INDUSTRY NEWS
Insights from ‘ 2024 Manufacturers ’ Technology Adoption & Attitudes ’ survey
Global technology intelligence firm , ABI Research , recently completed its ‘ 2024 Manufacturers ’ Technology Adoption & Attitudes Survey ’, a survey of 461 manufacturing decision-makers across the United States , Malaysia and Germany . It aimed to uncover real-world attitudes , adoption trends and insights that reflect the current technological landscape within the manufacturing industry .
According to the resulting report , ‘ The State of Technology in the Manufacturing Industry ’, one takeaway is that 50 % of manufacturers ’ top ten workforce challenges are related to people .
“ An interesting find from the survey is that some of the biggest issues for manufacturers involve people , not technology . Recruiting , retaining and upskilling staff are among the top challenges manufacturers face today . Skilled individuals are required to operate and maintain equipment while also focusing on optimising production lines . Simply put , there aren ’ t enough of these individuals in the workforce today ,” explained Michael Larner , Distinguished Analyst , ABI Research .
Other high-level findings from the report include :
■ 76 % of manufacturers surveyed agree that the cloud can foster real-time collaboration with key stakeholders to streamline supply chain coordination . U . S . manufacturers are less enthused about cloud computing ’ s ability to improve efficiency via scalability than their German and Malaysian counterparts .
■ 74 % of manufacturers agree / strongly agree that private cellular provides the reliability and security needed to streamline manufacturing operations .
The industrial metaverse can aid new product development , according to the survey .
Image : Shutterstock . com .
Image : Shutterstock . com .
German firms ranked data breach / theft as their top concern .
Collaboration is key to success .
Image : Shutterstock . com . Image : Shutterstock . com .
■ While U . S . and Malaysian firms rank new tech vulnerabilities ( e . g . cloud , AI etc .) as the top cyber risk facing their organisations , German firms ranked data breach / theft as their top concern .
■ 78 % of respondents believe that generative AI ’ s most common use case is to more quickly identify the root cause of a production issue .
■ 79 % of respondents agree that the industrial metaverse can aid new product development . For German and Malaysian firms , new product design was the top use case of the industrial
metaverse . In the U . S ., the top use case was staff training and upskilling .
■ While IT and OT departments must work together to tackle challenges , just 39 % of respondents stated that their IT and OT teams collaborate to solve issues .
■ 23 % of U . S ., 22 % of Malaysian and 18 % of German manufacturers agree that supporting sustainability goals is a priority .
■ 17 % of manufacturers are considering commercial drone deployments in the next 12 months , indicating significant interest in the robotics technology . Manufacturers are also evaluating Proofs of Concepts ( 18 %), evaluating suppliers ( 23 %) or devising implementation programmes ( 9 %).
“ Innovation is the cornerstone of success in the manufacturing Industry and making a robust technology strategy is essential . The survey results are arming technology vendors and end-users with real-world and current technology attitudes , adoption rates and insights to gain a competitive
READ advantage in the rapidly evolving industrial and manufacturing landscape ,”
REPORT
Larner concluded . n
www . abiresearch . com
12 | ismr . net | ISMR November 2024