Tag: connected-worker

• Dave and his pipefitters

  I think about Dave and his crew more than I probably should.

  We were doing a tie-in to connect seventy-year-old piping to brand new systems. Below grade work. Trench work. The kind where you can’t see what’s happening unless you’re standing right there, looking down into the hole. Dave’s pipefitters were good at their job, but they didn’t know the hazards of what they were daylighting.

  My operators didn’t care much about this kind of work because it wasn’t technically their area – “it’s project work,” so it wasn’t their problem. That attitude – the lack of ownership, was one of those things I kept trying to fix but never quite could. So I became the project babysitter on behalf of operations. I’d be there, watching, making sure the work was getting done safely, making sure everyone knew what was happening in that trench.

  Then I took a day off.

  That morning, the gas detection went off while Dave’s guys were in the confined space. H2S & LEL. An explosive environment, and they were working with open flame. Everyone got out. We were lucky. Nobody got hurt.

  Relying on luck is a loser strategy.

  If there had been more visibility to the work – if the operators had real-time permits that everyone could see instead of a piece of paper in some trainee’s hand and another in the maintenance foreman’s pocket – I can’t help but think this could have been avoided. A digital permit. Something that puts the information where everyone needs it, when they need it.

  This is why I care so much about enabling our field with technology. It’s not about making things flashy or modern for fun. It’s about making life easier and better on the front line. It’s about making sure everyone goes home to their families.

  I still think about Dave and his pipefitters. I’m grateful I get to think about them, and not remember them.

  October 26, 2025

  connected-worker, digital, industrial, leadership, safety

  ---

• Don’t Feel Bad. Everyone Is Lying About Digital Transformation

  It used to make me insecure. Everyone’s crushing it with AI while I’m fighting to keep our network alive – felt like I was so far behind.

  I went to one of those connected worker conferences and had the privilege of speaking with a keynote speaker. Their presentation was impressive and I wanted to do the same things they did for my workforce. I started asking questions about how they overcame such-and-such problem, how they navigated such-and-such issue.

  But the more questions I asked, the more I realized they didn’t have answers. And it became clear they didn’t actually enable their whole workforce with tech – they just ended up doing a small pilot with 20 workers that got shut down after a year anyway.

  That’s when I started listening more closely to my peers. Here’s what I learned:

  • Everyone’s doing “pilots” that die when their champion leaves
  • Everyone sucks at basics – talking AI while their workers don’t even have connectivity
  • Everyone is lying – success stories leave out failures and how they’re still running on paper

  I wasn’t behind – I was actually ahead. And that “digital leader” is still running on Excel and hope.

  The effort needed to be ahead of peers is smaller than you think. Focus on what your people actually need. Reliable tools beat flashy tech every time.

  Have the courage to make real, meaningful decisions to enable your workforce to work differently. We need more honest conversations about what’s really working.

  September 3, 2025

  ai, connected-worker, digital, industrial, technology

  ---