In this episode of The Zeroed-In Podcast by Thing-Zero, we sit down with Kudzai Manditereza from HiveMQ and founder of Industry40tv, to get practical about data in manufacturing. We dig into MQTT’s real job in the stack, how to bridge OT and IT without breaking culture, and why a Unified Namespace is the backbone for reliable analytics and AI at scale.

We talk with Kudzai about:

• MQTT vs OPC UA vs field-bus protocols, and where each fits

• The OT and IT priorities problem, and how to decouple with MQTT

• UNS as an event-driven backbone for orchestration, not a silver bullet

• Edge-first thinking: push rules to the edge, send only what matters

• Governance that scales: RBAC, validation, and killing the “wild west” broker

• Standardizing KPIs like OEE across plants without slowing teams downMake sure to subscribe for more real-world OT, data, and AI conversations.

⏱ Chapters:00:00 Intro

01:00 MQTT’s lane vs OPC UA and field buses

06:45 OT-IT culture and security priorities

12:40 MQTT in the DMZ as a data diode

17:10 Governance, RBAC, and broker hygiene

20:40 Edge intelligence and pushing rules down

26:30 Standardizing OEE and data models across sites

33:10 UNS today and where it’s going next

39:20 Wrap up

🎧 Brought to you by Thing-Zero: Secure. Predict. Augment. Automate.

📌 Follow Kudzai Manditereza on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kudzaimanditereza/

📌 Follow Olivier Bloch on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivierbloch/

📌 Follow Ryan Kershaw on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankershaw/

Follow Thing-Zero on:

- YouTube: YouTube.com/@thing-zero

- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/thing-zero

- 𝕏: https://x.com/ThingZ96954

- Web: https://www.Thing-Zero.com

#IndustrialAutomation #SmartFactory #IntelligentManufacturing #AI #OT

AI in the real world isn’t a keynote... it’s a factory floor, a power bill, and a risk register. In this episode, Marvin Tansley (Thing-Zero) sits down with Alec Coughlin (AI with Alec) to map the jump from hype to hard results: securing brownfield OT, preparing a data/knowledge-centric estate, and using agents to augment operators—not replace them.We cover the shift from app-centric silos to platforms, prescriptive analytics that drive next-best actions, and the leadership moves that make it stick: psychological safety, exec bootcamps, incentives that reward smart risk, and “hands-in-dirt” adoption.If you’re a CTO/CIO, plant leader, or ops owner wondering how to compete when AI becomes table stakes, this is the playbook you've been looking for.⏱ Chapters:0:00 – Intros & setup0:24 – Alec’s origin: RPA spark → “AI with Alec”1:14 – Marvin’s path: industrial engineering to AI2:00 – Practical vs hype; LLMs get “evolutionary” + Palantir/data platforms5:31 – Augmentation vs automation (factory story)9:07 – Brownfield OT realities & security-by-design12:50 – From app-centric to data/knowledge-centric (why it’s existential)16:45 – Analytics ladder: descriptive → predictive → prescriptive19:08 – Ransomware lesson ($20M/day) & designing safety in40:56 – Culture, incentives, “make the beer taste better” 42:32 – Closing Thoughts→ The Zeroed in Podcast is also now available on your favorite podcast platforms: https://linktr.ee/zeroedinpod📌 Follow Alec Coughlin on LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/in/alecchh/📌 Follow Marvin Tansley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marvin-tansley-a914551/🎧 Brought to you by Thing-Zero — Secure. Predict. Augment. Automate.Follow us on:- YouTube: YouTube.com/@thing-zero - Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thing-zero/- 𝕏: https://x.com/ThingZ96954/- Web: https://www.Thing-Zero.com/#AIwithAlec #AI #Robotics #MachineLearning #ML

Robots don’t kill jobs, and they might even be able to save them when you use them right.

In this episode, Jake Hall: the Manufacturing Millennial, joins Olivier Bloch and Ryan Kershaw of Thing-Zero to dig into the real levers behind U.S. manufacturing: reshoring, automation, brownfield vs. greenfield, AI (yes, generative too), security/trust, and the single biggest constraint of all… people and skills.

We cover:

• Why many SMEs still run like it’s 2005—and what flips the adoption switch

• RaaS, easier software, and proof-you-can-scale examples• Robots creating local jobs (not replacing them)

• Practical security/trust moves when connecting OT → cloud

• Education pipelines: FIRST Robotics, digital natives, and what Gen Z actually wants at work

Chapters below. If this helped, hit Subscribe and share with a manufacturing friend who needs a nudge to modernize.⏱ Chapters:• 00:00 Intros & setup (Olivier, Ryan, Jake)

• 01:38 Sports icebreaker → manufacturing mindset

• 02:30 Reshoring & tariffs: can the U.S. staff up?

• 05:44 “Good enough” risk: closure story & the moving-train analogy

• 09:50 Post-2020 winners: automation, flexibility, RaaS & easier software

• 12:45 Brownfield first steps: lighthouse plants & fail-fast culture

• 16:32 Brownfield vs. Greenfield: culture decides; skills are the bottleneck

• 20:04 Robots save jobs: U.S. case study + AI parallels

• 26:07 Security & trust: connecting OT → cloud the right way

• 32:42 Education pipeline & what Gen Z wants (FIRST Robotics)

• 37:22 Closing thoughts

🎧 Brought to you by Thing-Zero — Secure. Predict. Augment. Automate.

📌 Follow Jake Hall on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobrhall/

📌 Follow Olivier Bloch on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivierbloch/

📌 Follow Ryan Kershaw on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankershaw/

Follow Thing-Zero on:

- YouTube: YouTube.com/@Thing-Zero

- Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/thing-zero

- 𝕏: https://x.com/ThingZ96954

- Web: https://www.Thing-Zero.com

#IoT #OT #AI #PredictiveAnalytics #manufacturing