September 11, 2023 by Michael Scholl SME is well represented at this year’s FABTECH 2023 event with SME members serving as speakers, panelists, and advisors across the four-day event. The activities include 40 keynote presentations, thought-leadership panels, workshops, and conference papers. Featured at FABTECH 2023 are SME’s Chief Workforce Development Officer Jeannine Kunz, who, along with SME Education Foundation board of directors’ member Marion Wells, will address “Reality Check: It's a Lack of Workforce Readiness that is Holding Manufacturing Back, Building a Talent Plan for the Future,” at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 11. Also featured at FABTECH 2023 will be SME board of directors’ member Dean Phillips, speaking on ways to “Improve Workforce Recruitment & Retention Through Technology,” at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12. For those attending FABTECH 2023, these presentations can be added to their My Schedule section of the FABTECH mobile app, available through the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Name Title Company Session Title Date/Time/Location Mo Abuali, PhD Managing Partner IoTco, LLC Steve Alexander Vice President of Operations and Standard Products Acieta F121: Robotic Solutions to Create Better Work Environments and Employee Retention 9/11/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S401D Steve Apel Regional Automation Manager Acieta F124: Starting Small & Calculating the True ROI for Robotic Investment 9/12/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S401D Neil Ball President Directed Light, Inc. Rick Caldwell President SCADAware, Inc. F221: How to Hire and Manage a Robotic Workforce (RAAS) 9/13/2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | S401D Jake Corning Regional Automation Manager, Standards Acieta F127: Is Now the Time to Get a Cobot? 9/12/2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm | S401D Nick Cowell Regional Automation Manager Acieta F27: Automating Weld Inspection & Optimizing Your Weld Automation 9/12/2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm | S404BC Jeff DeGrange, FSME Chief Commercial Officer Impossible Objects, Inc. Unleashing Success: A Workshop on Navigating a Career to Manufacturing Excellence 9/12/2023 | 1:00 – 2:00 pm | SME Zone Carl Dekker, FSME President Met-L -Flor, Inc. F12: Fundamentals of Additive Manufacturing for Fabricators 9/11/2023 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm | S502A Carl Dekker, FSME President Met-L -Flor, Inc. F14: Business Consideration for Additive Manufacturing Adoption 9/12/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S502A Jeff Fredline President Prestrade S19: Metal Stamping Press Maintenance Best Practices 9/13/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S501A Slade Gardner, PhD President Big Metal Additive F13: Additive Metal Products are Ready, Are You? How Do You Accept Them and Put Them to Work? 9/11/2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm | S502A Will Healy, III Global Welding Segment Manager Universal Robots F20: Automation: A Basic Crash Course & Getting Started for Small Manufacturers 9/11/2023 | 8:00 – 9:00 am | S404BC Will Healy, III Global Welding Segment Manager Universal Robots F56: Win More Business, Boost Productivity & Improve Retention in Sheet Metal Production 9/12/2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm | S403B Will Healy, III Global Welding Segment Manager Universal Robots FW3: Getting Started in Industrial Robotics: What You Need to Know Workshop 9/11/2023 | 12:00 – 4:30 pm | S401D Will Healy, III Global Welding Segment Manager Universal Robots FW5: Getting Started with Smart Manufacturing Workshop 9/13/2023 | 12:00 – 5:00 pm | S402A Will Healy, III Global Welding Segment Manager Universal Robots S28: Creating Operational Excellence in the Press Shop 9/13/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S501BC Will Healy, III Global Welding Segment Manager Universal Robots F144: Don’t Let Technology Disrupt Your Culture or Your Team 9/12/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S404BC Marty Korecky Consultant MJ Korecky Consulting, LLC C31: Don’t take Safety for Granted 9/11/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | E253D Jeannine Kunz Chief Workforce Development Officer Tooling U-SME F141: Reality Check: It’s a Lack of Workforce Readiness that is Holding Manufacturing Back, Building a Talent Plan for the Future 9/11/2023 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | S401BC Anthony Manos, MBA Enterprise Lean Six Sigma Corporate Leader Littlefuse F84: Lean Principle: Strategic Planning and Development 9/12/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S501D James Mayer President TCO Strategies F145: Employee Recognition: Appreciating Your Manufacturing Workforce 9/12/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S401BC Joel Mazzeo Owner Integrated Lean & Quality Solutions, LLC Greg Miller President Tubular Solutions, Inc. F50: Tube Bending Challenges 9/11/2023 | 8:00 – 9:00 am | S403B Greg Morehouse Vice President, Custom Sales Systems Acieta F129: Benefits of Robotic Automation Systems & ASTM Standards 9/13/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S401D Joel Neidig Director of Research & Development ITAMCO Unleashing Success: A Workshop on Navigating a Career to Manufacturing Excellence 9/12/2023 | 1:00 – 2:00 pm | SME Zone Steven Onsager, PE Mechanical Engineering Manager Horizon Performance Technologies C302: Minimizing Energy and Water Usage with New Technologies in Paint Finishing Systems 9/13/2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm | E253D Audie Penn, LBC, LSC, LGC Managing Partner Faro Partners/Audie Penn Consulting F87: Lean: A Case Study: Enterprise Excellence Implementation 9/12/2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm | S501D Dean Phillips, DTM President Longevity Industries F134: Improve Workforce Recruitment & Retention Through Technology 9/12/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S402A Brian Rodgers Senior Application Engineer Formtek Group F41: Roll Forming Justification, Basics, and Lubricants 9/11/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S403A Rahul Sarkar, BE, MS, PE President Clarity Manufacturing Consulting F28: Small Manufacturers Can Overcome Custom Automation Challenges 9/13/2023 | 8:00 – 9:00 am | S404BC Michael Schlagenhaufer Manufacturing Consultant Acuity F24: What to Understand Before Moving Your Shop to a Lights-Out Operation 9/12/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S404BC Michael Schlagenhaufer Manufacturing Consultant Acuity F60: Do You Know How Much Money You Are Losing Due to Equipment Breakdown? 9/11/2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 am | S404D Michael Schlagenhaufer Manufacturing Consultant Acuity F99: Unseen Risks That Drive Up Operational Costs and Drive Down Profits & How to Recover 9/13/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S402B Michael Schlagenhaufer Manufacturing Consultant Acuity FW3: Getting Started in Industrial Robotics: What You Need to Know Workshop 9/11/2023 | 12:00 – 4:30 pm | S401D Michael Schlagenhaufer Manufacturing Consultant Acuity F147: What You Need to Know and Do to Attract the Right Talent and Skill to Your Company 9/12/2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm | S401BC Paxton Shantz Digital Manufacturing Industry Manager Beckhoff Automation F202: Automation Structural Framing or Cabinetless System 9/13/2023 | 2:00 – 3:00 pm | S404BC Paul Vragel, LSSBB, MBA, ISO Lead Auditor President 4aBetterBusiness, Inc. F96: Positioning for Challenging Times & How to Develop Immediate Buy-In 9/12/2023 | 12:00 -1:30 pm | S402B Paul Vragel, LSSBB, MBA, ISO Lead Auditor President 4aBetterBusiness, Inc. F99: Unseen Risks that Drive Up Operational Costs and Drive Down Profits & How to Recover 9/13/2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 am | S402B Marrion Wells Founder & Managing Partner Human Asset Management F141: Reality Check: It’s a Lack of Workforce Readiness that is Holding Manufacturing Back, Building a Talent Plan for the Future 9/11/2023 | 10:00 – 11:00 am | S401BC