A significant skills gap in the manufacturing industry has worsened due to triple factors: the 2020 pandemic, the rapid pace of technological innovation, and an aging, retiring workforce. Fewer new workers are entering the field with the necessary expertise to replace experienced technicians. Manufacturers today must find ways to bridge the skills gap. Below, we… Read more »
Today’s field service factories are smarter and sharper, moving from reactive to predictive models and shifting their focus from selling products to selling services. Customers also expect more from organizations. Modern field service creates lasting customer value as organizations implement strategies that foster long-term resilience and revenue growth. Key technologies allow manufacturers to optimize workflows,… Read more »
As the field service industry continues to grow and adapt to predictive maintenance, so do the challenges manufacturing companies face. Acknowledging these challenges thus becomes key to tomorrow’s long-term success. Below, we examine four key challenges and their solutions for manufacturers: Increased Regulatory Requirements Manufacturing companies must keep up with increasingly strict regulatory requirements in… Read more »
Today’s field service manufacturing has shifted from selling products to cohesive, service-oriented, high-value experiences. With advancements in equipment, field services have become a central component of driving revenue, boosting customer satisfaction, and increasing operational resilience. Through this digital transformation, customers expect services like predictive maintenance to prevent downtime. Customers no longer accept reactive service and… Read more »
The status of coordination between factory operations and field service teams can make or break an industrial manufacturing project. Disjointed coordination challenges include data silos and a lack of real-time visibility, communication lapses, scheduling discrepancies, and quality inconsistencies. These challenges can segue into delayed responses and project execution, inefficient resource allocation, and bottlenecks — all… Read more »
While intuition is a muscle you strengthen over time and through circumstance, its varying nature can be costly in industrial manufacturing services. Traditionally, industrial manufacturing personnel relied on intuition. They fine-tuned their intuition through professional experience and used it to guide maintenance, resource allocation, and operational strategies. However, when not backed by data, this could… Read more »
From dealing with inconsistent data collection and a lack of standardized metrics to data silos and delayed reporting, effectively measuring performance in industrial manufacturing can prove difficult. These challenges negatively impact service quality by causing unplanned downtime, inefficient resource allocation, inconsistent quality, and customer dissatisfaction. Data-driven decision-making is the antidote to industrial manufacturing companies working… Read more »
When industrial manufacturers practice reactive maintenance, they relinquish control over properly addressing equipment issues. This has costly consequences, including unplanned downtime, high repair expenses, reduced equipment lifespan, and safety and compliance risks. On the other hand, predictive maintenance, powered by real-time data and analytics, counters reactive maintenance issues. Predictive maintenance allows manufacturers to reduce downtime,… Read more »
Effective communication — and the conduit for it — bonds successful global industrial manufacturing operations in field services. As industrial manufacturing companies expand globally, clear communication is especially integral to ensuring seamless compliance collaboration. Global teams navigate unique challenges, including language barriers, varying time zones, and unreliable communication channels. Issues may include inconsistent workflows, delayed… Read more »
Industrial manufacturing presents a high-risk environment, from large, complex machinery to hazardous materials to complicated operations, making safety compliance a top priority. Failure to comply with safety regulations from governing organizations can lead to injuries and fatalities, fines, legal battles, financial loss, and reputational damage. Digital tools are revolutionizing safety in industrial manufacturing field service… Read more »
There’s no jumping the manufacturing skills gap. Industrial manufacturing’s immediate future strength depends on today’s digitally transformative actions. According to a Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute study, the U.S. could face 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2030. The resulting cost could potentially total $1 trillion in the U.S. alone. As industrial manufacturing technology evolves,… Read more »
Like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without seeing the pieces you have at hand, industrial manufacturing faces asset management challenges without centralized asset data. Poor asset visibility means managers face difficulty tracking asset locations, conditions, and usage. This impacts service delivery, given its negative effect on customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and revenue. Fragmented systems,… Read more »