People First—Toward A Humane Workplace

An early essay by Karl Marx writing at the beginning of the industrial revolution argued that humans who were formerly craftspeople were now just cogs in the industrial machine alienated from the products they made and their work. Today's podcast is sponsored by Inductive Automation, makers of Ignition — the world's most versatile industrial automation platform for connecting data, systems, and people. With the new Ignition 8.3 release, you can easily manage time-series and event data, quickly create custom graphics with onboard drawing tools, and centralize control using Ignition's new gateway interface with global search and deep link launching. Providing additional support for Git, containers, and private data protection to go along with its unlimited licensing, Ignition 8.3 takes industrial operations to the next level. Download Ignition for free . The Irish poet/philosopher John O'Donohue discussed in Anam Cara the dignity of work and that work should benefit workers and communities as well as owners and managers. Lean guru Keven Meyer noted in his book Simple Leader that respect for people is a pillar of Lean. When you hire someone, you are getting more than a pair of hands—you are getting a brain and experience, as well. You should make use of them. Articles about a worker shortage due to Boomer retirements have been a staple of trade magazine editorial ever since I became an editor in 1998. Some twenty-seven years later, those articles and news releases keep coming. I learned about a new product from Derek Crager, Founder & CEO of Practical AI for onboarding and mentoring new employees. There is irony here, in that Crager touts himself as developer of an award-winning training program at Amazon—yes, the place that thinks it can replace its workers with robots. But, we will go beyond that thought for now. His solution? Just-in-time guidance—the right step at the exact moment of need, while hands are on the task. When a technician can ask and do in the same breath, training becomes throughput. That's the difference between teaching a concept and multiplying your best expert across every line and shift. He called on his experience at Amazon to develop something called Pocket Mentor: A Phone Call to Your Best Expert. This is a hands-free, eyes-free mentor your team reaches by phone, anytime, on the floor or in the field. No app. No Wi-Fi. No passwords. Just tap & say, "Talk me through it" — and we will. Check out TheManufacturingConnection.com for more thoughts.

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People First—Toward A Humane Workplace is an episode from Gary On Manufacturing - Gary Mintchell by Gary Mintchell.

This episode is 25:03 long.

This episode was published on Oct 25, 2025.

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