Survey shows manufacturing optimism in spite of COVID-19

InfinityQS International’s 2020 Global Client Survey indicates the manufacturing industry is recovering. The results show a positive upturn in the industry, with nearly 74% of respondents reporting that they are optimistic toward the future. These manufacturers are adapting and rebounding in the wake of the pandemic, adopting new technologies and processes for managing production and controlling quality, including 75% who noted more of their workers are now working remotely.

To enable this remote work and build greater flexibility and resiliency into their processes, these manufacturers are rapidly adopting technologies, such as cloud computing. Additional results from InfinityQS indicate that an acceleration in digital transformation initiatives is occurring, where the number of proofs of concept for InfinityQS’ cloud-native quality intelligence platform Enact® has steadily quadrupled in the last three months.

There has also been an uptick in demand for the company’s training classes designed to educate clients in how to effectively use new tools for remote collaboration. In June, InfinityQS even saw a 316% spike in its professional services hours—compared to March when the outbreak occurred—with clients seeking support as they begin increasing their production to pre-pandemic levels.

Jason Chester, director of global channel programs at InfinityQS, said, “As we have seen over the last four months, the impact of coronavirus has been a massive wake-up call for all industries and manufacturing is no exception, particularly as a sector still heavily dependent on manual processes and legacy technologies. Manufacturers are rapidly moving away from outdated pen-and-paper processes in favor of cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, enabling plant staff to efficiently monitor and optimize their production processes in real time from anywhere. This is in stark contrast to our traditional notion of manufacturing, which is centered around being onsite, on the shop floor, or in close proximity to physical production processes.”

Chester added, “As some plants restart and others adapt to a new normal, we are seeing a sharp rise in our customers seeking to expand their digital capabilities so they can improve agility, productivity, efficiency, and ensure the safety and quality of their products, as well as have access to process data while away from the shop floor to ensure social distancing, or when working from home. The increase in requests for our professional services shows manufacturers are taking advantage of the flexibility offered by the cloud and this has been further reflected in the increased demand for our online technical training programs.”

He concluded by saying how encouraging it was that three-quarters of the people surveyed are reporting optimism that they can succeed in the post-COVID reality.

Original content can be found at Plant Engineering.

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