Beyond the Machines: My Conversation with Matthew Edwards
On Maintenance & Manufacturing Insights, Matthew Edwards — Plant Facilities Manager and Maintenance Manager at First Solar — shares the maintenance strategy behind a highly automated plant working toward 21,000 solar panels a day: predictive and preventive maintenance driven by data, and why great maintenance is as much about building people as maintaining machines.
What does it take to keep a highly automated manufacturing operation running while working toward producing 21,000 solar panels a day? I sat down with Matthew Edwards, Plant Facilities Manager and Maintenance Manager for First Solar in Gaffney, South Carolina, on this episode of Maintenance & Manufacturing Insights. We covered the technology behind modern maintenance — but one message stood out: great maintenance is just as much about people as it is about machines.
Moving From Reactive to Planned Maintenance
Matthew is helping support a new 1.2-million-square-foot facility with four production lines — FANUC robots, ABB drives, conveyors, automation, and more. At that level of production, unexpected downtime matters.
His team focuses on predictive and preventive maintenance rather than simply waiting for something to break. Maintenance decisions are driven by equipment usage, run time, cycle counts, inspections, and data collected across operations. The objective is to find and address potential problems during planned maintenance — instead of discovering them when production suddenly stops.
Building the Team Behind the Machines
One of my favorite parts of our conversation was Matthew's approach to leadership. He believes his success depends on his team's success — which means making sure technicians have the right tools, training, resources, and time to do their jobs well.
He also named a problem many leaders will recognize: depending too heavily on the same top performers. When your best people continually get the toughest assignments, they can become overloaded while other employees miss chances to develop. His message was clear: build the entire team.
Learn a Skill and Keep Learning
Matthew had some great advice for younger people entering the workforce: learn a trade or skill. Electricians, welders, pipe fitters, plumbers, machinists, and other skilled workers continue to play an essential role in manufacturing. He encourages people to take advantage of training and become multi-skilled throughout their careers.
Watch & Listen
Hear my full conversation with Matthew Edwards:
