Manufacturing 201: Next-Level Skills

Manufacturing Meet Up

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0:00 34:36
15301x Sep 3, 2025

Welcome to manufacturing graduate school! Ed and Alvaro level up from last episode’s basics to tackle the advanced skills that separate individual contributors from true business leaders. They dive into what it really takes to grow beyond being “too functional” – from mastering cross-functional collaboration to understanding how your decisions impact the entire enterprise, not just your corner of the operation.

The duo shares hard-won wisdom about the three-to-five-year journey of implementing TPM or Lean Six Sigma (“there is no instant pudding”), why losing trust on the shop floor takes three times longer to rebuild, and how one plant went from rock bottom to top 3 globally in just two years. Whether you’re ready to break down silos between departments or looking to leverage AI without abandoning the fundamentals, this episode delivers the advanced playbook for manufacturing excellence.

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Meet Our Hosts

Alvaro Cuba
Alvaro Cuba has more than 35 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles in operations and supply chain as well as tenure in commercial and general management for the consumer products goods, textile, automotive, electronics and internet industries. Today, Alvaro is a strategic business consultant and advisor in operations and supply chain, helping advance start-ups in the AI and advanced manufacturing space.

Ed Ballina
Ed Ballina was formerly the VP of Manufacturing and Warehousing at PepsiCo, with 36 years of experience in manufacturing and reliability across three CPG Fortune 50 companies in the beverage and paper industries. Recently, Ed started his own supply chain consulting practice focusing on Supply Chain operational consulting and equipment rebuild services for the beverage industry.

Full Transcript

Ed Ballina: Hi, I’m Ed Ballina, coming to you with another episode of MMU.
Alvaro Cuba: Hello guys, great to have to be with you. Alvaro Cuba here.

Ed Ballina: So hey team, this as you know is a fairly frequent event that Alvaro and I get together and we talk about events and what’s happening on the shop floor... We’re trying to give you a little sip of what we think is important for an advanced education in manufacturing.

Alvaro Cuba: Let’s go for it! Yes! Back to school!

Ed Ballina: Our previous podcast, part one, was an introduction. So this is the next level up from that. We’re gonna tackle the same three topics or areas: people, technology, process.

People

Alvaro Cuba: In the previous episode, we talked about essentials like conflict resolution, professionalism, communication, team building. Now we choose leadership and mentorship... You can shadow, you can train, coach, develop. There is a lot of leadership in safety, quality, and thinking about customer expectations.

Ed Ballina: So I’m gonna pick up where Alvaro left off and talk about cross-functional collaboration... Break down those silos between departments, right? We’re all in this together.

Process

Alvaro Cuba: We talked about lean fundamentals and problem-solving, but you need a robust process methodology... It’s important for the culture of ownership and efficiency.

Ed Ballina: Absolutely... You should understand the KPIs that are important to sales.

Technology

Alvaro Cuba: We talk about machine health. In college, we talk about process health and then production health... You need to understand your supplier and customer dynamics.

Ed Ballina: There are some automation opportunities that can enhance productivity... Think about how to liberate operators from drudgery work.

Conclusion

Alvaro Cuba: Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed our little trip down back to school lane and you’ll graduate with honors.

Ed Ballina: ...The foundation of your operations needs to be strong for success. Thank you for joining us!