# Product Design in the Era of Industry 4.0 w/ Kevin Bailey

- Show: [The Manufacturing Executive](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive)
- Published: 2023-08-22
- Length: 25m
- Episode: 167
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-22-product-design-in-the-era-of-industry-4-0-w-kevin-bailey
- Listen: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-manufacturing-executive#episode-c5072d89-201c-44ac-9fc1-bca8655151ae

## Summary

Kevin Bailey, President of Design 1st, discusses how mid-sized manufacturers can navigate the risks of modernizing product lines with Industry 4.0 technologies like AI and IoT. He explains that companies face three main types of product development challenges: refreshing existing products with new tech, software companies entering hardware, and entrepreneurs with no prior experience. Bailey emphasizes the importance of risk assessment, component sourcing, and balancing incremental versus fundamental innovation to avoid costly failures in physical product development.

## Chapters

- [0:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-22-product-design-in-the-era-of-industry-4-0-w-kevin-bailey#t=38) Introduction and Guest Background
- [4:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-22-product-design-in-the-era-of-industry-4-0-w-kevin-bailey#t=246) Navigating Technology Integration Risks
- [9:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-22-product-design-in-the-era-of-industry-4-0-w-kevin-bailey#t=576) AI in Product Development and Devices
- [16:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-22-product-design-in-the-era-of-industry-4-0-w-kevin-bailey#t=1005) Case Study: Armstrong Pumps and Industrial Design
- [19:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-08-22-product-design-in-the-era-of-industry-4-0-w-kevin-bailey#t=1145) Managing Innovation Complexity and Supply Chain Risk

## Topics

- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Design 1st (company)
- Gorilla 76 (company)
- Armstrong (company)
- Google (company)
- Nest (product)
- Zigbee (other)
- Wi-Fi (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [IDology #8 - Dos and Don’ts of product development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/idology/2023-02-15-idology-8-dos-and-donts-of-product-development) (IDology)
- [IDology #11 - Most common mistakes in product development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/idology/2023-03-28-idology-11-most-common-mistakes-in-product-development) (IDology)
- [Violet Su on hardware manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2025-07-08-violet-su-on-hardware-manufacturing) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)
- [Maximizing ROI for IoT Prototyping and Development | Blynk's Pavel Bayborodin](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2021-08-31-maximizing-roi-for-iot-prototyping-and-development-blynks-pavel-bayborodin) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [Introducing: It's only a Prototype Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/its-only-a-prototype/2025-04-09-introducing-its-only-a-prototype-podcast) (It's Only a Prototype)

## Citing this page

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