The Automation Navigator - Sean Dotson
Sean DotsonThe Automation Navigator explores the evolving world of automation, robotics, packaging, AI, economics, and leadership. Drawing on decades of experience in industrial automation, it offers practical insights and clear thinking to help operators, engineers
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 55 | Founded | 3 years ago | Last Issue | 20 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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automationnavigator.substack.comLatest Issues
The Enshittification of Everything
A few weeks ago I picked up Cory Doctorow’s new book, Enshittification. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. It’s one of those books that gives you a name for something you’ve been watching happen for years but couldn’t quite describe. D...
The Ballpark Number Your Customer Asked For Just Became Your Ceiling
A new prospect, maybe a referral from a good account, wants to know if a project like theirs is in the ballpark of a number their VP will approve. They are not ready to go into detail yet. They just need something to take back upstairs to g...
Your Work In Progress (WIP) Report Is a History Book
The automation industry discovered margin fade decades after construction did. Here is what to do about it.
I ran my shop for years without a real profit fade alert. We had a job cost report. It was a good-looking report. It had column...
The PE Phone Call - Validation or Diligence Request
On June 11, 2026, Honeywell held its investor day in New York, three weeks before the aerospace spinoff that turns the company into a pure-play industrial automation business. Peter Lau, president of the Industrial Automation unit, got up a...
The Change Order You Should Have Written But Did Not
The Phone Call
It is 2:30 on a random Tuesday afternoon. Your best engineer is elbow-deep in the panel working on a conveyor integration that ships in three weeks. His phone rings. It is the plant manager at the customer site, someone h...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Founder, CEO, engineer, robotics and automation leader. I speak about automation, packaging, robotics, technology and M&A activity in our industry.
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