In this explosive second installment of our manufacturing audio drama, The Automation Trap, we return to the saga of Gary and his struggling shop, Iron Clunk Machining. Desperate to prove himself and catch up to his more successful rival Klaus, Gary dives headfirst into automation—but without the foundational principles that make automation work. The result? A perfect storm of waste, burnout, and broken trust.
Through vivid storytelling, the Lights Out team unpacks the brutal consequences of automating without strategy. We see veteran machinists demoted to deburring, quality control falling apart, and a lonely cobot churning out parts no one can use. The shop floor becomes a textbook case of lean gone wrong: overproduction, motion waste, inventory overflow, and worst of all—unused employee creativity.
But the story isn’t just about failure. It's a hard look at leadership missteps and the redemptive power of collaboration. When Gary finally hits rock bottom, the very competitor he resented—Klaus—offers him a lifeline and a fresh start. Along the way, we explore why lean thinking matters, what value stream mapping really looks like, and how to turn chaos into clarity.
If you’re leading a shop through automation or scaling up with tight margins, don’t miss this episode. It's raw, real, and packed with lessons you can’t afford to learn the hard way.
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