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A Connected, Organized and Process Driven Shop Floor Starts with Security

SOUTHEAST Session: This panel will discuss the importance of security in driving the ever-connected organization and supply chain. From the simple best practices of the small shop owner to the NIST and Cybersecurity Defense CMMC 2.0 requirements, this team has the history and experience to enlighten you on your journey. Join us for an engaging presentation and follow-up Q&A session that will leave you glad you took the time to hear best practices, mistakes to avoid, questions to ask, and how to position your shop to be safe well into the future. From the Top Floor to the Shop Floor - manufacturers cannot remain competitive without connectivity and transparency. Keeping you protected, connected, and systemized with process will lead to efficiency, consistency, and scalability. It is the system and service provider's job to keep you safe so you can produce good parts on time and make a profit - join us for some valuable dialog!

Nicky Pettit

Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Nicky Pettit, Account Executive, Limble

How Lean Teams Cut Downtime and Boost Output with Smart Maintenance

SOUTHEAST Session: Unexpected breakdowns, rising costs, and limited asset visibility continue to be a challenge for manufacturers, especially as teams face mounting pressure to do more with less – fewer technicians, tighter budgets, and limited time. But with the right technology and a practical approach to reliability, lean teams can shift from fighting fires to building long-term, operational resilience into every layer of production. In this session, we’ll showcase how manufacturers are using modern CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) tools to drive higher uptime, extend asset life, and reduce reactive work – all without needing additional headcount or new equipment. We’ll demonstrate how top performing teams have digitized preventive maintenance schedules, deployed QR code-enabled work orders, and built mobile-first maintenance workflows that keep machines running and teams aligned. Whether you’re still using spreadsheets or looking to get more out of your current system, this session will provide a clear blueprint for building a smart, scalable maintenance program.

Dennis Easter

Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Dennis Easter, Sr. Solutions Engineer, Algorithm Inc

Robotics as a Partner, Not a Replacement, for Manufacturing Jobs

SOUTHEAST Session: Manufacturers today face a critical workforce challenge. An aging labor pool, persistent skills shortages, and post-pandemic attrition have created gaps that traditional hiring alone cannot solve. These pressures demand innovative approaches to sustaining productivity and competitiveness. Robotics offers a practical, scalable solution, not as a replacement for people, but as a partner that augments human capabilities. Collaborative robots (cobots) are designed to work alongside operators, taking on repetitive, physically demanding, or hazardous tasks. This partnership allows employees to focus on higher-value activities such as quality control, process improvement, and customer engagement. Studies show that human–robot teams significantly reduce idle time and improve throughput compared to all-human work environments. Real-world examples illustrate the shift. Chipotle’s “Autocado” robot automates the tedious process of cutting and coring avocados, while staff concentrate on quality and service. On manufacturing floors, cobots assist with material handling, precision assembly, and inspection; areas where ergonomics and consistency are critical. Rather than eliminating jobs, robotics transforms them, creating safer workplaces and more sustainable operations. This session, “Robotics as a Partner, Not a Replacement, for Manufacturing Jobs,” will explore how manufacturers can strategically adopt robotics to address workforce shortages without diminishing employee value. Attendees will gain insights into the benefits of cobot integration, practical considerations for implementation, and the long-term potential of human–robot collaboration. The presentation emphasizes that the future of manufacturing is not a choice between people and machines, but a partnership that strengthens both.

Steve Logue

Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Steve Logue, General Manager, Sensolus

From Blind Spots to Sweet Spots: Architecting Intelligent Visibility in Manufacturing Supply Chains

SOUTHEAST Session: Manufacturers today are under immense pressure to navigate supply chain complexity while improving agility, customer responsiveness and cost efficiency. The industry has invested years in enabling core digital foundations like ERP, MES, WMS and operational dashboards; however, persistent blind spots across sourcing, production, inventory, logistics, sales and aftermarket services continue to erode operational performance and limit strategic decision-making. According to a 2025 survey of 300 mid-market manufacturers, only 45% have recently improved end-to- end- supply chain visibility, indicating that there is significant room for investment and improvement. Supply Chain visibility will be the future of manufacturing. A recent survey by Deloitte showed that 76% of manufacturers report limited visibility across their supply chain, making traceability a key issue in today’s environment. Data visibility is essential to a resilient supply chain; however, in a survey of 506 supply chain leaders, only 19% of organizations have embedded scenario planning into their operations, limiting their ability to anticipate and respond to disruption. The answer to fixing these blind spots isn’t yet another dashboard or point solution, but a digitally engineered supply chain with intelligent, end-to-end visibility and traceability across the manufacturing value chain. In this presentation, we explore why blind spots emerge and how a unified theme of real-time traceability can act as a digital thread to convert blind spots into sweet spots for manufacturers.

Bridging the Gap: How Secure Remote Access Powers Manufacturing IT/OT Convergence

SOUTHEAST Session: Manufacturing is undergoing rapid digital transformation—driven by predictive maintenance, AI-driven insights, and smart factories. Yet IT/OT convergence is not achieved in strategy documents; it is lived daily through remote access, where people, vendors, and data cross into critical environments. This presentation explores the unique challenges CISOs and OT teams face—legacy patching debt, vendor access sprawl, ransomware pressure, and compliance demands—and why secure OT remote access is the essential bridge to efficiency, resilience, and productivity. Through industry case studies, we’ll examine how leaders are standardizing connectivity, reducing downtime costs, and enabling AI-driven operations—while ensuring security never falls behind transformation.

Christian Jewell

Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Christian Jewell, Special Projects Supervisor, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence