Josh Santo, senior director of industry strategy and solutions at EASE, spoke more about the findings behind a full layered process audit (LPA) benchmark report of plant-floor quality audits. Data covered 2.3 million process checks spanning more than 2,200 manufacturing sites. The report not only highlighted the necessity of good leadership within generalized manufacturing success, but also…

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that output in U.S. businesses is trending higher, even though head count has barely moved. A few years ago you might have blamed pent-up demand or a lucky sales run. In late 2025, the more honest explanation is that a growing share of your team has a chatbot open in the background.

The St. Louis Fed’s national U.S.…

Recently we were tasked with scanning Odawara Castle, a massive heritage site in Japan, including every detail from courtyards and buildings down to a drawbridge and individual rivets on castle gates.

Odawara Castle was built more than 500 years ago, with fortifications first erected during the Kamakura period—a time famous for the emergence of the samurai and Japan’s first…