Practitioner thinking

Retiring the spreadsheet that runs your plant

Most plants run on a spreadsheet somebody built years ago. Here is where it still earns its place, where it costs you, and how to move off it without a big rebuild. The mode40 team · Sep 23, 2026

What “practitioner-built” actually means

Everybody in this category says they understand your operation. Here is the test you can run inside a single demo. Chip Martens · Aug 26, 2026

The retirement problem nobody budgets for

The most valuable system in your operation is a person, and they just gave notice. Cameron Bergen · Aug 12, 2026

AI in manufacturing: the pilots that never reach production

Most AI pilots stop between the demo and the plant floor, and the reason is almost never the model itself. Cameron Bergen · Aug 1, 2026

Capture tribal knowledge before the exit interview

Knowledge management in manufacturing starts too late. Here is what to capture in a veteran's last ninety days, and from whom. Cameron Bergen · Jul 29, 2026

Why the same problem gets solved at full cost every year

Continuous improvement in manufacturing rarely fails at fixing the problem. It fails at keeping what was learned, so you pay again next year. Meghan Esau · Jul 28, 2026

The dashboards you should delete

A manufacturing dashboard is worth keeping only if it changes a decision. Here is an audit you can finish in one afternoon. Chip Martens · Jul 25, 2026