instead of “Yeah, we'll start on that right away.” Because it always takes longer than you think it's gonna take but you know, you don't foresee the hiccups in installs and to get to the install, and when that pushes other projects, it just makes everything else suck. Yeah, so we're getting there.

Brennen’s Automation Likes

KD : Yeah. So is there any major likes? I mean, obviously, you know, you've been in this industry now for some time, you've had a bunch of different jobs, you've started a business, what are some of your major likes that you enjoy about the industry?

BD : I enjoy the people. One thing I really like is working with other engineers that we contract who really know what they're doing and make, make it easy to work with, you know, because I've had a whole gambit of contractors that, you know, you name it, it's happened to me. And so I really enjoy working with the people who are passionate about it, like I mentioned, Tim Hayden earlier, you know, he is the best machine designer that I've ever met. And the quality in the care that he puts into his work makes my life easier, because he foresees a lot of things, and then we work together. So it's like he takes ownership of his portion of the projects. He's not just punching a clock and doing the minimum.

And so I enjoy working with people like that. I think the most because, at the end of the day, it's all the same, where whatever project you're doing at the base level, you're designing, you're programming you're installing. And so I really enjoy the process of working with people and meeting new people wherever I'm going.

But I also really like seeing a project you design come to life, like to see all these panels and stuff back here that we've designed going in the field for a large large project is pretty cool.

KD : Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. And I've talked with several people that do say the same thing, where it's just, you love to see something go from nothing to something. Rather, it's, you know, building it yourself and or coming in there doing a rehab and, you know, getting it upgraded to the latest version, or doing a full install, right, that's what a lot of people seem to like, and I'm with you as well, I really enjoy the camaraderie of working with people in the shop, and, you know, working together and building something together, and then, you know, running multiple parts through it in the beginning, where it's 2, 3,4, and then by the end of the week, now you run 100. And then next week, you gotta run 1000. I think I just love the camaraderie there. You know, setting a goal and going after it.

BD : Yes, we did a hydraulic press in Pennsylvania in March. And to see it go from concept to design to like, running perfect parts off the bat was so cool. Like, it was such a good feeling like to see this brand new, nice panel go in front of this nasty old, you know, 60-year-old relay panel was really cool to see, like, you know, because like when we were in that first part, I was nervous, because I had never programmed to press, you know, I've worked in plastics like that before. And so it came out, and it was perfect. And I was like, “Holy crap, this is pretty cool.”

Because it was like the first time you know, that I had got to run the code once, and it just worked. I mean, we had to make tweaks and stuff here and there because I wasn’t familiar with hydraulics. Don't get me wrong. We broke the press the week before, but it was due to the hydraulics and the controls, but that's a different story.

But ya know, it's it's cool, man. Because at the end of the day, no matter how much you love something, it's gonna become work, right? Like, it's not gonna. It's not always going to be fun. You know, we're in Missouri a couple of weeks ago, me my employee, and one of my buddies that I contracted who's between jobs. And you know, we've worked 14-hour days at this factory, and then go back to the Airbnb and hang out and stuff. And it's like, when you're around good people makes it easier.

Contact Blue Collar Automation

KD : Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. And then before we wrap up, Brennan, where can people reach out to you? How can they get ahold of you? How can they reach out to Blue collar Automation?

BD: Yeah, the easiest thing would be LinkedIn. You can get my email off of there or our website, bluecollarautomation.com . There's an email and a phone number on there. And so that's pretty much the two places that I used to contact.

KD: Okay, cool. And then we'll put a link in the description. So go down below, click the link, and follow him. So, if you guys enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe, and we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thank you.

BD : Yeah, thank you!

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Brennen Dugger on LinkedIn.

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Liz Miller | Learn Robotics

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 22:57:47 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Liz Miller | Episode 14

In this episode, we talk with Liz Miller , the founder and CEO of Learn Robotics . We discuss how she got into automation and robotics and how she has grown her automation coaching platform. We also discuss the coaching paths her course allows the clients to pursue to improve their automation careers and how to prepare to land their dream automation job. We also talk about the future of the robot and automation industry.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, I'm Keegan, and this is Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going be talking with Liz Miller. She's the founder and CEO of Learn Robotics . We're going to talk a little bit about how she started her company. We're going to talk about growing the business. We're also going to talk about what kind of coaching she does with each of the engineers that are on her platform. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : All right, and welcome to today's episode, I'm here with Liz Miller. She is the founder and CEO of Learn Robotics. Liz, welcome to the show.

Liz Miller – Guest (LM) : Thanks so much for having me, Keegan.

Liz Miller's Background In Automation:

KD : Yeah great, thanks for being here. And let's just go ahead and jump into it. Can you give us a little bit of background about yourself?

LM : Yeah, so I'm a robotics engineer by education. I got into robotics by accident, I always thought I was going to become a lawyer, went to engineering school. And now I run the company Learn Robotics, where we help people upgrade for the future.

KD : Oh, wow. And can you explain a little bit about Learn Robotics? And what that is?

LM : Yeah. So we have kind of two main areas that we help people with, we help the absolute beginner, get their start in robotics through our online full stack, Junior roboticist certification. But I think for the people listening, you're going to be more interested in our career advancement in robotics are taking your engineering skills, and actually applying them into the robotics industry through our robotics career blueprint program.

Starting Learn Robotics:

KD : Oh, wow. That's, it sounds interesting. It sounds very cool. Again, before we dive too much into that, can I just ask, what made you start this company? What did you see the need for what was that catalyst that you decided, “Hey, I want to start a company” and learn robotics. And this is, you know, what, what made you do that?

LM : So, I think I was at a point in my engineering career, I was working at Raytheon, as an automation engineer working with senior leadership going through the process of trying to get as many robotics related skills as possible and an applied way. And there just wasn't a good way to do that. With without, you know, sitting through industrial trainings, going and taking weeks, you know, spending 10s of 1000s of dollars to get certifications, and then going through that process, but then not actually being able to do anything other than having a certificate, you know, it's like you go through it, but they don't really cover your exact issue, or the skill that you're, you're actually missing.

And so I went out and I created Learn Robotics, I wanted to be able to help people find what the actual problem was filled that skill gap. So then they could go and focus their energy in a more structured way, and then advance their career.

The difference between coaching and recruiting?

KD : Okay. Okay, I understand a little bit. And then let me ask, let me ask this. What would you say are the differences between what you're doing and say, like a recruiter that wants to try to help people find a new job? What's the big difference there? Because you're more of a like a coach, right?

LM : Yeah, so we do more like career consulting. So we're going to take the engineering professional that has, you know, that mid-level experience, and we're going to help them loosely monetize their skill set and a better way. So if you could put the energy into your engineering career and get a bigger return financially out of it, we're going to take a look at your background, we're going to look at all the things that you've done over the course of your education , your training , your professional life, and then all the things that you want to do, including your lifestyle, including your financial goals, and we're going to try to help you find a role in robotics that makes the most sense for you. And we build you a blueprint.

So that blueprint is what you're going to be using in our 12-week program to actually implement the plan that's going to get you from your current regular engineering career into a, you know, 100 to $200,000 career working in the robotics industry. So we're less about the company, and we're more about helping you find the right fit and exploring different opportunities in robotics, because even though robotics sounds very niche, it's not like you can go so many different directions within the industry. And we're really trying to figure out like, what is the best combination of your skills to get you the most return?

Industrial Automation Coaching and Robotics Coaching:

KD : Yeah. And you touched on it there briefly said, because I was gonna ask, okay, how long does this coaching lasts? You mentioned? What was it 90 days or so 90 days? So then let me let me ask my next question that I wanted to ask, is it more like robotic side? Are you guys doing also some automation and control side as well? Or do you focus more on the robot portion?

LM : Yep. So we have kind of two, two core pathways that clients will go down and it's all based on their background and their interests, what makes the most sense. In 90 days, you're not going to become an expert of everything, you're going to become what we call a micro expert in robotics, and that's going to be based in one of the pathways. The first path is like your classic academic, you know, robotic software engineering, AI, algorithms, machine learning, you know, like the what you would see in research.

And then the other path is what you're referring to is industrial automation and controls, where you're working in maybe more manufacturing, you're working on PLCs, you're working on industrial robots , you're, you're using robots to complete a process. And then we'll work with you to fill in any skill gaps in either of those areas.

Automation Career Path:

KD : Okay, and then how does, I guess, would these students then determine which career path that they want? Do you guys help guide them towards one or the other? Or, generally, is that they kind of say, “Oh, hey, I'm more interested in the manufacturing side of it or not.” I want to be more on, you know, building robots. You know, how does that work?

LM : So the very first thing that we do with clients when they enter in the program is we build our blueprint. So we have an action plan session where we go through and this is where it's really important to take the time to figure out what current state is, you know, like in the working world, we do this all the time, right? We look to see, like, what is currently happening as engineers, and then like, what is the process we need to do to get to future state? And so we do that with the individual. So we're looking at we're establishing what that current state is, what are all the skills that you're bringing to the table? What are all the experiences that you're, you're bringing to the table?

And then what we do is we look at future state. What are all the things you want to be doing? What are all the lifestyle goals, financial goals, you know, anything that could impact your career long term? And then we're just playing matchmaker on what makes the most sense, like, have you considered you know, this particular role within industrial automation? Have you considered, you know, this other type of role working more in a manufacturing environment? We're really looking at the, you know, custom tailored solution for the person that's that we're working with?

Student Enrollment Size:

KD : Wow, that's, it's really cool. It's definitely unique. I haven't heard of anything else really, that's like this. So it's really, really cool. Can I ask how many students right now or clients, I guess, would you say you have?

LM : Yep, so we enroll about 30 a month. So we're not trying to serve millions of people at a time because, as you can tell, like, we're really trying to get all of the information, we need to help clients make good decisions for their long-term financial success, their career success, a lot of what we're doing is bringing, like the money math that isn't taught in engineering school, to the client, so that they can then start to financially plan long term, what their next three careers in the industry could look like. And then they just let time do its thing. So if they execute the plan over, you know, a 25, 30 year career, then by the time they retire, they're set up, you know, for long term, you know, success. They don't have to really worry about money. Because they were they have a strategy, right? They have a plan that was built to them. And it's built around what they want.

Learn Robotics Company Size:

KD : Yeah, cool. And then how big is your organization? How many people work for you? I mean, if you're bringing in 30 people a month, that's quite a lot. I mean, if you're asking me, hard to manage everybody. How many people would you say you staff right now?

LM : Yep, so it's really funny. Um, the company is primarily built on automation. So, we have a lot of automation that runs the back-end systems. So a lot of the, you can loosely call it like RPA, robotic process automation. So we have a lot of like classic roles that are actually done by robots. And I run a very lean team. So we have front-of-the-house career advisors that help people go through that process of even deciding if the robotics group blueprint is a good fit.

And then, I lead the team of subject matter experts. So we have a few people on the industrial automation side, they specialize in controls manufacturing, robot programming, and then we have a few people that are more academic, you know, the Masters, PhDs, focusing more on computer vision. So we run a very lean operation, but we wouldn't be able to do it without automation.

The Learn Robotics Community:

KD : Cool, cool. And then now I guess I want to ask with that, how, how are people able to like, you know, connect with these coaches and yourself is that can they do that daily? Is that a weekly meeting? How often are you connecting with an individual then if there is a little bit of automation there, obviously, but how much are you guys able to reach out and communicate with them?

LM : Once they're fully onboarded into the program, they get access to our private client community, so that's 24/7. I don't work 24/7 but I am very responsive. I know we have a lot of engineers that like to work you know, in the early hours of the morning but I'm usually on during the day, so I mean, technically they could get as much or as little feedback as they want, that's really what we're here for.

We're not like me and my team, we're not here to provide lectures, we're here to give you feedback, because feedback is usually what's missing. Like you don't know what you don't know. And so if you do something, and you have a question, that's really where we address those in our community. The goal is, is to be very action focused. And so it's like, try it, see what happens, you get some feedback and keep iterating.

KD : Cool. So I guess with that community, I just wanna make sure I understand, are you able to reach out and like, ask a question to everybody who's involved? And then they can respond too?

LM : Um-hm

KD : Oh, wow, okay. That's cool.

LM : Yeah, yeah. It's like, yeah, it's pretty cool. There, there are channels where you can converse about robotics taught, like anything that's related to robots, like the technical side, then we have career side. We have, you know, people sharing their wins, like any interviews, offer negotiations, accepted a new job. And then we have all of our training modules in there as well.

Learn Robotics Members:

KD : Cool. And then, where are you finding all of these clients?

LM : So we actually started Learning Robotics started out as a blog years ago, and so we get a lot of traffic to that blog. And so a lot of our readers, they read, they've been following me for years, they've been reading my content, they actually go through and they apply. So it, they've kind of built this like, virtual relationship with me. And they, they want to have somebody that's going to actually work with them directly, and give them that critical path to the next step in their career.

KD : Cool. And then, you know, with that are, are they able, are you guys able to kind of track to see how their progress is going? Like if somebody comes in and say, “Hey, I'm currently making $50,000 a year? You know, I went through the program. Now I'm making 20% more after.” Do you guys kind of track any of that information?

LM : Yup, that’s a really good question. Yep. We do.

Increased Salaries After Coaching:

KD : Okay, good. And, you know, I'm sure you're seeing some good returns, then on people that take the course, is there a percentage average kind of that you see is increased from a lot of these people? Can I ask that?

LM : Yeah, so typically, and I should be careful with how I statistically say this. Some of our clients, when they go through the program, they make their money back from joining the program, right when they sign into robotics. So there's an instant return on even being in the program. But over the course of a year, it's generally a three to 4x a year investment with us.

Yeah, and it's usually, see it's interesting because they're starting salaries can vary, we generally look for the mid-level engineer as like the low end. So, somebody that has, you know, three to five years of experience there, they're working professional in engineering or technology. So they're coming in, you know, I would say on the low end, like 70’s, $70,000 a year, and it could always be higher, and it's always case by case, right, we're usually our goal is to get them to 100,000. If they're below 100,000. And if they're above 100,000, our goal is to try to get them on target for 200,000.

KD : Oh wow! Where do I sign up?

LM : Yeah, pretty much. So it's, it's all based on what they're coming in with what they're interested in. And then also putting in kind of a mini financial plan that's going to get them to where they want to be long term. So on a on a five year basis, you'd be looking at, you know, possibly a 10x return on your money with us. So it's like, why wouldn't you do it if you want to work in engineering, and you actually want to get into robotics?

Coaching New Graduates:

KD : Yeah, that's, that's neat. That's some cool, cool information it know, and you kind of touched on already a little bit, your who your ideal client would be, you know, somebody with a little bit of experience. Have you found any younger students potentially that aren't finding work right now that “Hey, I gotta get my foot in the door.” And, you know, do you have any examples of students or clients doing that? Where they were struggling to get in somewhere, they worked out with you guys. And then they get landed the job that they wanted, their dream job, you know, starting job.

LM : We've had a few recent college grads, I can think of a couple off the top of my head electrical engineer. Went through that went through his Bachelor's was having a really hard time getting employed, settled for like a minimum wage IT job came in work with us, and I think he was one of our faster clients to go through the process. I think was when within like six to eight weeks he was working on I believe he's still working at Amazon as a robotics deployment engineer. So he went from that minimum wage IT job with an electrical engineering degree to you know, like, probably in the 90s plus working at Amazon entry level.

KD : That’s a great story.

LM : Yep. So that's so that's one type of student, we also get a lot of students that are maybe more academic. So the masters level students that want to actually go from, from academia into industry, so we'll help them as well.

Learn Robotics Job Placement:

KD : Yeah, and I would think that's kind of a hard transition for some, you know, a lot of professors maybe have been out of the industry for too long. So then getting back in, you know, maybe difficult, so I'm sure that's a different type of learning curve compared to somebody who's either already in the industry, you know, trying to build their current and then it's almost like two separate jobs there, right? You have, because academia feels like a different animal, you know, it's just some of the stuff is there, the way they're learning the way they're teaching, and then you get out in the real world. And it's like, Well, I wasn't taught this, or we don't do it this way. This isn't right. But hey, you got to make it work. So I'm sure that's a new challenge for you guys, as well. I do want to ask, you know, do you guys help. It sounds like you're placing a lot of people. Do you do any work? You know, kind of helping these people land these gigs? How does how does that work? Sounds like it's part of the process is that there's a list of available jobs, I guess you'd say almost like a job board type thing, can you talk about that at all?

LM : Yeah, it's not that at all, we're actively expanding that part of the business right now. Or we have roles that clients can get, that can apply to, that can get in to. What we try to do, though, in the beginning of the program is really get clear on what they want. Because in automation, like you could have two robotics engineer job titles, at totally two different companies. And they're totally different. And so we try to get really, really clear on what it is that the client is. Like, how would they describe themselves? And we, once we have that we teach them how to fish. So it's like, you need to understand how to find opportunities that relate to what you say you want to do. Because if you don't know what you're what you want to do, it's going to be really difficult in that interview, to explain to the hiring manager, why you're even there.

So we go through this process of teaching them and teaching them how to fish, how to find the right opportunities within robotics, and actually get that first interview. And then we also supplement that with open opportunities that way, it's kind of like the full stack career search that way, like you're not married to me and my team, but you also have some opportunities there. You're in complete control of this process moving forward.

Learn Robotics Interview Preparation:

KD : Yeah. And then, with that, it just kind of popped into my head here. Do you guys also do some coaching some one-on-one with the interview process? I know, have been a big fan and tell people all the time, even if you're not looking for a new job to go out and interview one or two places every couple years just to stay up to date with the processes? What are the questions that are coming out? I've just found that, you know, and I myself have done it for many years, just, you know, even if I wasn't necessarily looking, but just try to get that rhythm. Do you guys help out with that a lot with this with the coaching?

LM : Yeah, so actually, one of our recent clients, he's actually off-boarding because he's all set. He's landed his dream role in robotics. Right before his second interview, we did a mock interview. And then he went on-site for that second interview, and then he got you got the job. So, like it, it does. And he even said, like, it really does help, like walking through. It's like a dress rehearsal. You know, if you can practice through what you're going to say and how you're going to say it, you've already done it. So then you show up, you feel more confident. And then when you feel more confident, like the hiring manager knows that you're a better fit for the role. So then you get the offer, and then negotiate the offer and start working.

The Future Of Robotics:

KD : Cool. So let me ask with Learn Robotics, what's the future look like to you? Where are we going next?

LM : Robotics is not even close to where I think it will be in the next probably 10 to 15 years. So I think if you're an engineer listening to this, and you have any inkling to get into the industry, now is the time because the wave hasn't quite hit yet. I think it will be hitting and probably the next five, six years. And the people that decided today that they want to get into the industry are going to be the ones leading the industry, because they're going to be five years ahead. So I think that that's kind of where I see things going. I think that there's this big convergence between engineering disciplines that are merging into what I call robotics. So software, hardware, systems, so everything is all kind of pointing to one point. And so I think that it's a really unique time to be alive and in this space because there's just so much innovation happening. So now it'd be the time to get involved, if it's something you've been on That's about doing.

Learn Robotics Mentorship Program:

KD : Yeah, that's great advice. I couldn't have said it better myself it was it was perfect. And then as your organization grows, as you continue to expand this, is there anything you know, that you want to do with this company? Is there certain goals that you have that you want to reach? You know, if you can talk about that?

LM : Yeah, I mean, I think it comes down to really just getting as many people into the robotics industry through direct mentorship through direct guidance. I think that anytime you learn from an expert, it significantly shortens the learning curve. I'd mentioned at the beginning that I got my start in robotics by accident. And I only got into robotics because I had a mentor. And it was an accidental mentor. I didn't even know that that was even a thing. So if you're listening to this, and you didn't know that you could actually, basically buy the skill you want or buy your future, what you want for a fraction of the price and time and money by just working with an expert. You can make significant progress, and you'll have so much more clarity on what you should even be doing.

Learn More About Learn Robotics:

KD : Yep. Yep. Great, great advice. And before we wrap up today, where can people find you? Where can they connect with you? How can they get in touch with you?

LM : Yeah, the best place to go will be LearnRobotics.org. You'll find all of the programs there. If you want to check it out. I've got a 12-minute training that walks through the process on how to actually get into the robotics career blueprint explains our process that we use, who we work with in more detail. And if it makes sense, you can submit an application to potentially work with us. You can check that out on at https://www.learnrobotics.org/engineersinautomation/ .

KD : Awesome. Awesome. Well, thanks, Liz. We'll put a link down below with all that information for everybody to go ahead and check that out. So if you guys liked today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe and we hope that you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks.

LM : Thanks Keegan.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

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Sean Dotson | Engineers In Automation

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 22:17:36 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Sean Dotson | Episode 13

In this episode, we talk with Sean Dotson , the founder and former president of RND Automation. We discuss the automation industry in Florida and what led him to start an automation company in his home state. We also discussed his likes and dislikes in the industry and what advice he would give someone interested in the automation industry.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, and this is Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Sean Dotson. He's the founder and former president of RND Automation. We're going to talk with him a little bit about starting the company, growing a business. We are also going to talk about what he's currently doing today, as well as other things in the automation industry, such as his likes, his dislikes, and some of the lessons learned he's had. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : Hi, and welcome to today's episode. I'm your host, Keegan. And I'm here with Sean Dotson, the founder and former president of RND Automation. Sean, welcome to today's episode!

Sean Dotson – Guest (SD) : Thank you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Sean Dotson's Automation Background:

KD : Yeah, of course. And let's just dive right into it. Can you give us a little bit of intro about yourself?

SD : Sure, yeah, I've been in the automation industry, pretty much my entire career, worked for an automation company for a while, and then founded RND Automation about 18 years ago, and then sold it in 2020, late 2020, to a private equity firm. Stayed on with them for about a year and a half. And then, this last October, I exited the firm. And one just to take some time off, you know, after 18 years of owning a business, there's lots of stresses, as most business owners know. But the other thing was just to look at what else is there in the industry, you know, what's my next adventure gonna be? So that's kind of my history been very active in automation. It's been my career and my passion for pretty much my entire adult life. So it's, once you get into it, it's kind of hard to get out.

KD : Yeah, great. And hopefully, we'll touch on some of the next steps that you're moving into, um, but briefly, let's, how did you know, get your background in automation, what, you know, drove you to that?

SD : So, I was always one of those kids who would, you know, take apart the alarm clock, or the old electronics ever remember my dad who was an electrical engineer, so I've got a lot of engineers, my family, so probably, it's kind of built into the blood, but I remember was taking apart an old Cathode Ray TV, and he freaked out because the big capacitor on the back, you know, and he had to explain to me how to discharge the capacitor. And so you know, I will always learn that way. In high school, I worked at a hardware store, which was a great introduction to not only how to do home improvement projects but just how things work, right and solving problems. So, people would come to you, and it was simple problems, I gotta go from this one-inch pipe to a half-inch pipe, and I gotta make a 90-degree turn. Just simple things like that. How do you solve their issues? I really enjoyed that.

Went to college for mechanical engineering, just because I was always very mechanical in nature. While I was in college, I worked my way through college as an auto mechanic. So, I started off just changing batteries and tires and worked my way up to, to breaks and struts. And it just kind of kept going from there.

So, after I got out of school, I also did a lot of programming for not only robotics, but also, I worked on some programming, this new thing called the World Wide Web, back in 96, 97. It was kind of really in its infancy. So, I actually thought I might end up going into that, and then decided I did not want to move to California and be in Silicon Valley. So, I got a job at a school doing design work for a packaging company. And then kind of really fell in love with it. And then found another job at an automation company with robotics, which I did a lot of robotics studying at college. And then from there on out, it was just, you know, it became, you know, a love of mine is being able to see the fruits of your labor.

So you come up with a concept, you actually build this machine, you install the machine, and then product is coming off the machine. I've always thought was the coolest thing walking down a store aisle and pointing to something and saying that came off the machine that, you know, RND designed or that I designed or programmed or whatever.

Why start an automation company?

KD : Yeah, very cool. And can I just touch on it as well? You know, being a president of a large company like that. You know what, what made you want to want to dive into that realm of the business instead of just being an engineer and keeping and staying as a designer? You know what, what pushed you to say, “Hey, maybe I want to try to, you know, run the company,” or run a company.

SD : Well, to be totally honest, unemployment. company I was working for before RND. We got bought by we were acquired three times in like a five-year period. We were then a very small piece of this very large global puzzle. And they decided that they had to be facilitators and that our facility was one that was going to be shut down. I was running the facility at the time. So, they basically said, All right, your job to be the last day out the door and lock it all up. And we need you to move the products all over the world and help people get jobs. So I did all that.

But as I was doing it, I said, “Alright, I know, I guess I gotta get a job here eventually, too.” And I just decided, like, you know, I really enjoy what I do here. I enjoyed designing equipment and running this facility. Why don't I just kind of keep doing that? So I convinced them to basically give slash sell the small automation company that was left over to myself and two partners. So we kind of went into it with that, hey, we all we love designing equipment, we love programming equipment, but you also gotta run a business. So it was a bit of baptism by fire. So I was just dropped into this and started just figuring things out.

So you know, one of the stories I tell is that I got a letter, you know, from the county after like, six, seven months going like, "Hey, you haven't paid your, your your sales tax bill in six or seven months." And I'm like, "I didn't know I had a sales tax bill." So that's what, Yeah, oops. So that's when you call it the accountant and go, what's this sales tax bill? I gotta pay every month. You know, they're like, oh, yeah, using sales tax, like, oh, haven't heard of that one. So, you know, a lot of the things you'll learn the hard way. But honestly, the best way to learn right, because those lessons really stick with you when you learn the hard way. And then you become proactive.

KD : And especially when it's with your own money, right?

SD : Yes, yes, exactly. It's one thing, you know, not paying a couple hundred dollars’ worth of tax to the county. It's completely different when you're not paying thousands to the government, you know, the federal government. So you start looking into federal taxes a little bit more than right. So it causes you to really do your homework.

The industrial automation industry in Florida.

KD : And if you are a Florida boy, I want to touch on this: What are some advantages of being in Florida? You know, especially from an automation standpoint, you know, generally, people are always thinking, you know, the Midwest or, you know, other parts of the South Texas or, you know, Alabama, South Carolina. But what are some advantages of being down in Florida?

SD : Well, I mean, the biggest advantage, of course, is no snow, you know, so I love I love playing in the snow. I don't like working in the snow. Yeah, I am a Florida boy, born and raised in Tampa, just north of Sarasota, and pretty much my entire life here in Florida. You know, Florida was one of those markets, like when I worked for the packaging company. And then I got found the job at the automation company, I was really surprised to see, oh, there's an automation company. You know, in Florida, it's a service market. That's, you know, tourism and hotels and things like that agriculture, you don't think of manufacturing. But you know, what, what I found out at the time, and which is growing to be even more and more true, is that Florida is a very manufacturing friendly state.

Now, we don't have large scale, you know, you're not making truck axles and train cars, and you know, big foundries and things like that. But there are a lot of medical device companies. There's a lot of consumer products, companies, electronics companies, what I'm gonna call that high-tech, manufacturing. We used to do a lot of work back when NASA was launching the space shuttle. There were all these tier-one, two, and three suppliers for NASA. On the Space Coast, we did a lot of work for those companies. When NASA stopped launching the shuttle, a lot of those companies dried up, but now SpaceX and Blue Origin are back. And all those tier one, two, and three companies are starting to develop again.

So, you know, it's kind of that sleeper market. Back in the day, there wasn't a lot of competition, it was really quite honestly, you know, RND and one other company that was pretty much sharing the state. Now, I think we're up to five or six automation companies in Florida and various sizes, and growing and people are seeing the Florida market as important by putting offices in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina. Again, pretty, pretty easy to get to Florida from those markets.

Sean's Next Chapter:

KD : Yep. And so let's kind of touch on right now what, you know, what kind of projects are you working on? Now? I know you said, you know, you've moved on from RND, and, you know, what, what kind of projects? What's your next steps here?

SD : Alright, so right now, I'm doing some helping some manufacturers, some end manufacturers look at their processes, determine, hey, what needs to be automated, you know, do we need to automate should we automate it just giving them some real high-level recommendations? You know, helping out a couple of companies that are automation adjacent, it's machinery, but it's not necessarily automation machinery. Helping them look at some of their processes as well, and maybe applying some of the lessons learned from automation machinery to this non-automation machinery. And then, of course, I'm also open to new C-level, VP level, opportunities that other organizations.

You know, I think I've always been on that integrator side. I think it would kind of be interesting to look at it from the other side, you know, from the supplier side, you know, maybe a robot company or a feeder company or something like that, that's selling components that go into the automation. But right now, I'm kind of keeping my options open and keeping myself busy a little bit. I have a, I don't even call it a podcast, it's I go hiking in the woods, and I answer questions that people ask it's Automation AMA, it's just something quite honestly, it's fun to do while I'm out in the woods. And I like, I like giving back to the community of, you know, my knowledge over the years.

Sean Dotson's Technical Articles:

KD : And honestly, with that, that leads right into my next question. I know that you have written some technical articles and articles on LinkedIn, that are engineering articles and things of that nature. Is that something that you also enjoyed doing? Are you going to? Are we going to be seeing more of those? I know. You have about 15 out right now. Yeah, still gonna continue to do now.

SD : Yeah, I will, you know, I, I, it's funny, I said, I went to school for mechanical engineering, I actually my first semester, I was actually an English major, which people are always like, what I just, I always enjoyed writing, I thought that perhaps I might go, you know, into doing writing of some sort. And but I also had this technical background too and always really loved engineering. And quite honestly, I, you know, start doing a lot of research to what an English major makes versus what a mechanical engineer makes. And that helps that, as I said, “Hey, I can always write on the side, right?”

So I've always enjoyed doing that. I've always also enjoyed just giving back to whatever community I'm part of. And earlier in my career, I was very involved with 3D CAD, with Autodesk. And I did some consulting with them on their adventure product from day one. So, I was involved in Inventor for a long time. So, people would ask me questions about Inventor and how to do things. And then, quite honestly, I got tired of answering the same questions over and over. So I kind of did a little write-up, and then I put it on a website. And then, I had more tutorials of how to do things. And people would, you know, ask more and more questions, so that I started a forum, back in the days when they had the web forums, right? And it started, those got pretty, pretty popular as well. And then it got to the point where it became this whole community that I wasn't answering the questions all the time anymore. The other members of the community were answering the questions.

KD : Wow, that's cool.

SD : So yeah, so I grew that up. So it was always it's always been in my blood, and I always knew I nature to kind of help answer questions and do what I can to help other people maybe not make the mistakes I made, or, or maybe a little make it a little bit easier on them.

KD : Right. Yeah. And that actually is somewhat similar to my path as well. I think, initially, you know, if you were to talk to my English teacher in high school, that I would be, you know, I think I've written almost 100 blogs now. They wouldn't believe me. And I built a couple of websites and did the whole thing both on both for myself and, you know, just, it's funny how this career can change your path so quickly and easily. And, you know, like I said, it's just fun sending out information, learning new things, sharing information, and, you know, learning from others. It’s something that I've found is super fun. And, you know, I think it's really important to learn from others who have experienced it, right? If there's information that you could share, you know, from growing your business, that, you know, I could take into growing my business, I think that stuff like that is just so useful. And I find now, especially through LinkedIn and so many different connections I've made, and I'm sure the same for you. There's just such an open network of people sharing ideas and information now it's fantastic.

SD : Yeah, networking has always been super important to me as well. That's why I've always enjoyed going to trade shows and going to conferences, like A3 and the Robot Forum and all. Just talking to people about their life experiences and sharing war stories and learning lessons from each other. It's just it's how it's how you grow, you know, as a person, both professionally and personally. It's always just been something I really love. I always said I'm, I'm an extrovert. I'm an extroverted introvert, really, because most engineers are pretty introverted. But I at least like I like talking to the engineers at least.

Automation Industry Likes:

KD : Yeah, right. Yeah. Me to have in the same boat. And with that, so talking to those engineers, what are some of those things that you really like about the automation industry itself?

SD : Kind of going back to that talk a little bit before. It's nice to see what you've done at the end of the day, right? So, you know, while I have tons of respect for my electrical designers, and controls, programmers and all that, and I've done that stuff as well, the reason I went into mechanical was that you can't see the code, you can't see the electrons flowing through the wires, you know, super important, of course, you see the mechanics, you see the robot move, and you see the conveyor, you see everything. And that, to me, was just so rewarding at the end of the day, seeing what I built, being on that factory floor, and helping a company grow.

Early in my career, when I explain, go to a cocktail party or a wedding or something like that, people ask what you do for a living? I say, like, “I own an automation company.” A lot of times, “Oh, you put people out of work?” Well, no, I've never sold a machine to a company that was reducing staff. It was companies that could not find enough people to produce their products. That's the only way they could do it. And it elevated those assembly line workers or people who were manually putting things together, it elevated their talent. So now they are running the machine.

KD : Becoming robot programmers or PLC programmers or technicians. That kind of stuff.

SD : Yeah, exactly! And I would come back years later to a factory and see that same operator that was putting something together manually. Then, we introduce a piece of automation. And now they their new title was something like, you know, it was there, maybe maintenance tech, or they were machine operators or something, and they were running multiple robots cells. And they were they had people underneath them as material runners moving material around. They were making sure all the machines were running well. So, it was just, you know, those relationships through that were really, really, really nice that you got to see somebody develop over the years because of something that your company did.

Automation Industry Dislikes:

KD : And so that's the positive side on, you know, everyone's got their negatives in this industry. What are some of the negatives within the automation industry?

SD : Oh, boy, we don't have enough time. For all those, it's easier to complain is it?

KD : A short list of the good stuff and a long list of the bad.

SD : Yeah, one of the hard. One of the frustrating things, which is not going to be a surprise to anybody who's been in the automation industry, is when you have a customer, you've presented a solution. You've shown them what the ROI is, you show them all the positives, it is just everybody in the room is in total agreement, this is the way to do this, and they just don't move forward. You know, it's frustrated, it's hard for me to watch a company make a bad decision. And it's frustrating. And of course, I mean, you know, selfishly yes, we want to sell the piece of equipment, we get that right. But at the same time, it's like take that away from it, here's all the advantages to you, as a manufacturer, you're gonna be able to produce more faster, better or lower your labor cost, change over whatever it happens to be, why are you not doing this?

And a lot of times it comes down to fear of making a mistake. And you know, lack of education, maybe not understanding automation, or, or understanding the return on investment. So, you know, I spend a lot of time with customers not talking about, you know, what robot we're going to use? Or, what does a machine look like? Or exactly how many widgets is going to poke out? But why are you why are you waiting? Right? Is it? Is it? Are you scared? Are you concerned that we're not going to do a good job? Are you concerned that you made the wrong decision? You know, let's just talk person to person what is it that's preventing you from moving forward with this?

KD : Right, and usually, it isn’t money, right? The shocking part is, usually, it's not the money.

SD : It's never. I had a sales coach many, many years ago. And his famous phrase was, “It's never about the dollars. Never!”

KD : They have something somewhere save for a project like this. They would have done internal assessments.

SD : Exactly. Or if you can show them that this has got a great ROI and double your production. They’ll borrow money from somewhere, some other project, or, you know, pull it away, “Hey, we're saving this labor. You don't need to pay that labor money. Hey, there’s some money for the machine.” So it's never it's never about the dollars. There's always something fundamental. Usually, it's emotional. That is the reason people are not moving forward with a project.

Now, they're going with a competitor that's completely different. Maybe they had a better solution or a better price. But so often we see, I talk to my competitor sometimes, and I know those guys bid on the same job, and I'm like, “Hey, do you want to get that job?” Like “No, neither one of us got.” I'm like okay, then nobody did. Yeah. So, yeah, that's a chance to go back and talk to the customer, try to, you know, try to rekindle it.

Automation Industry Lessons Learned:

KD : And in with that, I guess let's kind of touch on some of those lessons learned. You know, what are some good lessons learned that you've had? You know, you've like said you've had opportunities, run organizations, do things on your own, you know, what are some good lessons learned for people in the automation industry? That can take your knowledge and share?

SD : Yeah, that's, that's a lot. I mean, I could take a lot of time. But, you know, some of the fundamentals are, sell your customer on your capabilities and fixing their problem, you know, providing a solution. You know, quite honestly, a lot of them really don't care. And I'm gonna back away from this a little bit. They don't care about your technical solution. As much as they care about solving their problem, you still have to show that you do know what, you have the technical solution, and you are technically savvy. But let's be honest, you know, the difference between robot brand A and brand B is not going to make or break you a lot of times. You’ve got to show them that you are thinking beyond the scope of maybe just what their problem is.

So I told the story before of customer brought me and said, “Here's our problem.” And I said, “Well, can you show me upstream?” They said, “That's not our problem.” “Like, just show me upstream.” And we went upstream a few steps. And by solving that problem, it eliminated the problem downstream. They didn't even need to buy. So, it was a cheaper piece of equipment to fix the problem upstream than it was going to be downstream.

KD : So that's very, that's very good. That's it's a good, good thing to think about. Okay, not just looking at this bottleneck. But is there something causing if we do fix this bottleneck, because there's something even slower up ahead? Or something slower behind? Right? Is this truly your bottleneck or that area you need to fix?

SD : Exactly, right! Ask a lot of questions, right? That's sometimes, we were able to save people a lot of money, saying, “You’ve got this molded part. And but there's no feature on it for us to be able to orient it. So we have to use a vision system to be able to orient with the robot and all. It looks like you could add a little rib here to this plastic part. And then we could use a you know, a vibratory bowl feeder or something to align the part. Could you do that?” And sometimes they're like, “Yeah, sure. That's not a problem. The products not finalized, or we can add that piece.” Great. We just saved you a lot of money.

Other times, no, you know, if it's a med device, sorry, we're not changing it. Right? We can't get him re-qualified. Okay, that's fine. But we tried to save you some money by making these suggestions, maybe for generation two, keep that in mind. So I think just, you know, being more than just a machine builder, you've got to be a provider of solutions. And a lot of times, you gotta you gotta push back a little bit to the customer. You know, “No, we can't change this.” “Okay? I know you're saying that. But why can't you change it?” Explain to me why so I understand it. Because you might find out that they really can change it; they just don't want to change it. Which is, again, you're given the option, we can save you some money by changing it, or it's going to be more expensive. If you don't, I just want to make sure you understand that impact.

Industrial Automation Advice For Young Engineers:

KD : Yeah, no, very good insight. And I think I learned something there, too. So that's good. Appreciate it. Um, let's touch on, you know, if somebody is interested in getting into automation, you know, what's some advice that you'd give? You've done a lot of different things in this industry. And with your background, you know, what's, you know, right, you know, something that you would want to advise somebody on?

SD : Yeah, I always tell people, if you want to get into automation, don't do something easy, like brain surgery, or alligator wrestling or something like that. It's a tough industry, you know, it's rewarding. I think anybody who's been to it long enough, will sit back and look at their battle scars and go like, “Why did I get into this?” You know, this is a tough industry. And it is, but you know, I really think if you're passionate about it, though, all those all those scars fade away pretty quick. Um, somebody who's just getting into it. I mean, if we're talking about somebody in high school or college who's considering it, get as much hands-on experience as possible. So many engineers that I've hired over the years didn't have I was fortunate enough, like I said, working as a mechanic and in the hardware store, I at least had some hands-on knowledge, and I'd run a drill press I had turned a lathe before. I had, you know, put piping together and done plumbing and electrical and stuff like that. So, I had a little extra leg up, but I see a lot of engineers who really they come into really, really book smart right? They are, they are amazing when it comes to programming and CAD and things like that, but they've never ran a mill, ever right? They don't understand that you can't have a square pocket necessarily. They just don't think about that. They don't realize that if they broke this into two parts, it only needs one setup each, versus if we hug it out of one big piece of aluminum, it needs six or seven different setups.

So I really think you'll go to as many things as possible, programming as many languages as you can get into wire immune, if you're a mechanical engineer, understand the basics of electricity and circuits. Vice versa. Same thing if you're, you know, electrical, understand pneumatics and understand some basic mechanics and things like that. But go out and just do do do as much as you can get your hands dirty, go talk to the assemblers, and the machine builders, they are a wealth of knowledge. I have gotten dressed down, embarrassed, and, you know, cussed at by more than I can, you know, more machine builders that I can think of, but that's how I learned to design machines better. So they wouldn't yell at me because they couldn't reach that bolts that was way up underneath the machine, right?

KD : Right. Yeah, no, I think that's a great point. I think that was one thing for me, at least, how you mentioned, you know, reaching out and learning a little bit more electrical, that for me, I just didn't have that real experience that much, I guess, in college, and then in the real world, then I had to learn it. And that put me behind for a little bit, and then caught back up. And now I'm able to do things, you know, even around my house now that that makes it makes it a lot easier than, you know, before not having anything else. I think that's also something good just venture out also, not just within your field, but reach out in a couple of different ones. And especially in automation, right, you could do some robot programming and electrical, you could do PLC, which is electrical with the robot programming, you could do, you know, all design work like you mentioned with, you know, some actual, electrical or, you know, even mechanical and bigger mix of things, I guess, I’d say.

SD : Some of the most successful engineers I've ever met are ones that, you know, are really good in one area, and they're pretty good and a bunch of other areas, right? So you need to keep your skill set, you know, pretty, pretty wide. You know, again, I was first one does. I'm not one that's gonna sit there and do load calculations on an electrical panel and figure out thermal loading. And do we need an AC in the enclosure? Not, but I can, you know, I can troubleshoot a machine if I have to, just because I learned all that. So those are good skill sets to have?

Connect With Sean Dotson On LinkedIn:

KD : Yes, especially in automation. And then on that, where can people reach out to you and find you?

SD : Yeah, I mean, most people probably know me from LinkedIn. So you can find me, you know, Sean Dotson, you know, at LinkedIn, and if you want to get a hold of me by email, it's Sean@automationama.com. And the AMA has asked me anything. It's an old term from Reddit years ago. People used to go on and they do an AMA about just whatever their field of expertise was, we could ask, ask them any questions about that. So I got kind of picked up on that. And so that's, you know, people feel free to reach out to me and ask me many questions about automation and automation industry, and where we think we're going, so again, I enjoyed the conversations and networking.

KD : Yeah, well, hey, appreciate it. We'll put the links down below. And then, you know, I've been following you for a couple of years now. And yeah, you do post a lot of great information. So always, always good to give you a follow. I learned a lot almost weekly, it seems. So know. I appreciate it. But I just want to say thanks. Thanks for being on today's show. If you guys enjoyed today's show, please give us a like, comment, share. And don't forget to join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

SD : Thank you.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Sean Dotson on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Sean by visiting his Linktree .

Learn about Automation AMA .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Jared Stanley | Adinkra

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 19:37:36 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Jared Stanley Episode 12

In this episode, we talk with Jared Stanley , the CEO and Founder of Adinkra . We discuss why he started his company in Colorado and their industry focus on robotics and AI development. We discuss customer acquisition and his company’s goals for the year. We also discuss what it is like working as an engineer for a start-up company.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, and I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to talk with Jared Stanley. He's the founder and CEO of Adinkra. We're going to talk to him about why he started his company. We're also going to talk about some of the advantages of being in Colorado. And then we're also going to talk about some of the industry focus that he has with his organization. Now let's go talk automation!

KD : Hi, and welcome to today's episode, I'm super excited to have Jared Stanley here with me today. He's the CEO and founder of Adinkra. Jared, welcome to the show!

Jared Stanley – Guest (JS) : Thanks for having me.

KD : Yeah, no problem. And just want you to give everybody just a brief little introduction about yourself.

JS : Yeah, like you said, Jared, I’m CEO of Adinkra, which is a company that started back in 2020, in Denver. We focused on robotics and AI, product development, everything from design, to, you know, deployment and support of those solutions for our clients. And my background is actually in physics. I have, you know, a master's in physics, and then went and did a lot of data science and robotics work before founding this company.

KD : Wow. And then, yeah, what is your business focus then, with this organization?

JS : we're focused on rapid prototyping and development of new robotics and AI products. So, we've got, you know, project managers, engineers, subject matter experts, really a team of people that can help design and then develop those solutions. And our goal is really to just get those out to market as fast as possible, so they can start making an impact for our customers.

KD : Cool. And I, you know, I always like to ask, what kind of, you know, led you down the path? To start Adinkra?

JS : Yeah, that's a great question. Um, you know, I, I really, you know, how technical do we want to go?

KD : Hey, as deep as you want, man!

JS : I think at a high level, there's a big opportunity right now, for robotics and AI type of products, you know, we're really solving intelligence, there's a lot happening in that space right now. And the potential of that for, like, human civilization is just huge. So, there's definitely kind of the impact aspect of this, that I really believe that this industry is just well positioned to make a huge impact on the world in a lot of different ways. You know, free up humans from all kinds of things we don't want to be doing and like, kind of accelerate our development as a species. But on the maybe more technical side, I've always been really interested in intelligence, and how we learn and how we can create systems that can, you know, accelerate that learning.

I got into physics, because I wanted to understand the way the world works. And I realized very quickly that I am not smart enough or fast enough. And I thought maybe there's, you know, other solutions out there that can run faster and learn more and like, how can I help build those solutions? So really, I think, kind of what's exciting to me is working in the field of intelligence, and then deploying that in a way that's meaningful for people. And that's ultimately why I started the company.

KD : Yeah, it you know, I think, in the last six months, I don't know if you've noticed, but I think AI has just been such a big key word and buzzword from every organization. So already having your foot in that door for a few years now. You know, that's probably something that you can kind of, you know, pat yourself on the back for kind of being a leader, in the forefront on that. I would say.

JS : Yeah, it's exciting times. There's so many, it's really great that we have the internet now can access all this incredible research and all these different groups can communicate. It's a really cool time to be alive.

KD : Yeah, absolutely. One question I do have to ask, though, what made you choose Colorado? What are some advantages of it? Right? When most people think manufacturing or industrial automation and those kinds of things, they're thinking, you know, Midwest, you know, some of the Michigan and East Coast or down south, or California for AI, you know, what, what made you choose Colorado?

JS : Well, I grew up here, I grew up in Fort Collins, which is a town about an hour north of Denver. The company is founded in Denver, and I think that there are, you know, there's a lot of tech hubs sort of emerging all around the world right now. But Denver is one of them. It's been growing a lot. There are a lot of great companies in Boulder that are coming in. So, I did my undergrad, and a lot is happening in Denver as well for founders like me, so I think it's a really awesome ecosystem. But of course, there are other great ecosystems out there, too, like Pittsburgh and all kinds of other places.

KD : So, in our area, right with automotive, we got the autonomous driving stuff is all over around here. You know, that's obviously huge. So, I'm sure you definitely have advantages there, then which is good to hear.

JS : Yeah. And we were lucky in some ways because we started the company right when COVID hit, which is an awkward time to start a business. But it also made us build this team in a way that's fully remote. So, we actually do work with people all over the country, and even in other countries, but, you know, are set up to be a fully remote team. So, headquarters are in Colorado, but in some ways, it almost doesn't matter.

KD : Yeah, cool. And I guess that, again, just rolls right into my next, how large is your organization? Now?

JS : We're about 15 people, we've got a mix of full-time people, mostly in engineering, and then a bunch of different people we bring on for different kinds of skill sets. So yeah, about 15 people we're working with pretty regularly across a lot of different projects.

KD : Cool. And, you know, how are you bringing those people in? Are you looking, you know, university, job boards, postings, things like that? How are you identifying these candidates? Because right now, it seems like such a difficult time to find people and then especially in the automation and robotics industry, and then find, you know, good people, right?

JS : It's very hard to find good people, it's very hard to find good engineering talent. I think universities are always a great source of kind of the, you know, I really, I really like working with university students, because they have a lot of passion and a lot of imagination, which I think is very positive. However, I think that it's really important to find people who have had several years of experience and have really dealt with some of those problems to really sharpen the skill set. And that's actually quite a bit harder to find. I think, you know, in person, events and other organizations that focus on that are really critical for getting that talent, because the right person can 10x your productivity over someone else.

KD : Yeah, absolutely. And then you kind of touched on it there about your projects, you know, how many projects are you guys working on currently? Can you discuss that at all?

JS : So, most of them are under some form of an NDA or another, I can't go into too many details. But yeah, we're working on probably about a half dozen projects at the moment, a lot of them are in the autonomous systems kind of space. So, we're doing a lot of slam a lot of navigation-type stuff, a lot of simulation. And, yeah, we were actually working like healthcare, defense, construction. So, a lot of different areas at the moment.

KD : That was going to be my next question, what areas? What industries are you working in? So, you kind of touched on some of those is, is there one or two that are kind of lead the way that you see? And a few that may be further behind?

JS : It's a good question. You know, a lot of our work is around autonomy. And I know that's kind of a buzzword, I actually prefer the word automation, because I think true autonomy is pretty hard to achieve. But where autonomy is making the most progress is in structured environments that are kind of lower dimensional, let's say, than the real world. So, construction, for example, you know, you can do a lot of things, and construction or mining, we've done some work with inspections and utilities, that are, you know, really structured environments that are still hard problems. But we're able to build systems that can like fully automate some of those processes, which is really cool to see.

I think there's also a lot of work going on in the UAV space. Right now, we do both commercial and defense there. And people are really trying to build these platforms that can just accomplish a huge number of tasks. So, we're seeing a lot, a lot of interest there and some of the simulation work that we're doing.

KD : Yeah, cool. And then how do you know you find clients or clients come find you? How does that work? You know, they just kind of word of mouth. How are people finding your company?

JS : Good question. I think that the best form of client acquisition, I've found, is just being a real person and having interesting conversations. I go to a lot of expos, and events, and founder meetups. And I'm always surprised by the people that I seem to run into that seem to have some sort of cool project or opportunity that I can help them with. We've also gotten a lot of referrals from existing clients, which has been helpful. But that's actually probably the best, the best form I've found.

KD : Yeah. And, you know, within your organization, what are some of the goals that you've laid out for yourself here for the rest of the year? We're almost halfway through the year. You know, how are you? How do you set goals as a business owner?

JS : Well, I work pretty closely with my team to figure out, you know, where they're at, and kind of how, how we as an organization. You know, we're a relatively small company. So, there's not a lot of degrees of freedom. Sometimes, but what we've, you know, what we've kind of been focused on really for this year is developing a lot of our synthetic data and simulation solutions. So those are basically solutions that we've built to accelerate our own development to create custom computer vision models, or build digital twins of these robots and kind of get them up to a point where they're pretty safe pretty quickly or pretty capable pretty quickly.

So those two solutions that we're working on synthetic data and simulation, those are our major technical goals for the end of the year, we've already got clients that are using those platforms, but we're trying to really work with them to understand the use cases, flush them out further and, and deploy them ultimately, to more places. Also, exploring some partnerships with universities and so forth.

KD : Yeah, I think you touched on that right there. There's a large opportunity for university outreach; whether it's in robotics, automation, or AI. There's a massive need for it. And sadly, one thing that I think, you know, many of us have noticed is, we keep saying, hey, we need better-prepared students better-prepared classes. But yet, there still isn't any change. So, you know, I'm hoping, eventually, companies like yours, and more, keep reaching out and don't give up yet. But keep trying to, you know, force that change on these universities, because it seems like it's so difficult. You know, it's one thing that I've kind of noticed. At least, I don't know if you've seen any of that on your end at all.

JS : Yeah, I think universities are a great, great resource because they have different incentives than a business, right, they've got like more time to do research, they've had different structures, so that they have an environment where you can work with some really talented people, and some talented groups and just, you know, find ways to kind of merge industry and research together and find the solution.

So, I love working with university students and with research teams. So that's something that we're really exploring heavily this year to try to, you know, get new ideas, get different types of funding, and then figure out how to actually transfer that technology and those kinds of cutting-edge ideas out of the university into the, into the industry.

KD : Get them up to speed, man, that's what I would love to see. I do want to ask, you know, you are a founder, you are a CEO. What were some of the struggles that you saw, you know, building this company that you've had?

JS : The struggles have been many, I'm always surprised by how new forms of struggle emerge seemingly out of left field, this is my first company. So, there's, it's only about three years old at this point. So, you know, relatively new to this process. But I think, you know, there's just, there's just a lot to learn. And what's really helped me is trying to focus on seeking that truth in all cases, and trying to figure out how something should work and sort of, you know, what, where's the limit of my own knowledge, whereas when I need to bring in someone else, versus something I should do myself, and there's, there's just been a lot of challenges with kind of learning things for the first time. I often tell my other friends that you just you have to pay a lot of money to make mistakes, but they're kind of unavoidable. And once you've gotten through them, you're a lot stronger, and you're able to deal with a lot more.

KD : Yeah, that's great, great advice. You know, we’ve talked about the struggles, what are some of the things that you've definitely enjoyed being, you know, the frontman of an organization?

JS : I think it's really an amazing opportunity to be able to kind of close the gap between imagination and reality very quickly, right? You kind of can direct things, you can get these resources in place to create things in kind of your own way. And I feel like starting a business is one of the most efficient ways to take an idea and have it create an impact in the world in a positive way versus having to go through, you know, a lot of other hoops that other organizations have, or maybe being limited in your role a little bit. So, the intention of us building this company was always to create an environment where engineers could, you know, really close that gap, innovate, get those ideas out there and make that impact rather than kind of waiting and having things you know, take years and years to see the light of day.

KD : Yeah, yeah. And that's, that's definitely, you know, a good side of things. And I always explained to a lot of people, you know, growing up, I always enjoyed Legos, and I think that's why I'm in this industry, but you know, you like to see nothing, you build something and then you get to play with it. Right. So that's always something I've found, I think with a lot of other business owners like yourself as we sort of just liked that process, right? We like to see you know, a problem arise. And then we create a solution, and then we see that solution being implemented, right?

JS : Yeah. And I love Lego’s favorite toys, kid as well.

KD : See, there you go!

JS : So it's like, it's like art. There's this like negative space of just amazing solutions and ideas that I think as a business owner, you're kind of in this position where you're kind of in between the engineering the business side, and you can kind of make these things happen. And it's really exciting to like I read a research paper and then my brain immediately goes to, “Well, what are the 10 like super cool problems I could solve with that in the real world?” Go have those conversations, and then get a project. And it's like, wow, I'm actually solving that problem.

We had a proposal, we were writing for invasive fish species that could be solved with this cool robotics thing. And it was just an amazing thing. My dad's a wildlife biologist. I’ve been super passionate about conservation my whole life, to be able to apply robotics to something in that space was just amazing. And it was just random, that I learned about it.

KD : That's cool, like it opens up another door, right? Something might be created, then to help save some things where, you know, you know, just a new business could be pulled out of thin air almost right? That's, that's a really cool thing. One thing I did want to ask though, you know, if somebody did want to come work for you, you know, what's that process? What's that look like? You know, what's their day-to-day activities? What, you know, what are they going to be working on?

JS : So fundamentally, we're a professional services company, we do engineering services. And what that means is that people will usually get exposure to a lot of different projects, they will not be put into, you know, one project that's five years long, where they're only doing one thing. We're also pretty small, and a startup. So, you know, often wearing a lot of hats at the same time, as I'm sure you're, you're experienced with.

KD : Yeah, learn fast, right?

JS : You gotta learn fast. At the same time, I think we're niche enough that over time, you start to develop some pretty good specializations. We have like a technical and a management track for people. So they can kind of dive in and sort of become the resident expert in a particular thing and computer vision if they want. Or they can take this kind of more management or product manager track and really own like an in kind of lead from a technical perspective, an entire an entire work stream entire workflow.

So the process that we usually go through is kind of standard interviews. But I think one thing that's a little bit unique that we do is we really do these kinds of take-home projects, and really look for past performance in terms of, you know, what kind of projects has this person worked in. I'm a firm believer that, like, at this point, some things are being commoditized, anyone can download and you know, a yellow model and train it, but it takes a different kind of person to be able to really get into the details and modify it and kind of overcome some of those harder challenges you encounter in engineering. So those are the things that I'm really looking for, is that problem-solving ability. Because most of the problems we have are not something you can just, you know, solve in a day.

KD : And that's a good way to put it. Engineer, your title really is problem-solver, right? Bring the solutions. Just before we wrap up here, let me ask, “Where can people find you?”

JS : So they can find us on LinkedIn, they can find us at our website, https://adinkratech.com/ . You can connect with me on LinkedIn. My name is Jared Stanley. So I'm the CEO and chief engineer of Adinkra right now. And I think we have a Twitter account ( https://twitter.com/adinkratech ) as well, where we're doing some releases of new information around ROS, the robot operating system, so we'll be kind of spinning that up over the coming few months as well. But those are probably the best places to engage with us right now.

KD : Cool. Well, yeah. And I'll drop all those links in the description. So, check them out down below. And if you guys’ liked today's episode, please give us a like, comment, and share, and don't forget to subscribe. And we hope you join us here again next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

JS : Thanks.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Jared Stanley on LinkedIn.

Go to https://adinkratech.com/ to learn more.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Sonny Singh | Singh Automation

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 22:54:29 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Sonny Singh | Episode 11

In this episode, we talk to Sonny Singh , the Managing Partner at Singh Automation . We discuss the history of Singh Automation, why they chose to build the business in West Michigan, and how they can now find local engineering talent from the university. We also dive into the need to upscale your workforce and what it’s like working in the automation industry.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, and I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Sonny Singh. He's the managing partner of Singh Automation, a systems integration company based out of Southwest Michigan. We're going to talk a little bit about working with his co-owners. We're going to talk about growing the business. And then we're also going to talk about the advice you would give for someone looking to work for an integration company. Now let's go talk automation!

KD : All right, and welcome to today's episode, I'm here with Sonny Singh. He's the managing partner of Singh Automation. Sonny, welcome to the show.

Sonny Singh – Guest (SS) : Thank you, Keegan, for inviting me and joining you in the conversation.

Sony Singh’s Background In Automation

KD : Yeah, no problem. And let's just go ahead and jump right into it here. How'd you get started? And what's your background in automation?

SS : So, it was less of automation. My side was more of technology. And, and I found the right partners to pursue in that technology venture. And then an opportunity came to join Gurdeep and Jas they are the founders of single automation. And opportunity came along to join them in their venture. And I took that opportunity. And here we are.

KD : Oh, wow. Yeah, cool. Well, and I noticed too, it looks like you're also a self-employed entrepreneur, and have many other ventures as well. Do you want to briefly touch on those?

SS : I'm gonna say yeah, I mean, I don't think that's a surprise to you. I've seen your profile. And, and that's just an our, I guess. People who are drive to do things, and they're just always, always trying to less of a money, they're more of the rush that we get doing certain things. And, like, I do host a radio show, too. Yeah, so I do about an hour, hour and a half every week. And in and then we are do robots all day. And few other things. You know, its things keep taking exciting. And, and, yeah. And it builds your network.

Singh Automation

KD : Yep, yeah. So yeah. And I was gonna say a lot of self-motivated people, we all seem to be driven. And you start to see that many of the people that I've interviewed, well, I guess one of the starting points here is when did you guys start Singh Automation?

SS : So Jas and Gurdeep, this started back in 2014. And I joined them recently, actually 2021. So, I knew him for a while. But you know, I know what I'm for quite a bit, but a few years back, but as for the Singh Automation, I joined them recently, but there was another technology venture like an app that we're pursued and develop. And that was back in 2019, I believe 2018 or 2019, we, you know, we did that. And so that's where we got to know each other. And we seen that we are up for challenges. Yeah, they're tough sometimes. But that's the part of the game.

So, so that's, that's pretty much it. They started in 2014. There started with three people and their team grew. And 2020 as most manufacturing and so on companies, they got hit. And Singh Automation was no different. So, they, they came with challenges where the team shrunk. And so since 2020, I would say as their backfired up again, and we went from three, three or four individual team members, and now we're up to almost 40.

Singh Automation Organization Structure

KD : Wow, that's great. Oh, and how's the dynamic working with so many, you know, owners, founders, co-owners, managing partners, how's that dynamic work with a group?

SS : So there's a we, we have pretty, it's all systematic. So it's like there's systematically everybody is put in their roles and responsibilities and So we have like most companies do as like our structure, and their org structure, we truly believe in that. And everybody has their roles and duties and responsibilities. And they fulfill those responsibilities, and they get checked upon on those responsibilities. And they held accountable for whatever they are doing. And yeah, so it's a works out and there's and it's pretty open organization. So we're, we're not shy away to question the CEO of the company, what they have been up to, are they doing their job? And down to anybody who's, you know, maybe an intern? So everybody is, is open for cushioning anytime?

Singh Automation Facility Size

KD : Yeah, that's a good good business dynamic. And wanted to ask how big is the shop now that you guys are at?

SS : So the shop itself, we're been shopping for bigger location. And, meanwhile, we are at current shop, where it was not fully used before. Now we are using it more facility, most of it. And the things that was used as a storage that has been cleared out. So it's, we just tried to play Ouija board, per se. With our current shop, and we're making it work. But all the partners they're aware, and they're actively looking for bigger location or bigger facility where we can, because there's a bigger projects, the current future, there's a and then they'll feature we're further down. There's bigger projects, they're in works. So for that we definitely need some bigger facility to accommodate all that.

KD : Especially if you've grown from to you know, you're almost at 40 employees now, you’re definitely going to need shop space.

SS : Yes, and we still have like three openings as well.

Singh Automation In Kalamazoo Michigan

KD : Yeah, so you guys have definitely been growing in the last few years. That's, great. Why are you guys over in the Portage, Kalamazoo Area. And that's for the west side of the state of Michigan. For those of you who aren't in this area. What made you guys choose that area to do your manufacturing there?

SS : So, Jas and Gurdeep, they both went to Western. So, once you go to college, you build the ecosystem there. And the community and everything around you. And so our mindset while we are over at work is, we try to give back to the community. So where you know, where those where we are getting our income or our living from, and we building a business, then we tend to give back to that community. So this is one way to do that is stay in the area and stay, you know, give more opportunity to local, young, upcoming young brains, I would say, to give them that opportunity to pursue automation, because this is the future.

Finding Automation Talent

KD : Yep. And that's a great point. And you also touched on something that I wanted to ask is, where are you guys? You know, you've grown so fast. Where are you guys finding all of this talent? Are you doing University outreach? Are you doing job boards? Recruiters, are you looking for recruiters? How are you bringing in all this new talent there?

SS : So our talent is mostly what we have from the network of our current employees, where are our current members there, they have their network in a similar field. So we get some luck there. And some is social media and traditional, you know, nowadays, the traditional way to you know, we don't put it in newspapers anymore. So it's, it's a social media or, or the current. There's a state program that helps to, to individuals for internship, so we're definitely taking advantage of that as well. And then Western. Western is a pretty good hub to find talent of different with a different skill.

Singh Automation Projects

KD : Yeah, great. And then I'm really wanting to kind of go back to what you mentioned earlier. A little bit about your projects and growing projects. How many projects are you guys working on right now? Can you speak to that?

SS : Ah, if I say the projects we have on the boards are 10. And we're kicking off two more next week, I believe. So we're most likely we're wrapping up two to three projects next week. But we are kicking off at least three next week again. So it's, it's a, it's a revolving project board. We have we use, we have our own control plan. And that board is basically is the one that's get updated. So as we held meetings every morning, and we kind of quick over glance everything, just to review every project and where they stand. So, yeah, so we have at least 10 on the board right now.

KD : Wow. That's, that's great. And then, you know, with that, how are you guys finding and reaching out to new clients? Again, through social media, I would assume? How are these clients finding you guys?

SS : So yes, so social media is one. And our also CEO, Gurdeep. He's basically a salesperson as well. So he, he's out there, and talking to people and so on, then we have Charlie Rupert, he's and other co-CEOs, and, and basically a managing partner. So, combination of all three of actually four or five people. We're all out there using social media. And then we have our current clientele. They’re just ordering a second or third, or fourth project. So that's, that's another thing is because companies are expanding, even though it may or may not look like an economy, the news, or whatever. But company companies are still expanding. Companies are still onshoring. That's the new word now, ohshore. So the way they're able to do onshore is they're using automation.

Automation Hesitancy

KD : Yep. Yeah. And that is that's a great point. And I talked with somebody about this a couple interviews ago that we had is a lot of the onshore and bringing all the jobs back. Automation is still booming, even though you like you said, you look on the news. And right now people are getting laid off and all these different places. However, in the automation industry, it's not really happening. Which is good for us. But you know, bad for some other people. I guess it's.

SS : Yeah, yeah. So it's so. So it's what I see is, when they when there's a change, when there's a change in anything, you know, things do change, and then people adapt. You know, change comes people adapt. So, you know, there as a Detroit, there have been few changes, you know, even though Lansing is our capital. But if you ask anybody in the world, what's the capital of Michigan? They'll say Detroit.

KD : Yeah. Right. Right.

SS : So, so, Detroit has changed from automation, I mean, automotive to what it is now. And, you know, it's becoming, there's more technology coming and so on. But yeah, so if there's a change and what I see is some, some think automation going to take jobs away. That is such a false narrative that what I in my opinion, that is not going to happen, that's not happening. So what's happening is where operator are more safer now, doing the same job, what they were doing before. For instance, it was operator is working with a glass, heavy glass 120-pound glass. And where they were two or three operators, they were lifting that glass they were putting on to this kind of where and if the glass breaks, they have protected gearing but they still get hurt, somehow. And then there's a there's other factors that come in to for injuries and long-term injuries, arthritis, so on. So now all that operator is doing is making sure the rubber robot is running. It has the material, it just the operator just watching that same robot. Now they're all operator just pressing burns, few buttons, start, stop, you know, go home, you know, few things. And, you know, it just upkeeping the robot. So, yes, the roll is gonna change at a job, but the human factor still gonna be there. If we say it's gonna be all robots, no humans. I don't see that in near future.

KD : I think we’ll be long gone by then.

SS : Yes, yes. True.

KD : And there'll be other there'll be other problems and other jobs that take over those roles.

SS : Yes. But so yeah. So there's a narrative that goes in, especially when there's automation in introduced to, like, a facility that never had automation? Yeah. So that's the narrative sometimes that goes in and says that it's the, you know, oh, here's a robot is going to take a job away? No, it's gonna make a job safer.

Upskilling Your Automation Workforce

KD : It's also about upskilling, your current workforce, right? It's taking an operator and teaching them to become a robotics technician, or, you know, taking a person instead of having three people to move this glass, like you were just saying, and moving somebody else to a new role and upskilling them within, in your current company.

SS : And better pay, right? So you're, you're now you have a skill set. Now, you're more versatile, you can use that skill set in different companies, because they all gonna have the automation so it doesn't matter. You go in auto industry, are you going in a glass industry, our industry, maybe even a food industry? So all these they all change. And, but your job description still gonna be a robot, sorry, robot operator. So, so, so yeah, so I, personally I am, you know, there's little touchy point to me is like when somebody says, robots gonna take the jobs away, like no, they’re not.

The Forecast For Singh Automation

KD : Just just shuffle some things around. And I guess one of the other questions I wanted to ask you to what, what are some of the future goals for seeing automation?

SS : So we're, we're yes we do. Manufacturing pick and place then we are there's in our values are somewhere where goal or a tagline you want to say is innovative? Yeah. So we're, we're innovative. So we're building. We have few projects coming there. We're building basically robot systems. That's all I can go into your robot systems, that that will be helping industry in, you know, in trucking and so on. So there's, there's another next level of Singh Automation is coming up. But where we're still integrators there we are integrating systems for companies that never been introduced to automation. So seems like seems like that's that that is our right now is a key is we're introducing systems where they're never been robots.

Singh Automation Client Focus Area

KD : And are you focused on just clients in the you know, Southwest Michigan area. Are you all over the states?

SS : So actually, we have an office in California now. And, and one in India.

KD : Okay.

SS : So, so we're, we're we got actually next project is in California. That's getting introduced next week. So, so we're not limited to Michigan. Yes. We get a lot of our projects. I will say right now is Indiana, Michigan. area. So RV industry we do a lot for RV industry. So, we're, you know, doing that and, and in Michigan, but yeah, we're not limited to, it's one of those things that the way that our system is we validate the system, then it doesn't matter where it gets installed. It could be anywhere in US. So we installed a project in Missouri. And we have other projects, we have a project in New Jersey. So, we go far.

Automation Advice

KD : You’re definitely branching out, then I guess what advice would you have for someone who's thinking about working for an integration company like Singh Automation?

SS : So there's my first advice would be is definitely go learn automation, in a sense that you are not just playing with robots. So my first is, we, we make our expectation that are gonna go in automation company. And the first thing we're gonna do is, is going to just program a robot programming robot actually comes last.

KD : Yeah, you are right!

SS : Programming a robot comes last, the first thing comes is controls. wiring the robot, CAD design, EOAT. So, you have you know, you have the you have CAD, mechanical, manufacturing, assembling controls, wiring, wiring panels, programming PLCs. So if you're planning to come to automation industry, there are 100 different ways you can enter. There, there's, you know, I'm just throwing 100, but let's say 20. Let's, you know, there's 20 different ways you can enter. So PLC programming, wiring, electrical panels, design, CAD, you know, so there's, there's quite a few ways you can enter, so there's gonna get intimidated dated by you know, that it's a robot. I don't know, like, you know, you see those sci-fi only like movies. Like, you know, this big brains only can do robots, you know, you know, you can get intimidated by him. No, robots are created by human. This programmed by human. Actually, what I use is robots are pretty dumb.

KD : You have to make them smart, right?

SS : Yes. Is the human behind that robot make it look smart? Yeah. So So, so my advice to anybody out there went want to get into automation, jump in, go, go these branded robot companies, they provide trainings, they hold seminars, go on YouTube, watch videos, learn, go to colleges, they have, they're these trade schools, they have specific just programming a robot, PLC programming , wiring, they have electrical controls. So they have all those CAD. So, they have these are the like the main ingredients, that you know, you can just go in and you can get skill set in this and you will be now automation. The rest you will learn on the job, there will be the experience that you will get on a job that cannot be replaced by any trade school out there. I am sorry to say but that that is cannot be replaced. So find, find out automation company do our internship. You know, so that's where as you do a summer internship and learn how to manage projects. That's another part of it project managing.

KD : I was just going to mention that earlier. That's another step there that's people don't even think about. You don't even have to technically touch the robot or design anything. You could literally just manage the program.

SS: Yeah. So there are there are quite a few different ways you can get into automation. So the first thing is you got to take the fear out that it is out of your reach. You got to take their fear out. It is not you have more technology on your iPhone or your on your there's some of these teach pendants for these robots. So so and yeah, in the programming that, you know, I personally have been in touch or teach pendant before I started Singh Automation. Now I'm able to do basically basic programming meaning and touchpoints. My roles responsibility is one over years installation. So we're during installation testing. So they're testing, I have to tweak the points make it cycle time is a big word. So we have to bring the cycle time. So to do that, you know, we have to do some tweaking and so on. So yeah, so that's, and I learned that here. I have not, I did not have any skill set in that. So so I will said, don't get intimidated. Just dive in!

Connect With Sonny Singh

KD : Find your niche that you like, and try that. And yeah, and with that, Sonny, let me ask. Where can people find you? How can they get a hold of you? How can they connect with you?

SS : SinghAutomation.com that's one. And you can go on that, you can call us, email us at info at or actually, you can email me Sonny@SinghAutomation.com . Or just stop by. Google Singh Automation stop by say, “Hey!” You wanna you want to just kind of visit and look at the robots and have a feel for it? Call us and we can schedule a time and walk you through our facility. And we do in fact, we do a program in California for the kids. Where are we taking a robot to middle schoolers. And we're just going to show them how the robots work. And we have we have the classes, free classes at our facility here for supervisors and accompany supervisors and for the kids. So we have done that. So just stop by where, you know. My, my son always says, He's like, he's seven. He's like, now it's seven. But he says, Dad, when you're going to build the rest of the robot, you only got arm.

KD : That's great. Well, I'm gonna have to take you up on that offer. Next time I go see my parents. I grew up on that side of the state, you guys are only a half hour away.

SS : Definitely, definitely stop in. Call me, text me. Call me text me and we'll definitely make time.

KD : Yeah, I'll have to do that Sonny. Well, I appreciate you talking with us today. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment and share and don't forget to subscribe. And we hope you join us here next time on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

SS : Thank you Keegan again.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Sonny Singh on LinkedIn.

Go to https://singhautomation.com/ to learn more.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Stephen Gates | myPLCtraining.com

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Sun, 21 May 2023 18:17:39 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Stephen Gates | Episode 10

In this episode, we talk to Stephen Gates , the Founder of myPLCtraining.com . We discuss how he got started in controls engineering, the benefits of an online training program, and advice for someone interested in the course. We also discussed how he started his business and how he runs his online PLC training course.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, I’m Keegan, and I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to talk with Stephen Gates. He's the founder of myPLCtraining.com . We're going to talk about the benefits of online PLC training. We're going to talk about who can do the training courses, as well as how long the academy is. And then we're also going to talk and give some advice for people who are thinking about taking any online training classes. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : All right, and welcome to today's show. Today, I've got Stephen Gates on the show with me. He's the founder of myPLCtraining.com . Stephen, welcome to the show.

Stephen Gates – Guest (SG) : Hey, thanks, Keegan. Good to be here with you.

KD : Yeah, of course, And can you give me just a little bit of background about yourself?

SG : Yeah, sure. So, again, my name is Stephen Gates, and I own and run myPLCtraining.com . And the purpose of our businesses, we specialize in helping electricians, technicians, and engineers become confident PLC programmers so that they can advance their careers in industrial automation. And we do that without them needing to get any additional college degrees or try to figure out everything on their own with YouTube and the internet by themselves.

KD : Yeah, I really liked that. And then is your background in controls engineering, you obviously have to have some prior knowledge before starting this business.

SG : Yeah, so I worked about a decade as an electrical engineer doing a lot of PLC programming. So, I worked for a custom switchgear builder. So, we built custom panels with circuit breakers in them anywhere from 480 volts up to 15,000 volts. And it was for like emergency power backup systems, usually. So we did a lot of data centers and hospitals and some small town utility power plants. But we automated pretty much everything with PLCs. So that's where I got most of my experience.

KD : Okay. And then, you know, how did you kind of transition that experience into a business then into an online training course?

SG : Yeah, so one of the things that was cool, I noticed when I started working as an engineer, doing PLC programming and other related automation tasks, was that some of my coworkers, it was a smaller business, but some of the guys that were doing the same job as me, were not engineers, you know, they weren't, they wouldn't have the college degree, a bachelor's degree in engineering. And it was kind of became apparent to me that you don't need a degree for this, like, these are, I didn't, I mean, I took one class on PLC programming, in college, which most engineers don't even get to do that. So, I was blessed to be able to have that opportunity at my school. But learning PLC programming, automation stuff, 90% of it, I learned on the job.

So, I saw a real opportunity for people who are in the industry like electricians, maintenance technicians, maintenance supervisors, and anybody in that area to get into this field, and really, up-level their career. Not just in terms of pay, but, you know, it's obviously a lot less manual labor intensive, to do more of an automation, engineering programming type job. And that can be really desirable for people who do a hard manual job, even an electrician, job, bending pipe running wire. You can do it when you're young. But as guys get older, sometimes they're looking to use more of their experience and brain power rather than their bodies, you know, wearing out their bodies.

So, I just saw kind of a big opportunity there. And started doing research in Facebook groups and stuff and seeing if there really was an interest in people advancing their careers with PLC programming skills, and definitely found that there was a need for that. So just started a blog on the side and chipped away at it for the past several years.

KD : Oh, wow. And then I guess one of the questions I want to ask you is what are the benefits of online training? You know, probably you can do more prolonged courses, right? People can take, you know, take the courses and classes at their own pace. Yeah. What are some of the things that you see with that?

SG : Yeah, that's a good question. So, I mean, honestly, it's, it's superior in many ways. Obviously, one of the big issues that people have when they're working a full-time job, and they're trying to learn a new skill or advance their career is like going to college classes or whatever is what a lot of people recommend. And that you have to work on a certain schedule, go to the class schedule. And stick with that. And so, you're working on it, evenings, generally, which is fine, but life is crazy. And you can't always predict what times you're going to have available.

So just having the flexibility to go through it at your own pace is one of the big advantages of online training, your own pace, at home, wherever you are, you can be chipping away at it. So, you know, there are disadvantages for people who aren't good at pushing themselves and staying accountable to themselves. That can be one of the drawbacks. But generally, if you're a motivated person, you want to learn the skill, you want to advance your career, being able to learn at your own pace on your own time, while you're keeping up with the busyness of work and life. Online training is the way to go.

KD : Yeah. Yeah, good points. And then, you know, one of the things I wanted to touch on here is, you briefly mentioned it earlier, who can do the training? Is this something you know, someone right out of high school could jump in and do it? You know, what, you know, who is your target audience on this? I guess? Yeah. Right. You kind of touched base a few times. But are you focused on anybody in particular? Or any group? I should say, in particular?

SG : Yeah. Well, I'm generally focused on people who are already working in the, in the field, electricians, maintenance technicians, people who have some familiarity with PLCs, they see it in their plant, they maybe have wired it up, maybe they've helped to troubleshoot some equipment that it worked on. But we've definitely worked with plenty of people that have zero experience, and, and helped them build confidence and PLC programming.

So, we start, we have a variety of people, you know, from total newbie to more intermediate. But generally, the people that we're working with are people who just barely experienced PLCs. But they know what they are, they've worked around them. And they know that if they learn that they've got some great opportunities in their career.

KD : And then how do you find these people to bring them to your business?

SG : Well, LinkedIn has been huge for me. I've connected with a lot of people on LinkedIn, and then just sharing resources on LinkedIn to build interest and see if there's people who want to learn about PLCs. You know, whether it's a blog post or videos on YouTube. And then Google search, we've, we've done okay with getting people to come to our site through Google search. We've done some paid advertising as well. And one of the things I'm really happy about lately is since we've been doing this a while we're starting to get more referrals from people who've actually experienced our training and are recommending it to others. A variety of sources at this point.

KD : Yeah, that's good. And then how long is your average course? That you look at taking? If you were to sign up.

SG : Yeah, so obviously, it's going to vary wildly on the person, because our courses are not just like, you're consuming the content, and then you're done. You watch videos, and then you do-it-yourself. Is the idea. We provide access to the Rockwell software that people need to get started with programming.

KD : That was gonna be my next question.

SG : Yeah. Yeah. So that's one of the unique things we do. And I don't want to give all give away all my trade secrets. But it's not that complicated what we do and it's just one of the features built into the Rockwell software that allows you to use it on a temporary basis and move licenses around and so on.

But that's one of the big advantages that our students do have is getting access to that software so that they can practice it. Because 90% of the time as a PLC program or controls guy, you're going to be in the software. So, the more you can get familiar with that, the more you can practice building programs, troubleshooting them, the better.

KD : And then, are they tiered? You mentioned you had some newbies out there who have some individuals with some experience, or are they tailored for each individual person? How's that? How's that work? Or yeah, experience level?

SG : Yeah, so we kind of have three or four main courses within our different programs. And, you know, when, when we, when somebody joins one of our paid programs, they would basically pick whatever program they wanted to go, or whichever course they wanted to start with and go through that. With our higher support coaching programs that we have started doing, we will help direct people to where they should start in the program based on where they're currently at.

And I would say most of our training is beginner to intermediate level. But we do have an emphasis on practicing creating programs from scratch and ample opportunities for that. And so that's not a beginner skill, I mean, that that takes time to develop, it takes work. So, the actual training itself goes to intermediate level, and then the practicing of the challenges we provide to help students create these programs from scratch is where they start getting that more intermediate to advanced confidence.

And then we do we have started trying to partner with other experts in the industry to bring in some extra training on more advanced topics as well. That's most people in our coaching programs.

KD : That’s a really good idea. So how many people currently do you have in your academy?

SG : So, the academy is the membership that's kind of the self-serve, do-it-yourself program. It's probably 1,000 people right now. Yeah, so, and it's probably a little more than that. Because we used to sell like a lifetime membership to it. Not that long ago, that was an option people had so the people who got that good work you got in we don't do that anymore, for various reasons. But not counting the lifetime was probably more like 700 memberships right now.

KD : And then how many people? Have you guys trained overall? Do you have a number on that? Do you have a target every year? Hey, we're trying to get this many people through the program every year. And then, you know, how many have you trained?

SG : Yeah, yeah, we've never set any targets for how many people we wanted to get through the program. You know, still kind of a newer business trying to figure things out, but I'd say I know we've had 2,000 plus people actually work with us since we started.

KD : Oh, that's, that's really good. That's great, man. Yeah, your training reach is very far and wide then, I'm sure. And then I also kind of I kind of mentioned it here a second ago but what kind of you know improvements do you make like working with these individuals as they're going through the program? Do you know do they reach out to you if they have questions, you reach out to them if they’re struggling here what kind of like, you know, how do you track each person you know, sounds like you got a ton. So how does that work?

SG : Yeah so, we got a couple of different options basically. The academy is mostly a do-it-yourself program. That's why we can have so many people in that program. But with that being said, we have my support team does an amazing job of actually trying to answer questions pretty much every day. So, we do our best to make sure nobody has a question that doesn't get answered. In even in the do-it-yourself membership. It's just the format of answering those questions, you can't go into as much depth with that many people with the level that our company is currently at.

So, we have started a coaching program where we can give a lot of dedicated support to people who want to accelerate their process to advancing their career in controls and automation. So that looks like live Zoom calls like this, screen sharing, sending asynchronous video messages back and forth, and communicating about issues. So yeah, it's, we go really deep, and we, we provide great support in both programs. But obviously, the coaching program allows us to go a lot deeper with each individual.

KD : Yeah. And then do you have any like, you know, post-class or course tests that they take them to, you know, get them certified? Or whatever it may be? Is there anything at the end? Where you say, “Okay, yeah, if you can pass this, you've made it through our first-level training.”

SG : Yeah. So, what we do throughout our courses is, we have quizzes, basically, that are testing their knowledge along the way, as well as programming exercises. So as long as they complete all those things, each course we issue them a certificate of completion at the end of it. And then kind of the big test for people is whether they can create the programs from scratch that we provide them in our PLC programming challenge course, is if they can create all those programs from scratch, test them, and they work. I feel really good about where they're at.

KD : Yeah, and they'll have a good success rate than out in the field. Right?

SG : Yeah.

KD : Good. And then and then that, again, jumps right into my next one, talking about the field. Do you help people find work at all, because I'm sure people are going to take your class, you know, become, you know, better at PLC programming, then say, “Hey, I'd like a new job.” But any placement or anything?

SG : Yeah, we're, we're working on that. That's one of the things I'm really passionate about. But I haven't figured out how to do it really well yet. But with our higher-level coaching clients that we work with, where we're doing the higher-level support, the Zoom calls, the video coaching, that type of thing. I am doing that kind of on a one-off basis, like, “Hey, I found this job opportunity close to where you are,” or “This person reached out to me, and they have a job in Texas, are you interested?”

And sometimes, it's one of my students that I'm like, “This person would be a great fit. I know they could do really well.” And so I'll actually recommend them to the company. So yeah, we don't have a formal like job placement program in place. I would love to have that someday. But right now, you know, I do my best with our coaching clients to help them find good options for PLC programming and controls engineering positions.

KD : Yeah, that's good. You know, what's the future of the business look like for you? You know, where do you see, see this going?

SG : Yeah. I don't know, man, there's, there's a lot of opportunity. Like, we mentioned, job placement, that's something I would love to get better at, as a company being able to put people right into jobs. And then, you know, there's so many other topics in industrial automation that we could cover, robotics, that's something we're kind of working on with somebody starting a course on robotics, we'd like to do more of that. And, you know, other things in the industry.

KD : I got to ask, Siemens?

SG : Siemens, yeah, we would love to do some Siemens stuff. I've got a colleague, Hans Schrynemakers. I think that's how you say his name. He's over in Europe, but he actually does a good Siemens course. And so, I send people to him right now. But yeah, someday we'd like to have our own Siemens training for the people that like our style of training.

KD : Yeah, good. Good for you. And then you know what some advice for someone who may be interested and you know, just hasn't taken that leap yet into getting some online PLC training. How do you convince them to do it?

SG : Yeah, I mean, it's, I don't try hard to convince people I go for the people that know that PLC programming is going to help their career already. And if you know that, you know, I talked to a few people this week that told me, “Yeah, if I, if I had these skills, I could get this job, that would give me a $10,000 raise or a $15,000 raise.” I heard a $27,000 Raise, I heard a $31,000 raise so, and we've had students get that kind of get those kinds of results. So, if it's somebody, somebody that sees that opportunity, somebody that's motivated to learn and willing to work with us and take our step-by-step approach. You know, we would love to help you achieve that goal of becoming a confident PLC programmer and advancing your career. But I'd say check out our website, myPLCtraining.com . If you're really new to PLCs, and you're not sure how they work or whether it's something you'd even be interested in, you can definitely get a good feel for whether that's the route you want to go just by checking out the free stuff on our website.

KD : Yeah, yeah. Good. And then you kind of you kind of touched on it again, you're always one step ahead of me here. Where can they find you? Where can people connect with you? Obviously, LinkedIn, your website, any anywhere else? YouTube, maybe?

SG : Yeah. So LinkedIn, our website, myPLCtraining.com . And we're on most of the social platforms, YouTube, definitely, we've got some tutorial videos, we haven't been doing a lot of those lately, more of informational videos. Me talking to the camera, explaining different things in the industry, or different tips about getting jobs in the industry. So, lots of content there for people to check out. As well as, like I said, our website, there are blog videos, there are free downloads, and just a ton of resources for anybody who's serious about this.

KD : Good, well Stephen, thanks again for coming on the show today. I really appreciate it. And if you guys enjoyed the show, please give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe, and join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Stephen Gates on LinkedIn.

Go to myPLCtraining.com .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

This episode was sponsored by JOINER Services . A platform where self-employed engineering contractors can showcase their own talents, and businesses have an opportunity to hire their services. If you want to learn more about JOINER Services and its engineering service platform for contract engineers, follow them on social media or sign-up on their website.

Bret Young | Integrated Controls & Engineering

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 23:54:51 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Bret Young | Episode 9

In this episode, we talk with the owner of Integrated Controls and Engineering , Bret Young . We discuss having his wife as a co-owner and how they handle their personal and work relationships. We also discuss how he works side-by-side with his employees as a controls engineer and how he is growing his business by adding more W2 employees to his company. We also discussed business advice he would give someone considering starting a company.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE:

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, I’m Keegan, and I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Bret Young. He's the co-owner and engineer at Integrated Controls & Engineering. We're going to talk a little bit about work-life balance, being a co-owner with his wife, and also how he's growing his business, some of his clients, and we're going to talk a little bit about his challenges as a business owner. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : All right, and welcome to today's show. I'm here with Bret Young. He's the co-owner of Integrated Controls & Engineering. Bret, welcome to the show.

Bret Young – Guest (BY) : Hi, Keegan. Thanks for having me.

Bret Young's Automation Background:

KD : Yeah, of course, let's just jump right into it here. How did you get your start in the automation industry?

BY : Well, so I got a degree in electronics engineering. During that course, most of it I was not interested in like when it came to the circuit level stuff, it’s really heavy math and heavy physics. I wasn't really into that stuff. However, there was one course that I found particularly interesting. And that was a controls, like a control circuits course very basic, you know, where you'd have a temperature sensor hooked up to a fan, and you would see the, you know, on a high temperature, you would turn on a fan, and run it until the temperature went down, that sort of thing. And that sparked an interest. And the rest is history, I did very well in that course, and was able to find a job in that field.

And you know, my first job was in it was in automotive. So doing controls in automotive, and found that very, very rewarding. So I did seven years in automotive. And then I transitioned into process controls. Seven years and process controls, and then it was time to start my own company. So here we are.

KD : Wow, good. Good for you. And you're still an engineer. Right? Your hands-on, you're getting dirty with everybody else. Right? Even though you are a co-owner.

BY : Yeah, definitely in the plants doing support? I that's at the core. That's what I am. That's who I am. That's what I enjoy.

Integrated Controls and Engineering Company:

KD : Yeah, good. Good for you. And congratulations on starting your business. Let's talk a little bit about that. How big is your business? How many employees do you have?

BY : So, it's five employees, my wife and I run it. So, I'm a co-owner, she's a co-owner. And then we have three employees. And so, we're based out of Kansas City. Everybody's an engineer, we don't have, we don't do titles or anything like that. It's everybody's kind of on an equal level. And we're all in plants. And that's, that's what we do day in day out is just controls. And it can be everything from new installs to retrofits to just onsite support. That's what it is.

KD : Okay, and then how do you identify people to hire into your company? How do you find those people?

BY : That's, that's actually a very good question. We haven't, we don't want to we have a process for that. We have some people that have a lot of experience. We have some people that are brand new out of college. And so, we take the skills that they have, what they're comfortable with, and we utilize those to the fullest extent.

Training Company Employees:

KD : Okay, yeah. And then have you taken them to any training classes like that at all or not? Is it just on-the-job training?

BY : It's on-the-job training. So, we do a lot of training here in the office, and then we start them off with a small workout in the field. And then as they, as they feel more confident, as they learn more skills, they use those skills in the field. So, in the field is where everybody learns. And that's what keeps me sharp, honestly, like if I get away from it, I can tell, you know, but the support calls the, you know, emergency support, where you have a line that's down and they call you and you know, a lot of times we come in after they've already been down for two hours, and the pressure is really on. But that's what makes you good. And that's what keeps you sharp, for sure.

Bret Young's Lessons Learned Owning A Business:

KD : And then, you know, being a business owner and having employees, you know, what are some lessons learned that you've had as a business owner that maybe you know, they didn't tell you before you started?

BY : Um, well, there's a lot of ups and downs. You can't really, it's hard to forecast where you're going to be any year you just don't know. And you know, with hiring my wife and I we've stressed a lot about that because it was you know, we had a workload enough for the two of us We were busy. And we thought, okay, do we bring somebody else on? Or do we wait? And, you know, we had a really good opportunity, a client came to us and said they had a contract that was a six-month support contract. And we knew that neither one of us could dedicate six months to it. And so that's when we pulled the trigger on employee number one. And we, we play that by ear. And that worked out and during the six months, we kept gaining business. So, we hired employee number two, and then number three came on board really quick. And so it's hard to forecast that though, for sure. Even today, I don't know where we're going to be in two or three years.

Business Goals For An Automation Company:

KD : So are you setting any company goals then? Or are you just kind of saying, Okay, here's what we've got for now. We're good for now. And then just as things come, you're just getting prepared and growing that way?

BY : Yeah, that's where we're at. So right now, we have quite a backlog of work. And so, we're, we're keeping our head above water. We are we're actively searching for employee numbers four, and five right now. So, we're bringing in resumes. And when I started doing interviews, because it doesn't seem to be slowing down, we keep waiting for that. You keep saying, “Okay, there's gonna be a downturn.” We haven't seen it yet. So we just keep moving.

KD : Not in automation.

BY : Not in automation, not yet.

Co-Ownership With A Spouse:

KD : And you know, as a business owner, that's good to hear. Right. I guess let's chat a little bit about your co-owner. What's that like? You said you're in business with your wife. Do you want to talk about that? It's, uh, you know, not everybody can say that.

BY : Yeah, yeah. So, we actually met on a job site. So we were, we were doing a startup together, and she worked for another company. And we worked really well together. And at the end of that project, you know, we started dating, and then really, I said, “Okay, are we going to do this full-time?” And so, it took a little while, she wasn't comfortable with it at first. And it took a while to get that much work for both of us. But once we did that, you know, there's been no turning back has been in it 100%. But definitely, it has challenges because you have the personal side, and then you have the work side.

KD : And how do you balance that, right? That’s a tough dynamic. Working with anybody you know, I'm sure you're doing long hours and 7 days a week, you know, working with anybody, it can be very tough, but then having, you know, working with the same person, then going home to that person that really puts you know, your relationship to the test will say.

BY : It does 100%. But we really, we rely on each other. So, there are days where I need her, for sure. And then there are days where she needs me. And so, we reciprocate that a lot.

KD : Yeah, well, well, congrats for making that work. That's really a unique situation, and very cool to see.

BY : Oh, yeah, it's very exciting. And it's nice to have that person to confide in to, like, you can talk about business a lot. And she has she understands, you know, I get her and she gets me and we can bounce ideas off each other because she's, she's been doing this for 10 years. So, it wasn't like she was a beginner when I met her. She really had it together when I met her. And so, it's great to bounce ideas off of somebody like that.

Automation Clients:

KD : Yeah. Good. Good. And then let's touch a little bit more here. On the business side, again, who are some of the clients that you guys are working with, with your company?

BY : So really, our strategy has been to stay local in the Kansas City area. You know, I traveled a lot during my career. So, for 14 years, I was on the road, most of that time, probably 80% of the time. And that took its toll. And I don't want to put that on any, any of our employees. So, our strategy has been to only work in the Kansas City area. And so far, that's paid off really well. So, in a world where everybody's going remote, we have taken the opposite approach. And we put people in plants.

And so that's why we're able to offer support, like real, real onsite support, you know, within two hours. So, if a plant is having problems, they can call us, and we'll have somebody there quickly. And Kansas City is not that, I mean, pretty much where we're at we can get to any place within 30 minutes. So, it's just, it's just getting the right person there. Everybody's got the right tools. And we have if it's too much for one person, we can bring somebody else in. And so that's been it's really been what's worked for us the last two years.

KD : Yeah, good. Good. Yeah. And, I think it is important that you know, hands-on, on-site, working with clients directly, I think that's a really good thing. And it builds a better relation working relationship. Right?

BY : Yeah.

Bret Young's Automation Likes:

KD : You know, so let's, let's touch base here a little bit on some of the likes that you like about this industry. What are some of your automation likes?

BY : Yeah, yeah, there's a lot, man, you know, I probably the best part about it for me with my personality type is, it's never the same day twice, it's you, I don't know what I'm going to do every day that I wake up, I don't know what my hours are going to be, I really have no idea. And so, all I know is I need to be prepared and be in the office by 7 to 8 am. Never later than 8 am. Usually I try to be in the office by 7 because my phone starts ringing at 7. And, you know, we do have remote access to plants too. So sometimes it's just remote. But I can count on, I'm gonna get at least one call a day. And I don't know what that's going to be. And that sometimes those calls, you know, sometimes a service calls, you get on site, and it's like, oh, you have a setting wrong. And it's, I'm in and out in 10 minutes. Other times, it can turn into a whole day, it can easily turn into 8 hours or sometimes 12 hours fighting one issue. So, you really just don't know. And it keeps you on your toes. And that's what I that's my favorite part.

KD : That sounds exciting. I mean, you know, compared to some jobs where you know, it's 9 to 5, you're doing the same thing every day for the years, just really working on your toes, we'll say, that's a pretty, pretty cool opportunity. Yeah, that this business and this industry can give you.

BY : And so that's just one side of it. That's the support side. And then when we do projects, that's a whole different type of fulfillment. Because with that, you know, especially like a new installation, you or retrofit, you go in and you see, you see a process or you learn about a new process. And they come to you and say, Okay, this is what it needs to do, how do we get there, and being able to lay that out, lay the foundation, explain how we're going to do it, design it, build control panels, you know, we don't always do the installation, sometimes we do some on-site, you know, fieldwork, like, as far as the wiring, but typically, that's, that's an electrical contractor that does that. So, you have an electrical contractor and a mechanical contractor that we work with, but then we get to start it up, which is the best part for sure.

And being able to see that from just a design on paper too, you know, this is big equipment, seeing it actually run. That's, that's a crazy thing. And I, you know, I've never had anything more fulfilling than that, that is a really cool thing to do. And then we just, we do it all do it over again, we support it after the fact. And then, you know, a lot of times within the same plant, we get another project. And then before you know what you're, you know, the whole plan. You know, everything? Yeah.

Bret Young's Automation Dislikes:

KD : Yeah. So, you know, we talked about some of the good things, what about on the opposite end, right? What are some struggles that you've seen in this industry, rather than, you know, through your business? And or just, you know, being on the job? What are some of the issues or mistakes, maybe that you've seen or done that, you know, you kind of use that as a lesson learned and move forward and grew from?

BY : Yeah, well, it's not really a lesson-learned thing. But it's, it's more of a, I guess, one of the things I wish we would have more opportunities to do is to design new plants. And a lot of times these big companies, they go to a larger engineering firm, which I completely understand. But so many times, I've seen really big engineering firms. They go in and they have this brand-new process, that could be so good. And the plant spends an obscene amount of money putting this in, and it just doesn't work. At the end of the day. It's not what they wanted. Or I guess it's not, it doesn't fit the expectation that they had. And by that time, all the capital has been spent. And sometimes we get called in after the fact. And we try to make it better. But there's not a lot we can do at that point, because so much of the groundwork has been laid. And if that's not done, right, that's a hard thing that puts us in a very, it's frustrating as a business owner, it's I'm like, man, you know, if we had that we could have done a lot with this. But that's, that's the only thing I get frustrated that.

KD : Yeah. And I could, I could see that too. You know, where you have all this technology that you could use and if it's not used properly. It's like you said it's almost like a waste of money. And it's collecting dust.

BY : Yeah, for sure.

Work-Life Balance As A Business Owner:

KD : What about work-life balance? So, you know, this has got to be hard. If you're probably putting in a lot of hours working some weekends here and there. How does that work? And how do you make it work with your co-owner/wife? How do you guys break away from the business when you get the opportunity to?

BY : Yeah, so. So, we have children? Also, I have three children. And that's not that's a whole other level of difficulty too. Because, you know, owner some days, but then dad some days too. And I, we make it work. We make it work. But you can't be all business all the time. You have to take time. You have to take time out for family, for sure. But you have to make that a priority.

KD : Yeah. And do you set time away throughout the weekday? Or do you say, you know, on this day, I'm going to break away at this time, or every other weekend type of thing, or what's your strategy there?

BY : Yep. Yeah, definitely. Throughout the week, there are certain days where I have cut-offs, where hey, like, I have to leave because, you know, I gotta take kids to sports or, you know, the extra curriculars you know, but definitely, there's, there's hard times where I'm like, nope, gotta go. And then, you know, some weekends, but also, you know, there's, I have certain, like, Sundays, I get so much done on a Sunday, I can come in and like, I come in really early, get to the office at like, seven, I can knock out, you know, so much in four hours, because it's uninterrupted. So, I like taking time like that, too.

Advice For Starting An Automation Company:

KD : Yeah. And that's good. Kind of break away on your own and work on your business and yourself as well. That's probably another benefit to just kind of reset the week. What kind of advice would you give somebody who's thinking about, you know, starting their own business, similar to what you're doing? Any advice that you'd give them?

BY : Um, I think, I think it takes a different type of mindset to do this. But I think if you're ready, you'll know when you're ready. And that's what somebody told me once I thought, yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense. And for me, I was ready. I just couldn't. I was stuck in this thing of, I needed another challenge. I needed something more than what I was getting. And this has definitely been that challenge. And so there's certain people, they hit that, and they're not being challenged enough. And if you run into that, you'll know it. And that's when it's time. And I think I think also, you just have to make that jump. And that's a hard thing. It's a hard thing to do. I think a lot of people try to do one foot in each world, they try to, you know, still stay getting that that w two paycheck, that security, but they also want to start their own company and that doesn't work. You have to, you have to jump, and you'll be okay.

KD : And you'll learn a lot like you mentioned, right? Yeah, a lot. It'll be hard. But at the end, it'll probably be worth it.

BY : Yeah. But I think you kind of have to put yourself in that position. You have to take that security away from you. Yeah. And once you're there, and you're you don't have anybody, you don't have any help. And, but that's when you're gonna find out what you're made of. And you'll make, yeah, you'll make it you don't have a choice.

Connect With Bret Young:

KD : Right. That's a great point. And then I want to touch on as well, too, you know, you kind of amassed a pretty big following here on LinkedIn. You know, how can people get in touch with you? You know, what's the best way to reach out via website? LinkedIn? How can you know people reach you?

BY : Yeah, LinkedIn is probably the best way. My email addresses on there. And anybody can send me a message on LinkedIn or an email. Yeah, I'm usually pretty good about responding to that.

KD : Yeah. Good. And then, and then any last words before we wrap up here?

BY : No, I think I think we touched on all the big things. I can't think of anything else at this point.

KD : Okay, good. Well, we'll have a description at the bottom and leave all your information to your website and where people can find you on LinkedIn as well. So, I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode, give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe. And we hope that you join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks.

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

CONTACT OUR GUEST:

Connect with Bret Young on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Integrated Controls & Engineering .

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

Manufacturing In America

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 22:04:32 GMT

Manufacturing In America 2023

Manufacturing In America 2023 is hosted by Electro-Matic , and Siemens invites industry professionals to join the over 3K manufacturing enthusiasts, engineers, and executives, on April 12-13, 2023. The event is located in downtown Detroit inside Ford Field. Join the group advancing the future of manufacturing, share ideas and best practices with other industry professionals, and learn about the newest industrial technologies.

Manufacturing In America is a free event, but registration is required. They will have over 50 exhibits ranging from digitalization, emerging automation, controls, and drive technologies. Plus, they will have over 100 technical seminars representing 16 major industry segments .

This two-day event will have over 1,100 companies and organizations networking, representing 16 major industry segments. This event opens at Ford Field on Wednesday, April 12, at 9:00 am and closes at 7:00 pm, and opens Thursday, April 13, from 8:00 am until 3:30 pm.

Manufacturing in America provides free parking adjacent to Ford Field at two parking garage locations. Event attendees are encouraged to park at the Tigers Parking Garage (Montcalm/Brush) on the northwest side of the stadium and enter the stadium via Gate B. Overflow parking is available on St. Antoine in the Ford Field Parking Deck, where attendees are to enter the stadium at Gate G.

Watch this video to learn more about Manufacturing In America 23:

Are you interested in Manufacturing In America 23? View the 40-page program booklet (pdf) for the latest information. This will show detailed descriptions of the seminars, exhibitor companies, and universities in attendance.

Below we describe the schedule for the event.

Manufacturing In America Summit

Join Siemens and innovation thought leaders at their annual Manufacturing in America Summit to learn how your company can realize its digital transformation. Experience inspiring discussions, detailed presentations, and best practice sharing from leading manufacturing, technology, innovation, and economic experts in the industry.

The key focus for the MIA Summit this year is the digitalization ecosystem. The speakers, including customers and industry experts, will discuss the growing industrial digital ecosystem's impact on connected, data-driven, and automated technologies.

Manufacturing In America Technical Seminars

The technical seminars span two days and over floors 3,5,6, and 7 of Ford Field. Some of the technical seminars include the following:

IO-Link Configuration Workshop
Efficient Engineering with TIA Portal
Turn-Key Power & Controls for the Auto Industry
Should We 3D Print This?
Motion Control: from Simulation to Real World
OT/IT Integration
Cloud-based SaaS Driving Decarbonization
Virtual Commissioning for Large Scale Systems
Modernize & Integrate your Automation & Drives
Lower Maintenance Tasking While Reducing Energy
Specifications for Smart Factories
Digital Enterprise – Factory Optimization
Your Shortcut to Robotics
Advanced Power Supply System - Utilizing ProfiNet & Ethernet IP Communication
How to Extend the Lifetime of your Equipment
Enabling Engineering Efficiency in Industrial Control System Design
Digitalization: A Practical Guide
The Automotive Industry in 2023
Test, Prove, and Troubleshoot Your Critical Control System Ethernet Cables and Ethernet Networks

Manufacturing In America Exhibitors

The exhibitors listed below are some of who will be in attendance:

Manufacturing In America Networking Reception

From 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday, attendees are invited to the West Atrium for the annual networking reception, which Rittal and EPLAN sponsor. This event features live music from Acoustic Madness and is sponsored by Intec Automated. Event guests are welcome to beverages and hors d'oeuvres.

Manufacturing In America Tech Zone

Take advantage of this exclusive, hands-on opportunity to experience how the Siemens Digital Enterprise compliments Modernization for Smart Manufacturing. Featuring the following products including:

AR & VR for the Digital Twin
Circuit Protection & Controls
Connectivity with Legacy Networks
Digital Connectivity and Power
New Way of Motion
SINAMICS G115D: Distributed Drive System for Horizontal Motion Control Applications
SINAMICS G120: The Modular Drive. Energy Efficient. Safe. Rugged.
SINAMICS G120X: VFD for Pumps, Fans, and Compressors
SINAMICS S120
SITRAIN®: Discover the Future of Learning Options
Smart Manufacturing Demonstrator
TIA University Workshops
Virtual Training Solutions

Manufacturing In America Registration

If being a part of this small manufacturing community sounds interesting to you, register for this free event below:

Sources: Michigan Economic Development Corporation , Manufacturing In America

Jordan Humphreys | JMH Talent Solutions

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:50:12 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Jordan Humphreys Episode 8

In this episode, we talk with the owner of JMH Talent Solutions , Jordan Humphreys. We discussed recruiting in the automation industry and how he built his automation recruiting business. He talks about how the current economy is shaping the job market for automation professionals, and he talks about the benefits of being a small business owner.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, I'm Keegan, I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to talk with Jordan Humphreys. He's the owner of JMH Talent Solutions. We're going to talk about the current job market as an automation engineer. We're going to talk a little bit about using a recruiter, we're going to also talk about how he built his business, as well as the work-life balance as a business owner. Now, let's go talk automation!

KD : Hi, and welcome to today's episode. I'm here with Jordan Humphreys. He's the owner of JMH Talent Solutions. Jordan, welcome to the show today.

Jordan Humphreys – Guest (JH) : Well, thank you very much, Keegan, for having me. It's a pleasure. And I'm humbled to be on your podcast.

Jordan Humphreys Recruiting Background:

KD : Awesome. Appreciate it. And then let's just go ahead and start from the beginning here. How'd you get to get started in your career?

JH : Well, that's a great story. Um, I didn't really know what I wanted to do for a career. You know, I coming out of high school, I didn't want to go to college, there wasn't anything to really learn, or trade or skill, I just wanted to get out into the workforce start being independent. You know, my own apartment, my own house kind of thing.

So got out there was an automotive for a while, went into health care, thought I might do something there. But I really just kind of ran into a didn't know what I was doing. Didn't know where to go. I knew I liked people. I had some, you know, a lot of experience in different stuff. But I knew I needed to change, it wasn't going to be in health care anymore. I was married, starting to have a kid, you know, really need to focus.

So like everybody else that gets into recruitment, you don't look to get into recruitment, you fall into it, right? You just somehow you wake up and your recruiter, you don't know how you got there. You don't know when it'll end. But let's, let's try to make the best of it. So I got in and it was actually a family friend. My mom had did a little bit of recruiting. So she knew a little bit about a family friend, was a practice leader at a large firm here in Indy. She was building up a team. My mom had said something to her that, you know, I was looking for something new. So she said, Hey, would you be interested in joining us, you know, as a sorcerer.

So I joined as a sorcerer, which is basically someone that helps out recruiters, I'll go out with the job descriptions, find candidates that looked like they'd fit the job and set up a phone meeting with the recruiter to kind of help them out. So I started there in 2015, I was doing a lot of engineering, life sciences. That type of work. It was interesting enough, my first job req that I got put on, went into a room with a recruiter, they were going to start telling me about it. And he said, “Do you know what a PLC is?” And I just looked at him like he had three eyes and said, “I had no idea.” He kind of gave me the old eye roll. And you know, that was my introduction into recruiting engineering, and automation.

So I got to do a little bit of that I found out that I wanted to be a recruiter I did like this industry. I like talking with people getting to know them trying to help them out. So it kind of came natural, as I you know, learned the process of what it is to be recruiter. There weren't any opportunities to become a recruiter currently where I was. So I went outside and looked for those opportunities, joined back into healthcare recruiting there for a while. That contract was let go. So, I was let go. Tried it in tech at another major firm, a national firm, and Indy was there for six months, and then they shut down that office, it wasn't doing very well. So, I was kind of thrown around the wringer a little bit with these big box stores. And you know, business wasn't working out, we gotta let you go, Oh, our contract ended. So we gotta let you go. Gotta shut down the office. So, a little bit of that independent streak, you know, owning my own business kind of started there.

But in 2018, I was hired at a small boutique firm. They just had one person, and they were at an automation and controls practice. And I was looking for a job. They wanted to beef up that practice. I had a little bit of experience. So, it made sense. And that's where I really initially, I would say, got started in automation and controls or the niche of industrial automation across the US. So, I was there for a little over a year, about 14 months, really learned, learned a lot there the ins and outs. Although it wasn't all that success, we didn't make as many placements as we wanted to however, I knew I wanted to be in this industry.

There was another startup that had gathered my garnered my attention, we were in talks, I thought it would be a really good fit. I was there for about four months, and it was just wasn't a good fit for me or the company. And then that's when I made the decision in November of 2019, to open up JMH Talent Solutions. Basically, I knew I had learned what it would take to open up my own firm. What it would take to start soliciting business, getting a contract together, and then I got the confidence to do it, and have any clients and I just said, let's, let's go for it. Right. That's kind of the genesis of how I got into this industry.

A recruiter learning about industrial automation.

KD : Yeah, that's, that's great. And then, you know, I guess, for owning your own business like that and jumping out on your own, that's definitely an awesome thing to do. Is there? Is there something that really kind of put you over the edge that said, “Hey, I, you know, this is the one thing that I like, this is my specialty?” You know you said you didn't know about PLC stuff? Did you have to learn that to then be able to talk to some of these recruits, and these businesses?

JH : Yeah, absolutely. I had a little bit of knowledge, right. But nowhere near when I started back in 2018. Going back into automation and controls. I wasn't a good recruiter, I, you know, I didn't know what I needed to know. But the key I think, for me was, I knew what I didn't know. And I knew that I needed to know more. So, I really started to foster LinkedIn, I really started to leverage LinkedIn, and making connections, how I hadn't done previous years in recruiting, and making connections all throughout the US and automation controls, whether you're a controls engineer, automation engineer, a technician, a salesperson, MES, you know, custom software, OT IT, right, anything in that niche, I was connecting with you. So, I built my network to be focused on industrial automation and controls, I didn't accept or look for connections outside of my niche.

KD : Very smart. Very smart, become good at one thing and attack it.

JH : Yes, yes. So, I knew that I needed to make connections and not just say, “Hey, I'm Jordan, I work for so and so I see you have an opening, you know, would you like for me to tackle that?” I started with, you know, managers, and I just asked them about PLC different programs, right? What's an AOI? What's a UDT? Ladder logic? I don't understand what do you mean ladder logic, function blocks, structured text, right? I didn't know these things, traveling, commissioning, you know, the overall project lifecycle of a controls engineer or automation.

So, I knew and basically if I called you in the beginning, I would say, you know, “Can you can you program a PLC from scratch?” Right? That was my go-to question. And if you said, “Yes,” I took your word for it. And then went to the customer and said, “Yeah, he can program from scratch, take a look,” right. But I knew I needed to foster connections and relationships. So that's how I kind of started just reaching out and not saying, “Hey, can I recruit for you,” but “I saw your posts the other day, or I saw a video, I was interested in this I'm trying to learn.” And I got great feedback from that. Because here's a recruiter that's not asking you for business, right? They were just asking you like, an actual technical question. And they don't get that a lot.

So that opened up a whole new world, for me to try and learn. And of course, you know, if I was interviewing any controls, or automation people I'd asked them to, and just over the years of having conversations, asking questions, being naturally curious, it's added a lot to my profile and knowledge. I'm still a recruiter, I'm not an engineer. So, if you opened up, you know, Rockwell RS Logix 5000 and said, “Here, start a program with ladder logic.” You know, like, I know what ladder logic is, but I can't write you a program.

Developing industrial automation clients.

KD : Yeah, me neither. And that kind of leads into my next question, you know, and I don't know if you answered it already. But did, were you able to, you know, build business by having the clients and individual engineers reach out to you or it sounds like you actually kind of just went out and reached out to them, you know, so that's definitely a good and different strategy.

JH : Yeah, definitely, you know, reaching out and just asking them questions. Most of what I did, especially at the beginning, so excuse me. When I started with the boutique firm in Indy 2018, I was based I was just the recruiter, and my manager was the account manager, if you will, right. So, he did all of the outreach to clients, would talk to them, you know, business, what's the deal, the percentage and all that right. So, I wasn't necessarily soliciting business. And I think that helped.

When I connected with integration owners and managers, CEOs sometimes. And I would ask those questions, it would, it would open up a dialogue. And through that dialogue, I would just keep being curious and asking them, and then they would come around and be like, “You know what, Jordan, you're kind of different from other people and other recruiters. I really appreciate that. And actually, we've got an opening coming up, I'd like to use you.” Right. So, then people were coming to me and asking me and I yeah, of course, let's do it. And, but not to say that I haven't done a typical, you know, cold calls, typical business outreach, I've done that, too. If you're good at that, that's, that's an effective way to get business as well.

Jordan's automation recruiting specialty.

KD : Yeah, and then so that is that your specific specialty, you know, only automation engineers, only controls engineers, that basically only who you deal with now, then?

JH : No so I've gone into you know, OT IT was part of the convergence, you know, a few years ago, and you know now, we call technically anything OT - Operational Technology - is anything in that manufacturing or plant floor, that is technology, right, and it helps you operate, so PLCs are OT, whereas when I first, you know, first got into OT was basically let's bring IT on to the plant floor. Right. But now that's, that's kind of matured. So, I do you know, some cyber sec, OT IT those kinds of things, Networking, SCADA, MES, MOM Solutions, Custom Software Integration. You know, so if you're looking at the like, the is, I think it's the, what is it? The, the N95 structure, the level one through five, you know, all the way from the, from the edge to the ERP. I tried to do every one of those except for kind of the ERP. So yeah.

Industrial Automation Recruiting Focus:

KD : Good to know. And then, is there a certain area that you're focused in? You know, I know you're in the Indianapolis area? Is that your major focus area? Are you going to all over the country?

JH : All over the country! Is actually it's kind of funny. For the first year, I didn't do any business in Indiana. I knew people and everything but just didn't do it. I was starting in Texas. I was in Kentucky. I was in California. I'm in Boston. I'm in Florida. I’m in Georgia. North Dakota, Seattle, the Pacific Northwest. Yeah, I mean, you, you name it.

KD : You’re everywhere.

JH : Yeah. All over the US. And one of the big facilitators for that was I had; I still do have a great client that started a remote workforce before COVID. So that really opened up my avenues, right? I didn't have to focus on a certain location. You could be from anywhere in the US and work for this client. Right. So that really helped me to get connections in different areas where I didn't necessarily have a business, but could make it and now I've met, you know, kind of planted those seeds and started to sprout business in those areas as well.

The Automation Job Market:

KD : Yeah, that's, that's awesome, that, that you kind of already had some experience kind of in this realm. And that kind of leads into my next question I wanted to talk about was, especially with all the, you know, a lot of people losing jobs in the last year and a half, two years stretch here. You know, have you seen an influx of, you know, engineers looking for new places to work and, you know, with that remote option, you know, that's now so readily available through all these different companies? Have you seen some, you know, an influx, I guess, in your recruiting?

JH : So 2018 is when I really got into automation and controls and on the scene every year, and obviously this is 2023. So, five years every year is ramped up a little bit more, right? We need more automation talent. We need more personnel. We need more people getting into this field, we need more outreach at a younger age, right, we need to get into the high schools to start showing off some technology. But as far as layoffs, I think that's a great question, especially right now he's seen all the big tech layoffs.

Controls and automation, and industrial automation as a whole is not seeing that. Where we are seeing it is and this isn't much of a secret to anybody, like 2018, especially 2019. I think there was a report that came out, you know, we're going to the industry is going to double in size by this year. So, the last several years, we've had tons of money poured in, you know, new startups, let's prove a new concept with robotics or AI or machine learning, whatever it is, tons of money have come in. And when it comes in that, you know, you, they're looking for growth, right? I gave you this money to start a company, you've got five people. And by this time next year, I want to see 20 people here or 50 people, right, I want to see growth. I want to see more, more clients.

But now with the economy, and the recession that we have been in everything, they the money at the top has switched from growth to profit. I want to see that you're making a profit now because we're having to tighten our belts. So that's why you've seen a lot of people, you know, Microsoft, Google, they've laid off a lot. They over-hired, right, and then just found out we don't need this many people. We’ve got to tighten our belts a little bit.

But industrial automation, I've seen it in some of these startups, you know, some really custom stuff. Language or not languages, but custom automation and software, robotics, you know, trying to prove out some concepts, if you will, and they haven't been able to, and they've shut down. Right? There's been some others, where’s another. I think it was an EV company that was starting to let off people. There was a new startup I saw in Austin that was letting people go. So, you're seeing the some of those startups that were hard to really turn a profit. They're like, Yeah, we just don't have any more money to give you and some of those have been laid off.

But as industrial automation as a whole, especially controls, automation, engineers, no, no, no, no, we're not laying those off. Even our end users, system integrators, we're still looking to hire, right? So, for the future, for the foreseeable future, short term, it's kind of its kind of layoff proof, right? There's so much demand, there's so much money in here, it's being spent, and you know, robotic robot sales last year, and even the year and year and a half has been crazy. And now you're gonna start to see where's all the implementation people to put this in? Right? I bought the robot, and I need somebody to come in here and install it, run it through its programs dumped the program in it, but where are they?

Automation Clients:

KD : Yeah, that's a good. And, you know, I've seen it through my business as well, just finding people's extremely difficult right now. But I do want to ask you, though, you know, kind of a one-man show, how many, you know, people do you have, and clients? How many are you working with currently? You know, you can't obviously have all I would assume, you know, you have to, you know, kind of limit your clientele and limit the engineers. So, how many, currently, do you usually work with?

JH : Great question. And, you know, starting out my business, and I didn't have any clients and not a lot of money, it's like, hey, I need clients, I need them now. And going out and finding as many as you can, right? Just, if you're going to be a client, I'll work with you. Let's, let's make some money. Let's make placements. I got a business here to start, right. So, I was going after a lot. You know, as far as business development, whether it be cold calls, whether it be LinkedIn, right, trying to get that, and I would say, I'm a little over three years now, I would say, and this is off the top of my head, I'd have to look probably around 20 to 23 overall clients. And now that's in a bucket of their clients. They've used me once before, but haven't come back yet. Maybe they will in the future. And clients that are returning when I do maybe three to five placements a year. Right, right. So, some clients, I have one, they just needed one, they only needed one and they might not need another one for a couple of years.

KD : Hopefully to play some good with a good person. They don't need anybody to replace them. Right?

JH : Yeah, that too, right. But one thing I did kind of jump off that Keegan is the 80/20 principle. I've heard it in different ways. But I saw a post. I want to say it was in the late third quarter, early fourth quarter of last year. And it was the 80/20 principle of clients, right 80% of your work and business is going to come from 20% of your clients. And this guy was saying you know I think he worked for Salesforce. But he was in the beginning going out client after client just signing them up. And then before he knew it, he had all these clients and they weren't that that did you know you didn't know if they were good? You didn't know If they were going to, you know, have a lot of headaches. And before he knew it, he was just putting out fire after fire and not doing a lot of business.

So he went and looked at the top 20% of his clients, right, that were spending money, that were good clients, you could help him out. And he just focused on them. Right? And then you're able to go deeper with your 80%. When you focus on that 20% of clients. So, I have been trying to integrate that into my business, right? I am a one-man band, I opened up my shop so that I would be able to support my family. That was my number one reason, it wasn't to get seed money, grow the business in 10 years, you know, have an exit strategy 10 years down, and become a multimillionaire, you know, to build a business like that. It just is. Maybe it'll morph into that in the future, I don't know. But right now, I opened this so that I can feed my family, and do well help and help the automation industry and my clients.

So far, I've been able to do that. And it's worked out great. But I am trying to integrate more of that. Maybe four to five clients, six, and I go deep with them, right? I'm able to anticipate needs, I'm able to move into other positions of help not just automation or controls. I know your company inside. And now I can really recruit people when I know you inside. And now I can really pitch it a lot better. So, as I said, I've tried to integrate that and started to have some pretty good success with it. But that's where I would like to move it you know that four to six clients, I know them real well. And I keep doing repeat business with them.

KD : And just keep crushing it.

JH : Yeah. Yeah, that would be the goal.

Automation Recruiting Likes:

KD : That's a great, great strategy. And yeah, 80/20, it's a great book. I've read it last year, I think is what it was for. But I guess one of the other questions, I always love to ask people, there's a reason you're in this industry, what are some of the likes that you do like about the recruiting and this whole side of the industrial automation industry?

JH : Yeah, so like I said, with recruiting, you know, it's kind of natural, just in the way that I like to talk with people have conversations get to know him develop a relationship, recruiting was a fit for me. But I was bouncing around a lot, you know, as I as I said, and then when I came back to automation and controls in 2018, it was just the right time. Automation and controls was blowing up, still is. And it's kind of like the wild, wild west, you know, there's a lot of money. There's a lot of new companies, there's a lot of new ideas, we're building the infrastructure for this, for this industry. And for it to come. Technology isn't going anywhere, right.

So, we've got a lot of factories, we've got a lot of plants that have produced a lot of goods for a long time. But some of that has gone overseas, and what has remained here hasn't really been updated by technology. You know, you can still see the old software and hardware and these plants, you know, run Slick 500s, PLC-5s, you know, Modicon stuff. And it's really interesting to go in there and say, hey, “you know, you're producing this, but you're not getting all the juice, you're not squeezing all the juice out of the orange,” so to speak. And through technology we can, you can improve your processes to where we can eliminate waste. And at the end of the day, you're getting more juice squeezed out of that orange, right?

We're leveraging technology so you can make more money. And that's just a big boom. Right now. It's a boomtown industrial automation. So, everything's going on at once everybody's trying to figure out their niche, how they can, you know, make their impact felt in this industry. So, it's new. It's exciting. We're, we're building for the future. We're building the foundation right now. So that part of it is absolutely exhilarating.

Advice For Engineers:

KD : Yeah, absolutely. And then what I mean, what would advice would you give to somebody say they're thinking about, you know, going into a new position, looking for a recruiter like yourself, you know, what's some advice that you would give to them? And that aspect of it?

JH : As far as I just want to be clear on your question, what advice would I give to somebody in automation controls that's looking for a new job?

KD : Say maybe they're looking to jump to a new place and they don't know. Right? And I think that's what I would do. I would reach out to a recruiter and say, “Hey, I'm thinking about something new.” The job change, location change. You know, maybe my motivation is money, who knows? But you know what, you know, what advice would you give to somebody who maybe is kind of on the edge right now? They've been working where they've been at for a few years and they said that, “you know, maybe it's time for a move?” Do I reach out to a recruiter? Or do I just go online and post my job on, you know, something like, Indeed? Or, you know, what's what advice would you kind of give them?

JH : Yeah, good question. So, I come across this, there's, there's people I talked to that are prepared. They've been looking at it, they've been looking at maybe moving for a year. So, what's going on in the industry? Which companies would be a good fit for those kinds of things? Right? What am I making? What's the market allowing? They know if they want to relocate, or if they don't want to relocate? They know if they want to travel? How much right? They kind of know what they're going into. And then the other half is, you know, I've been here for five years. My resume is five years old, I haven't touched it. I don't know what's going on in the world. I've been so busy here. What do I do? Right?

So I would always recommend if you're getting ready to change jobs, it's, it's if you have a good recruiter, that's the person to reach out to. And that's, that's what I try to be right I want to be that information board, you can jump off of, “Hey, Jordan, this is what I'm thinking about.” And even if I can't help you place you like make money and help you, I want to still help you to find that good, jump for your career, right to maximize that jump. And right now, if you're looking to make a move and automation and controls, it's a candidates market. So, you need to know that going in, you are in need, right? So that changes a lot of things psychologically, and mentally when you're looking at a job. If you're the one that's in need. If you're the one in demand, you have more power at the table, right? You can ask those questions. You can do your homework, you can really interview. That way, you know, everything that you can know, to make a decision on whether or not that's a good opportunity for you.

And a lot of times, you know, I'll sit down and I just do no matter who you are just kind of like, “Hey, give me a quick breakdown of you, Keegan, what have you done? What have you enjoyed? Why are you leaving your current company? What kind of company would intrigue you? What are your thoughts on travel? What are your thoughts on this?” So that way I can have you, Keegan, just kind of tell me in your own words. You know, this is what I'm looking for. And then match that up with the company that I think would offer?

But the problem there Keegan is recruiters and everybody kind of knows this. They get a bad rap. And for good reason. There's a lot of bad recruiters out there. And if you reach out to the wrong one, they're gonna give you horrible advice. And they'll always no matter what you say, what kind of job you want, whatever job they have available is the one that's for you, right? “Oh, well, you'll love this job. It's you know, it's 50%. travel?” Well, I said I didn't want any travel. “Oh, that's no big deal. It pays 90.” Well, I'm making 105. Now. “Oh, you know, you'll like it.” No, that's, you know, that's the problem. So, when I said when I first started your question to find a good recruiter, one that will be honest with you tell you what's going on in the market? What skills are in need? What's in demand? So that way, you can make the best decision for yourself.

Engineer Salary Expectations:

KD : Yeah, absolutely. And then, I guess, if I can ask, you know, what kind of rates or percentages are people seeing when they are making some of these moves right now? Because it is you said it is? It's their market right now? Are you seeing some, you know, 10, 15, 20% jumps in salaries? You know, as people are moving currently. Because I know a lot of people are kind of jumping around right now even for, you know, from an hourly standpoint for a few bucks an hour or more for different companies.

JH : Yeah. You see, you see some of that. And normally everything that I've hired, there's usually a 10 to 15% I would say, you know, increase. Sometimes it's lateral, depending on you know, some different things. And sometimes it's a lot more. And that really depends on, like, we started off with the startups, right? They had a bear flush with VC cash and they could overpay you great stock options, great bonuses, great salary. Now, a year and a half later, I gotta let you go. Right? And it's like you so you got to weigh these things. It's a startup, they're gonna pay you great. But you might not be there in a year, a year and a half, two years, it might go under. So that's where we really got to, you know, what are you what's really itching you?

KD : What's the reason why you want to move, right? Is it the work-life balance? Is it the salary? Is that the job itself? Are you need something more challenging? Yeah, yeah, that makes total sense. And then I one thing I do want to ask you, you know, somebody in your position if somebody wants to become a recruiter like yourself, what would you suggest that they do to get in to like your shoes like yourself?

JH : So, we've got probably four to six different people just like me that are independent and focused on the niche of automation and controls that I know of across the US, right? The first thing is know that you want to know that recruiting is something you want to do for a career, whether you're working for somebody else, or you're going to open up your own shop, right? Have that skill ready to go. Have it well exercised. You've made placements, I've worked for a corporate company for five years, 10 years, whatever, I've got a good base knowledge of recruiting and how to do it.

And then the other thing, you know, to start your own company, it's really easy. It's, you know, a couple 100 bucks, you make an LLC, right? And then you, you know, you're you've got some options, as far as, you know, my company insurance, you know, am I gonna have an ATS or not? Am I going to have job boards? Am I just going to use LinkedIn? Sure, there's some questions around there. But those aren't, too. Those aren't too bad. Those aren't, you know, real critical. But basically, just have enough confidence in yourself. And know that you can go out there. There's tons of people that will give you a shot. I mean, there's people that need, you know, that need help. You can get people to say, Yes, get people to sign your contract, you just gotta go out and find the talent for them, and then they'll pay you.

Yeah. So opening my own business and the experience that I've had, I would definitely tell everybody, try it out. Right? Even if it's a side gig, you know, opening up your own business, just be an entrepreneur, see, if it's for you, a lot of people, “Oh, I don't want to do it.” That's fine. You tried, you learned, but there's other people. And maybe they never tried it. And that's sad. Because being an entrepreneur, if you can do it, and you have the DNA for it. Oh, it's so worth it. It is so worth it.

That was one of my biggest things, right? Why I wanted to start my own business was, I didn't like how the sausage was made in a corporate setting. How clients, how candidates were treated, you know, money sometimes was a factor. And I didn't like that. At the end of the day, I wanted to help a company make a good hire and a candidate get a good job. Right. So just focused on that. And I wanted to be personable, I wanted to be relatable. When I started my, my company, I had JMHtalentsolutions@gmail.com. And I still have that today I thought about getting rid of, but I said you know what, and I still use it with clients, I want them to see that @gmail.com because you're dealing with a business owner, you're dealing with somebody that has a family and it's trying to pay for to keep a roof and keep them fed, right? I want to do business with you. We don't have to get lawyers involved or anything. What's the problem? Tell me, let's find a solution. Right? You don't have that flexibility in corporate America, owning your own business you do and people definitely appreciate it. And that's one of the best things that I love about it, and having the freedom to be my own boss. Work life balance, it's great, you get to make that choice. If you want to go out and work 80 hours a week and build a huge business, you can go out there and do that. If you want to work 20 to 30 hours a week and make a decent living and have a lot of balance in the life aspect you can do that. So those are those are a few of the reasons that I would encourage anybody to start their own business.

Work/Life Balance As A Business Owner:

KD : And that literally was my next question. You know, the work life balance, you know, being a, you know, a business owner, you know, what's that look like to you, you know, just having that flexibility to, to put in your 80 hour weeks, then to turn around and say out this week, it's gonna be a slow week for me, I can spend more time with my friends, family, etc. You know, just kind of get given that opportunity.

JH : That's, that's awesome. And that's been the biggest driver for me in the last three years. You know, doing like you said, I really poured it in this week, I may have had a really good month. I'm gonna take my family and I'm gonna go see my dad down in Florida for a week. Right? I don't have to get vacation approved. And, and if I'm down in Florida for four days, and it's time to come back, and I say “you know what, we're enjoying it. Let's say a couple more.” I can. Yeah, that's, that's a great thing about running this type of type of businesses. You can truly be remote.

Work With Jordan Humphreys:

KD : Yeah, no, exactly. And then also before we wrap up here, you know, where can people reach you? Where can they connect with you? You know, how do they get in touch with you.

JH : So right now, I am LinkedIn focused. And I have been since I opened, I do pretty much everything off of LinkedIn. So again, go on LinkedIn, just Jordan Humphreys connect with me, send me a DM, whatever. I'm open for conversations. Real easy to get a hold of me. I'll give you my cell phone. You can text me call me nights, days, weekends, whatever, right?

So that's what I do now, web in the future. I'm considering a website. But I don't want to. I don't want to just have a website for website’s sake and do everything like everybody else. If I create a website, I would, I want it to be truly unique and be a reason like people like “hey, you need to go to Jordan's website,” right? And go check out how he's delivering content or whatever. So that is something that I'm considering in the future.

KD : Yeah, cool. Well, good for you. And best of luck in that, and I'm sure if you do decide, it'll be great. So, Jordan, thanks for being here with us today. And, and everybody that watched We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you liked it, give us a like and comment and share. And we hope that you join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks.

JH : Thank you, Keegan.

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Kaleb Travis | TNT Automation

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 03:06:23 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Kaleb Travis | Episode 7

In this episode, we talk with the CEO of TNT Automation , Kaleb Travis . He discusses how he became a self-employed automation engineer only five years ago. Listen to our conversation about starting a business, finding new clients, learning on the job, and building his social media.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, I'm your host of Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, we're going to be talking with Kaleb Travis. He's the CEO of TNT Automation. We're going to talk about how he got into automation. Some of the projects he's working on, work-life balance, and some of the lessons learned that he's had. Now let's go talk automation.

KD : All right, and welcome to the show. It's our first episode of the year in 2023. Here, I'm excited to have Kaleb Travis, he's the CEO of TNT Automation. Kaleb, welcome to the show.

Kaleb Travis – Guest (KT) : Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here.

KD : Yeah, I'm glad to have you. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Give everybody a little background about yourself?

KT : Yeah, I am a major misfit in the automation community. People always give me a hard time because they're like, you know, you sure are a redneck nerd. You know, this doesn't really fit. But no, man, I just, you know, most people know I'm self-employed, I work. It's just me. I'm not really tied to any industry. And I do a little bit of it all. I do lots of Rockwell, lots of Siemens. Some PLC next stuff, I'm starting to do a lot of code assist projects. But I'm also dangerous with a meter in my hand, I do a lot of medium voltage, low voltage work, so and now I'm actually officially breaking into the SCADA space. So first bit of hosting coming up, which I'm really excited about, and it might not just got my hands and a little bit of whatever's available. If a customer needs help, I'll put my hands on it, you know.

KD : The man does everything. That's great. So how did you get your start in automation? Did you get a degree? Did you do training? How'd you start?

KT : Yeah, actually, to be completely transparent with you. It was on accident. I was working on a drilling rig at first. And then when they stacked our rig out and sent it to South America, I decided I didn't want to go to South America. So I had gone to Panola College, which is a little community college here, and put no you know, in Carthage, and I was going for petroleum technology. The Director of the Energy Department was like this was, I think, the semester before I graduated, it's just an associate's degree, nothing, nothing crazy. He was like, “Hey, have you heard of ENI?” And I was like, “Well, what's that?” And so of course, that answered this question. He said, “Well, don't worry. It's a four-class difference, you should really take it before you graduate, and it’s like, an extra semester. I said, “Okay.” And so I did. And it was basics of PLC, motor control, some basic electrical and, like one other class. I mean, it wasn't much, you know. And this sounds crazy, but what got me was almost everybody failed the basics of PLC course. And that's really where my love of like, I knew, I was like, “Okay, we all almost failed this. Some special about this, you know?” So that's, that's kind of what got me on that path. And I had got offered an internship right out of college. But one of my questions was, “hey, you know, I've been working with these PLC things, I want to keep doing that.” They were like, “no, you have to have a master's in either electrical or mechanical or some type of engineering to program that.” My uncle at the time he was had been working for Shell for like 30 years. He said, “Look, that ain't right. You can find a company that will let you get your hands on” and he said, “anybody could be an instrument tech, anybody can calibrate an instrument. Check with a boat, man,” he said, “but it takes someone special to read some complex code from scratch.” I don't know, you know, in my eyes, he was such a big, big wig. That was what set me on fire. And that's kind of what led to this whole, I mean, it was all completely on accident. Really.

KD : Wow. That's great to see. And, and I and I liked the nonconventional way of getting there. Sure. It's really cool. You know, so you did mention you are self-employed? Can you tell us a little bit about that? How'd you get to that self-employment it sounds like you work somewhere else at first, you know, your first couple jobs, and jumped into it.

KT : Yeah, I've worked in the field got the past. Oh, man, this is bad to admit, but like really, the only past the past five years or so? I mean, I've only been in this field for maybe almost six years. Six and a half-ish years now. Okay. I worked for several people at first, it like we did programming, but it was more spec by the customer. We just made it site specific. We did new installs but never live sites so I got a ridiculous amount of experience doing that. And that's like where I honed my attention to detail attention to good install, wiring and cables all that. And then once I kind of maxed out there, I knew like, hey, I want to take this further. So I worked for some people for a while that were crazy. That took a chance to let me program from scratch and that was a whole nightmare. I mean, really, anybody from the San Antonio AWC team can attest to that because I think I was calling those guys on a daily basis having a panic attack, you know? So shout out to Matt Paulsen and Aaron Mooney they really taught me a lot and helped me out a trial by fire. I tried working at a plant for a while. I think I was there for a year great company, great people. It just maybe wasn't a fit for me. Because by that time I had started working for that plant. I was pretty deep in my automation knowledge and was pretty good at getting good at programming, you know, was pretty self-sufficient in programming. And I just I don't know, I'm too ADHD to do the same thing every day. And so did that. And then, man, it was really a God thing. Me and my wife. We've always been real good with money. We've been saving up you know, we had a nest egg and then right around that time the guy we had a nine-second Pontiac GA, it was a Hellcat killer. We were racing it pretty religiously. The guy bought it from had offered to buy it back for a significant amount more than we had purchased it for. And the moment that happened, customer X, who I can't say yet because this project is still ongoing in some ways. Josh Varghese at Traceroute had reached out to me said, Hey, I need a four week contract. It's not much but it would be enough to get you going. And so my wife and I, we sat down, we prayed about it. She was like seven months pregnant with this came up. Okay, so we sold the car. We took the money from the race car and the money we had saved up and gosh, she's, she's the real deal, because I went up to Ohio. And she had a pack like her and my dad and her mom and all them. They packed our whole house up in Lubbock. We were seven and a half hours from home, they moved her in my one and a half year old to her mom's house here in East Texas. And my four week contract ended up turning into a 10 week contract. So I was in Ohio for 10 weeks straight. And we just never, we just never turned back on it.

KD : Yeah. Good. Well, congrats. Can you tell me a little bit about your business? How'd you come up with the name that you have?

KT : Yeah, so actually, my first job in this field I did with my dad, and he doesn't have any automation experience, but he can do like, the man is insane. You know, he's the smartest person I know. He's very good with details, and he's a perfectionist. And so I figured there would be a timwhenre we might continue to do more jobs together. And so I was like, okay, my last name is Travis. And I thought, well, Travis and Travis. And that's really all it is Travis. TNT, and that just it stuff. You know, it first I had like this really cheesy logo and this horrible, cheesy Orefield slogan. It was like affordable rates, explosive process, and it was cheesy, but the customers loved it, you know, awesome. So I thought it was great. And then when I got out with some other customers, some other stuff I'd worked on. My wife was like, “Hey, you really got to drop the, the cheesiness.” And it's like, it's time to get serious, you know? And so that's kind of how that all came about.

KD : Well, good for you. Yeah, your website looks great. We'll have it posted on the, in the description. So if anybody wants to take a look at it, they can go check it out.

KT : Yeah, before y'all do that, I made that okay. And I'm clearly not a web designer. And I really need to update it. I have a lot of projects that aren't on there yet. I really need to get on there. But all the pictures on there are all from projects. That was one thing I wanted to do. I want every picture on there to be something I've had my hands in. So that is the one cool thing.

KD : And that's important. I think it really shows authenticity. And I think that's good that you're doing that. Yeah. And then what are some of the you know, your future goals as a you know, a self-employed business owner? You looking to grow? What's kind of what's kind of the plan?

KT : Yeah, actually, that's kind of like what my life has been concerned with lately, where we're at for a while I was thinking about hiring and going that route and growing but really, from what I'm experiencing and saying like, even if you're a larger integrator I know some great integrators are the best with the date like the headaches are just there. We don't have enough people in our industry that have the experience to make a large firm to me for what I do be worth the headache, so man, actually I'm subbing I'm doing a completely different route I sub some guys like Davide over at IOT, James Joy, Josh. Obviously some people I trust with my life that are just top notch you know tip of the spear top of guys can really do some crazy stuff and that way when we have bigger projects I know they're doing it it's a level I do it and their case sometimes better. Right? And I'm focused in my you know, I've always about I'm a go getter and I'm always trying to do the next thing so to grow that income I'm actually starting up like going to tax sales my wife's uncle he's on a tax sales and stuff they find these people that don't pay their taxes and sell property or land or whatever it is and I'm trying to get started some Airbnb is going, we've had rental property in the past, and we did really well on that. I don't know that I will Want the headache of full term? Renters again? So that's kind of what I like about the Airbnb, have a company service it out and just keep it rolling.

KD : Yeah, good for you diversify. That's key.

KT : Yeah, yeah, I'm just looking for different ways to get passive income without necessarily having employed people. And really, I think the hard thing for me is, I don't mind being like, there's times where I get stuck on something. And if I have to stay there, 18 hours straight to fix it, I'm gonna stay there 18 hours straight to fix it. And it's not really right to ask that of somebody else, you know, but my customers love that. Like, they love that service. So it's just, I don't know, maybe I'm stubborn, but I don't want to give up that quality aspect. I just not there. It's just not there about them when it takes. So maybe that'll change in the future. But for right now, I'm just focused on using a handful of people that are some of the top in the business and providing good solutions for our customers.

KD : Well, congratulations on that aspect of it. And he kind of touched on it there for a second. So I want to I want to hit this. So who are some of your clients that you're working with?

KT : Ah, well, okay, I can't I can't say current names. There's a couple of reasons for that. But I'll tell you the, the industries, you know, and it's, obviously I have my normal oil and gas. I can say this that. I'm not gonna say the name. But a lot of you people that were following me last summer, I was posting very heavily I wrote the code for and commission and I'm still working on the second largest grass cleaning facility in the nation. As matter of fact, the phase we did last year is the only facility in the nation that was there cleaning Kentucky Bluegrass, it 98% Purity at 25,000 pounds per hour. You know when that when the season started up, they were having like 50 18 wheelers, a day show up and dump are all seed on the ground straight from the fields. And we will just send it as fast as we can. So that guy keeps me busy year-round, we're always growing and always add, he's got several different lines, and then my oild and gas customers. I just picked up a really big PIO and the food and beverage industry, that's gonna be a game changer. That's the first time a customer has ever cut me loose and said, “Hey, we want you to architect it from scratch.” So everybody knows availability and products is an issue right now, you know, so I'm not your typical Rockwell house, I do obviously do a lot of Rockwell will work. But I tried to base my solution based on what fits the customer best. So we were able to build out a solution where every single part of the solution is available. There's backups on the shelf, there's no backorder on any of it all open source very secure. And it basically is built in a way where the customers ability to scale is limitless, you know, they can take it as little as they want or as large as they want. I'm, I'm really excited about that. There'll be a lot of posting going around that.

KD : Yeah, looking forward. Looking forward to seeing that. And then on that note, you know, you've kind of been talking about these things, but what are some of the likes that you enjoy about being in this automation industry?

KT: Man, I really, my wife will attest this because when I get on something, I'm stuck. Like if I if I get something and I can't get it to go my way, like the way it's supposed to go, I won't leave it alone until it's right, you know, and that kind of translates over into the field. My customers love it. Because it doesn't matter what time of night or day it is, if I'm on it, we're on it. But religious, I love problem solving. When I first started into this, and old man had said, you know him and his wife were actually in the field. And he said, “When we learn how to troubleshoot the right way. Start thinking like the troubleshooting thought process translated to every aspect of their life.” And I didn't really know what he meant back then. But I see that now. Like, doesn't matter if I'm working on a system or my kids bicycle, right? Like if someone's not it's, it's instantaneous to the methodical thought process and I just enjoy it, man. I like tearing problems apart and finding solutions for them. I like diversity. I haven't been on a project yet. It's the same. You know, every single project I get on is different. I really like that, because I'm so high-strung and add. I get bored. He's rad. So, like the fact that they're all different.

KD : I think I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you is where they like to see the different projects. And that's the one thing about you know, contracting, being self-employed that you do see a lot is different applications, different customers, unique projects. No project is the same. So, I think that's something that everyone in this industry really does enjoy. I know I do myself, on that. What about some something you don't like? What about the industry? You know, what do you think we could improve on? Yeah, you know, what do you see?

KT : Man, there's a lot of the deal with this a lot and I used to hate it. Now, I actually look forward to it because I know once I show him like we're the real deal. They always end up it changes things but like just being stuck. There's a lot of people stuck in their ways in this and like especially not calling and older people out and I get where they're coming from, because I see a lot of young kids coming in, they don't know what they're doing. But there are times where I'm on a project where the customers held up because their normal guys way older and he doesn't want some young kid telling him how to do different. And then days go by and time is wasted. Finally, the customer breaks and says, “Here, try it your way.” We do it and it works. And they're like, “Whoa, dang, we just wasted four days,” you know, and we got to get past that. You know, I mean, if you look at like software development side of things, compared to like, specifically PLC code, we're so far behind with, you know, version control, source control all that it's just commenting, you know, it's all it's all way behind. We're stuck in a typical way of doing things. And I think, is bad as it sounds like as bad as availability. And all this craziness we're seeing as I think it's really starting to blow people's eyes open, because they're having a try different solutions they normally wouldn't try. And for guys like me that quote a lot off the wall stuff, that's great. But they're saying like, hey, we don't have to spend, you know, seven grand, well, we had this conversation today, we were looking at, I'm not gonna say their name, but y'all know, they are one of the major players, one of my customers has their their processor, and it wouldn't do a long reel. And this is a $7,000 controller. So we had to do a calculation that works with the precision of the floating point to make it keep going and blah, blah, blah, I'm not going to get into all that right now. But there is a processor on par with it for Siemens, for a 10th of the cost that would have done it. You know, it's just crazy that we're in that industry where a $1,400 controller can do to $7,000 controller do and people are still buying the $7,000 controller, because it's what the rest of the whoever's using, you know, it just drives me crazy.

KD : Well, and I think that's part of the thing, too, is getting some of these customers up to speed with the current latest and greatest. And I'm sure you've seen, especially on the industrial side, some of the stuff, you know, they're everything's outdated and, you know, maybe they aren't using the newest technologies. Yeah, you know, I'm sure you're seeing a bunch of that as well.

KT : Yeah, I was at a customer shot the other day, I was quoting a retrofit, and they have a slick five. And it's still running, old reliable. But you know, but he said, another integrator had come out and said, like, “it would really inconvenience you if this thing went down.” And I was just like you know, like, really inconvenience is a slight way to to put that, you know. What's really gonna happen is you're gonna be down for months, if you're wanting to do it directly, just stuff like that, you know, I don't I don't know. I think there's so much of this secrecy crap. Everybody thinks they've got some proprietary going on. And people lose sight of like, it's really about what's important for the customers need, like people lose sight of that, like, let's focus on the solution needs to be based on what is best for the customer. And what is best for their situation. No, nothing else matters. You know, I think that's why a lot of vendors don't like me, but my customers love it. Because I'm not vendor, I'm not going to be vendor specific. Never have never will be. And a lot of people told me the beginning, like, oh, you can't do that you need to go get a vendor, and they'll feed you work, otherwise, you're gonna starve. And I can say for anybody out there that doesn't want to be vendor lock. That's not the case. If you're honest, do what’s right, you know, work hard, the rest comes.

KD : You're absolutely right. And good for you for sticking to your guns there. I want to touch on a little bit, because I know you're a workaholic. I myself am too. But how do you balance that with the rest of your life? I know you got a family as well. So how do you do the work life balance? What's that mean to you?

KT : Yeah, honestly, I think that's just a good thing that I'm naturahigh-strung. Because I get off work. And I'm still like, ready to go bang, bang, bang, you know, whatever we're doing with my wife and kids, you know, and I don't know that I always be that way. But I've been in that way my whole life. So I don't know. It never really feels like, I don't feel like we're sacrifices matter of fact, and my wife, she's the one that confirms this right she tells me all the time. Like, we have such a good thing go and like thank you for saying, you know, because sometimes I do worry about it. Like, am I too stuck on this? But I don't know just even the days I feel tired, I just suck it up. I'll feel tired and like slouching on the couch. And I just realized like, this is not their fault. You know, they need their time and I'm gonna suck it up. I'm gonna get off this couch. I'm a gonna do what, I need to do. Some people are always like worried about like, Man, you've been traveling. But yes, I travel. Like if I had to do the thing where I was gone for 10 weeks in a row again, that would that would really be not good right now. But I get these jobs all the time where I'm gone for three to four days or maybe a week at a time. That's great. Because like me and my wife have a chance to miss each other. If I was home all the time, I would drive her nuts. I'm way too high-strung. You know, my kids miss me. Dad's all the sudden the coolest thing on earth when I get home. It's just a good balance. I'll be home for a long time working. And then I think that it almost just it really is a good ecosystem because by the time I'm starting to get burnout, working from my office every day I'm out of town for a few days, and then I'm ready to be back home. And just having that balance helps. So I don't know, I don't. I think that's another reason I don't really want to bring on employees. Because if I brought on employees, then I think I would have to, I would have to focus so hard on what's going on over here, I'd have to sacrifice here. And at this point, man, since I haven't been sacrificing and had a good taste of this balance, I won't give it up. We invest heavily in our retirement account. We have other avenues. We, we do a lot, we’re grinders, you know, my wife owns a business too. I wouldn't sacrifice the time I have with them right now for nothing.

KD : Good. Well, you know, congratulations for your wife to that's, that's great. Yeah, it sounds like you both are very self-motivated people. So it's awesome to see in a power couple like that. So congratulations there.

KT : I want to give her credit on that, like just in case this help somebody out. Here's, yeah, if you're gonna do this, if you're venturing out and you're married, or if you're not, and you're thinking about getting married, you know, you need someone that's on board because like, like I said earlier, when we moved and I quit my job, my wife was eight months pregnant. Okay, I'm not a bath person, like I take showers. But like, I can remember a two-week period, where I would crawl in her bathtub at 12 in the morning, because I was so anxious, I couldn't sleep and just sit hot water for hours. That sounds weird. But like I was so anxious about what we were doing. And so nervous, it was eating me alive, and she never, I don't know, it's like she never skipped a beat. She just had that trust. She always had faith when I was like that myself, she would speak kind words, and I knew she meant it. So if she wouldn't have been supportive, like I wouldn't have done it, because you won't make it if your partner's not on board. It's just not going to it's too much. That first year and a half, which I'd like to touch on in a second is a monster. You know, really, because nobody really explains. You're not just solving automation problems anymore. I'm learning accounting. I'm learning tax code. I'm learning like invoicing, oh my god, I screwed up, my first invoice is so bad. And if I didn't have Josh, and the, you know, the product manager on the job we were on, he was aware they worked. They could, I could have screwed myself to death. And they didn't allow that to happen. And luckily, they were just great guys and helped me out. But I mean, dude, I had to learn all that, you know. And there's a lot that first that first year and a half is either going to make or break you. And that's all there is to it. I had a guy owed me a significant amount of money for 75 days. And he knew I had two kids at home. That nearly I think that's the closest I've been. There were days that that my heart was just gonna stop beating. Because we had just bought a house. I had my kids, we were home finally. And we were about to sink. I could see it. I could see the accounts coming down, you know, but luckily, we had been diligent with our money and had that money to float us and but I mean, it got scary low and that was hard. And now we're way past that, right? We've, we figured that out. I've learned it's okay to fire a customer if they're not gonna be a good customer. And I don't know, you just got to be good with money. Man. If you're gonna get into this, you have to be good with money. Yep, you can go blown it.

KD : Yep. Great, great point. And in on that. You're good with money. You're also good with social media. You know, how did you get such a great following here? What's the secret to your success? Do you think?

KT : Yeah, I don't know lots of prayers. Really. I mean, seriously, just in just sticking with it. I think a lot of people get on LinkedIn. And it's typical. Rather, connections are so boring. They don't post anything. And they think it's a dead end. Well, I felt the same way. I just started taking pictures of my posts, videos and my work and posts. Now there's, there's things here I don't really ever talk about, like, there's keys. I don't ever post a customer's name. I don't ever post details that could get me in trouble with the customer. You gotta be careful about but I found all my customers are my connections on Link. Everything I post my customer see, you know, and I've never had any backlash. I check with them, make sure it's okay. But a lot of them came to me from posts, they know what I'm doing. You know, they know I'm good at what I post but 99% I only have had one contract that I didn't get from LinkedIn. Literally. And I have worked for I can't name projects but you know, I've worked for Amazon, Nestle, some back woods Tesla stuff. Just some I can't name I really wish I could name you know, I was on a project with like three and a half miles of conveyor belts 1800 drafts 60 control panel, I mean, just monstrous where I haven't been able to post about any of that yet. But it's coming one day it's coming.

KD : Okay, looking forward to those posts as well. So, what are some of the lessons learned? It seems like in a short amount of time, you've got so much experience so many different customers, so many different types of projects. What are some lessons learned? Lessons learned that you've come away with?

KT : You just gotta be straightforward. I think that's the biggest thing. When I was when I first started out, it was really hard for me to mess something up and own up to it. Not that I didn't mind like being responsible, but like, Yeah, how did you get into the program and you're responsible for a lot more critical things than you are if you're just troubleshooting an instrument, right.

But I did like I remember one time I had to call my boss because I blew up somewhere. I had transmitters literally, like, you know, it was it was that we had been using the certain types of transmitter whips built in. And this was when I was really new, right and it we had swapped two different transmitter, but he didn't explain to me like, “hey, the transmitter is now in there to third party piece,” I just hooked it up to a half inch nipple and thought I was doing the right thing and sent it. And I'm walking away from the weldhead to the HMI and I’m hearing boom, boom, boom! You know, and I look back and these OleumTech pressure transmitters are blowing and gas, and you know, it was blown out. The truck driver was waving like, “Hey, shut the welding off.” And so, you know, obviously, that's a terrible phone call you don't ever want to have to make but I did I had to call my boss and say, “Hey,” I'm not gonna say what I had to say. I screwed up is a nice way to put it. But I did. And you know what? Obviously, that was an awkward moment. But it went so much better for me just being straight with him instead of trying to beat around the bush because there's no beat around the bush. Right?

KD : Yeah, just being honest.

KT: That's it. And the reason I bring that that point up is because I see a lot of customer downtime, that that stems from either their techs not being real with them, or their integrator doesn't want to tell them they did a mistake, right? Some stupid sometimes. But now we're costing the customer don't just be real. And don't think you're the smartest person in the room. It's okay to not be the smartest person in the room. Listen, keep your ears open. And I think the biggest thing that I really struggled with was, there were times I knew something wasn't right. Or in my head, I knew it. And I would keep my mouth shut or like try to say it, but not really try to say it. Because the people in the room were older than me and smarter than me and been doing this longer, and knew they didn't want to listen. Finally, I just started speaking up. And there were times you know, it was awkward a lot, they would look at you like yeah, whatever, whatever. But when it comes out, now they respect you, you know, now they're listening. And it really doesn't matter what your age is, what's your experience, if you know something's right, or if you know something's wrong, could be, you know, something's wrong, but you're the other people want to do it. Speak up and say something, you know, don't do something if you know in your heart like, “Hey, I know this is not right.” Don't do it.

KD : Yeah. Well, that great. And honestly, it my next question was some words of inspiration for somebody, you know, in your footsteps thinking about doing the controls engineering, getting into automation? What are some inspirational words, but I think you just kind of summed it up right there. I mean, you know, speak up, tell the truth. You know, be honest with your customers. If, if you see something that's wrong, say it, you know, so you kind of just touched on everything I was just gonna ask.

KT : Yeah, in really like, if you're getting into this game, like reading is great. But doing is better. Read a lot, you know, read what you learn it. But then like, try to put what you're wanting to do to like get, I mean, dude, you can go to get a Raspberry Pi now and download Code Assist to it like, you don't have to have a control logics or a Siemens or some sit on your desk, go get your Raspberry Pi, come up with a problem you want to solve, and try to solve it. You know, we have all these Modbus simulators and stuff like OPC simulator clients, you can download so many free tools and whatnot. And just try it, you have to do it for yourself. You get stuck, posted. I post stuff all the time. It's like “oof.” I remember when I first got on LinkedIn, I would post questions and be like, do I really want to post this people are gonna think I don't know what I'm talking about. But I posted it anyways. And the feedback was so much better than I thought people didn't treat me like that. They were willing to help and they were excited to help. And that's when it really started coming on from us. Okay, there's something to this platform here.

KD : Yeah. And it's such a great community. Like you said, you can reach out ask people questions, make connections, meet, meet new customers, you know, meet new business partners. It's a heck of a great platform. Before we end here, I guess where can everybody find you? LinkedIn obviously. Where can people reach out to contact you?

KT : Yeah, that's really the main one, right? I have my website, my email and all that stuff. So my LinkedIn bit of work, I try to keep my personal stuff out of my LinkedIn just because I have my whole personal life, right. I try to keep the two separate. So I mean, but dude I'll talk integration automation with anybody and they just hit me up on LinkedIn, you know, that's the best way to do it.

KD : Great. Well, thanks again for being on today's show. If you guys enjoyed the episode, please give us a like, a comment, and share. And we look forward to having you join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

KT : Yeah, I appreciate you having me on the show. Thank you enjoyed it.

KD : Thank you.

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Industrial Robot Trends in 2023

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 03:26:50 GMT

Top 5 Industrial Robot Trends In 2023

Robots are becoming more sophisticated and capable as robotic technology advances at an unprecedented rate. From manufacturing to healthcare, robots are being used in many industries to automate tasks, improve efficiency, and enhance productivity. With the year 2023 upon us, it's worth looking at the top 5 trends in robots that we can expect to see in the coming year.

These trends include advancements in artificial intelligence, the integration of robots in our daily lives, the rise of collaborative robots, the development of more affordable robots, and the continued expansion of the robotics market. Let's explore these exciting developments in more detail below.

1. Increase In Refurbished Robots

Refurbished industrial robots are becoming increasingly common as businesses seek more cost-effective ways to implement automation in their manufacturing processes. With rapid technological advancements, industrial robots are becoming obsolete faster than ever. Many companies find purchasing new robots prohibitively expensive compared to purchasing used industrial robots .

2. Reshoring Robot Manufacturing

In recent years, robot companies have been reshoring their production and manufacturing processes to the countries where they sell their products. This trend is driven by several factors, including rising labor costs in traditional manufacturing centers like China and a desire to be closer to customers and reduce shipping times and costs.

Reshoring allows companies to gain greater control over their supply chain and reduce their exposure to geopolitical risks, such as tariffs, trade disputes, and shortages. By producing robots in the same country where they are sold, companies can also tailor their products to the needs and preferences of local markets.

Reshoring can create jobs in the countries where the products are sold, providing economic benefits to local communities. In some cases, governments, like the United States, have incentivized robot companies to reshore their production through tax breaks or subsidies.

Despite the benefits of reshoring, there are still challenges that companies still need to work on finding skilled workers and investing in new manufacturing facilities. However, with the growing demand for robots and the increasing importance of supply chain resilience, we expect more companies to consider reshoring as a strategic option for their business.

3. Becoming More Energy Efficient

Amidst increasing energy costs, energy efficiency has become crucial in improving companies' competitiveness. One way to lower energy consumption in manufacturing is by adopting robotics, which can bring considerable energy savings compared to traditional assembly lines. Robots can work at high speeds, increasing production rates and making the manufacturing process more time- and energy-efficient.

Modern robots are designed to consume less energy, resulting in lower operating costs. Companies increasingly use industrial robots equipped with energy-saving technology to meet sustainability targets for their production. For instance, robot controls can now convert kinetic energy into electricity and feed it back into the power grid, significantly reducing the energy required to run a robot.

Being energy efficient means intelligent power-saving modes can control the robot's on-demand energy supply throughout the workday, reducing energy consumption. As a result, connected power sensors are becoming an industry standard for robotic solutions, allowing industrial facilities to monitor their energy consumption while using energy-efficient robots.

4. More Artificial Intelligence Features

We expect to see an increase in industrial robots using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve in various ways. One of the most significant areas of improvement will be robots' ability to learn and adapt to new situations. With advances in machine learning and deep learning algorithms, robots can process and analyze large amounts of data in real-time, making more informed decisions and improving performance.

AI will enable robots to work collaboratively with humans, a trend known as "cobotics." With AI-powered robots, companies can develop human-robot teams that combine the unique strengths of both humans and machines, improving productivity, efficiency, and safety.

Plus, another key area where AI will enhance robots is the development of environmental learning by robots. By integrating AI algorithms, robots can navigate and interact with their environment more effectively while increasing their awareness of preventative maintenance schedules to decrease potential downtime.

5. Ease Of Use

Robot programming has become easier in recent years due to technological advances and the development of more user-friendly programming interfaces. In the past, programming robots was a complex and time-consuming task that required specialized knowledge and skills. However, with more intuitive and user-friendly programming tools, even non-experts can now program robots.

User Interfaces: Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) allow programmers to control robots using drag-and-drop programming tools and pre-built libraries, making creating robot programs without extensive coding knowledge possible. Additionally, many of these tools provide real-time feedback and visualization, allowing programmers to identify and correct errors quickly.
Simulation Software: Simulation software allows programmers to test robot programs in a virtual environment before running them on an actual robot, reducing the risk of errors and improving programming efficiency. Some simulation software also includes pre-built models and libraries, further simplifying the programming process.
Cloud-Based Programming Platforms: This has made it easier for programmers to collaborate and share code. Cloud-based platforms provide easy access to programming tools and allow multiple users to work on the same code simultaneously, enabling faster and more efficient programming.

These advances in user interface technology and programming tools have made it easier for programmers to create and modify robot programs, reducing the time and resources required to implement and maintain robotic systems.

Industrial Robot Trends in 2023

In conclusion, 2023 promises to be a significant year for the robotics industry, with numerous advancements and innovations. From the use of AI to improve robot capabilities and human-robot collaboration to the increasing popularity of refurbished industrial robots and the trend of robot companies reshoring, these are just a few of the key trends shaping the future of robotics.

With an increased focus on energy efficiency and the development of more user-friendly programming tools, we can expect robots to become even more versatile, efficient, and accessible than ever before. As the robotics industry continues to grow and evolve, it will undoubtedly revolutionize various industrial sectors, making them safer, more efficient, and more productive.

Source: International Federation of Robotics .

James Truman | Advanced Robotic Solutions & Automation Trainers

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:08:45 GMT

Engineers in Automation - James Truman | Episode 6

In this episode, we talk with James Truman , the founder of Advanced Robotic Solutions & Automation Trainers . He talks about his experience in the industry and how he started his ARS in 2015, and his new venture with AAT in 2022. Listen to him talk about how he is focused on growing the automation industry through extensive training programs and quality robot contractors.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, I'm the founder of JOINER Services, and this is Engineers in Automation . On today's episode, I'm going talk with James Truman. He's the founder of Advanced Robotic Solutions. His company specializes in contract robot programming, as well as the founder of Automation Trainers. They specialize in training people to become robot programmers. Now, let's go talk automation.

KD : Welcome to the show, everybody. We're really excited to have you today. I've got James Truman with us today. He is the founder of Advanced Robotic Solutions and Automation Trainers. James, welcome.

James Truman – Guest (JT): Thanks for having me on the show. Appreciate it.

KD: Yeah, I appreciate it. First off, can you tell us a little bit of background about yourself and a little bit about your companies?

JT: Sure. So, I'm the owner of Advanced Robotic Solutions (ARS) and Automation Trainers. On the ARS side, we are a full-service systems integrator for many of the automotive and automation companies. And on the Automation Trainers side of things. We're a full training facility for robot programming and controls engineering on multiple robot and PLC platforms.

KD: Wow. Wow. Sounds like you got a full plate, then.

JT: Yep, absolutely. We do.

KD: Yeah. So how did you end up then getting into automation, into this role?

JT: So, I got my start from a buddy who worked at a contract house in the metro Detroit area. I started out as a robot programmer, and, you know, began perfecting my craft project by project until the point that I was able to start, you know, my own company.

KD: In what year was that? That you ended up starting on your own?

JT: Around 2015.

KD: Okay, great. And then, with that, how many employees do you currently have?

JT: Give or take between office, instructing, and recruiting. We do with guys in the field between controls engineers and robot programming. We have over 10.

KD: Oh, wow. Good. Congrats. And then how about on the training side? How's that going?

JT: Oh, good. You know, one of the biggest hurdles that we had was procuring more robots, and luckily, we're able to overcome that. But the training inside of it has been great. And it's definitely something that, you know, I think the industry is moving towards and it needs.

KD: Yeah, absolutely. I can't agree more there. Are there certain types of robots that you guys specialize in? At the training facility?

JT: Yep. So right now, we have ABB and FANUC. And we have more Fanuc coming. We have KUKA, Kawasaki, Motoman, and Universal on the way as well. So, we're trying to do as many robot platforms as we possibly can.

KD: Wow. Wow, that would be great. I, you know, don't know if any one training center is doing that many varieties. So that would be very unique if you could do that.

JT: Absolutely. To my knowledge not right now, but I definitely think that it's a good move.

KD: Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And then, on the ARS side, let's talk a little bit more about that. You know, what, you know, with your background coming up in the industry, you know, what kind of projects are these guys working on now for you?

JT: We usually do a lot of everything. You know, we do preventative maintenance, we do robot programming from scratch, for MIG welding, spot welding, material handling, sealer and adhesive, laser welding. I mean, whatever our customer asks us for, we're going to do it.

KD: Are you heavy automotive, then?

JT: Yup, heavy automotive. Automotive would be our bread and butter. And we've been slowly getting into aerospace, defense, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical.

KD: Very cool. And then I, one of the things I wanted to ask was, you know, what kind of makes ARS different than some of your competitors.

JT: I would say the biggest thing would be, how we treat our guys and the type of people that we're bringing on. You know, we heavily vet a lot of the people that work at ARS, and you know, we have a family here, you know, we always make sure that everybody is on the right track, and we're able to give them training if they don't need it. And we offer many, you know, things that other companies don't and, you know, I pride ourselves on that.

KD: Yeah, good. Good. So then, you know, you've been around for quite some time here and run your own business. What are some things that you really, obviously enjoy about this industry?

JT: I enjoy that. It's always changing. Not there's not one day that's the same. There's new technology all the time. New people, new customers, and I love to see how its evolving, you know, year by year?

KD: And what are some of those new technologies that that you really like, I know, you're pretty active on LinkedIn and post a lot of cool stuff that I always see. What are some of those things that really pique your interest?

JT: I would say the coolest thing would be, how they're making it towards the rehabilitation of like patients and pharmaceutical, you know, like surgeries, and anything that can be done to, you know, catapult pushing, you know, that industry forward, you know, what I mean, advancements in surgery technologies, and maybe pill capping or aid all types of things.

KD: Yeah. Are there any unique applications that, you know, you've worked on that you can talk about? Rather than it's you or any, anyone of your staff members?

JT: I would say, you know, working on the Hummer EV was really cool this year. And, you know, we've done a lot of battery applications for them. So, I think that would be, you know, the coolest thing so far is, you know, the EV push, and the battery applications.

KD: And then how was your, I guess, how was your outlook, then looking here for, you know, how that go through? 22? And then now for 23? Are you, you know, there's a lot of been a lot of bad news, kind of, in the media about, you know, the economy, things like that? How are things have been going for you in the automation industry?

JT: Luckily, things have been steady. I think by 2023, things are going to be getting a lot better. You know, we had microchip shortages, we had some hard supply shortages. And I think, you know, as that, you know, tends to decrease, that business will increase a lot more. Yeah.

KD: Yeah, that's a good point. Are you seeing any your, you know, demand for certain things, more or less because of that? You know, are you seeing, you know, certain needs from customers?

JT: Um, to a degree, yes. I mean, we're all, you know, you know, them being the customer, you know, we have to fall in line with what they're telling us, but for the most part, it's been steady. I wouldn't say demand has been as high as it's always been, I think manpower is a big situation. That’s always happened. But I think that'll continue around the same, you know, situation, it's been.

KD: Yeah, we're almost to the new year here. You’re my last interview of the season. You know, how is your outlook for 2023? Looking, you kind of touched on it there for a second is there anything big in the pipeline you're seeing is, you know, any, any big projects that you're looking forward to?

JT: Um, you know, we do a lot of work with FANUC. And they have a lot of large projects coming up. So, I'm very anxious to see you know how that progresses. But, you know, from what I hear, 2023 is going to be a big year.

KD: That's, that's what I like to hear to them. What about any anything that you know, as a business owner, as a programmer yourself? Is there anything that you see in the industry that you know you struggle with or that you dislike?

JT: Um, I would say, you know, the biggest thing, which with automation trainers were trying to solve is the amount of training, and not just, you know, knowing how to do it, but why you're doing it. Is the biggest thing, you know, a lot of people learn from other people in the field. And there really needs to be stricter training, and, you know, broken down so that way, a lot of these guys in the field or women can know why they're doing and not just how, and you know, get proper training, and be able to get people in the facilities, create more manpower, create less of a demand for manpower, you know, from having them highly successful and highly trained.

KD: Yeah, yeah, that's a great point. Where are you finding some of these individuals to train? Are you looking at the younger ranks? Are you looking for people trying to move to get out of their current roles? Who are you looking at there to try to get some automation training?

JT: Um, so pretty much anybody can. We're set up with the state of Michigan so people can, you know, get grants and other types of supplemental money to take our classes. But, you know, we work with high schools, like I went to Dakota high school, you know, we've been working with them to get students into, I guess you would consider this a skilled trade, right. So it'd be good to get them into some type of stem, which is science, technology and engineering and manufacturing, and get them into her career, not just a job and give them the proper training. But you know, we're working with so many different sources to get people of all kinds and ages.

KD: Oh, wow, that sounds great. And definitely, there's a high demand, especially here locally, it's, good to hear. I want to ask, you know, you've been around for some time now, what are some mistakes that you've seen out in this industry that you think people may be making or something maybe that you've done yourself?

JT: Um, I would say, you know, as a company, we haven't had a lot of mistakes. Me personally, I mean, once in a while, you'll, you'll crash a robot, or you'll do certain things like that as a robot programmer, but for the most part, there isn't anything, you know, crazy that they could really happen. And luckily, I haven't had any of those situations happen to where it's been, like, a catastrophic failure.

KD: Yeah, I've seen a few of those. So, you know, with this training center that that you're building here, you know, it's giving a lot of opportunities, I think, for people to go and learn and expand their learning whether they're, you know, new programmers, current programmers in the field, or just somebody just trying to break in the industry themselves. You know, I guess, tell us a little bit about, you know, how you feel about kind of changing the landscape and bringing more people into the industry. You know, I think it's something that's really important.

JT: Um, I would say, just by doing their training classes our way, and what I mean by that is, we offer accelerated classes, and we want to get people trained fast, and in the field, without any hiccups. And the way that we write our curriculums and the way that we train and teach is different from any other company that does it right now. And, you know, that's one thing that I wanted, when we started that entity, is to make sure that we're pumping out high-quality training, no matter what.

KD: And then, how long is your training classes? You know, how long do those last?

JT: It varies. You know, we do robot programming on multiple platforms for robots. We do Siemens and Allen Bradley for the PLC side. But for the most part, you're looking at, oh, you know, about five days, per course.

KD: Okay. Yeah, that's not too bad. It's a one-week power session, right?

JT: Yep. You have eight hours a day.

KD: Yeah. And that's on-site. And where are you guys located?

JT: Yep, that's on-site. We're located in Shelby Township at 25 & Mound.

KD: Okay. So just a little bit North of myself. So, I do want to ask, though, you know, what kind of inspired you to get into this industry? How did you break into it yourself?

JT: Um, well, you know, a friend of mine got me into the industry, like I was telling you, and I kind of like absorbed it like a sponge. You know, I've always been into technology, and working with robots to me was just awesome. I thought it was cool. It didn't really seem like a job. To me, it really, it really felt like, you know, I was playing around and in learning as much as I could. So, you know, I've always been under the impression that if, you know, if it doesn't feel like work to you, you're gonna love what you do.

KD: Yeah, and I feel the same. Anything automation related, I'm in with a smile on my face. It's a great point. I guess another thing I just wanted to ask is if there is any leadership advice that you could give. I mean, a guy coming from, you know, breaks into the industry as a programmer, now, you got two businesses, you know, how to, you know, how would you do it any advice on leadership and how to get there, because you obviously have some.

JT: It sounds cliche, you know, because everybody says that, but you can't be afraid to make the jump and try something new. You know, to better yourself, you know, everything is possible in life and achievable. And, you know, Rome wasn't built in a day. So, you just have to trust the process and set your mind to whatever you want to do.

KD: Yep. Yeah, that's a good point. Do you have any advice for, you know, maybe people thinking about, you know, going in the industry and like working for a contract company, like yourself, anything, any tips for them?

JT: I would say, to invest in yourself, I would get as much training and certificates as possible, and absorb all the information, you know, as you can and use it to your benefit.

KD: Yeah, good point. Good point. And then, you know, one of the last things I always like to ask people is, where can people find you? How can they get ahold of you? How can they contact you?

JT: So yeah, our website, you know, is right there air as robots.com My phone number is on the websites pretty much everywhere. I have been posted on LinkedIn, you know, I plugged in all my information that I can so that way people can contact me directly and get in touch with me.

KD: All right, great. Right, and I'll leave that in the description below, too, so people can go directly to your LinkedIn account. I just wanted to thank everybody today make sure you give us a like, comment, and share, and don't forget to join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks!

If you enjoyed that podcast episode, get more information below!

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Connect with James on his LinkedIn profile page here .

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Can Robots Smell

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:18:41 GMT

Bio-Hybrid Odor Robot

It is true that robots can smell! Scientists out of Tel Aviv University have developed a biological sensor that will send electrical information in response to the presence of odor. The robot can then detect and interpret the sensory data.

Photo courtesy of: YouTube screen grab/Tel Aviv University

What is a locust antenna?

Israeli scientists recently created a robot capable of sensing smell stronger than any other robotic device ever built by wiring it with a locust-type antenna. The scientists got the idea from insects that use their antennae for many functions, including smell. Comparing a standard measuring device to the sensitivity of a locust nose, a locust has about 10,000 times higher sensitivity than any current measuring system.

The locust antenna has such a powerful sensor that scientists from Tel Aviv University believe it could replace police dogs. This robot-locus combination could alert authorities of explosives, diseases, and drugs.

Tel Aviv University is a world leader in part-animal part-machine technology, which Dr. Ben Maoz leads. The robot he and his colleagues created receives signals from its environment through a locust antenna they developed. During their studies, they found a way to keep the locust antenna artificially alive to develop a method to communicate the signals received from the antenna and get transmitted back to the robot.

How does a biological locust antenna work?

The experiment is now published at Science Direct , which states that they connected a biological sensor and let it smell different odors. The scientist measured the electrical activity induced by each fragrance they tested. The system allows scientists to identify each scent separately while being able to read at the same level as the locusts’ primary sensory organ.

The next step is to use machine learning to create a “library of smells.” The scientist at Tel Aviv University were then able to characterize eight unique odors during their trials and could identify if any of those distinct odors were present in the area. After the experiment, they continued to categorize other odors for future trials.

The biological locust antenna study.

In this study, they created a bio-hybrid odor discriminator operating with a desert locust’s central olfactory apparatus (antennae). This bio-hybrid was designed with simple artificial intelligence tools and electroantennogram technology for signal analysis. The discriminator can differentiate between at least eight pure smells and two mixtures of different odors, independent of any odor concentration.

With higher sensitivity of a magnitude of four orders than gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, the system can detect the scent of less than 1 ng of the volatile compounds. Compared to other bio-hybrid sensors currently available today, it could be operated by an unskilled person. This study opens the future for animal-machine robotic sensing tools that can be broadly deployed for many tasks.

Read the original research biological sensor study here: The Locust antenna as an odor discriminator .

Dr. Maoz thinks this research will lead the technological advances of smell detection in three major categories:

The innovation of biological noses with sensors as prosthetic devices.
He believes police could use the locus antenna sensor to detect illegal substances they have “smelled.”
He thinks that doctors could use them to detect odor signals that are undetectable by humans, which would help identify specific diseases.

Dr. Maoz has always been interested in how humans could harness animals’ biological sense of smell. He notes that we already do this with dogs but didn’t want to rely on an actual animal because of maintenance, training, feeding, medical, and other forms of attention required.

According to The Times of Israel, Dr. Maoz stated, “I hope this could one day replace sniffer dogs at airports and provide many other possibilities. A biological nose is more sensitive than any technologies designed to smell. So, this could be used in new machines that use smell to identify explosives, drugs, diseases, rotten food, and many other things that can be detected by odor.”

Photo courtesy of: YouTube screen grab/Tel Aviv University

Will insects play a significant part in the evolution of electronics and robotics moving into the future? Dr. Maoz is convinced that insects will help this process move forward. He’s also thinking about more prominent in the part-animal part-machine technology sector, where he thinks using insect eyes as high-resolution cameras could be the next step. “Nature is much more advanced than we are, so we should use it,” Dr. Maoz said in The Times of Israel. “The principle we have demonstrated can be used and applied to other senses, such as sight and touch. The sky is the limit.”

Sources: Neuroscience News , The Times of Israel , Tel Aviv University .

Mark Cainciosa | Acieta

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 01:53:10 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Mark Cainciosa Episode 5

In this episode, we talk with Mark Cianciosa , a sales engineer for Acieta. He talks about his 25 years in factory automation and what makes the company he works for unique in the automation industry. Listen to our conversation about how even after a great career in automation, he continues to learn and keep his mental and physical health a key component of his successful career.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, I'm the founder of JOINER Services, and this is Engineers in Automation . On today’s episode, I’m going to talk with Mark Cainciosa, a sales engineer from Acieta. We're going to talk about his history in the automation industry and the projects that he's been working on with his company. Now let's go talk automation.

KD : Welcome to episode 5. I’m here with Mark Cainciosa from Acieta , a sales engineer. Mark, welcome to the show. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Mark Cainciosa – Guest (MC) : Wow, thanks for having me. Yeah, so I’m a sales engineer for Acieta. I’ve been involved in robots and factory automation probably longer than there's been rocks on the earth, so it's been a long time, over 25 years. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I cover a territory right now that exists, it's what we refer to as the southeast. It goes from Texas and Oklahoma over to North Carolina and Florida and everything in between.

KD : Okay, wonderful, and then how did you get your start in the automation industry? I know we've briefly talked about it, but tell everybody where you got started.

MC : I was working for a division that was associated with General Motors way back when, and we were setting up test stands for air conditioning compressors. And a lot of these guys would come in that were sales guys, and we would ask questions, you know, “What does it do? How does the software work? How do we set it up?” and the salespeople didn't know anything, and I was like, “Well wait a minute, I understand all this stuff, why don't I sell?”

I really enjoyed being able to go and meet people and see new applications, so I left that company and I got started with a company called New England Affiliated Technologies way back when and we made XYZ dispensing systems. They were little automated dispensing systems. Did a lot of switches and things like that.

KD : Oh, cool, interesting, and then with your company now at Acieta, what robots are you working with? What types of automation? Tell us a little bit more about that.

MC : Yeah, so we are exclusively a Fanuc robot integrator. The applications you know that we work with at Acieta I like to refer to we are the dirty side of robotics. We do a lot of applications that are load/unload type applications for machine tool and applications for EDM machines. We do a lot of welding applications and a lot of press brake applications, where the robot is working the metal through the press brake and through the bends. And we do a lot of metal removal type applications and then some marking applications. So, it's all, for the most part dealing with metal components with us. We also do a little palletizing, but that's a smaller part of our strengths.

KD : Okay, and then what makes your guys’ business a little bit different than, say, your competitors?

MC : Yeah, I think, you know, one of the things that makes Acieta really unique is we have these verticals. You know that I just kind of talked about, and we stick to those verticals very strongly, so when someone comes to us and says, “Hey, can you do an assembly for small parts or little?” No, we can't, that's not our thing, and so I think one of our strengths and one of the things that's really unique in the industry because I think there's a lot of companies out there that will do anything. Oh, it's a robot. Yeah, we can do it.

And at Acieta, I think we really stick to those verticals, and we utilize our strengths and our experience to develop great solutions for our customers. So that and also, we've taken those verticals, and we've got standard systems in those verticals. So, we've got a lot of standard weld packages. We've got standard load-unload applications using cobots from Fanuc. We've got standard palletizing applications, and so those systems are already pre-developed and close to typically four-week delivery. So, I think those are two things that make us really unique.

KD : Well that that lead time right there, you just jumped out to me, and that's unique. Many companies are seeing 20 plus now, 36 plus, week time, so that's pretty interesting. what are some projects that you guys are working on right now?

MC : So, one of the projects we just got an order for about a week ago was dealing with mower deck components. So, the mower deck components are, give or take, about 60 inches wide, maybe 30 inches deep. They weigh about 150 pounds, and we're taking them using a robot and working them through a press brake. So, the mower deck component has four different bends on it, three on one side, one on the other. So, the robot is handling this part from a pallet. It puts it in an alignment stage, realigns the part, grabs it, and then walks it through the press brake.

Some of the things that make press brake automation unique are the software that we use now. So, you can take the model of the part, put it into the software, and you can generate the robot program. The press brake program and the tooling setup that'll go inside of the press break. You can also go further and have automatic tool changing on, it so I think that's a really unique application for us, and we can work with multiple press brake manufacturers. So, that sets us apart, I think, in a lot of ways.

KD: Yeah, interesting. I guess one of the questions I always love asking people is, what do you like about this automation industry? You've been in it now for almost 30 years, so there's got to be a reason you're sticking around and staying in it. What do you really enjoy about the job?

MC : You know, I think it goes back to where I came from. So, I'm from Buffalo, New York, originally. Go Bills! Sorry, and when I grew up in Buffalo, manufacturing was collapsing in the town. So, the town was an old industrial town, and you know we had a lot of manufacturing; General Motors, Ford , Wiper Blades, and Bethlehem Steel , and just massive organizations, and they all disappeared. Now you know, growing up, we always saw that those companies didn't invest in themselves, so when I look at what I do now. I'm running around trying to talk to and trying to help manufacturing companies to show them how to invest in themselves, how to manufacture products better, quicker, faster, at lower cost, and how to grow their business.

So, a lot of my inspiration, I think, comes from where I started, you know, watching Buffalo collapse because no one invested in manufacturing. To where I go out now, and I get to, you know, help companies make a difference. And I think the other thing is, you know, I get to see different applications every day. So today, I’ll see an application where the company is building houses using robotics. You know, I talked earlier about mower deck parts, and last week I was talking about transmission components for a diesel truck engine, and then before that, I was talking about beer and palletizing. So, I get this wide variety of applications I get to talk about and companies tha t I get to visit. So, I really enjoy that aspect of the job as well, but mostly it's just helping companies make a difference.

KD : All right, what about some of the, you know, you talk about some of the mistakes that you've heard growing up in Buffalo about not reinvesting in organizations? What are some of the mistakes that you've made that you've seen throughout your career?

MC : I think one of the things. One of the big mistakes I made, somewhere in the middle, was thinking you know, I'm a sales guy. I know what I'm doing. I don't need to keep learning, and I think, you know, a lot of what happened during covid. I really had to step back and go, wait a minute, the way I sold. Which I was just a visitor. I would show up. I would visit. I'd show up again. I would visit. I'd show up again, and each time I'd gather data and figure out you know what the customer's needs were. And when covid hit, you know, we all realized, okay, you're not showing up. It's not that … you just can't anymore, so I had to really work on, I think, my skill set and try to learn how to be a better salesperson. And how to be a better consultant for my customers and so I think the mistake I made was sitting back and going, “ I don't need to learn anymore.” So now I’m in a place, I think, where, well, this morning, I probably spent 45 minutes listening to a book on tape. That's very typical of me during the morning and when I’m driving in the car. When I’m flying in the airport. I’m constantly trying to listen and learn from the books that I’m listening to. So, I think that's probably my biggest mistake.

I think the other one was I stopped networking for a period of time. Networking, to me, is making a huge difference in what I do, and I’m helping others to connect with companies and people that can help them. So, I’ve really emphasized networking the last, say, five to seven years as well.

KD : Yeah, that's great. That does really flow into one of my next questions. I always like asking, where do you go to learn? So, you obviously listen to a lot of books, and probably listen to a lot of different podcasts. Is there one that you recommend for people, whether it's business-related or automation related, that they should listen to?

MC : So, from a sales perspective, it's probably a guy by the name of Keenan he wrote a book called “ Gap Selling .” From an automation perspective, Manufacturing Happy Hour with Chris Luecke. I listen to him and Jake Hall, The Manufacturing Millennial. Those are two guys that I follow, and I listen to their podcasts and watch a lot of their video. And then I know it's weird, but I read a lot of books about submarines. I don't know why, but so that's just another issue. And then you know again I’m kind of a sports fan, so I listen a lot of Buffalo Bills stuff, sorry.

KD : Yeah well, they were good when I was growing up as a kid. Never quite climbed the hill all the way, but they were there.

MC : Hopefully this year!

KD : There you go. I guess what may be some of the issues that you see within this industry. You know, being a sales engineer and seeing all these different unique applications. What are some of, you know, issues that you may be seeing throughout your travels?

MC : So, I think one of the issues that I guess I see that maybe is a concern is the cobot phenomenon, right? So, a lot of I mean, there's so many of them out there. We were at, you know, Automate a couple of months back, and there were probably 30 different cobot companies I’ve never even heard of. The cobots they have a great place in the industry, and I think what UR did for the industry is really it's phenomenal. They started a portion of the industry that didn't exist, but what concerns me a little is the way people look at a cobot and think it's safe because it's a cobot. Then, you know, we sell a cobot system that is a cobot for welding. Well, that's not a safe cobot. It's great for the programming, but I think one of the things that, I guess, I’m concerned about is when people see cobots, they think automatically safe, and I think that we as an industry need to make sure that our customers understand that. Yeah, it's a cobot, but the reason it's in this application, for example, the welding application, is the ease of setup and the ease of programming. It’s not because it's inherently safe. So that's one of the, I guess, a concern in the industry.

Then you know we have our hands on some amazing technology. When you look at what you know Boston Dynamics is doing, for example. We are advancing technology, and AI, and the ability to do things that we've only watched in movies. And I think we as an industry need to remember that we have a society to take care of as well as being able to manufacture something. I think the quote you know that always comes back to me in our industry is, “just because you can, doesn't mean you should.” Right, so I think we as an industry need to check ourselves always and say, “Okay, yeah, we can do this, but should we, just because we can?” So, I don't know if that makes sense but go watch a fun movie and say, “hmm, I wonder if we could do that now?”

KD : Yeah, well, I love talking a little bit about cobots, so what are some applications, you know, you touched on welding that you guys are using, that you're seeing that they work phenomenally at? I know you talked about the different brands and all that and how it may be getting a little clustered in that space, but what are some applications that you really see? Because I do see definitely, benefits and bonuses in welding in, you know, small pick and place operations. There are tons of opportunities. Is there anything that sticks out in your mind?

MC : Yeah, we do a lot in load/unload applications for machine tool and for lathe applications. We just sent a system out to a customer in Oklahoma recently, and that system, I don't know, give or take, is around $120,000 put it next to a lathe, and you're able to set it up. It's got a pegboard on the system and so the cobot will go to the pegboard, pick the part up, put it into the lathe, switch it. It's got usually a dual gripper on the end of arm tooling. So, an application like that is great for a cobot because it's simple. You can put it next to a machine. An operator can walk up next to the machine. They can replace parts on the pegboard and get it ready for the next round. They can stand next to it and so it makes sense in an application like that. So, we see a ton in applications like that. We see a lot in palletizing as well. So now you've got an end of arm or an end of line, where the cobot is able to pick up, you know, boxes from maybe two conveyors and palletize them next to it. And again, operators can be close by. You don't have to have everything fenced in. There aren't safety concerns, so those are great applications. I think there are a lot of assembly applications as well, although assembly sometimes it gets to be where the cobots are not fast enough at times.

I know there was an application I was looking at yesterday. A cobot could never do it. It's 300 parts a minute. It's not going to happen with a cobot, but there are so many others that are small applications, and then I think they're the ones we're not thinking about. Well, I'm not thinking about. Someone is. someone scratching their head today going, “you know, besides flipping a burger, I can do something else with it in a restaurant,” or “I can do something else with it in a hotel.” We've seen a cobot that will clean a bathroom, and I've got to imagine that when you start talking about bathrooms, public bathrooms, and restrooms. The idea of sending a cobot in to do that work has got to be a great idea.

KD : I'm waiting for the one that will fold my laundry for me, and then I’m all in.

MC : I'm sure that one's out there. I think I've seen a robot that will fold shirts so that it may be there. It might not show up next to your dryer, but it'll work.

KD : Yeah, the next five to ten years, fingers crossed, right? Yeah good and then also I’d like to touch on it too. Do you have any good words of wisdom? I mean like, I said, you've been around for so long in this industry, do you have any inspiration for some of us younger guys that are you know just 10 years in now and getting our feet wet?

MC : Yeah, so you know, I think a football analogy is Tom Brady. The guy's 45 years old, and honestly, he's a threat to win the super bowl this year. And it's because of the way he takes care of himself. It's because of how much he spends, how much time he spends practicing and working out. Taking care of his body in ways that most of us just don't even consider. So, I think when we consider what he does for himself and the level that he's still able to perform. I think as people in the industry. People in the automation industry. We should be doing the same. So what are we doing to learn today? What are we doing to connect with other people today? Because even if we just learn from the computer and books, or audio, whatever it is. Not having that personal interaction, that's going to be, it's going to hold you back as well.

So, I think learning, and networking with other people. Honestly keeping yourself physically in shape as well. Makes it easier for you to be mentally prepared. And so I guess I look at what we do, and say, “you know what, emulate what Tom Brady or any great athlete does and hone your skills.” Practice your skills. Learn something new every day and continue to try and grow. And for me, I never want to be the old guy in the room. I never want someone like you to look at me and go, “oh, that's the old guy.” I want us all to be able to look at one another going, “man, that guy's bringing something to the table today. I never heard anyone think that way.” And so, I think that's the other thing that everybody in the room can bring something to the table. Whether it's the janitor or the CEO, they can bring something to the table that's going to matter and make a difference in other people's lives.

KD : Yeah, that's great. I think you touched on something really big there too. From physical health, that rolls into mental health. Keeping you fresh on the job and then also like you touched on learning as well. You just roll all three of those in and you're learning something new every day. And then the way you really get to hone in your skills and you're coming fresh, and you're enjoying your job. Really able to, you know, expand your knowledge within the industry. You know, especially coming in with a positive attitude. Yeah, that was great! Well, I guess let me ask you this where can people find you? How do they get in touch with you if they want to contact you?

MC : Yeah so, I’m easy to find obviously on LinkedIn you can find me. If you type in a hashtag for #MarkTheRobotman, I show up somewhere that way, and of course, they can always call me. You know my phone number is linked on my LinkedIn page. So yeah, just hit me. I’m here and if you go to the Acieta website you can find me through that Acieta website. Just call just say, “Hey, where's Mark? How can I talk to him?”

KD : Oh that's great, and I think that's actually how I found you, #MarkTheRobotMan. I think that's how I ended up connecting with you. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed today's episode. If you did give us a like, comment, share, and don't forget to subscribe, and we look forward to having you join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks.

MC : Thanks a lot, have a good one.

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McDonald's Robot Drive Thru In Texas

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 00:38:32 GMT

McDonald’s robotic drive-thru service in Texas

McDonald’s is currently testing a robotic drive-thru service in Texas. This drive-thru restaurant is focused on pick-up and delivery services but not the dine-in experience. This experimental McDonald’s restaurant is located in Fort Worth, Texas, for customers planning to eat on the go or dine at home.

Via Instagram: @Foodie_Munster

Fast Food Automation

The smaller than traditional McDonald’s is not fully automated but requires no human interaction to order or pick up your food. Orders are made inside the restaurant at a kiosk, in the drive-thru, or on the McDonald’s app. Customers then receive their food and beverage orders on a conveyor belt. If you want curbside pick-up, outside of the restaurant, there are multiple parking spaces for this as well.

Watch the video below that describes the customer experience. It is similar to a human-staffed McDonald’s with touchscreen kiosks inside the restaurant, but this has automated machine servers when you pick up your food.

The Future Of Restaurant Automation

This restaurant is not 100% automated, as humans still cook and prepare fast food orders inside the building. The food preparation tasks still need to be performed by humans, but some customers are concerned this automation will put more people out of work. This new process has divided many people who are skeptical about the change and lack of human interaction.

Currently, McDonald’s has no plans to test the automated process in other locations around the United States other than this first location in Texas. The multibillion-dollar restaurant cha in is now focused on what they call “Accelerating the Arches.” This a growth strategy where they are trying to improve the customer experiences within their restaurants. They want to test and learn from new technologies and concepts to streamline the customer experience.

Via Instagram: @Foodie_Munster

This is a significant experiment for the largest fast food chain in the world. If this location becomes successful and the McDonald’s team can “test and learn” from this experiment in Texas, it could be a significant change for the company moving forward. The next step may be automating the food assembly process, but then morally, can the company or others like it be okay with the potential backlash of lost jobs?

Sources: Newsweek .

Demarcus Sears | SS Automation and Controls

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 17:34:29 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Demarcus Sears | Episode 4

In this episode, we talk with the tech manager of SS Automation and Controls , Demarcus Sears . His business specializes in robotic and PLC programming . His background in automation maintenance, robot programming, weld engineering, and as a robotic engineer has led him to become an experienced automation engineer within the automotive industry. Listen to our conversation about running his own automation business.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, I'm the founder of JOINER Services, and this is Engineers in Automation . On today’s episode, we are going to talk with Demarcus Sears, the tech manager for SS Automation and Controls. His company specializes in robotics, engineering, programming, as well as plc and controls engineering. Now let's go talk automation!

KD : Welcome back. I am here with Demarcus Sears, the technical manager of SS Automation and Controls . Welcome, Demarcus how are you doing?

Demarcus Sears – Guest (DS) : I’m great thanks for having me.

Demarcus Sears Technical Manager:

KD : Yeah, of course! Could you give us a little bit of introduction about yourself, and who you are, and who you work with, and your company?

DS : So I am Demarcus Sears. I am a technical manager and a robotics applications engineer at SS Automation and Controls, based out of Litchfield, Tennessee, maybe 15 minutes north of Nashville. Our company provides a lot of plc and robotic support to a lot of OEMs, a lot of integrators, and we do some custom one-off applications. More specific to the automotive sector, but we're branching out, and we're trying to get into these areas that are looking to integrate uh robotics and automation to drive their throughput.

SS Automation and Controls Company Size:

KD : Yeah, great to hear. How many employees do you have at your company currently?

DS : Currently, we have three employees. We have a fourth one that's going to come on next month, and we're looking to expand if you know anybody who is looking to uh join a growing team and expand upon what they currently know, please give us a shout-out here, and we'll be here waiting for you to highly qualified applicants.

Demarcus Sears Automation Background:

KD : Awesome, congratulations on that, and how did you get your start in the automation industry?

DS : So, my start in the automation industry is what I like to consider a little unique. So, I started out with love for electronics. It all started when I was maybe 11 to 12 years old, and I stuck a butter knife into an electrical outlet, and I was like, man, that hurt, but you know, it felt good. So, I started reading books on what exactly electronics is. I'm one of the first people to do a mechatronics apprenticeship out of a major manufacturer, which was Mercedes-Benzes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, roll tide!

And it's one of those things that once I got into the classes, I started doing the PLCs, the robotics, the electronics that it's just something that I felt like was a missing portion of what I had going on I felt like that gave my life purpose because it was something that I love, but you know I growing up in the area that I grew up in it was something that was not you know really big like in your places like Michigan where everybody's one of those where everybody's in the automation industry. It was very very unlikely in that area for somebody to go into the automation industry.

Starting A Company:

KD : Awesome, well, good for you, and then how did you get started in your company with your business?

DS : So, what happened was. I was at a previous employer, and there were a couple of contractors around, and I was looking for a move and they told me they were like, “hey man, uh, no offense, we don't feel like this company is going to be a great fit for you, but what we would suggest you do is for you to start your own company because what you're worth is something that's not going to be able to be paid by a company.” And within the next few months, I was like, I did a lot of research. I was like “okay,” I think this is something that we need to do. So, I got with a couple of people who were in it who wanted to start up, and I was like “okay, let's do this.” So that's how I got into it.

Taking Care Of Your Employees.

KD : Yeah, good for you! Taking that leap into, you know, venturing off into self-employment and starting your own business that's definitely a risky move, and it seems like it's paying off for you, so congratulations on that.

DS : Yeah, thank you. It's definitely something risky it's even more risky when you have employees, and you're trying to make sure that people are fed because, at the end of the day, one of the unsung songs of being a business owner is the people that you have to take care of. Because if you're not taking care of yourself, that means you're not taking care of your people, and the people that come along in your business are what is going to help you propel yourself to be a better person.

And they're also going to push you to be a better person, and I think that's one of the most rewarding things, but it's also scary if you're not prepared for it. One of the favorite quotes I think is by Mike Tyson is that if I mean, “everybody knows how to fight until they get punched in the face,” opening a business and starting a business, and running a business is like getting punched in the face for the very first time. It's all about how you react to it.

SS Automation and Controls Employee's:

KD : Great analogy, and so are your employees that you're bringing on. Are they self-employed 1099, or are they W2 in place for you?

DS : So, this is going to be a W2 employee. We do work with some 1099's, but as of right now, we're trying to expand, you know, our brand, you know, get our name out there, and we want to hire some W2 people, but we are open to some 1099 people. 1099 people have helped us get to the point where we are, so thank you to the 1099 people.

Demarcus Sears Automation Likes:

KD : Yeah, shout out to everybody who's self-employed. What are some of the things that you've found now that you've been in the industry that you really like about automation?

DS : One thing that I absolutely positively love about automation is that it's a forever-changing industry. Some weeks are the same, and then other weeks are completely different from something that you've ever experienced before. I consider myself a long short-term person. I love to be in startups and get everything started, you know. In different facilities and then move on to the next project, but in those instances where work is going a little stagnant or, you know, different things like that. You get a little bored, you know, and then that's where you get to the point where you want to start looking for new things.

KD : Yeah, and the automation industry definitely has that ability to bring change. As you probably see, every new customer has new challenges and technologies, and the difference is in each project. So it's always unique and different.

DS : Yeah, it's very different, especially depending on the facilities you're at because in the eight years that I’ve been in the automation, well, probably nine now. In the nine years that I’ve been in the automation industry, man, I’ve done a plethora of jobs. I’ve done everything from a robot programmer , to a maintenance technician, to an automation technician, to a PLC guy, all the way up to what I am now, which I love. Which is a robotics engineering person, and then like I said, there are one of the industries where there aren't a lot of people who can sit in a specific role for a certain amount of time, especially if you're going to be traveling.

Demarcus Sears Automation Dislikes:

KD : Yeah, well, good for you for being able to be so agile and, you know, venturing off and trying new things, and with that, though, let's go on the reverse side. What about the automation industry? Maybe you don't like it as much. Is there something there?

DS : The long hours, yeah, long hours. Yeah, that's probably one of the biggest things, the long hours.

KD : The pros and cons of doing the startup part, right? The customers may want 12 14-hour days out of you, right?

DS : Yeah, 12 to 14 hours is not something that people who aren't in this industry don't understand to be like a normal thing, you know? There have been plenty of times when I’ve come home, I’ve sat down, got my dinner, and I take one cut into my steak, and then I get a phone call, and I got to head right back to the facility. People don't understand that that's part of wanting to be better and doing whatever it takes to make sure your company has a good reputation but also making sure that you have a good reputation because, without your personal reputation, there is no company reputation.

Business Mistakes:

KD : Yeah, great point. Great point with that, and then I guess to kind of touch on that a little bit, what are some of the mistakes I guess that you maybe have made in the past?

DS : Running a business or in the automation industry?

KD : Just in automation, then we'll go back and touch on the business proportions.

DS : So, in automation, man, I’ll tell you, probably one of my most embarrassing moments is, you know, being one of those young guys who's all gung-ho and not really discovering what an issue was before I went in and tried to fix it. And you know, I didn't go through the proper channels of troubleshooting because I was tired, and I want to, you know, go home, and it's near the end of a 13-hour shift. I started fiddling around on the pendant, and I opened a gripper and I dropped it. I think the vehicle resale value was probably something around fifty thousand dollars and I dropped the whole subframe of the body because it was being picked up by one of the Titans. Yeah, that was not nice, so then I’m in there cutting it up, bringing it out, piece by piece. So yeah, mistakes are going to be made. It’s just what you do when the mistakes are made.

KD : And how do you learn from that mistake, right? And I am not going to do that again.

DS : Oh no, I haven't done it since, and that was very early on that was maybe my second or third year. So, it's been six or seven years since I’ve done that, and I don't plan on doing it ever again.

KD : Yeah, right, and then what about on the business side? Let's touch base a little bit on the business side.

DS : One thing on the business side that I’ve made a mistake in is when it comes to hiring someone. You know, when you're an entrepreneur, and you're trying to grow as fast as possible, sometimes, you know, growing fast is not the best way to do things, you know. And it's one thing that I tried to do when we first started: " Hey, we're going to need somebody who's going to get here fast, we're going to need somebody who's going to be able to do this, this, and this.”

And you start reading through the resume, and you're, like, man, this looks great, and you know you have a job lined up, and you're like, you know, what, I’m going to hire this guy, but you know you didn't properly vet this guy. You didn't ask for any references. You didn't ask for anybody who's ever worked for the guy, and then you end up in a situation like I had, where he essentially lied on his resume, and then I sent him to a site, and they're like, “hey man, this guy is not what you said he would be.”

That's embarrassing, so I called him, and I talked to him, and I was like, “hey,” so I started questioning him, and then I look back over it myself, and I’m like, you know, how did I miss this? How did I miss this, and I think that's probably one of the kick yourself in the moments where I’m like, okay. I should be slow to hire and quick to fire because it's one of those things where I respect honesty, and if you weren't able, to be honest with me about what's on your resume, then I don't think that this is the right facility for you, well, this is the right company for you.

Current Automation Projects:

KD : Good for you, and then what are some current projects that you may be working on right now in the automation industry that you can at least talk about?

DS : So, right now, I’m on a long-term robot support contract here in Tennessee. We also have some individuals who are gearing up to go to GM, and currently, we're also working on an integration project for one of the largest, I guess you call them, steel rack manufacturers in the US, and hopefully, we'll be in there soon putting in some welding cells. You know, running trials, testing some things out in their facility to up their throughput.

KD : Good for you, and I think we discussed this previously, maybe not in this interview, but you do have a welding background as well, right?

DS : Yes, it was another one of those unconventional welding backgrounds. I grew up welding as a kid working on the farm with my grandpa, and when I started working for another German manufacturer. First engineering gig, they were like, “hey man, you want to learn how to weld?” I was like, “I mean, I know how to weld,” and they're like, “no, no do you want to become a welding engineer?” And they sent me off to Germany, and they were like, “okay, this is how we do this,” and it just completely blew my mind. Yeah so it was unconventional, but I picked it up really fast and I feel like if anybody needs some help we'll we're definitely here to help.

KD : Great, and then what kind of help you know from the welding standpoint are you looking at? You know, MIG welding spot welding?

DS : So, being the sole welding engineer on site, we had multiple technologies. We had stud welding. We had spot welding. We had MIG welding, and we also had nut welding. So, I am personally, I am more profound in MIG welding because it's something that I grew up on, but I also can-do spot welding. Because you know, it's just a numbers game to me. It's not, you know, harder than people make it seem to me. It's just resistance, and then there's a formula, and you’re watching curves drop.

Learning Automation:

KD : Yeah, right, and so I guess another good question you kind of touched on a little bit, but learning and, you know, where do you go to learn then?

DS : Man, so I have this internal battle with myself, where if there's something new, I am going to learn it faster than anybody else can learn it. When I first started learning about welding from on a technical standpoint and the theory behind it. I was all in welding. All in welding magazines. I’m doing the AWS. I was looking it up on YouTube. I was learning formulas, and then I’m calling people. I'm asking people, “hey, how do you do this?”

But one of the big things that people fail to realize is that there are the manufacturers who are some of the best people when it comes to wanting to learn something from their service technicians and their service team, and their engineering team. Those people are some of the best people to work around when it comes to because they've been doing it so long and you just want a brief snapshot of what they have and let me tell you. It completely sped up my whole learning process like a lot.

Work-Life Balance:

KD : Yeah, that's a good point. We had Travis Weber on from Lincoln a few weeks ago, and he's one of those that does that where he'll go on-site and teach classes and show people how to use welding equipment, and yeah, just another great resource a lot of times people don't think about. That's a great point, and then you know, you briefly touched on earlier. I know you're a family man, so how do you separate that work-life balance throughout the week for you? What is that in automation relate to you?

DS : So, I separate, and it's a crazy question because I used to live maybe five minutes from the last facility that I was at, and you know, I get upset because you get upset in this in this industry. You get a little bit upset, you know. You have a bad day. Some of the project leaders are upset because something is ahead of time, but according to them, it's behind time, you know. it's that type of thing and what I used to do, is I used to go home, and I used to be upset because I still didn't have time to decompress on my ride from the facility. And then I was, you know, my wife's like, you know, “what's wrong with you?” and I’m like, “I honestly don't know.”

So what happened was, I used to have to go to the grocery store every day. We always had something to cook because I had to go to the grocery store every day to decompress. Once I had my son, I was like, “okay, I'm going to have to live a lot farther away from the facility that I’m going to be working at,” and so that 30-minute ride from the facility to pick my son up from daycare is one of the really really big things that helps me decompress.

Another thing is scheduling time for your family. That is a huge responsibility. I used to travel. Traveling was hard when me and my wife were dating and what I had to realize is that, hey, she's been waiting for me all this time. The least I could do is give her a little bit of attention. So me, and my wife we schedule, you know, date nights, and during the week, I try to get my son when he gets out of school and have him for the day. Because my wife she does work from home, but at the same time, she needs her own personal time. Then we separated you know family time, parent time, and then individual time, and I think that has worked the best for us.

Demarcus Sears Words Of Advice:

KD : Yeah, good man that sounds so familiar you know what you just touched on. I think there's going to be a lot of people that relate to what you just said because you know everything you just said there, I just go, yup I do that. Yup, I do. Yup, I do that. Yup, I do that and it does, and it does help make a big difference.

I guess one of the final questions I want to ask you is, you know, what are some of your words of inspiration for you know somebody trying to get into the automation industry that maybe not have had the conventional pathway? You know kind of like you said you kind of jumped around for a minute and then you found your way in and then you kind of jumped in because somebody said, “Hey, maybe you should start your own thing instead of coming with us.” You’ve got to have some words of advice for you know people jumping into the industry.

DS : So, I got a couple of things. One of the key quotes that I think formed the position that I’m in now is. I was working a late night and it was a guy named Mr. John. Mr. John came up to me he said, “you know what son? You're going to be somebody one day.” He said, “I’m going to leave you with this.” He said, “You drink Dos Equis?” He says, “Naw, you’re like 19. You can't drink Dos Equis, but I have a quote for you,” and I was like, “What's your quote?” He said, “Stay thirsty my friend.” He said, “Stay thirsty my friend.” He said, “if you learn something every day, nobody's going be able to be better than you.” He said, “the moment you stop learning is the moment you stop getting better, so always learn something new. Prepare to be better than you were the day before, it may not be you learn a new technology in a matter of like a day or two but if you know more than you knew yesterday, then you're already doing better.”

Connect With Demarcus Sears

KD : Awesome, yeah, that's great advice. Then you know, one of the last things I always like to ask people is where can they find you? You know, website or through LinkedIn? Where can people find you?

DS : On LinkedIn, you can find me at Demarcus Sears. I'm not that hard to find, with a big smiling cheese photo that I have on there, so you can find me on LinkedIn. Our company website is ssautomationllc.com . That's SSAutomationLLC.COM . If anybody has any questions and they're inquiring about anything, please do not hesitate to send an email to our support team at support@ssautomationllc.com .

KD : Awesome, well, thank you for that interview today, and if you enjoyed today's episode, please give us a like, comment, share, or subscribe, and we look forward to having you join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks

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Mobile Robot Market Forecast For 2027

keegandillon@gmail.com (Keegan Dillon) — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 01:07:28 GMT

The mobile robot market forecast for 2027

According to research performed by Interact Analysis, the mobile robot market will be steadily increasing over the next five years. Even though mobile robot technology has become reputable, there is an incredibly huge market size with lots of opportunities to grow larger. The market for mobile robots will be in demand as the manufacturing industry grows and global and United States labor shortages continue into 2030 .

Mobile Robot Forecast:

Even though covid slowed down the manufacturing industry, this sector continued to grow. Many companies delayed purchases, so shipments of mobile robots in 2021 produced an astonishing 70%, surpassing 100,000 robots sold. Although the forecasts changed slightly because of covid, the overall mobile robot forecast for 2027 remains relatively strong.

It is now expected that by 2027, more than 4 million mobile robots will be installed in manufacturing facilities worldwide. The demand for autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and automatic guided vehicles (AGV) is expected to be very strong going into 2027. However, AMR will grow more significantly because of the possible applications that the robot can do.

Logistic companies will still be the leading purchaser of these types of robots, but the possibilities in manufacturing applications lean towards new opportunities for robot companies to introduce their products.

Mobile Robot Market Size:

The chart trends of each region show that the shelf to person (S2P) robots lead in China and APAC, while order fulfillment center robots are the top purchased type for the Americas and EMEA.

The United States is projected to have massive revenue growth in this area, with its market size reaching almost $6 billion by 2027. The EMEA is second, with a market size of $5 billion by 2027. China is expected to account for nearly 40% of the robot shipments because of the demand for lower-cost robots. APAC is expected to have slower growth because of the regional sale prices of the technology.

Mobile Robot Revenue Growth:

Of the mobile robot manufacturing companies, Geek+ and its extensive product line of robots currently hold the market share of worldwide revenue. China was the leader in revenue growth the last year, and Geek+ was their most prominent supplier of robots. HikRobot and KION were second and third in robots supplied to China.

Robot pricing is expected to fail by 10% - 15% as shipments double. The region dictates these robots’ transportation methods, affecting potential future growth opportunities in those areas. Projecting into 2027, the material transportation sector should control the mobile robot shipments, but sales volume will be driven by conveying solutions.

Mobile Robot Transportation Methods:

Below we list the different types of transportation methods used with mobile robots.

Goods to Person
Robot Shuttle
Moving
Forklift
Sorting
Smart Warehouse
Smart Factory
Towing

Mobile Robot Market Forecast Conclusions:

Below are some of the mobile robot key takeaways from today’s article.

4 million mobile robots in use by the end of 2027
70% shipment growth in 2021
The United States is expected to purchase the most mobile robots
China currently has the most mobile robots
Outside of China, EMEA, and the United States, growth is only expected to double
AMR growth is expected to be more than AGV growth

Sources: Interact Analysis , NAM (National Association of Manufacturers) .

Travis Weber | Lincoln Electric

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 01:05:09 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Travis Weber | Episode 3

In this episode, we talk with weld and sales engineer Travis Weber of Lincoln Electric. Travis is a Ferris State University graduate and has been in the automation industry for 10 years. He has seen large and small automation projects throughout his engineering career. Join us on this episode as we discuss his role in the automation industry.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD) : Hi, my name is Keegan, I'm the founder of JOINER Services, and this is Engineers in Automation . In today’s episode, we’re going to talk with Travis Weber, of Lincoln Electric. He's a sales engineer and weld engineer for them. And we're going to talk about his role within the automation industry. Now let's go talk automation.

KD : All right, and we're back. And we're here today with Travis Weber, wealth engineer, Sales Engineer for Lincoln Electric. Travis, how are you doing?

Travis Weber – Guest (TW) : I'm good, man. How are you?

KD : Good. Thanks for coming on today. Could you give us a little bit of background about yourself?

TW : Yeah, so I'm a technical wrap weld engineer, Sales Engineer for Lincoln Electric in southwest Ohio, southeast Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. I’ve been with the company going on nine years and have covered a couple of different territories across the country. And previous to that I was an intern at John Deere and Case IH prior to that. And then, like you kind of got started at Ferris State up in Big Rapids, Michigan. You know, it's just been writing the story ever since.

KD : Great. And then, how did you get into welding? Right? What drew you to Ferris State? How did you jump into this industry?

TW: So, the thing that drew me to industry or to welding, excuse me, is I grew up on a farm. And so when things break, right, it's all steel. It's heavy steel. And it's got to be welded back together and watching my dad and grandpa weld. I was like, “Man, that's, that's kind of cool.” Right? So next thing you know, they're like, “well, you try and see what you think.” Right? So, I really enjoyed it. And in Traverse City, Michigan, where I grew up, there was a Traverse Bay Area Career Tech Center, and they had a two-year high school welding program.

So, it started there. And my welding instructor was extremely supportive. I actually worked for him in the evenings at his own shop. And he was like, “Look, man, you know, what do you want to do with welding?” And as a 17-year-old kid, 18-year-old kid, I didn't know. But he's like, “Well, there's this school south to here, like two hours, and they have a welding engineering program. You should check it out.”

KD : Wow, that path that you just described sounds so similar to mine, I had the same sort of experience with a professor, or I guess, a teacher from high school that kind of pushed me towards the welding program. And, yeah, it changed my life for the better.

TW : Absolutely, yeah, I was lost, right? I wasn't a big fan of school, you know, like, like, most guys in the trades, I want to work with their hands. And, you know, he was like, “Look, you, you got a good head on your shoulders, like maybe, maybe push it to the next level.” And I'm easily goaded into things like, hey, let's push it to the next level. And in this instance, the next level was college. He's like, “Look, just because you go for a semester doesn't mean you have to commit for four years or even like the two-year Welding Technology Program.” He's like, “just go try it out. If it's not for you, you gain some life experience. And then you can come back and restart in a different direction.” So, by the time the first semester was over, I wasn't coming home. Right. I was ready to go the distance.

KD : Yeah, great! And then how did you kind of, after graduation, then move into industrial automation? How did you get into this industry?

TW : So, when I came to Lincoln, you know, we're part of my role is really anything that has a Lincoln Electric sticker on it, for the most part. So that's safety gear, that's welding equipment, that's welding consumables, MIG TIG stick flux, core sub, our plasma cutting, automation, semi-automatic handheld heart automation. And, you know, over time, I just have developed more of an interest in the automated side. Whether it's, you know, robotic automation, or some sort of mechanized, you know, hard automation. But I think that that's something that I enjoy.

And, you know, as, as the world kind of continues to change, I think that that's something we're going to rely on more and more, and not just in the welding world, but in all aspects, material handling, you know, we keep seeing these new stories about automated vehicles, right, self-driving cars, self-driving trucks. I think automation is kind of the way of the future. And it happens that I enjoy automation. And so, why not just keep pushing in that direction? To see what I come up with?

KD : Absolutely. And then, what are some of your day-to-day automation projects that you're working on?

TW : So, we're automation is concerned, and it's not every day, but we're automation is concerned. A lot of it is working with our quote team, you know, to find or to get a quote, put together for an end user that I've been working with, that's like, hey, you know, we were short on people. Our production volumes are increasing. Whatever, like, hey, is automation a viable solution? Yep, it is. So, let's talk about it. Let's figure out do you need a back-to-back? Do you need a side-by-side? Do you need a single-arm dual arm? headstock, tailstock, Ferris wheel, H-frame, you know, what is it that you need?

Then get with our quoting team, get the quote, put it together, get it over to the end user, and then get, you know, kind of the next step is to get some of their parts may be sent up to our lab. Weld those parts out, you know, prove it out that we can do it, get some cycle time estimates and things like that. Let them, you know, for first-time automation users, let them do destructive testing, nondestructive testing, cutting etch, whatever they need to do to say,” Yeah, this is good,” as the parts that my guys or my gals are making.

So that's part of what I do on the sales side, but then on the supporting side. And I'm by no means an expert, but I'm not afraid to grab a teach pendant and make adjustments, right, whether it's, you know, reprogramming positions, or which, and I'm not an automation expert, I would say that I'm more of a welding expert.

So, if I can get paired with one of the automation specialists at wherever it is, you know, they can kind of handle some of the robot manipulation. And then I, I handled that magic red box, kind of on the back of the robot that's handling the weld. So it's probably two days a week part of my responsibility right now and hoping in the future to make that a five-day-a-week, kind of a full responsibility and leave some of the other stuff buying.

KD : Yeah, absolutely. That kind of leads into my next question is, you know, being responsible for that red box there. I'm sure. And I noticed on your LinkedIn that you're doing a lot of weld training as well. Can you kind of talk to us about that? You know, how do you get involved with that? If that is something that you're interested in? Are you doing it for your customers? Can you just describe a little bit about the training?

TW : Yeah, so I mean, it's something that we support, right, as part of our product offering as part of our value add. And, you know, I've got a welding background. I’ve been in and out of the industry. And then, of course, have the Lincoln background, so I can support those products that have that red box with the Lincoln sticker on the side. You know, my goal is to be able to take the end user, whomever it may be, whether it's yourself or you know, Joe's fab shop, or, or, you know, big-time automotive supplier XYZ, right?

But you want to be able to make them successful, right? So, one of the things is because they've got 100 things going on, right, that they're responsible for. But if I can take some of my time to teach them, you know more about the welding process, the equipment that they're using, you know, the different wires, right? Why 035 versus 045? Or maybe 045 versus 035?

You know, and I had somebody one time ask me like, well, what if you train yourself out of a job? First off, I highly doubt that that's going to happen. Because while you know people learn from training, they're probably never going to become proficient enough that they don't ever reach out for help. Yeah. So, it's actually something that I enjoy. And that moment when you're working with somebody, and you're explaining things, and all of a sudden, you see the light bulb? Come on, right? It's very fulfilling.

KD : And it's only going to, yeah, it's only going to help you too right? I mean, the more that your clients know about your system, the better it is for you that you can make that quick call to remember, during this part of the class, you need to do this right.

TW : Yeah, absolutely.

KD : They're your biggest allies. I would think, you know, once you train them well,

TW : yeah, I mean, from a, from a sales and engineering standpoint, right? If they're happy with the product they have, they know the ins and outs of it. They know that they're getting good support when they need it, and why, you know, why to consider other options or why, and not that they shouldn't, but why would you, you know, take a hard look at somebody else if you're happy with what you've got.

KD : Yep. Great point. So, on that note, then, can you tell me a couple of the things that you really like about the industrial automation industry?

TW : Man, this sounds super childish, but right off the gate, I just think robots are cool. I mean, you're looking at a piece of steel, kind of sat there with a bunch of servos attached to it, and you're holding the teach pendant that's not much bigger than some of today's cell phones, and you can make that thing, do whatever you want it to do within the limits of that machine. But repeatability is right. It does the same thing over and over again. And it does it at a speed that we as humans can't. We have no way to be able to do that. And it's just such an again, Cool thing. And I also like the need. Maybe neatness is the right word, right?

But, you know, you get a robot cell setup. It doesn't need all these extra things, right? It's taking parts in giving you parts out. You know, it's just very streamlined. It’s very efficient. Typically, it's set up the right process. And, you know, the engineer and me mixed with a little bit of OCD, really like that kind of streamlined process, and therefore I enjoy, you know, spending the time with the automation side.

KD : Absolutely. And I always kind of relate it to my friends who aren't in the industry. It’s almost like you get to program robots is similar to, like, playing video games, right? You get to go. You are almost building Legos. And it's with video games. And that's, like, the easiest way to explain to somebody that's not in the industry. Oh, look, I get to build these things. And then I also get to kind of play around with this teach pendant. The robot does stuff that I tell it to do. And yeah, it's really fun.

TW : Yeah. And again, I just go back to being like a little kid. Man, I think it's cool to see those. See them in their natural element. Right.

KD : Yeah, absolutely. And then, with that, what are some things you change about the industry and the automation industry?

TW : Oh, man, that's a good one. You know, there's a ton of people that I've met with over the years, and we've talked about automation every year for three or four or five years. And they're like, “well, I just don't know.”

KD : A hesitancy.

TW : Yeah, a hesitancy, and look at automation is not inexpensive, right? You have to shell out a bunch of money upfront, but typically, there's an ROI. If there's not an ROI, you probably shouldn't be buying automation unless you just got more money than you know what to do it. But typically, there's an ROI. I wish that more people would. When they see the ROI, right, they've had parts welded out, and they know that an automated system can do what they want. I wish they would take that leap of faith because I think, inevitably, it would help their business.

Right, because it frees up people for other responsibilities. It allows faster production of the parts you're already making, right? And, typically, once you get one in and kind of get accustomed to it, then you start thinking, you're like, wow, we can put this on there. Or we can put this on there. Or we can do this with it. Or, hey, if we had a little bit bigger system, or instead of a headstock, tailstock, if we had, you know, in a tray where we could be loading and unloading, I mean, it just continues to grow, and their mind starts to change more and more, and they focused on that automation, and how it can help their business be more profitable.

So, if more people would just be willing to, assuming everything checks out, the ROI, is there, the funds are there. Yeah, if they were willing to pull the trigger. That’s what I would like to see changed within the industry

KD : And with that, too. Have you seen some changes from like your typical standard industrial-size robot, maybe cobots? Have you seen much of that?

TW : Yeah. And I think there are two driving factors that are a cobot is a significantly smaller investment. So, it's a little easier to stomach, especially if you're a small, maybe medium-sized welding shop, you know, 80 to 100 grands a lot easier to bite often than 180 to 200,000. Right? Some of I know that you've done robot programming, and probably a lot of folks are watching this, but you know, you get into some of the back menus. And all of a sudden, you can get very, very, very lost if you hit the wrong button. Then you're calling somebody like me or somebody with, you know, more expertise going.

Hey, and I'm just going to use this as an example. I had a customer that somehow got into their I/Os and turned the anti-spatter spray on. So anytime they touched the deadman switch or hit cycle start, the anti-spatter will just spray uncontrollably, right? So, you know, cobots have helped simplify that a lot. A lot of touch-to-teach. The cobot that I have here and basin for demos for exploratory use, a lot of drag and drop, right? It's basically a Samsung tablet, and you take whatever move. is it a weld move? Is that an air move? Is it a joint move versus linear? Is it an arc start and arc? Is it a circular move? Right? And you just drag and drop as you create your program, and then you physically grab your arm and move it to wherever it is that you want it?

So, you still need that teach pendant for the overall control, but you're not driving it, right? You can physically manipulate that arm to whatever position you need to get into a groove or to do fillet or whatever. So, I think it's helping simplify things. And I think that the cost, the lower cost is much more appealing to some of the smaller facilities.

KD : And are you seeing some of the same repeat abilities you'd see with your standard industrial-sized?

TW : Yeah, again, the only little asterisk there, right? A lot of times with industrial automation or dedicated automation cells, you've got a $150,000 robot, and then maybe you've got 20 or $25,000 in the tooling, or maybe more, right? Depending on how complex your tooling is. On a cobot, maybe you've got a little bit less intricate fixture. And as long as your fixture is as good as the parts you're feeding in, it's not an issue.

KD : Good. And then what are some of the maybe have you seen some lightweight materials come into play a little bit more? I know, there's a lot of, you know, regulations now regarding co2 emissions for vehicle and gas mileage. Have you seen a lot of new materials for light weighting purposes?

TW: Um, yeah. And I'm, again, as we move forward, I'm hoping to get more into some of that. So, I've got some limited experience. But, you know, it's crazy to think of, you know, the thickness, and before I started working in the automotive industry, you start thinking about a car frame, and you're like, man, what the chassis is made out of? Like, a 1/4 inch, right? No, and then now that I'm in this industry, I don't know that there's hardly anything on my truck that's sitting in the garage that's a 1/4 inch, at least not in thickness.

And yeah, obviously, with internal combustion, right, gas or diesel engines. Light weighting is a big deal, trying to get the miles per gallon up. But now, with all of the regulations and the way things are going with these battery vehicles, these electric vehicles. You have things like regenerative braking. Well, you need weight to help with regenerative braking.

So, we're at a point where I think the industry will start to split a little bit, and you're going to have folks still working on light weighting. How do we get a Ford pickup truck to 30 miles a gallon? Can we get the weight down more but then, on the other hand, you're going to have folks that are that or maybe not trying to add weight, but they're not really interested in light weighting either because they need that weight for the benefits of the electric vehicle.

KD : Yeah, that's a great point. Yeah, a lot of people aren't thinking about that. That's a really good point. So yeah. So, another question I've got is everyone has some mistakes. What kind of mistakes have you run into? How do you fix it? How do you overcome it? Or do you have any current issues that you can talk about?

TW : Well, I would love to tell you that I don't make mistakes and that I can't answer your question. But that would probably be a lie. There's not, and there's not any that stick out. I will say when I was first getting into automation, it wasn't maybe so much a mistake as a bluff, right? I told the guy, “Well, I can do anything with this robot you need done.”

Some time went back and forth. And you know, we've been working together, and he was like, “Alright, well, here's what I need.” And I was just like, “oh, well, I can't do that.” But I didn't want to let him know I wasn't capable. So, you know, basically, earbuds in teach pendant in hand, working through it. And there were some complexities that needed more than just a walkthrough. I needed somebody there that had some skills.

So, I actually told the guy like, “Hey, I've got a kind of an emergency. I got to go take care of something, I'll come back in a couple of days, and we'll get this figured out.” And so, I brought a guy in with me to fix the situation. And I started to tell the guy was like, “hey, like, he's one of our trainees. Like, I'm just showing him the ropes.” And it very quickly became obvious that the guy was not a trainee. He was bailing me out, and the guy called me out and was like, “Look, man, like, if you didn't know, you know, you should have just told me.”

KD : That was a good strategy, though. I mean, but you know, knowing that you couldn't do it yourself, that you needed help and realizing that quickly letting the customer know though and coming back, so I still like how you resolved it, you know, maybe could have been done a little bit differently, but no, still got the results that you need it, so that's good.

TW : It was very humbling, right? Because I was like, well, I could do this right. It's not a big deal. And then that I couldn't do it. And I needed help. And thankfully, there were good people on my team that were able to help me out and take care of what needed to be taken care of. But you know, I went from Yeah, I can do that. That's no problem too. Let’s take a look at it kind of mentality and never really saying right out of the gate, yes, that's no problem because things come up.

Even in the automation world where everything is very regimented, like that robot when you hit that cycle start button, it should be doing the exact same thing. It's done for the last 40,000 cycles, but things happen, right? Somebody got in there to change a weld parameter and deleted a line in your program. And now it tries to go, you know, there's a fixture here that robots welding here, this is the air move. Next thing, you know, you got a broken neck, there's water going everywhere, and you're like, “Oh, something went wrong.”

KD : I’ve seen that one too many times. Um, great analogy there. I guess another great question that I always like to ask is, you know, especially somebody like yourself that has been in the industry now for over 10 years and has all this knowledge. Where do you go to learn? You know, we're constantly learning in the industry, but as you know, is there somewhere you go to learn more about welding, more about automation? You know, where do you go to learn?

TW : And the guys I'm going to reference here, I'm going to call them gray hairs. And they're gonna get mad at me for that because they're not much older than I am, but they do have a few more gray hairs. And, honestly, you know, YouTube's a great reference, and there's, you know, videos out there. And certainly, you can call the corporate offices, of all the major automation companies.

But there are guys in the industry that have so much knowledge because they've done so much. Basically, you know, keep those guys on speed dial. I reach out on a regular basis, and I'm proud to say that it's becoming less and less frequent right as I absorb some of that knowledge. But, you know, they've seen it, and they've done it, and they've tried it. I mean, they've got more years working with automation than I have in the industry. So, you know, , their knowledge level is so high. It's just like, man. And so, it builds the relationship, right? Like those guys, initially, were business partners or co-workers, and they become friends, right?

One of the guys that I rely on pretty regularly. You know he and I had talked, he's a hunter, I'm a hunter, and we talked about hunting for a long time. And he and I actually ended up going to Montana elk hunting last year. So, you never know, of those guys, in those relationships that you use on a professional level? How's that going to be? What will that do to your personal life, either? But there are truly resources everywhere. And there's always good people who want to teach the younger generations myself, and you know, even high school students and college students now that will teach you more about their craft and the things they do.

KD : That's great. And then, just to wrap up here, do you have any words of inspiration? You know, is there anything that you can kind of wrap up this interview with? Any leadership advice?

TW : Well, I'm probably not qualified to give leadership advice. But you know, words of encouragement are, if you're interested in automation, just get out there and do it. Right. If you're a young professional or a student and it interests you go get on YouTube, learn more about it, talk to your local career tech, or your local vocational school or, you know, skilled trades facilities, and say, “Hey, what kind of automation programs do you have?”

If you don't want to go the education route, get into a facility that has automation and say, hey, I want to start whatever role you need, but my real interest is that robot that's over there in the corner. So, can we put together some sort of plan where in a year, six months, or whatever the timeframe is that I'm doing more with that and grow your skills from there? I've got several large automotive customers that have kind of their own apprenticeship program for their robot techs. And you're gonna learn robots. You’re going to learn industrial automation and you’re going to learn PLCs, you're going to learn programming, welding, and everything in between. Oh, and by the way, we’ll pay you pretty darn good money while you do.

You know, I think, and where I grew up in northern Michigan, we didn't have a lot of that. I think had I known about that or been, you know, that had been more readily available, I probably would have gone that route over, you know, going to Ferris, and not that I regret going to Ferris, just I know what my mindset was at that time and that that, you know, paid apprenticeship program would have spoken to me in volumes. So, you know, my advice is where automation is concerned is just go get it. There's, there are so many opportunities in automation right now, not only related to welding but in all aspects. Go get them.

KD : Great advice. Great advice. And let me ask, where can people find you? Where can they follow you?

TW : Pretty much. I'm a LinkedIn guy. I like the professionalism, I guess, of the LinkedIn platform. That's kind of where I hang out.

KD : Okay, awesome. Well, thanks. Thanks for being on, and we hope that all the guests today enjoyed the show. So, give us a like and comment a share, and don't forget to subscribe. And we look forward to having you join us next time here on Engineers in Automation . Thanks

If you enjoyed that episode, get more information below!

Want to connect with Travis personally on LinkedIn? Check out his page here .

Want to learn more about JOINER Services and their engineering service platform for contract engineers, you can find it here .

San Francisco Police Will Deploy Robots That Kill

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 04:21:57 GMT

San Francisco Police Department Deploys Robots That Could Kill Humans

According to the Associated Press (AP), the San Francisco police department specified that the robots used would be for the ability to use remote-controlled robots for lethal force in emergency situations possibly. The police department in San Francisco said it has no plan to arm robots with weapons. Still, they have stated they will use them to contact suspects in dangerous situations equipped with explosive charges.

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said that the department has no armed robots with weapons and does not plan to arm robots with weapons in the future.

The San Francisco supervisors voted this Tuesday, November 29, 2022, to allow the city’s police department to use these deadly remote-controlled robots. The vote was eight “yes” to three “no,” with the opponents stating that the robots would lead to a more aggressive, dangerous, and militarized police force in the city.

Currently, the San Francisco Police Department has 17 robots; 12 are fully functional. The machines are focused on defusing bombs and investigating or surveilling areas that are too hazardous for police officers.

Are police robots allowed to kill humans?

The idea of police robots being legally allowed to kill humans is very controversial, as many people across the country think robots shouldn’t become weaponized. There are currently no federal regulations regarding how the police can use robots in police forces around the country. According to the police department, only a few high-ranking officers will be authorized to use the robot’s deadly force option.

Uses For Police Robots:

• Contact suspects

• Defuse bombs

• Surveillance

• Breach fortified structures

• Equipped with explosives

• Disorient suspects

Can police robots save lives?

The benefit of using a police robot is that the robot can be put in dangerous situations, while officers and civilians can reduce or prevent the risk of loss of life.

Police robots could also keep the suspect safe. It is easier to de-escalate some situations without the presence of a police officer. The reasoning of police officers using lethal force is because they feel unsafe or perceive the suspect as a threat. Using a robot, no one will be endangered, decreasing the probability of having to use deadly force.

The future of police robots.

San Francisco is like communities around the United States trying to balance public safety with the civil rights of their residents. As privacy and freedom clash with the advancement of robotic technology, how will this police oversight intertwine in these communities?

Source: Associated Press .

Malachi Greb | Elite Automation

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:49:28 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Malachi Greb | Episode 2

In this episode, we talk with the founder, CEO, and engineer of Elite Automation, Malachi Greb . His company specializes in the design, programming, and installation of industrial automation systems. This includes everything from entire robot cells, panel builds, electrical engineering, onsite programming, and consulting. Listen to our conversation about running his own automation business.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE HERE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD): Hi, my name is Keegan and I'm the founder of JOINER Services, and this is engineers and automation! On today's episode, we're going to talk to Malachi Greb, the owner, CEO, and engineer of Elite Automation. Their company specializes in the design, programming, and installation of automation equipment. Now let's go talk automation.

KD: Welcome, I have my guest here. Malachi Greb, welcome to the show. Appreciate you coming on. Could you tell everybody a little bit about yourself?

Malachi Greb – Guest (MG): Yeah, so Malachi Greb, CEO, and engineer of elite automation. A somewhat newer company that started out a couple of years ago. Overall, the journey has been, it's been a challenge, but then a wonderful challenge. We're up to, I believe, 15 employees now. Great, crazy, crazy growth.

I mean, we have definitely some very creative strategies that give us the ability to grow like that. You know, me personally, I've been in the industrial automation industry for I think it's been about 10 years now. I think I spent eight years with a systems integrator, basically doing what I do. Pretty much my entire day of going and going through college.

I expressed interest back when I was in college about wanting to be on the road and working and she had happened to go to college with somebody who had started their own company doing industrial automation. So, I landed that, I landed that job with them. And my journey just kind of started and I stuck it out at that company for about eight years before branching off and doing my own thing.

KD: Oh, wow. That's, that's awesome. That's good to hear. And what year did you start then?

MG: 2020.

KD: Okay, wow, good. Congratulations, you're already up to 15 employees. That's pretty impressive, then.

MG: Yeah, well 2019. There was about six months we were in business, but it was like still the background, you know, getting stuff prepared, working on a little bit in the background. But I still had a nine-to-five job and, you know, just kind of getting some of the footwork done.

KD: Yeah. Congratulations. And also, let me also say, congratulations, also, I saw you hit 12,000 followers on LinkedIn. So, if you're not following him, go ahead and go follow him over there. You're the content King, man, how the heck do you do it? That's what I want to know.

MG: Well, I mean, in reality, I kind of accredited it to a couple of different things. One is sheer execution. And then the second thing is having a team to back me up. So, our team handles a lot of our creative now I kind of just approved a lot of it, and give them things to go off of. And just to get involved in the approval process, and just make things look the way that I want our brand to look overall. And then, you know, the execution side of things. It's like, I was talking to somebody today I was at an event. And basically, the conversation went along the lines of like, I barely know what I'm doing five minutes from now.

It's kind of like, I just pull out my calendar, oh, wow, I got this thing I need to attend to, you know, I'll kind of do a brief overview like a day or two before making sure I don't have to be like out of town, or I have to be like a few hours away. And if I don't, I kind of just don't put any brainpower into like what my next steps are. I generally take a few days out of the week and map out kind of what my main key goals are for the week. And then I put those on a calendar and I kind of don't think about them again until they pop up on my calendar.

KD: Wow. Wow, about that. So let me ask you this, then. Is there a platform then that you prefer to share more on? I know, you have some great YouTube videos out there. You're pretty active on LinkedIn. Is there a platform that you prefer, especially for your business?

MG: Yeah, so we're definitely 110% LinkedIn, we don't really social media wise, we, we use everything else, but like, I'm not like, truly super active on the other platforms. I do love YouTube in the sense of like, just being a utility to be able to help other engineers out in the field, like college students. It's kind of like our genres, just the automation industry. And like, just getting people more involved because like, I didn't even know about automation till I walk into a college. It was like, what do y'all have? And they're like, well, we have automotive, we have like some welding, you know, and we have this automation thing. I'm like, “what's that?”, you know?

KD: Yeah, tell me more! Now me, I went down the weld path. So, although we both came to the same spot here, we're both in automation. So, with that, I guess, you know, you have a lot of work-life balance outside of work, you know, that you're involved with. I know you're also a fitness buff like myself and have a family, how do you keep that separate? You know, how do you make enough time, so you get that little bit of enjoyment outside of the automation industry?

MG: Yeah, so I think this was, this was huge, and something I'm actually really passionate about. I think that for everybody, they have their own version of what work-life balance is. And they really need to create that for themselves. They can't go based on what anybody else's version of that is. So, for me, I'm like, 110% okay with like pretty much not seeing my kids Monday through Friday. And whereas I do see them, they're there in the evenings and whatnot. But that's where I devote my work.

And then and then when it comes to the weekend, I try to completely shut off if I have the ability. I try not to really answer emails or, or do much of anything. Sometimes, like on a Saturday morning, I may wake up at like 5 am and work a couple of hours, and then by the time 7 am rolls around the kids are starting to wake up. I’m done with it and I can spend time with the family.

KD: Yeah, that's great. And how do you make time for fitness? Especially, you know, I know you do spend some time on the road. How do you squeeze that in there, too?

MG: Yeah. So, for the fitness thing that, one I kind of adapt when, when I work out. So, it kind of shifts around in my life quite a bit. Like as of now I'm doing working out in the morning time. So, I'm waking up at like, 430 in the morning trying to be at the gym by five and trying to leave by seven. Then that I've had a schedule from where I'm trying to be at the gym, it's at four, four in the afternoon, and try to leave by 6 pm. Yeah, kind of just let it fall on my life. Whatever works best with my current schedule.

KD: Understandable. So, on the automation side, let's kind of jump back into that now. What’s a great automation project that you've worked on, that you've really enjoyed? Can you kind of go into some detail about that?

MG: That's really, it's definitely hard. And I like all of them.

KD: Yeah, well, so do I, I love anything, you know, whether you're making small equipment, or you know, working on an assembly line, it's all fun. But what's the best project you've done? Do you think?

MG: So, I definitely like anything that involves vision and in-line tracking. One application that we did that was pretty intensive was basically we picked apart, we did a dispensing application on it, then we had to do a 3D measurement of the volume of dispense material onto the park to meet tolerances, and then that part had to be placed within like, point one millimeter onto like a piece of glass. That was definitely an interesting, interesting project, mainly, mainly for tolerance’s sake, it was just like super high tolerances.

KD: So, I guess the next question then would be, what are some of your likes about the automation industry? Do you have a top three likes about the industry or a top two that you really enjoy?

MG: Probably the, I would say at least top two for sure. One is, especially being a systems integrator, I love the diversity, and I love that every application is different. So, it's like, you can be doing yours and run applications you've never even done before. So, and every application technically you've never done before unless it's an exact repeat system, which doesn't happen very often, you know. Normally handling a different part or something about the operation is different.

And then the second thing probably is the technology. It's just really cool. Like being able to see how data works and how data works from like the real world and goes into the digital world and doing stuff as you know, robots’ Cartesian space and like how the line tracking, like how that correlates with the robot and, or vision location. You know, and after you understand a lot of intent to understand it's fundamentally the same.

It's just kind of a different way of going about doing it and or if it's different like input device.

And really, I think there's going be also a ton into the future on what we do with that space. Like our world as a whole like going into like autonomous vehicles and stuff like that you're going to start seeing a lot of these industrial technologies that are our actual day-to-day lives.

KD: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so on that, let's go the opposite way, give me a dislike about the automation industry.

MG: Dislike, that one is a hard one. Realistically, I think it's not even automation industry-specific, but I think it's part of the business itself. And it moves too slowly. It's like, you know, the discussion of like, talking about doing a project like, that discussion will be six months, before, you go to move on a project.

Or just like a lot of things is like, can be something like just engineer, whatever the thing is, like, instead of having like, 50, meetings to discuss, whatever, before you do the engineering, it's like, there's a lot of time wasted in like, kind of like the bureaucratic, side of things.

KD: Well, I guess that probably does help you though being a little bit smaller company, they'll make those quick and fast decisions, as well, I would think.

MG: Yeah, for sure. And, and that's what I'm really trying to do with our company into the future is like, I want to try to keep, like, design our company and have systems in place, that we can always operate very quickly.

So instead of us becoming like this, this massive company, where, you know, this team over here has to get approval from these guys up here, I more so, want like individual teams to operate as their own entity in the sense. Not like, they necessarily have to get approval, it's like, this person is in charge of their project, they own their project, they do, you know, all the tasks that are necessary.

And then maybe you have like, upper level, like a project manager or something like that, who just ensures that like, from a business standpoint, like this project is going smoothly. All of the customer’s requirements are being met, and customers are happy, kind of just more of like the PR side of things, which should still have like, no impact on what's going on with the project itself. Unless it unless it's pushing that project to move quicker, move quicker, and just move forward with its operation.

KD: That kind of, you know, rolls into my next one. What are some lessons learned in the automation industry that you've had?

MG: One key one is things always take longer than you think they’re going to take.

KD: Yeah, absolutely. And then on that, lessons learned, where do you go to learn? So, I know, you're going to run into some issues here and there, where is your go-to spot to find out more information on YouTube, other engineers, or other owners? Where do you go to learn?

MG: So definitely, it's probably YouTube is the first number one thing, as part of the reason why we created a YouTube channel. Is because like, boom, that's where I go, I’m going to YouTube. And it's like, wow, there's nothing here, really, you know, so then it kind of falls back into now you're really at the bottom. The best next best thing is like documentation, you know, like going through like FANUC documentation, or Allen Bradley PLC documentation, or forums too.

Forums are actually really good, like really like old-school forums. Those tend to be very, very helpful, especially whenever you have like, some weird issue that you're seeing, and it doesn't really feel like maybe instead of going back to FANUC again, and in its manual, it says, “it's this,” “it’s that,” and all of them saying the server boards bad. But it's like, it's like, it just defaults to replace the servo board. But that's not the root cause of the problem. It’s just how their manual operates. So yeah, you can get some good content out in forums that can help save you from replacing a servo drive.

KD: Yeah, absolutely. So, I know you mentioned earlier about some of the events that you're traveling to, what are the events that you're going to this year? I know there are quite a few now kind of with covid starting to slow down and everyone's getting back out there. Are there a few events that you're looking forward to, maybe coming up to the Detroit area to Automate? I'll hopefully be there.

MG: Yeah, hopefully, I'll see you there! Automate is definitely one of them. There's a Modex event that's here. I think it's like the 28th through the 31st. That one's in Atlanta, Georgia, I believe. And really, all these events. I'm anticipating being there for the whole extent of the event, like a four-day event, I'm going to probably be there for all four days.

KD: The power of networking.

MG: Yeah, probably from the time the doors open to the doors closed. And then doing some other small ones. So like Neff one of our vendors, they've been hosting some events, and these events, they're there in all their sales regions. And then I'm following those Neff events around to all their different sales regions to basically the same thing, just network with them see what kind of technologies they have built, build stronger relationships with the individuals that are, that are our vendors that we do work with on a regular basis.

Actually, a funny story. Before this meeting, I shot a YouTube video that was basically explaining for individuals go to events to like land jobs.

KD: There you go. Yeah, great timing then. And then what do you see as the future of automation? And then where do you see the future of your company?

MG: So, the future of automation, I think, I think it's completely endless. I think that everything's going to get more virtual, more virtual, I mean, you got something like, like the metaverse type of stuff, where that's like, completely virtual. And then at that point, it's like, depending on how much we adopt that, then is there even a real world, you know, do we live in a real-world determine, you know, but I think though, that our real world will continue to move in that direction, you're going to start to see, really everything just from the purchase of an item to being delivered at your door, the whole entire process is probably going to get restructured.

And you and you see companies that are performing extremely well, like Amazon's who've already adopted like AMR technologies, just completely, like, did an overhaul on their infrastructure. Or as they develop their infrastructure, they developed it in a way around automation. So like, that's a big thing is manufacturing itself is going to have to kind of go back to the drawing board and develop itself around automation as a whole. And, how do we go from somebody clicking a button on a website, to actually producing the part putting it on a truck, and delivering it to their house?

KD: I’m waiting for the day when I can sit in the comfort of my own home and program a robot, you know, with put some goggles on and move some things around? It'll happen but waiting for that day.

MG: Yeah. And that's all like for us as a company. Like, that's part of our business model is like we are programming so many things remotely. We're really doing like last like five to 10% of the programming on the physical robot, we're trying to do everything in simulation and through simulated software.

And then, as far as our long-term goals a huge one is we want to get more involved with the education space. So, we want to get to the point where we are embedded within like even like elementary school middle school high school, all the way through to college. Yeah, we're like, you know, especially at some point where we're like, financially funding some of these or for just helping them develop these systems, just whatever level of involvement we can get in it, obviously, it'll change as we grow as a company.

But even at this point, like, you know, with like me being involved with like, maybe just doing guest speaking of these facilities, and you know, long term it's, it's having the fully integrated educational system with them, and even maybe even starting our own accredited colleges in our own automation space.

KD: That's really cool. Really cool. And I guess another question, I had your man have lots of inspirational words, what's your favorite inspirational quote that you have right now, whether it's your own or someone else's?

MG: The first one that comes to mind is “the truth always wins.” You know, I probably have, like, you know, I probably have like, five to 10 of them that are like the full ones that I kind of live by.

“The ability to deliver,” is a huge career one. You know, if you have the ability to deliver then you can do just about anything.

Doing the right thing is always the right thing. And these are all kinds of like just simple like, you know, ways to live by, and just to me, I feel like they're like universal laws that if you follow them that good things come to all people around you and yourself.

KD: Couldn't agree more. And kind of the last question here to sort of wrap this up, where can people find you?

MG: Oh, people can mainly find me on LinkedIn, especially if you are trying to communicate with me. And or see what we have going on. Then secondly, you can see me on YouTube, there's not going to be direct communication with me. But you can see like, some of the things will go on that we have going on and my insights on the industry, things along those lines. Yeah, definitely. LinkedIn is the place to go. And I advise anybody who doesn't have a LinkedIn account, to get a LinkedIn account. It's the best. It's one of the best places to get a job, network, and learn. It’s a great place.

KD: Awesome, great advice! Well, thanks for being on the show with us today and we hope you all enjoyed this episode. So give us a like, comment, share, and subscribe, and we look forward to having you join us next time on engineers and automation. Thanks.

MG: Have a good one!

If you enjoyed that episode, get more information below!

Interested in learning more about Elite Automation follow them here on LinkedIn.

Want to connect with Malachi personally on LinkedIn? Check out his page here .

To learn more about Elite Automation visit their website at https://eliteautomationusa.com/ .

Sewage Inspection Robot

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 22:28:08 GMT

Sewage Inspecting Robot Spider In Japan

Japan is facing a sewage inspection worker shortage, so the Japanese company TMSUK has developed a sewage-inspecting robot. According to TMSUK, the company is trying to help ease the workload for existing pipeline workers in the field by creating this robot.

The SPD1 is a multi-legged prototype that crawls through sewage pipes, which a local pipe maintenance company first requested in Japan. TMSUK made this new workroid announcement of their spider-type robot on November 8, 2022. Workroids are one of their specialties at the company and can coexist with humans to do more practical tasks in industries facing labor shortages.

Key Sewage Inspection Robot Features:

• Multi-legged

• 360-Degree Navigation Camera

• Compact Frame (8.3”x9.8”x11”)

• LED Spotlights

• Grouped With Tether

• Lightweight (7.7 lbs.)

• Intuitive Controller

Sewage Pipe Deterioration

Sewage pipes have been rapidly decaying since the 1970s, so considering the state of these sewage pipes, the SPD1 was designed and prototyped. This decaying or corrosion will increase rapidly in the future, so it is essential to find a robotic solution quickly. In addition to the global labor shortages, there is this shortage at sewerage construction sites. This has led to long lead times with inspections and when repairs will be completed.

Sewage Robot Advantages

The SPD1 was designed to improve the efficiency of inspection work. It can make its way through different-sized diameter pipes. The operator can view a real-time video from a gamer-like remote control to drive the robot. This controller is attached to a long electrical tether that connects to the robot's rear.

The sewage robot has LED "spider eyes" that are spotlights to help see its surroundings. The robot also has sensors to help guide it through the pipes. Workers could use this single sewage robot specifically to perform inspections.

Another advantage is that TMSUK envisions a scenario where 3 of these robots could be tethered together. These linked robots could work in a group to perform their tasks. The lead robot would guide the team through the pipeline, while the middle bot would identify repair areas, and the third spider robot could perform those repairs with some robotic arm tooling.

TMSUK plans to release a production model once it can successfully demonstrate its abilities at a sewage pipe survey site. The company is expected to develop new robotic end-of-arm tooling so workers can change functions depending on the narrow pipe applications humans cannot reach.

If your company would like to have a demo of the SPD1 at your commercial sewage site, don't hesitate to get in touch with TMSUK here .

The SPD1 multi-legged walking robot video can be seen on YouTube below:

Source: TMSUK , via Robot Start .

Raul Verdusco | Verdusco Consulting

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 20:52:48 GMT

Engineers in Automation - Raul Verdusco | Episode 1

In this episode, we talk with the founder of Verdusco Consulting LLC, Raul Verdusco . He is an experienced technical consultant who provides many types of engineering services, solving today’s problems with tomorrow’s solutions. Listen to our conversation about his automation journey, engineering consulting, and how he got started in the automation industry.

WATCH THIS ENGINEERS IN AUTOMATION EPISODE HERE

Keegan Dillon – Host (KD): Hi my name is Keegan and I am the founder of JOINER Services and this is Engineers in Automation. On today’s episode, we are going to be talking with Raul Verdusco of Verdusco Consulting. We are going to talk a little bit about his automation and engineering journey, so let’s go ahead and jump into the show!

KD: All right, and welcome, everybody here. I'm with Raul Verdasco from Verdasco consulting. Raul, welcome! And thank you for being on the show with us today. Can you give everybody just a brief little background introduction about yourself and your company?

Raul Verdusco (RV): Yeah. Again, my name is Raul Verdusco, I’m the founder of Verdusco Consulting.

I guess long story short, I started my consulting company because I had an issue with my builders at my house, I had mold all through my basement floor joist. And so, I was looking for a way to draw some extra money. And so, I just started my LLC, way back when in 2016.

About a couple of years ago, I decided to get serious about my business and start looking into opening up like, I guess you'd say, moving forward with my company, and on October 11, I took the leap and went on my own I've been growing since.

And I guess a little bit about what I do and where any type of work I do. Obviously, my business is consulting, but also do consulting and engineering support. And a lot of companies right now just looking for that engineering support, just because it is yeah, I say a lot of companies are just, that's what their need is. Consulting at this point in time, but that's their need.

KD: What type of engineering support do you provide?

RV: I can do project management, and also, software support, and engineering support. A lot of the companies right now, like, for example, I did some work for, Spin Tech, and Kellogg was most looking for help to bring a station up to speed. Another one was looking for, obviously, production support. And it's really where the needs are. Right now. I'm doing a company in the medical field.

Unfortunately, I have some NDAs that prevent me from truly talking about everything. End of the day, you know, I'm moving around different industries. And that's something that I really enjoy. That's something that I'm great, I guess you say wouldn't be able to do as a W2 employee.

KD: Yeah, absolutely. And what other industries have you been working in then?

RV: Really, the two big ones for me have been the medical and food and process industry.

KD: And is there a lot of contract work in that area, you know, is there a lot of business right now in that area?

RV: I think so I think, from what I can tell, every industry is looking to automate equipment. And, and so that brings a pool of engineers, and, you know, from hearing from, I guess you'd say, the younger generation, not everybody wants to get into controls they're more into IT stuff. Yeah, in the classroom, which is, which is pretty big, actually. But in essence, it drains away from the controls engineering the integration part. Yeah. And I'd say that's, that's where a lot of people like, oh, I didn't know it was at once you get it?

KD: That's great, that's a great lead into my next question, too, is how did you actually get started in controls engineering, in electrical engineering in this in this industry?

RV: You know, actually, that's my very first job at Horiba. They do custom design, custom work in engine testing, and transmission testing. And most of that is not automated. But one of the projects I had was for the Duramax diesel engine, and end up going out there and working on that project. And, the majority of that was automated, just because of the way they have the lines work.

They'll bring the engines over and get testing the test. And part of the job at that time was probably 10-15 years ago, was just refurbished, upgrade each, each test stand. And that's where I really learned automation and PLC work and it was, I guess, you say intense, fun at the same time a huge learning curve.

KD: Yeah. Yeah. Great. Great. And then so about your business, then your consulting business, what makes that different than other consulting businesses that are out there? And that, you know, like, kind of touched on a little bit. Have you worked on any interesting projects now that you're, you're doing your own thing that you can share at least?

RV: The medical field has been very interesting, at least from my point.

You know it's much different from automotive as in the checks and balances? There are a lot of verifications. And from that area as in the medical side, and people who have done that work understand that. How regulated is or how much emphasis is on verifying, and it makes sense. You know, you're putting medicine in the people. So, you got to make sure you're right.

There's no, oh, let's see what happens. It's all about, you got to make sure. It has to be 100%. So, and which is great, because some of the time, I'm pretty sure you've been through it yourself. You know, some of the stuff you like, let's verify before we run this.

KD: Yeah, yeah. Good. And then so I guess, what would be some of the likes and dislikes that you've seen in the industry lately? Are there any trends that you're trying to get on that you'd like that you've seen?

RV: Um, as of trends? I'm not sure. I mean, it's, how should I put this? I think the trend right now is, is everyone's trying to automate something. I mean.

KD: And not everything can be automated yet.

RV: Well, they're trying. Like, one thing I noticed is, there's a lot of cloud-based companies now that monitor hardware, for example, you know, Siemens is right now, you know, monitoring circuit breakers, like if you're trying to control a heating mechanism. And you always have to pen and close the contact, well that contact is going eventually go bad.

And so they tried to do predictive algorithms to determine, Okay, this thing's supposed to take, let's say, 500 hits, I might 480, or 450. They want software that sends a signal to the maintenance department to go change that out before it goes bad.

Which is honestly really cool. But at the same time, it's being able to integrate all that software into the hardware. And I'm to give a simple example. I mean, I heard of people using that type of software on doors. And how many times do you open and close that door? And okay, do we have to replace the components before the door falls off?

KD: Yeah, sure. Yeah. Awesome. Well, how about let's talk about some of your, your more your background, you know, what are some of the mistakes that you've had on your journey? Now that you’ve been kind of out on your own here for a few years.

RV: Mistakes, I don't make mistakes. You know, I don't really consider things mistakes. I really consider it a learning curve. As of I don't know about mistakes.

When I think of it, the first thing that pops into my head is, you know, there is no training manual on how to be an entrepreneur. There is no training manual on how to do this. I'm pretty sure when you started you were kind of learning as you go. And so that's how I when I hear that question, that's what I kind of think about is, is that really, the mistakes I made? It's just okay. You try to prepare yourself as much as you can. And you take a leap about and you learn from it.

You may not gain a lot of money from it, but you learn from it. But a perfect example I could come up with is one that Robert Kiyosaki his books. He talks about how he got his first apartment, a rental unit, and he made $25 a month.

And he really didn't do it just to make $25. He did it to learn. And that's the way I look at things. I'm, I may not make the greatest amount of money at it, but I got to learn my process.

KD: Yeah, absolutely. Awesome. And with that, I think you touched on something great. Is learning all about learning. Are there certain places that you go to learn say if you're stuck with controls or electrical engineering issues or program management stuff? I know you dabble a little bit in everything. Where do you go then to learn and understand this new automation, you know, projects and things that maybe you weren't aware of or knew about in the past?

RV: Well, um, you know, before I went on my own, I would just Google stuff. Now that I'm on my own, and, for me probably getting a little more in-depth than I should. For example, you know, before I went on my own, I read a lot of business books. And one thing they talk about is, finding yourself a good business coach, and finding yourself some good mentors. And so that's what I do is that I tried to find engineers that I worked with in the past and go to them for advice.

KD: Yeah, that's great advice!

RV: And so that's where I mean, obviously, Google still helps. But end the day. Having that network of people that you can call and ask these questions when you run into stuff, and especially if they've been in different industries, and that really helps. And just, you know, that's, to me more of where I use, where I should say, if I get stuck in something, is being able to network, being able to talk with people. And, you know, you got to, I guess you say, kind of build a little niche of business coaches.

KD: Yeah, that's great. Great advice. I agree with that. Absolutely.

RV: Yeah. And that way, you can read around the problems, and you know how to handle them. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes you'd be surprised where you get your answer from.

KD: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then I know, on your LinkedIn profile, you've written quite a few articles there, do you want to talk about any of those that stick out to you the most?

RV: Um, probably the one I felt was kind of fun as engineers become superheroes. Now, I'll be honest with you, I haven't. I wrote that a long time ago. So, I don't remember what I put into it. But it was just, I thought a fun one. Because there were so many different ways of going about it, like you could talk about, you know, I totally like DC, Marvel, or Iron Man.

And he talks about how industries are changing all the time. And, you know, it's, there were so many different ways of going about it and picking a topic. And that's what I kind of love about the articles, writing articles is that you can kind of go any direction you want.

If I basically tried to do it off of, you know, experience, a little bit of research, but mostly my experience and try to, I guess you say give the good advice, like, these are the things that I've seen, and you know, if it helps somebody great. If it doesn't, then oh, well, yeah.

KD: And we'll put a link for those in this chat, as well. So, everyone can take a look at those for you. So yeah, of course, of course. So, and then, you know, one of the other things I always like to ask everybody is, you know, where do you get some of your inspiration from, you know, I know, especially in this business, not every day is great. There are a lot of hard and trying days as well. So where do you, you know, pull that strength from to get a little inspiration?

RV: You know, how should put this, basically, my family, my wife's been very supportive through this process. And, you know, my family has been supportive as well. And I have good friends that, you know, have been pushing me to give this a try. And, you know, friends and family have been that, I mean, you got to have a good structure.

And also, you know, I have a small team, and they've been fantastic. I personally think that I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in unless it wasn't for them. So, basically, everybody I just talked about sums up all in one. You know, that's, that's pretty much how, you know, as you say, improving myself.

KD: And then is there anything else you know, within the automation industry that you want to touch base on with your company and what you guys are doing?

RV: Right now, we're, we're looking at updating their service page. That's something I'm in the process of doing, probably about one or two months away from having a good plan for that. And I don't want to talk about everything because there's some stuff that we’re thinking about doing.

And as you know, in business, you have to, I guess, put your everything together all eggs in the basket and then look at it what's realistic. What's realistic right now? And then this stuff we put on the backburner. This is stuff. We shouldn't do it. Yeah. And that's the toughest part about business is that what can you do and what can't you do?

KD: And you're the one that has to make that decision, right? There's no one else.

RV: Oh, yeah. Oh, too. Well, yeah. And you also have people that are there and can help you. And you know, this point of having a good team for business coaches, to be able to help guide you through that process.

Probably another, use just good example would be a book I read called the one thing they talked about probably, well, the best example they gave was Steve Jobs. When he started his company with Apple. I think he only had Max 10 projects or less. Yeah, throughout the beginning. And he will get offers every week about different types of projects. And he was like, no, this is it.

And that's something that, you know, especially starting off, you want to do everything. Because you feel you can enter in engineering, you have the skill sets to do it. But you need to go with your niche, you can't go outside of it. Like your foundation. And then when you're ready, you can expand. But this makes that your niche.

KD: More great advice, man. I like that. That's good. Yeah, awesome. Well, anything else you'd like to share with us today?

RV: Um, you know, I was going to ask you a question. What made you decide to do a podcast?

KD: Um, you know, for me, I am very concerned with the future of automation, and the amount of the lack of workforce that we are going to see here in the future. And my thought behind this was to figure out how do we get more engagement interaction with people, especially, you know, like, how we got together and met, and then people through LinkedIn, and, you know, how, how do we reach our younger generation and get more people involved in, in the automation industry.

And that's, that's one of the reasons I'm doing this. And I'm hoping it engages people and people learn about the industry, and it just grows from there. And we can just see more young people getting involved in the future. And one of the things that's always hard is, you know, especially you know, in controls, there really is no university to go to, to just say, hey, here, go out. And you know, everything about controls, you know, they teach you a little bit here and there at each university, and everyone's different, but it's how you get them at that first step in the door. You know, sometimes there's a stroke of luck to get in.

So it's one of those where we can just put a bigger spotlight on the need for automation in the future. And that's one of the reasons why I'm doing this because I think there's going to be such a massive need.

RV: Oh, that's, that's actually a good point. Actually, that's how should put this, thank you for doing it. Because I didn't really think about it. Honestly, last night, had a conversation with a couple of people, and we were talking about that, as in the younger generation is not really into the controls side of it. And, to be honest, they really want, like, I took electrical engineering. But there was nothing that really prepared me for it.

KD: It's not just you, you know. A lot of the times that people you talk to that are in the industry, you know, they got the job through their friend, or they knew somebody or, you know, there's no real way to set especially jump into the controls side of the industry. It's very difficult.

RV: It is. And I think, you know, personally, I used to say just me talking out loud again.

Now, my very first job was at Ariba. And I think that was probably the best job I've ever had from a learning perspective. Because I found throughout my career, a lot of people don't truly understand, how an oscilloscope works, in a manufacturing environment.

How ground really matters, you know, when doing analog signals, and then if you have something that trips all the time, nobody really understands, like the put different stuff is like, okay, and find out why it's tripping where it's coming from first, right, what engaging it? How high is it going?

KD: And as a welding engineer, I understand the importance of grounding.

RV: Yeah. Well, it's just, it's, I just find it kind of amazing that, not everybody gets that education. And I, I show up at this I would love to, I don't know, maybe create a university like that or some. Just so you have that education.

KD: Training some sort of training, right?

RV: Yeah, yeah. Now you got me thinking.

KD: Awesome. Awesome. Well, that's what this is for. So, I'm glad you came on and shared your story with us and the viewers, and hope everyone, here enjoyed today's episode. And if you did, give us a like, comment, and share, and don't forget to subscribe I look forward to having you all join us next time on engineers and automation. Thanks!

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Warehouse Robot Forecast 2024

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 01:44:43 GMT

The 2024 US Warehouse and Fulfillment Center Robot Forecast

The warehouse robot forecast for 2024 will see an uptick of 2% in overall robots used in the United States. Last year, the most industrial robots were ever used in warehouses and fulfillment centers across the United States.

According to Insider Intelligence, nearly 40% of medium to large ($10 million in annual revenue) US warehouse and fulfillment center operations had at least one, if not more robots in their facilities by the end of 2021. This industrial robot increase was up more than 28% from 2019.

By 2023 more than a 44% increase in robots in this sector will occur, compared to 2019. Industrial automation is increasing as labor shortages increase throughout the United States manufacturing industry.

Sources:

https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/robots-staff-increasing-share-of-us-warehouse-fulfillment-centers