287: The Art of Precision Manufacturing: Why Humans Still Matter on the Factory Floor | Live from The Manufacturing Exchange in Rochester, NY (Powered by Fathom)
Matthew Bradley, Program Director at Moog Inc., explains how his team is building a new 150,000-square-foot machine shop to address staffing shortages and flow issues by automating lower-skilled work while preserving human intuition for precision tasks like servo valve assembly. James Greer, Lead Sourcing Rep at X-Bow Systems, discusses evaluating suppliers across the US, noting that shop culture and owner investment in people are critical for retaining talent, particularly in regions like Upstate New York, Alabama, and Oregon. Chris Brown, SVP of Sales at Fathom Digital Manufacturing, argues that automation adds value only where processes are repeatable, emphasizing that novel problems require human problem-solving and that supportive culture is essential to prevent turnover among young machinists.