49 - The Human Context Hidden Behind Industrial Data You Can't Ignore with Bob van de Kuilen

Most industrial data projects fail before they start. The data is clean, the tools are connected, and the dashboards look great. But nobody can explain why the production line dropped 12% last Tuesday. The missing piece is human context.

Bob van de Kuilen, CEO and co-founder of Thred, joins Phil Seboa to explain why knowledge graphs fill the gap that the Unified Namespace leaves open, and how pairing them with AI turns weeks of troubleshooting into minutes.

Key topics in this episode:

• Why machine context alone cannot make industrial data meaningful
• How knowledge graphs go beyond UNS to connect cross-functional perspectives
• A hydraulic failure diagnosed in three minutes instead of two weeks
• The knowing-doing gap that keeps factories stuck despite having the right tools
• Why throwing an LLM over raw data without a knowledge graph causes hallucinations

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This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology

PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace.

Learn more at:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠⁠

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Connect with Bob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-van-de-kuilen-a531403/

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/

Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/

Learn more about Thred: https://thredcloud.com