240: How AI Agents are Revolutionizing Safety and Operations in Manufacturing with Dunchadhn Lyons of Spot AI

Imagine having a tireless teammate watching your back 24/7, never missing a beat when it comes to keeping you safe. That’s exactly what AI agents in manufacturing are capable of today.

Spot AI uses cameras and AI agents to spot safety issues, send alerts, and collect data that can improve safety training in the future. Yes, a human could do all that. But who wants to spend 8 hours a day reviewing footage? In this episode, Dunchadhn Lyons, Director of Engineering, shares a real-world example of a safety manager freeing up time and reducing safety incidents by 40%.

He joins us at Batch Brewing for our Automate afterparty, along with this episode’s co-host, Jake Hall, aka The Manufacturing Millennial.

We explore how AI agents are transforming ordinary security cameras into intelligent safety monitors that can spot forklift near-misses, missing PPE, and operational bottlenecks before they become costly problems. Plus, we chat about how these "AI teammates" can capture and preserve the invaluable knowledge of experienced workers before they retire – addressing one of manufacturing's biggest challenges. Tune in for the full story and don’t forget to subscribe!

In this episode, find out:

• Dunchadhn breaks down the basics of what an AI agent in manufacturing is and how they’re designed to make our lives easier
• How Spot AI uses cameras as “AI teammates” to monitor for potential safety issues and use data for training
• How an AI agent could be used to fill in the gaps in knowledge after people start retiring in manufacturing
• Where Dunchadhn sees the future of AI agents headed and how Spot AI could expand beyond using cameras
• The best use cases for AI agents and Spot AI’s solution in manufacturing
• Dunchadhn shares an example of one workplace where they achieved a 40% reduction in safety issues
• How manufacturers can get started with improving safety with AI and why adopting Spot AI’s solution is simpler than you might think
• How to get buy-in from a team to use cameras for safety monitoring
• How Spot AI can also help businesses make operational improvements, with one example of a company avoiding millions in lost revenue
• Where can AI agents go in the future? Dunchadhn shares his predictions for the future of AI agents in manufacturing
• The best way to get more people onboard with AI agents

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Tweetable Quotes:

• "A 40% reduction in safety incidents means that people are safer. It means you can go to work, get your job done, and you can go to your family without having a fear of ending up in the hospital for a couple of weeks."
•  "AI agents can serve as training mechanisms for other new human employees so that tribal knowledge is not lost."
• "These AI teammates are really about supporting humans, making humans safer, making humans more efficient, and augmenting human abilities. There's definitely no notion of replacement or monitoring."

Links & mentions:

• Spot AI, video AI agents for the physical world
• Batch Brewing, brewery and restaurant located in Corktown, Detroit, MI