Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast

Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes

Join industry experts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes on "Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast", powered by PLCnext Technology, as they explore the fascinating world of the Industrial Internet of Things. Discover the latest trends, debunk common myths, and gain insights from leading voices in IIoT. From seasoned professionals to those new to IIoT, you'll learn about practical applications and cutting-edge innovations driving digital transformation. Tune in for thought-provoking discussions and engaging interviews, making complex topics accessible and interesting.

  1. 1d ago

    53.Closing the Industrial Application Gap with Kristopher Sandoval

    In this first episode of a 3-part FlowFuse mini-series on Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, hosts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes sit down with Kristopher Sandoval of FlowFuse to unpack the application gap in industrial operations — the growing distance between how many applications industrial teams need and how fast their developers can build them. Kristopher explains why so many operational workflows still live in spreadsheets, local scripts and one-off dashboards, and how the Node-RED → FlowFuse → FlowFuse Expert stack is changing the equation. We cover what FlowFuse Expert actually is — an AI co-pilot that builds industrial applications on a Node-RED workspace from a plain-language description — why it's built on MCP (Model Context Protocol) for real industrial context instead of generic LLM guesswork, and how it can compress tasks that once took 10–20 hours down to around an hour, without replacing the operators and OT engineers who know the plant best. If your team has more ideas than capacity to build them, this episode is about closing that gap. Chapters 0:00 — Intro and guest welcome 3:00 — The application gap in industrial operations 6:00 — Where workflows live today: spreadsheets, scripts, manual processes 10:00 — Who feels this gap most? 12:00 — From operational need to working application (OEE dashboard) 16:00 — Iterating with Expert and availability 0:00 — Intro and guest welcome 3:00 — The application gap in industrial operations 6:00 — Where workflows live today: spreadsheets, scripts, manual processes 10:00 — Who feels this gap most? 12:00 — From operational need to working application (OEE dashboard) 16:00 — Iterating with Expert and availabilityConnect Kristopher Sandoval (FlowFuse): https://www.linkedin.com/in/krsando/ FlowFuse docs: https://flowfuse.com/docs Phil Seboa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa/ Ed Fuentes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes-2046121a/Newsletter Sign up: www.unpluggediiot.com/newsletter FlowFuse is a proud sponsor of Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast. #IIoT #NodeRED #FlowFuse #IndustrialAutomation #ITOT #ManufacturingTech #OEE

    24 min

  2. Jun 16

    52. The Thinking Factory: How AI Is Giving MES a Brain with Francisco Almada Lobo

    What does it take for AI to actually deliver on the factory floor? In this episode, we explore why most manufacturing AI pilots never make it to production, and what changes when you get the data architecture right. Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and Co-Founder at Critical Manufacturing, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss MES as the foundation for manufacturing AI, why context beats compute, and what regulated industries need before they can trust AI in production. Key topics in this episode: What MES is and why it keeps expanding beyond process controlWhy Audi's 100+ AI initiatives failed to scale to production"Fat events": enriching IoT data with MES context for AI workloadsDesign-time AI vs runtime AI in regulated manufacturingThe first FDA warning letter for unauthorized AI useWhy this technology revolution gives no time for adjustmentThis episode is proudly made possible by FlowFuse. FlowFuse is the industrial application platform that helps operations, maintenance, and IT teams connect any machine, move data between systems, and scale industrial applications across sites. It is built on Node-RED, with the security and governance you need for real production environments. Learn more at flowfuse.com. Connect with Francisco on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/falmadalobo Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philseboa Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/edfuentes Learn more about Critical Manufacturing: criticalmanufacturing.com Book mentioned: "Agentic Artificial Intelligence" by Pascal Bonnet

    1 hr

  3. Jun 2

    51 - First Principles: De-Risking Industrial Technology and Championing Sovereign Manufacturing with Howard Sachs

    Howard Sachs joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss how de-risking industrial technology, championing sovereign manufacturing, and first-principles leadership are shaping Australia's industrial future. Key topics in this episode: Why de-risking matters more than product specifications in industrial salesHow the Dulux Industry 4.0 project succeeded through collaboration and leadershipAustralia's sovereign manufacturing challenges and the COVID-19 vaccine pushPockets of innovation across traditionally conservative industriesWhy mentorship from every direction accelerates learningConnect with Howard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsachs/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Universal Automation Solutions: https://universalsystems.com.au ------

    51 min

  4. May 13

    50 - Why Factory AI Fails Without a Data Foundation with Alexander Kruger

    Most industrial AI projects fail before they produce anything useful. The models are ready, the dashboards look great, and the executive presentation landed. But on the shop floor, nobody can get clean data out of the PLC without calling the vendor. The missing piece is a data foundation. Alexander Kruger, co-founder and CEO of United Manufacturing Hub (UMH), joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes on this episode, powered by PLCnext Technology, to explain why factory AI stalls without the right infrastructure underneath it, why boring technology beats shiny platforms, and how open source tooling is putting data ownership back in the hands of the people who run factories. Key topics in this episode: Why most factory AI projects fail at the data layer before they reach the model layerHow UMH went from systems integration with McKinsey to building open source data infrastructureThe five-step process for connecting machines, modeling data, and serving it to applicationsWhy Kafka and Postgres beat purpose-built IoT platforms for long-term reliabilityHow containers and Kubernetes solve high availability problems OT has wrestled with for yearsThe open source bet on forerunner power users who change organizations from within-------------------------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Connect with Alexander on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-krueger/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about United Manufacturing Hub: https://umh.app

    59 min

  5. Apr 29

    49 - The Human Context Hidden Behind Industrial Data You Can't Ignore with Bob van de Kuilen

    Most industrial data projects fail before they start. The data is clean, the tools are connected, and the dashboards look great. But nobody can explain why the production line dropped 12% last Tuesday. The missing piece is human context. Bob van de Kuilen, CEO and co-founder of Thred, joins Phil Seboa to explain why knowledge graphs fill the gap that the Unified Namespace leaves open, and how pairing them with AI turns weeks of troubleshooting into minutes. Key topics in this episode: Why machine context alone cannot make industrial data meaningfulHow knowledge graphs go beyond UNS to connect cross-functional perspectivesA hydraulic failure diagnosed in three minutes instead of two weeksThe knowing-doing gap that keeps factories stuck despite having the right toolsWhy throwing an LLM over raw data without a knowledge graph causes hallucinations --------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠⁠ --------------- Connect with Bob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-van-de-kuilen-a531403/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Thred: https://thredcloud.com

    55 min

  6. Apr 15

    48. Containers Without the Complexity: Bringing IT Tools to the Factory Floor with Neil Cresswell

    Containerization is quietly reshaping how factories deploy and manage software, but most OT teams never asked for it. In this episode powered by PLCnext Technology, we explore why containers matter for manufacturing and how to adopt them without the complexity. Neil Cresswell, Founder and CEO of Portainer, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss how his platform went from an IT tool to a factory floor essential, and why the technology behind it should be invisible to the people using it. Key topics in this episode: How Portainer evolved from an IT tool to an industrial platformWhy containers and Kubernetes are reshaping factory software deploymentThe global manufacturing competition driving modernizationReal-world use cases from John Deere, precision agriculture, and quality controlA bottom-up strategy for adopting new technology in your plant This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠ --------------------------- FlowFuse at Hannover Messe 2026 Discover how FlowFuse empowers you to build, deploy, and scale industrial automation -- your way. Visit FlowFuse at Hall 014, Stand K26 during Hannover Messe (April 20-24, 2026) and experience live demonstrations of FlowFuse connecting the entire industrial stack -- from PLCs on the shop floor to MES, ERP, and cloud services -- enabling real-time industrial connectivity, data integration, and AI-powered operations. Let's transform industrial data together -- live, integrated, and in real time. Claim your free pass and learn more: https://flowfuse.com/events/hannover-messe-2026/ --------------------------- Connect with Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncresswell/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Portainer: https://www.portainer.io Episode Recap Article: https://unpluggediiot.com/episodes/ep-48-containers-without-complexity-it-tools-factory-floor

    1h 2m

  7. Apr 1

    47 - What Ignition 8.3 Means for Industrial Automation's Next Leap with Carl Gould

    Carl Gould, CTO and co-founder of Inductive Automation, joins hosts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes for an in-person conversation recorded in Australia ahead of the Ignition Everywhere event in Brisbane. Carl traces Ignition's journey from FactorySQL in 2003 to the 8.3 release, which introduces file-based configuration, Git and GitOps compatibility, Perspective offline mode, and a new architecture for managing distributed OT systems at scale. He breaks down the three design principles that have guided the platform from day one (cost, convenience, and capability), shares his evolving take on AI in industrial automation, and explains why he calls the IT/OT divide "a fictional line." In this episode, we discuss: The 8.3 release: file-based config, GitOps, deployment modes, and Perspective offlineScaling from thousands of tags to millions with distributed, decoupled architecturesWhy AI in industrial automation is a means to an end, not a product in itselfThe community and culture behind Ignition's worldwide growth --------------------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/ --------------------------- FlowFuse at Hannover Messe 2026 Discover how FlowFuse empowers you to build, deploy, and scale industrial automation -- your way. Visit FlowFuse at Hall 014, Stand K26 during Hannover Messe (April 20-24, 2026) and experience live demonstrations of FlowFuse connecting the entire industrial stack -- from PLCs on the shop floor to MES, ERP, and cloud services -- enabling real-time industrial connectivity, data integration, and AI-powered operations. Let's transform industrial data together -- live, integrated, and in real time. Claim your free pass and learn more: https://flowfuse.com/events/hannover-messe-2026/ --------------------------- Carl Gould is the CTO and co-founder of Inductive Automation. He has been building and guiding the Ignition platform since 2003. Under his leadership, Ignition has grown from a SQL connectivity tool into a comprehensive platform used across industries worldwide for SCADA, HMI, MES, and IIoT applications. Connect with Carl Gould on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-gould Learn more about Inductive Automation: https://inductiveautomation.com Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/⁠ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/

    52 min

  8. Mar 17

    46 - Functional Safety, AI Blindspots, and Designing Systems That Actually Work with Jason Watts

    What happens when a controls engineer raised in coal mines starts turning chicken manure into renewable energy? In this episode, made possible by PLCnext Technology, we get a masterclass in practical automation, functional safety, and building systems that work in the real world. Jason Watts, Owner and Founder of Alpha Industrial Technologies, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss building an automation company around passionate engineers, using AI as an adversary in the design process, and why improperly applied safety functions can be more dangerous than no safety at all. In this episode, we explore: Building an automation company with a flexible, passion-driven workforce modelUsing AI as an adversary to stress-test engineering designs and find failure modesCross-industry technology transfer from mining and automotive to agricultureWhy Safe Torque Off (STO) is often implemented incorrectly and the case for risk assessmentsConverting poultry manure into renewable natural gas and fertilizer using bio digesters and IIoT---------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/ ---------- Connect with Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonwattsae/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Alpha Industrial Technologies: http://www.alphaindustrial.us

    1h 1m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Join industry experts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes on "Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast", powered by PLCnext Technology, as they explore the fascinating world of the Industrial Internet of Things. Discover the latest trends, debunk common myths, and gain insights from leading voices in IIoT. From seasoned professionals to those new to IIoT, you'll learn about practical applications and cutting-edge innovations driving digital transformation. Tune in for thought-provoking discussions and engaging interviews, making complex topics accessible and interesting.

Information

  • Creator
    Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes
  • Show Website
    Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast

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