Smart Manufacturing Mindset™: i3X™ Explained

In this episode, Jeff Winter sits down with John Dyck, Jonathan Wise, and Walker Reynolds to explore the convergence of Unified Namespace (UNS) and CESMII's i3X. Together, they unpack the shared industry challenge that brought these frameworks together, why they complement rather than compete with one another, and what this means for the future of interoperable, AI-ready manufacturing. They also discuss the work that still lies ahead and how the manufacturing community can help shape what's next.Learn More: https://i3x.dev/© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

While vendors promise transformation and headlines declare a revolution, walk into most plants today and the story looks a lot different.In this episode of the Smart Manufacturing Mindset, Jeff Winter sits down with three people who have seen this gap up close and have been working to close it: Suraj Sriram, Digital Manufacturing Leader at Kimberly-Clark, and Jim Wetzel and Tim Stuart, the architects and instructors behind CESMII's Certified Smart Manufacturing Roadmap Professional program.Suraj led the deployment of a unified manufacturing platform across 70+ global sites, engaging more than 5,000 users and completing 300+ go-lives. What he found, again and again, was that the barrier was not the AI. It was everything that had to exist before AI could do anything useful: clean data, connected systems, standardized processes, and an organization aligned enough to actually adopt what got built: https://www.cesmii.org/from-pilot-to-platform-scaling-smart-manufacturing-across-a-global-enterprise/Jim and Tim have seen the same pattern across dozens of manufacturer engagements. As the evangelists and instructors behind the CESMII Smart Manufacturing Roadmap Professional program, they bring the framework side of the conversation: why the CESMII methodology is vendor-neutral and business-first, what manufacturers consistently get wrong when they skip the assessment phase, and what it looks like when an organization finally gets the sequencing right.Together, the three guests offer something rare: a view of smart manufacturing transformation from both the inside of a global enterprise and from the practitioners who designed the roadmap to navigate it.If your organization is feeling pressure to move on AI but is not sure whether the foundation is actually ready, this episode gives you a grounded, practitioner-driven answer to where to start.Interested in building that same internal capability? CESMII's next Roadmap Professional certification cohort opens July 7th: https://www.cesmii.org/event/smart-manufacturing-acceleration-roadmap-professional-certification-course-07-07-2026/© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

Finally! A Path to Manufacturing Interoperability and OT/IT ConvergenceWhat if manufacturing applications could finally speak the same language?The i3X™ initiative is tackling one of the biggest challenges in smart manufacturing today: the explosion of incompatible APIs across platforms, historians, and industrial software. And clearly, this is a conversation the industry has been waiting for.In the next Smart Manufacturing Mindset™ LinkedIn Live, we’re sitting down with three core members of the i3X™ working group to talk about:What is i3X™What problems does i3X address?How will i3X transform manufacturing architectures?Whether your roots are in OT or IT, if you’re a manufacturer, systems integrator, application developer, or technology provider trying to make sense of industrial data architecture, this one is for you!🎙️ Aron Semle – Chief Technology Officer at HighByte🎙️ Matthew Parris – Director of Quality Test Systems, GE Appliances, a Haier company🎙️ Jonathan Wise – Chief Technology Architect at CESMII🎙️ Jeff Winter, Host and Smart Manufacturing Advisor at CESMII© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

Part 1 of this special two-part series explored the journey of the Lighthouse factories. We looked at how global leaders from Foxconn, Johnson & Johnson, Schneider Electric, Unilever, and Western Digital navigated culture, scale, technology, and legacy challenges to reach world-class digital maturity.Now, in Part 2, we go deeper.This episode shifts from the “what happened” to the “what it takes.” Our Lighthouse guests share their most important lessons learned, the mistakes that shaped their thinking, and the practical advice they would give any manufacturer beginning or accelerating a digital transformation journey.From building trust and changing culture to defining business value and scaling what works, Part 2 delivers the insight behind the outcomes. These are the patterns that drive real progress and the guidance that can help any organization build its own path toward Lighthouse-level performance.Part 1 showed the destination (Catch up here: https://lnkd.in/gsmDcBYv)Part 2 gives you the playbook (Register here: https://lnkd.in/ggYEDZmw)Tune in to hear what the world’s most advanced factories wish they had known sooner and how their experience can accelerate yours. 🎙️Bart Talloen – Executive Fellow at World Economic Forum & Former Johnson & Johnson Executive🎙️Anthony Loy – VP Industrial Digital Transformation Consulting Schneider Electric🎙️Biswaranjan Sen – Global Chief Product Supply Chain Officer at Unilever🎙️Jackie Jung – VP of Global Operations Strategy at Western Digital🎙️Zongchang Liu – Rotating CEO at Foxconn© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

What happens when a select group of World Economic Forum Lighthouse factories from Foxconn Industrial Internet, Schneider Electric, Western Digital and Unilever share the same (virtual) stage? Their leaders unpack the cultural mindset, data architecture, and change‑management moves they all swear by, then reveal how industry, scale, and legacy constraints steer each site down a unique path of technology and rollout.·      Common DNA: Universal principles every Lighthouse follows·      Productive Differences: Industry‑specific twists that keep innovation fresh·      Transferable Takeaways: What any manufacturer can adopt today—and where adaptation is keyThese leaders brought such a wealth of information to this topic, we are releasing this in a 2-part series! Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon. © 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

Explore how today’s leading technology providers are shaping the future of Smart Manufacturing. This episode brings together leaders of some of the world’s great manufacturing technology providers, aligned around one critical goal: driving openness and interoperability to strengthen the U.S.’ manufacturing competitiveness.🎙️ What to Expect:We’ll hear from three distinct categories of technology leaders, all of whom are active CESMII members:🔹 Established Market Leaders in control and information systems, with decades of experience in industrial automation.🎙️ Cyril Perducat, SVP & Chief Technology Officer, Rockwell Automation🎙️ Andre Marino, SVP Industrial Automation Business, Schneider Electric🎙️ Del Costy, President, Siemens Digital Industries🔹 Cloud Hyperscalers bringing advanced data infrastructure, AI, and scalable platforms into the manufacturing space.🎙️ Dayan Rodriguez, CVP Global Manufacturing and Mobility, Microsoft🎙️ Joseph Rosing, Worldwide Head of Smart Manufacturing, AWS🔹 Born-in-Industry 4.0 Innovators – companies built from the ground up around digital transformation, smart manufacturing, and AI-ready architectures.🎙️ John Harrington, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, HighByte🎙️ Colby Clegg, CEO, Inductive Automation🎙️ Doug Lawson, CEO, ThinkIQWhether you're a manufacturer, integrator, or technology provider, this is your chance to see how collaboration across these domains is accelerating Smart Manufacturing adoption – and how your organization can play a part.© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

What happens when you're responsible not just for transformation, but for making the numbers—every quarter, without excuse? In this episode, we sit down with operations leaders who carry the P&L and explore how they lead transformation without sacrificing performance.Hear from: 🎙️ Courtney Andersen, Vice President of Supply Chain at General Mills🎙️ Jim Beilstein, Vice President, Global Operations & Supply Chain at Owens Corning🎙️ Audrey St.Onge, President & CEO of N.A Baking Business at Lallemand© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

In our first episode, we’re tackling one of the most critical factors for success: leadership—not just to set the vision, but to execute it effectively and sustain it over time. Hosted by Jeff Winter, Smart Manufacturing Advisor at CESMII, this episode features industry experts who have led real transformation, sharing their insights on what separates leaders who drive lasting change from those who struggle to move the needle.Whether you’re a seasoned executive or an emerging leader, this episode will challenge your thinking and give you the strategies you need to lead with impact. © 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

Hear from local manufacturers who are taking ownership for building their digital capabilities and developing their own strategic Smart Manufacturing roadmap - with a little help from their friends.Join leaders from two northeast Ohio manufacturers and the NxGen Group as they share insights on their journeys, working within the safe space provided by Manufacturing Works, leveraging invaluable guidance from their facilitators, and learning the roadmap tools provided by CESMII, the national institute on Smart Manufacturing.Explore what they’ve learned in engaging their organization, addressing key barriers and desired outcomes, and building a successful plan everyone supports. Dig deeper into their stories as proof-points of the region’s commitment to educating the entire manufacturing ecosystem and scaling help to every manufacturerModerator: Sophia Long, Manager, Industry & Innovation, Team NEO (OH)● Mark Dawson, President, Cleveland Steel Tool (OH)● Doug Keehan, Plant Manager, Advanced Polymer Coatings (OH)● Jim Wetzel, Founder, The NxGen Group (OH) See less© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096

Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 are driving the digital transformation of industrial processes. This digital transformation enables enhanced productivity, real-time data and analytics, flexibility and customization, optimized supply networks, energy efficiency and sustainability, and improved workforce development. Barriers to the realization of these goals include the legacy of lacking integration of automation operational technology (OT) and enterprise information technology (IT).Academic organizations have a key role to play in realizing the SM vision. Not only in the research and development of technology but also in the education of the workforce in digital technologies and techniques for manufacturing. However, academic organizations are experiencing similar challenges for integrating OT and IT networks and systems that have traditionally been managed and operated separately.In this podcast, we explore how academic organizations have tackled these challenges to teach SM skills and what similar organizations and manufacturers can learn from their experience.© 2026 CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, A Program in UCLA, 520 Portola Plaza, MS 5308 – Box 95155, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1557, USA, (888) 720-8096