SUPPLY CHAIN
AI can sound perfect in the boardroom but fall apart on the factory floor, and Dayan Rodriguez knows this better than most. Long before he became the Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing and Mobility at Microsoft, he was an engineer writing code for the shop floor.
Eventually he went on to lead global businesses at Rockwell Automation and Honeywell. He knows firsthand that plant managers want safety, quality, throughput and measurable ROI, not buzzwords. Today, he uses that operational foundation to bridge the gap between Microsoft’ s cloud, AI and robotics solutions and the everyday realities of industrial production.
Dayan shares his expertise with Manufacturing Digital.
Q. HOW DOES CAPACITY BECOME AN ACTIVE LEVER RATHER THAN JUST A PLAN?
» Capacity becomes a lever when it’ s dynamic. You need real-time visibility into demand, materials, labour and
“ I’ VE STOOD NEXT TO MAINTENANCE TECHNICIANS WHO DON’ T WANT ANOTHER SCREEN THEY WANT CLARITY”
Dayan Rodriguez Corporate Vice President of
Manufacturing and Mobility Microsoft equipment, along with the ability to act quickly. When teams can rebalance production or shift resources in hours instead of waiting for the next cycle, capacity becomes strategic. AI helps surface constraints and tradeoffs so leaders can move with confidence.
Q. WHAT DOES AN INTELLIGENT SYSTEM SEE THAT A STANDARD PROCESS MISSES?
» Standard processes show what should be happening. On the other hand, intelligent systems show what is happening.
I’ ve seen small stoppages, just a few minutes at a time, add up to hours of lost output each week. AI catches patterns like that. It connects changeovers, quality drift and supplier variability across silos. That’ s where the real opportunity has become, understanding cause and effect across the system instead of reacting to yesterday’ s metrics. That’ s the difference maker.
Q. WHERE IS AI’ S BIGGEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT?
» ROI shows up where variability is high and decisions matter every day: downtime, scrap, schedule adherence, inventory and even safety.
When I carried a P & L, I focused on operational performance and margin. AI earns trust when it improves OEE, reduces unplanned downtime or prevents a costly failure within months. The key is embedding it into
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