Adelle Murphy
Speaker at WEST: Adelle Murphy, Account Executive, Limble
Speaker at WEST: Adelle Murphy, Account Executive, Limble
WEST Session:
Speaker at WEST: Tyler Boykin, Vice President, Orases
WEST Session: Most manufacturers begin their AI journey with high expectations, yet research shows that 95 percent of GenAI projects fail to create real business value. A common trap is the shiny object syndrome, where leaders and empowered employees chase trendy tools that look impressive but do little to address core operational challenges. This is why only 5 percent of enterprise-built AI tools ever make it into production. The companies that succeed take a different path. They delve into the business itself, uncovering where AI can make the most significant difference. Predictive maintenance that prevents costly downtime, quality control that reduces waste, and supply chain optimization that improves resilience are just a few areas where measurable impact becomes possible. What often separates success from failure is expertise. Internal teams, no matter how skilled, can be limited by organizational bias, resource gaps, and familiar ways of thinking. That is why internal builds succeed only a third of the time. Third-party AI experts, on the other hand, bring fresh perspectives that identify blind spots, challenge assumptions, and apply proven frameworks that raise the success rate to nearly 70 percent. With the proper guidance, AI stops being an expensive experiment and becomes a powerful, revenue-generating asset. For manufacturers, this shift marks the difference between falling behind and building a sustainable competitive edge.
Speaker at WEST: Padma Raghunathan, Product Marketing Manager, Deltek
Speaker at WEST: Brian Ellis, Founder, Docket
WEST Session: Your next efficiency breakthrough isn't hiding in a machine learning algorithm. It's walking around your shop floor right now. While manufacturing obsesses over AI, 85% of operations still depend on human expertise. The CNC programmer who knows exactly when to adjust spindle speeds. The veteran welder who spots perfect joints in seconds. The setup technician whose alignment cuts cycle times. These operators don't just run your processes, they've mastered them. They hold the institutional knowledge that separates good production from great production. But your systems can't see what they know, creating a costly blind spot. Mid-market manufacturers nationwide face the same challenge: valuable knowledge trapped in individual heads instead of being scaled digitally. The result is lost efficiency because operator expertise can’t integrate with core systems. Companies overcoming this aren’t layering more machine learning. They’re building systems that amplify human intelligence. They digitize workflows, connect teams to real-time data, and create interfaces designed around how operators think and work, not the other way around. In this session, Docket will reveal how shop floor digitization platforms close the gap between operator expertise and digital execution. You’ll gain practical insights into smart manufacturing systems that support your frontline, enabling faster setups, higher accuracy, and smoother production. At a time when manufacturers chase the next big overhaul, don’t overlook the team that got you here. The goal isn’t replacing human insight, it’s designing systems that can multiply it.
Speaker at WEST: Jared Bollier, Marketing Analyst, DSD Business Systems
WEST Session: This session explores how connected manufacturing processes can unify production, inventory, scheduling, and financial data into a single, real-time source of truth. By integrating critical business functions—from sales orders to production planning, quality control, and shipping—manufacturers can break down silos, eliminate redundant processes, and improve responsiveness to market changes. With access to accurate and timely information, decision-makers gain the visibility needed to identify bottlenecks, reduce errors, and optimize resource allocation. Attendees will learn how adopting a connected approach not only increases efficiency and collaboration but also positions manufacturers to adapt quickly to evolving customer demands and market conditions, ensuring long-term competitiveness and growth.
Speaker at WEST: James Van Buskirk, Vice President – Engineering and Development, Methods Machine Tools