Built to Solve - Turning Data into Real Solutions on the Factory Floor

Welcome to the Industry 4.0 Club's fireside chat. The club's purpose is to engage the power of diverse worldwide talent to accelerate the global evolution to Industry 4.0. We accomplish this by hosting and supporting respectful, thoughtful, and interdisciplinary open conversations and creating quality content on wide-ranging Industry 4.0 topics to expand the reach of our community. My name is Mike Ungar, and I'm the CEO of the club. I have 40 years— I have over 40 years of leadership and experience, most of that in manufacturing. with Michelin. I'm joined today by my co-host Mike Yost, who's chairman of the club. Mike, would you mind introducing yourself further, please?

Sure, absolutely. Welcome everybody.

Thank you, Mike.

As Mike said, my name is Mike Yost. I'm, uh, his, uh, co-chair here for the fireside chats and also one of the, um, co-founders of the club. I serve as the volunteer chairman of the organization, uh, have been in industry for almost 40 years. largely on the solution provider and nonprofit side. So I really look forward to the conversations that we're going to have here today. And we'll be talking, as Mike mentioned, we'll be talking with Dustin Bowe and Fletcher Sims of Reyka Solutions about turning data into real solutions for the factory floor. So just let me quickly introduce our guests here today. Dustin Bowe grew up in the Bahamas. He's a graduate of Liberty University where he earned a degree in electrical engineering, served as the president of the cybersecurity club. He spent his entire career in manufacturing, leading digital transformation and innovation efforts at companies such as Procter& Gamble and Sanofi. A visionary leader, he has a passion for innovation. Dustin's driven to build systems and technology that revolutionize, standardize, and simplify how manufacturers operate. His partner here with us today is Fletcher Sims. He's a Chattanooga, Tennessee native and a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. He spent most of his career in manufacturing, holding roles in continuous improvement, operations leadership, including plant manager and site superintendent, while while also serving as an officer in the US Army Reserve. So thank you for your service, Fletcher. And now we have 2 Army guys here with Mike as well. So Fletcher's goal is to leverage technology, data, and systems to create cultural and operational excellence in modern manufacturing operations. So we welcome you gentlemen to the club here, to our show. We encourage folks that if you are joining us on LinkedIn and you have questions or you'd like to comment, uh, please go ahead and do so in the comment sections. We will do our best to share them with the group and add them to the conversation. So welcome, guys.

Thanks for having us, Mike.

Thanks, Mike. Um, so let's just jump right in. So what motivated both of you to move from where you were to start Ryka Solutions? Can you— maybe we'll start with you, Dustin, and then Fletcher, your thoughts.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I mean, the short version is that, you know, working at Procter& Gamble, working at Sanofi, I got a chance to use many different tools, many different systems, got a chance to be a part of many different deployments of big applications and smaller ones, right? And like one of the things that I've always kind of felt that was lacking was this synergy between the systems that we were deploying, right? So being on both ends of the call it deployment spectrum, you know, having— doing the actual deployment and then having to be the person that has to utilize the tool afterwards, you kind of learn really quickly, like, what works versus what doesn't, right? So, and we felt like there was this kind of opportunity to improve on some of these systems that were being deployed, right? And maybe create a little bit more synergy in how we would do that. So it felt strong enough that we would, you know, like, we felt like there was an opportunity to go out and basically, yeah, like build something and give it a shot, right? So took a risk and yeah, that's where we're at.

Awesome. Yeah, so I actually joined Regus Solutions at the start of this year to support the Plant Toolbox application, right? And the heart behind why I joined is relatively simple. As an operations leader, I've always felt burdened and felt this responsibility my entire career to provide my team with the tools and the resources that they needed to perform their jobs with excellence. I just felt, I feel like that is the calling of any good leader. And my experience at Sanofi and a large public company or small private company here in Chattanooga is that those systems generally just don't exist. And so then you're left to try to build Those systems and building and managing those systems is incredibly difficult. You end up with a lot of paperwork, a lot of manual data collection and entry, a lot of disconnected digital ways of working like Dustin was talking about, and it just felt nearly impossible to do it well while also leading the operation. So when Dustin reached out, the idea of having Plant Toolbox at one of my sites, at one of my operations, literally made my mouth water. Like, I just had a visceral reaction because it's just so appetizing. And And just to have a single digital platform with all of the data and the complementary systems in a single place, that was a gift that I wanted to be able to share with manufacturers well beyond wherever I was actually working. So that's why I joined.

So Fletcher, stick with that for just a moment, if you wouldn't mind. You talked about the types of obstacles and the challenges of sort of stitching things together and coming up with tools that'll empower your workers. And first of all, I think it's a testament to you as a leader and certainly a point for people to learn that it is a good thing to focus on creating the tools and systems and such to empower your employees. So, can you just talk a little bit about the type of obstacles that you see manufacturers facing when trying to do what you did?

Yeah. Yeah, as you ask that question, there's a quote that immediately comes into my mind. I'm a big quotes guy. So, so Taiichi Ohno, who's the father of Toyota Production System, he had this, he has this quote, it's, without standards, there can be no improvement. Right? And so, and so you think about the challenges that you're facing, that manufacturers face, and then why they're actually Why are those problems happening? Why are those challenges happening? And then what action is actually being taken? Like, what— so I have this data and it gives me these insights, but what am I actually doing with it? And then, and the challenge that a lot of manufacturers have is they'll take action, but it's not necessarily the right action, or it's not an action that's rooted in a standard or in a system, right? And so, and so the challenge becomes, well, what, what system— another quote, Another one of my favorite quotes, W. Edwards Deming: Every system is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets. And so it's like, well, if I'm not happy with the results that I'm getting, then what system do I have that's actually enabling those results? And so it requires you to kind of look introspectively and say, what, what systems, what tools, what resources am I offering my team members for them to perform their duties daily? So I think the obstacle really is just not having Not having the systems that are needed, right? I mean, you can have the data, all the data in the world, but if you're not taking action with it and you're not taking the right action with it at that, then it doesn't actually mean anything.

Dustin, how about you? Anything to add to that? What you see, what you've seen personally, and then what you see in working with manufacturers trying to drive business value?

Yeah, I mean, so, you know, obviously Fletcher knocks it out of the park every time, right? That's why we love him. And so, I mean, I echo all of that. Let me say those words. We do like quotes at Market Solutions. One other quote I'll throw it out. I got one, he has 10. I have this one quote and it's, culture eats strategy for breakfast. So, you know, like one of the things that, you know, we, we feel here more often than not is that the impact that we have on our organization's culture, in our opinion, far exceeds the value of just the day-to-day operation of the tool, right? Our goal is to actually empower the people that are touching the work, that are doing the things, give them the tools they need so you can actually start having an impact on the culture because truly, You know, at the end of the day, if you're not actually inspiring the people to kind of take that step forward and to kind of have the tools they need to actually— no one wants to go out there and do a bad job, right? Like, you talk to the number of employees that actually set out with the intention of doing poorly, that's a very low number, right? But when you get a person that feels defeated, they don't have what they need to be successful, they're not encouraged, they're not coached, that's where you start getting some— and those are cultural items. So Our mission, our goal is say, hey, well, how do we give the people the tools they need so that we actually start impacting the culture, right? So you get that good leader, that champion that comes alongside their team. Hey team, here are the tools that you guys need. Now this is going to help make the next step a lot easier. Let's take that next step together. So how do we impact the culture?

And have you seen examples of where you come into a place either that doesn't have these types of systems, or they have a system that's not working great, and all of a sudden you are able to empower them with those kind of tools? Like, what is the reaction that you typically see from the, from the folks that get to use the system?

Yeah, there's a beautiful story that comes to my mind, right? So obviously a big part of our system is like data collection and the tools itself, right? But one of our clients, we had installed these screens, and again, we have a special take on how we do that, but the reaction from the people on the shop floor was them taking pictures, selfies on the line with themselves and the screen in the background, sending it to the plant manager saying, hey, not only did we run better than the team up the road, but we also beat our record. Now, when you see that, right, you know, there's obviously, you know, a couple different ways you could reply to something like that, right? There's a beauty in there because it's like, All right, now we kind of have this pride behind the work that we're doing. We, like, you know, we're, we're feeling that ownership behind the things that we're producing. Now, when you get to that point, that's like golden, because if you get a good leader that could come alongside that and take it and foster it well, and then you start doing the training and all the other things, then that's beautiful. The flip side of that, when you don't see these tools in place, it's the, well, I don't know. I don't know where I'm at. I have no idea. Like, I don't know. I come in, they tell me to do this, so I do it, and then I leave, right? And those are the two, uh, call it, uh, the different versions of it I've seen right now. Again, independent of the tool, when you start having people say things like, yeah, I don't know what's going on, and, you know, yeah, I'm just here, then it's like, then you've lost the culture war, right?

Right.

That person's no longer invested.

So what, what makes it— we start talking about culture and investing people. What makes a good— what are some of the characteristics of a good problem-solving culture? Can we— Fletcher or Dustin, can you comment on that?

That's a wonderful question. Yeah. I mean, I think what comes, what comes to mind for me, well, problem-solving, there's a system for problem-solving as well, right? Like, that's not a new, that's not a new thing. We have 6W2H with refocused problem statements. You have your fishbone diagrams, you have your 5 Yes. And all of those, interestingly enough, lead you back to a standard. Like, what standard do I need to, to actually be building and establishing? So what I believe to be true for a good problem-solving culture, well, first, you have to actually care, right? Like, you have to be invested in the results, like Dustin was talking about. Because if I don't actually care about how my equipment is performing, then I'm certainly not going to be concerned with the problems. Let alone am I going to want to solve them? Then other than that, I think you just— it really— golly, that's such a wonderful question.

Well, I often think about a culture where, well, one, there's an expectation on leadership that you're going to solve a problem today. We used to, in my time, it's a great In my time in manufacturing, when we first started, it was a long time ago, what was important when I came to work was to get my numbers. And we have to change— I think we have to begin to change the expectations, say not only are you expected to hit your number today, but you're also expected to make something better. So I think setting that tone as a leader is really important. The second thing is, is if I want them to make something better, I have to give them some time to do that. I have to give people time to actually work on problems. And so I think those are a couple of things at least come to my mind. I don't know, you may have some other ideas yourselves.

Yeah, I mean, I— yeah, and I think, I think, you know, those things are perfect, right? And like, I, man, I had a— again, I've had the opportunity to work under several really good leaders, right? And again, I had one that just made things very simple always. He's like, when you're, when you're working with your team, You want to make it very simple and very practical, like what their next step is, right? Like often if we say— and it speaks exactly to what you're saying, Mike— if you say to someone like, hey, you need to go from A to B in this amount of time, that's one way you could approach it right now. They feel the pressure of the time and they have to say, okay, well, how do I get this done in this amount of time? Or, okay. But if you say to a person, well, hey, what I want you to do is to go out on the shop floor, I want you to find one defect every day. And that one defect that you find, I want you to just enter it into the system, and I want you to work towards repairing that one defect. When that one defect is done, then I want you to do it again, right? It's a very simple way to go to this place from, hey, I have 1,000 things that are hurting me right now, to, all right, well, what's the— what's one thing that you know is broken? And then you end up with— again, it just goes back to TPM, right? Again, nothing— these concepts aren't new. But it's like, how do you, how do you build a culture that then gets in the habit of saying, okay, my goal today is to go find one defect and to fix one defect? And you start small.

Dustin, yeah, that's— I love that you said that. And it, and it complements Mike's comment perfectly because when you're talking about getting your numbers, you're talking about output measures, you're talking about how many units you've produced, talking about your OEE. But when you start focusing on defects or CIL task completion or centerlines that are your equipment being set up to whatever your standard settings are, right, then you're talking about input measures. And so when your goals shift from being what the output measure is to being what the input measure is, then that's another huge, huge ticket to driving like a sustained and systemic change and just general mindset towards operations and what it means to be excellent.

I just wanna remind everybody that we are talking with Dustin Bowe and Fletcher Sims from Rika Solutions, talking about turning data into real solutions on the factory floor. And if you have questions, comments, things you'd like to interject, please go ahead and throw them into the comments section here on LinkedIn. And one of the questions that we get all the time, guys, is where do manufacturers start, right? Like if they want to start to improve, they wanna take advantage of the technology that's available today, harnessing data, etc., etc., drive business results. How do they get started? What do you typically advise folks?

Yeah, I can, I can start. It's interesting, as you, you talk about getting started, and then you throw in a lot of those big, complex concepts and ideas. And the expression that comes into my mind is, like, how do you eat an elephant? And it's one bite at a time. And, and for, for us, what we would say, The first bite of the elephant needs to be is understanding where you are. Right? So what— how am I actually performing? What is my current performance? Because if you don't know where you are, then you don't know if you're improving, and you certainly don't know where you're going to go. So, so to us to understand specifically where you are, and you do that through, through the data collection. Right? So through understanding how your equipment is performing and where the gaps in performance are, and then you know what you're biggest opportunities are and you know how to allocate resources and you combine knowing where you are with knowing where you want to go and then allocating the resources to make that happen and there you have it.

It's funny, like the number of people that, you know, will describe a problem that they're having to be something downstream from their actual problem is— it's not funny from the standpoint that there's a lot of people doing a lot of work around it, But in the misdiagnosing of a problem, I'm sure you guys are both smiling. I know you've seen this time and time again, right? It's the, okay, well, hey, what, what problem are we actually working on, right? Like, man, just, just to reiterate what Fletcher's saying, like this idea of like just knowing like where you're currently at and whether that's on the line, whether you're at a department, a plant, just like knowing you're like, hey, where's the elephant, right? Before I go around and start trying to bite at things, it's like, where, what are we actually trying to do, guys, and where are we at? It's so foundational. And it's a step that a lot of people miss, honestly, you go out to try to like add a bunch of improvement system training plans without actually having an understanding of where they're at.

And it's like, you know, it's a good point. I think a lot of times folks— so we, I think you're kind of alluding to a couple things. The one of them that I'm picking up on is we, we from time to time misdiagnose what the problem is. And I think what's really important about problem solving is that there be some sort of a follow-up loop, a loop we say we finished solving the problem. And then if it's a small one, maybe 30 days later, we're back checking to see, did we solve the problem? And really, your problem-solving process needs to include some sort of a let's check and see if we were successful loop. Otherwise, you know, you're right, because we can make that mistake even with good data. We could be chasing the wrong root cause. Have you seen that in your experiences so far?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, I think we could both like, we could talk with you for many days about, and again, I'm sure you could as well, right? Like, now what's interesting though, is like, I've seen that, what's very interesting is I've seen that at places where I would say you have very tenured problem solvers. I mean, very like high experts with high level of technical skills along with problem-solving skills. And then I've seen it obviously in places where that number is a little bit lower. But the interesting thing there is that, you know, obviously the whole point is that it's a cycle, right? Your plan, do, check, act cycle is supposed to be this iterative process, right, that you're constantly living. But, you know, when you start adding multiple problems to that cycle, then things can get very complicated very quickly, right? So This is where, again, having tools to help and come alongside and automating some of those aspects becomes so critical. Again, you could have amazing, very smart people. We got a chance to work with many smart, many people much smarter than myself, right? But again, you start throwing some, some multiple problems at it all at once, you end up with a different, a different problem, honestly.

Yeah, very good.

Good.

So, having deployed lean in my career, when Industry 4.0 was starting to really get moving, I was scared to death, right? You know, lean, I think of lean, really, there's 2 aspects to lean, there's a lean culture, and there are lean tools. And we, you know, lean tools help you develop a lean culture, right? And I was really concerned that if I brought in Industry 4.0 and digital tools, I would hurt my lean culture. So how do you bring these 2 together to get the best results? I mean, it, to me, I know for these lean gurus, it's really an important conversation.

Yeah, and I can just start here, Fletcher, definitely back me up, but I think One is just understanding the intent of the, the tool that you're coming to bring alongside, right? Like, and you'll see, like, Fetcher and I, we both believe this, that the lean process itself is the process that we're building up, right? Like, our goal isn't to replace that process, it's to come alongside and complement it, right? So just like earlier where we kind of described, well, hey, if I have several of these things going on in parallel, how do I help make that a little bit easier? That's where it's like, hey, can we utilize technology to help improve the actual foundation of lean? So the goal is never to try to replace these tools. We know the tools work. If there's one thing we're positive about, we know the tools work and we don't want to change them, right? So there's no need to get fancy in that regard, and that's not our goal. But the question is, well, hey, how do I complement this well so that I don't need to copy and paste data across a spreadsheet 57 times a day just to get the answers to this 6W2H, right? So that's, that's the actual approach that we've chosen to take. And that's what I've seen work really well. When you have a group of people that say, hey, no, the tools are the tools, the process is the process. And then you ask, how do we complement? Then you end up with something very powerful very quickly.

Yeah. And I think That was well said. And the only thing that I would add or change is, is I think about digitization and lean. I think that digitization is optimizing lean. Because you're not, again, you're not, we're not changing the tools or the processes, we're just making them more efficient. So instead of writing down all of my machine settings every single shift, every single day, and then having a process engineer log those over a course of time to analyze the trends up, down, whatever, like I'm—

Mm-hmm.

I have that automatically stored within my application. And so if— and it's just one interaction instead of however many touches manual, and, and then you have to worry about human error there as well. Right? So, so I think, I just think that where, where digitization and lean handshake is that digitization should be optimizing lean principles that have existed for a long time. Yeah.

Yeah.

Many years ago, I heard an automotive operations leader address this question, and he said something I'd like to get your response to, because it obviously stuck with me. He said, we can do lean without digital tools, he said, but with the digital tools, we can get to the results faster, and we can let— they can stick. longer. You tend not to have a backslide off of the results once you have the digital infrastructure in place and you've sort of leveled off your processes and such. So have you guys— does that resonate with you guys?

Yeah, in a very large way, right? Like the processes that we have and we follow, absolutely pen and paper, whiteboard, And you could do it all day with that for sure. It'll take longer, absolutely, right? And when that whiteboard gets erased, then that data is gone. Also true. But yeah, to think that it's like, hey, well, the only way to do it is this— that's not, that's not true, right? And we don't want to propagate that lie. What we want to actually say is that, you know, how do we do this a little bit more efficiently and how do we make it last a little bit longer? One thing I'll just— because it's kind of like I'm just thinking about it, and this will be quick, but one thing, one fear that we saw often when we were rolling this out, this was actually at P&G, right? We were rolling out some additional tools, and one of the things that came up way more often than I thought it would was, hey, if that's on the screen, am I going to be able to see it all day? Right? Like, can I, like, will I be able to see my data? Right? That's a very, very important thing towards call it like that, lean cultures, being able to see your information. And I remember like thinking through and like just asking myself, well, why is this so important? I actually got to the point where I just went up and asked the guys like, hey, why, like, why do you need this screen to stay exactly like this 24/7 even if the plant's shut down, right? And the answer was short and succinct, right? You, you inspect what you expect, right? So if you put your results on the board and you keep them there, Then that tells everybody in your plant, this is what we're pinning to. And again, there's some principles like that we kind of carry forward. We don't want to change the process.

The only thing I would add to that too, sorry, is that the— I think in my mind, as you were— if you were saying what you're saying, Mike, and then as Dustin's saying what he's saying, like what you— it's much simpler to expect, or to inspect rather, with the digital side of things. So like your— the need for process confirmation and maintaining and driving culture will always be there, but I think that it's made much simpler. So that kind of responsibility of inspecting the expectations is just made simpler and a lot more accessible than it is otherwise. Because the— because of how cumbersome and burdensome spreadsheets and, and just all the manual data collection and all that kind of stuff is. It's, it's, uh, yeah, so that's, that's what I would say there.

Yeah, I think the one thing I would add is, is I, I think a lot of people are— probably don't understand how much work it is to, to establish a foundation of data. Um, but once you get to that point and you're no longer questioning the validity of the data, and we're no longer saying, well, Fletcher's data says this and Dustin's data says this and Mike's the guy that runs the And he doesn't agree. He doesn't trust either of their data. Like, once those discussions go away, and you can trust the data that you have in front of you, the information, it—

you—

then it's full steam ahead.

Yeah, love it. Well, that's great. The— so we've talked about a lot of great things about problem solving and how we leverage data for— to really move our business forward, businesses forward. You know, a lot of small and mid-sized manufacturers today don't have the internal resources to be able to initiate some of these things or the expertise. In your— from your experiences, where can they go to help— to get help with moving their businesses forward, their factories forward?

Yeah, man. So obviously, Mike, I'm a little biased there, right? So that's, that's, uh, but moving beyond the bias of, you know, the tools and, uh, that can kind of, you know, do things for these people, obviously, I mean, places like this, right? So I mean, you take like a, like what you guys are doing here. I mean, you're, you're creating a hub for people to learn more, right? It's for them to actually educate themselves on, well, what are other people doing in the industry? So like another thing, another, again, this goes back to like processes, another process that works really well is just benchmarking, right? So when you start asking the question, like, hey, well, what are other manufacturers doing well? And if you have like a group like your folks, yourselves here, that are going out and like curating all of those things and bringing them all together, and, you know, honestly, and I think the best way for it to happen is in this unbiased fashion which you guys present. It's like, hey, well, where can we go to find some— it would be places like you guys, right? And then from there, you do what we kind of talked about a little bit earlier, like, hey, well, what's my baseline? Where am I at?

Right.

And where do I fit into this bigger picture? And when you start getting to the point where you have some of those answers, other questions start answering themselves very quickly. Like, do I need a maintenance program or do I actually need an MES? You can start having some of those discussions when you kind of like understand what other people are doing, where they're at. That's, that's, those are my thoughts. Fletcher, I don't know if there's a—

No, I agree. I mean, Being under-resourced is what every manufacturer claims regardless of their size, I think. So, yeah, I mean, and I think at some time, at some point in time, you just have to make a conscious decision to prioritize improvement and progress and being proactive instead of choosing to be reactive to whatever the fire of the day is, right? So it's just a matter of prioritization and having clarity around where you want to take your organization. Like, do you want to react every day and just put out fires and become a really good firefighter? And that's fine. I—

Mm-hmm.

Some people love that. But, or do you want to grow and improve in a systemic and sustainable way? And, and so that's really just a decision in my mind that those manufacturers have to make. And, and it's hard to, because the resources are there and available. And then of course you have some resources that make the barrier to entry is much lower because it was created with the manufacturers in mind. So I won't dive into that a whole lot more, but yeah, so that's what I would say.

Yeah, and I'm just, I'm glad to hear you guys say that. As I mentioned, I've been in the nonprofit side for a number of years and every time I get the chance with the senior leadership audience, I tell them, you know, your people need to be here, right?

You need—

it's not just about buying the technology solutions, right? It's about being in community. It's about starting to familiarize yourself with, you know, the problems, the solutions, the players, starting to make connections with people you can turn to and get some straight information. Because eventually there's going to come a point where people are going to go from understanding what's possible to wanting to take steps. And they're going to have to connect with people like yourselves that have solutions, right? They can architect things, they can, you know, prescribe things for the short and the long term. But you need to get started in a space like this where right now the conversation is not focused on that. But there's so much experience that you guys bring. Forget about the technology, like your personal experiences that we talked about before, living and working and breathing in plants. Like, that's all extremely valuable insights that, that people can, can learn from if they just have a space where they can meet you and talk with you.

Thank you, Mike.

Yeah.

So as we, we've been talking for the last 30 minutes or so with Fletcher Sims and Dustin Bowe from Ryka Solutions, and guys, we're getting ready to wrap up. So we've covered a lot of great topics in this short time. Do you have any final thoughts for our audience? Maybe I can start, Mike, you can start us off and then we'll go to Fletcher, then Dustin. Sure.

First of all, I loved all the quotes. All I can quote is '80s movies, so I won't bother doing that here. That won't add to the content. But honestly, there are a number of things, talking about culture and things like that are really important and powerful. But I'm really honestly struck. Mike and I have been in industry right around the 40-year mark, right? And to see you guys here, right, a younger generation, you're having a lot of the same conversations that we've had, but you're having them at a more informed level, right? Like 20 years ago, if I had the experiences that you guys had, I think about how much more You know, I could have helped. Just, it's really, I think, a read on the industry from my perspective. And this is sort of a parenting moment, if you will, just looking at the state of our industry to see young guys like yourself that are here, that are seasoned, that get this, that are talking the way that you're talking, is really a step change for our industry that most people may not appreciate, but I think it's really, really powerful. So I appreciate what you guys are doing.

Thank you, Mike.

Yeah, thanks. That's very kind.

What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I— this has been a wonderful conversation. And thank you guys for creating the platform and the opportunity for us to, for us to have this first. So as I was thinking about my final thoughts, it comes back to one of those quotes that I mentioned at the beginning of the show. And it's that W. Edwards Deming quote that every system is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets. And I just think that For leaders to think about that is, is, and to really consider that, like, what, what are the systems that you have in place that are enabling the results that you're getting? And I think it's easy to kind of, it's easy to point the finger at the people and just say they're not getting the job done. And sometimes that might be true. And that might be the case. But I think that the Before you can do that, you have to ask, well, what tools have I given them? What system and ways of working do they actually have to execute? And, and so, yeah, so that's the, that's just the question, right, is, well, what, what system? Are you happy with your results? And if not, then what system is enabling it? And just think about that.

Thank you, Dustin.

Yeah, true to form, like 2 closing remarks, right? I'll be as quick as possible. But I think the first one is that, you know, as we're thinking about what Mike just said, like, for whatever reason, it's been drilled into me that you don't want to just start off by throwing away everything that the folks that came before you did, right? There's this idea of like humbling yourselves and learning from the people who came before you. And that's something that We take to heart for sure there's value in the things that, that came from the folks that came before, right? So if you could, if you're humble enough to at least take a moment to stop and listen, and again, there's sometimes it's hard, but if you could do that just for a moment, then, you know, you might learn something and then it might be able to build something better as a group instead of just trying to start everything from scratch every time, right? That's where principally we're like, no, the process. It works and it's the process for a reason, and it's just like, okay, well, hey, how do we improve, right? So anyway, thanks again, Mike, and I think those are valuable. The last thing is just one thing we've heard so many times, right, is that, hey, we're too small to think about things like this now. We're too small to like talk to people about these things. We're not there yet, you know? And it's so funny, we'll ask some people like, well, hey, well, how big are you? Just like, oh, we have 200 employees and 5— it's like, Like, okay, like, you know what, not only are you not too small, right, but like you want to start as early as possible, right? Because when you say you're too small, what you're saying is that, hey, it's too young in our journey, we're too young in our journey to start thinking about culture. And if you say it like that, it's like, well, that doesn't make sense.

Right.

The best time to plant that tree was when you first moved there, right? It's at the very beginning. So For you to then say, hey, we're too small to do this, it's like— so I think— so that's what would be the challenge that I would put out for just people in general. It's like, well, you're definitely never too early to start, because really the question is like, what culture do you want to see in your organization 10, 15, 20 years from now? And then ask yourself, hey, can we start that today?

Yeah, thank you. That's perfect. Well, I want to thank you, Dustin and Fletcher, for joining us to share your insights into, into one, data, and, and really how to create a culture for, uh, problem solving that drives business results. So thank you, thank you for your time. But the Industry 4.0 Club would like to encourage, you know, our listeners to take action, um, to deploy Industry 4.0. That might be for yourselves, reading a book or listening to a broadcast like this, or perhaps putting together a smart manufacturing roadmap for your factory, or encouraging those around you to do the similar type thing. We'd love to hear what you're doing, and, and so please drop us a note at our website at www.industry40club.com or on our LinkedIn page. We also host conversations like this weekly, and we love— if you're out there listening and you'd like to be part of our conversation sometime in the future, again, reach out to us on our website or our LinkedIn page. We'd love to have you as one of our guests. With that, I want to thank— thanks again, Fletcher, Dustin, and Mike, for your time. Yeah, it's really been great, and we want to show— but want to wish everybody a wonderful rest of the day, and we thank you.

Take care.