Plant Engineering brings back The Downtime with Sheri Kasprzak as solo host

The returning maintenance podcast opens its new format with Limble CTO Jason Penkethman discussing CMMS tools and their role in supporting technicians rather than replacing them.

Plant Engineering has brought back The Downtime podcast with Sheri Kasprzak as its solo host, beginning the show’s new format with an episode featuring Limble Chief Technology and Product Officer Jason Penkethman.

The podcast previously used a two-host format. Sarah Wynn is no longer a regular co-host, though Plant Engineering said she is expected to return on future episodes as a guest host.

In the latest installment, Penkethman discusses computerized maintenance management systems and the role they can play in maintenance operations. His central argument is that CMMS software should augment experienced maintenance technicians, not substitute for them.

The discussion covers preventive-maintenance scheduling, asset tracking, maintenance communication, downtime reduction and access to maintenance information. For plant maintenance teams, those functions can reduce time spent finding paper records, checking outdated asset histories or reconciling work requests across disconnected systems.

A CMMS deployment still depends on operating discipline, not software alone. Plants need usable asset records, defined preventive-maintenance tasks, technician adoption and a process for capturing field knowledge in the system. A platform can schedule work, but it cannot establish accurate failure codes, confirm parts availability or replace the diagnostic judgment of an electrician, mechanic or reliability technician.

That distinction matters for labor planning. CMMS tools can shift technicians away from administrative tasks and toward inspections, repair work and root-cause activity. The measurable return should show up in work-order cycle times, planned-versus-reactive maintenance mix, asset availability and maintenance backlog, rather than in a claim that automation has eliminated skilled labor.

Plant Engineering did not provide cycle-time, downtime, labor-savings or throughput figures from Limble or from a customer deployment. It also did not specify the systems that may need to connect with a CMMS, such as enterprise resource planning, inventory, procurement, condition-monitoring or production systems. Those integrations often determine whether a maintenance platform becomes a reliable operating record or another separate workflow for technicians to update.

Uncertainty remains around the podcast’s distribution and release schedule. Plant Engineering confirmed that new episodes and a revised host format are underway, but did not state whether the new episode is available across all major podcast platforms or identify dates for additional installments.