Episode 42

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Published on:

1st Dec 2025

Bridging the Gap: How AI and Automation Are Transforming Manufacturing Operations with Dag Calafell

In this episode of The Manufacturers Network Podcast, Lisa Ryan talks with Dag Calafell, a 25-year technology veteran helping global manufacturers modernize through Microsoft solutions. Dag shares how his early days as a developer at Parker Hannifin led him to his current role at MCA Connect, where he works with manufacturers to turn digital transformation into practical results.

They dig into where AI and automation actually move the needle in manufacturing, the hesitation many leaders still feel about new technology, and how companies can connect plant-floor data with back-office systems. Dag and Lisa explore everything from AI-powered cost tracking and maintenance insights to how internal hackathons can fuel innovation and upskill teams.

Key Takeaways:

  • A strong data foundation is critical for any AI or automation success.
  • AI and automation can ease workforce shortages and improve agility.
  • How manufacturers are using AI for production costing, defect detection, and predictive maintenance.
  • Treating AI initiatives like continuous improvement projects rather than one-time fixes.
  • The power of cross-functional collaboration and shared learning in tech adoption.
  • Why ROI timing matters more than having the newest technology.
Memorable Moment: “AI doesn’t have to replace people, it can make the work we already do smarter. The key is treating it like continuous improvement, not a one-time project.” — Dag Calafell

Connect with Dag Calafell: MCAConnect.com

Connect with Lisa Ryan: LisaRyanSpeaks.com

👉 LinkedIn: Lisa Ryan, CSP

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About the Podcast

The Manufacturers Network
Real conversations with leaders in manufacturing, automation, and workforce retention.
The Manufacturers’ Network is where manufacturing leaders, plant managers, and industry innovators come to talk straight about what’s working and what’s not, on the shop floor and beyond.

Each week, host Lisa Ryan sits down with people who live and breathe this business: operations executives, HR directors, engineers, and founders who are building stronger teams and smarter systems in the face of nonstop change.

Listeners gain real-world insights on:
• Employee retention and workforce engagement
• Automation, AI, and the future of skilled trades
• Supply chain and operations leadership
• Safety, sustainability, and company culture that lasts

If you’re tired of generic “leadership talk” and want practical conversations from people who get it, this podcast is for you.

New episodes drop every Monday and are short enough for your commute, sharp enough to shape your week.

Subscribe and be part of the conversation that’s connecting manufacturers across industries, one story at a time.

About your host

Profile picture for Lisa Ryan

Lisa Ryan

As a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), an award-winning speaker and author of ten books, Lisa Ryan, CSP, works with her clients to develop employee and client engagement initiatives and strategies that keep their top talent and best clients from becoming someone else’s.
Lisa’s expertise includes: strengthening workplace culture, improving employee engagement, increasing customer retention, and initiating gratitude strategies (“Grategies”) for personal and professional benefit. Lisa’s participants enjoy her high energy, enthusiastic delivery and quick wit and they leave the session with ideas they are committed to acting on immediately to make positive workplace culture changes.
Lisa costars in two films with other experts including Jack Canfield of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” She is the Past-President of the National Speakers Association, Ohio Chapter and holds an MBA from Cleveland State University.

Relevant Experience

• Keynote, breakout or workshop speaker at more than 100 national and international conferences
• Thirteen years of industrial marketing and sales experience, including seven years in the welding industry – and yes, she does weld
• Host of “Elevate Your Engagement Levels: What You Need to Know” on the Elite Expert Network and the C-Suite Network
• Creator of “The Seven Mistakes Managers Make to Crush Company Culture” video series
• Best-selling author of ten books, including “Manufacturing Engagement: 98 Proven Strategies to Attract and Retain Your Industry’s Top Talent”
• Award-winning speaker