Winning the Battle Against Unplanned Downtime, with Walt Harrison from Swarco Reflex, LLC

Today, David & Jake are joined by Walt Harrison, Controls & Automations Engineer at Swarco Reflex LLC. Swarco is an industry leading manufacturer of retro-reflective marking systems which guide traffic, keeping road users safe. You probably see their tiny glass beads embedded in road paint each night you drive home as they steer you in the right direction. Having been with the organization for almost two years, Walt is leading the charge on their predictive maintenance practices and commitment to “downtime on their terms.”

Walt shares a wealth of knowledge today, with topics spanning from how he transitioned into the manufacturing space after starting his career in IT, how he and the team at Swarco think about predictive maintenance, why he believes in always training your replacement, and what industry leaders need to focus on as we pave our way into the future.

One of the key takeaways you’ll gather from today? It might be how after Walt examined each piece of equipment and graded them based on how critical they are to the entire operation, he learned that every piece is critical. Or it could be that something as simple as transparent communication can increase productivity and allows the people around you to share in the tricks of the trade you use everyday. Regardless, this episode is packed full of tangible advice.

Podcast - The Maintainers