Erkan Teskancan
Corporate
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According to new research, less than half of manufacturers have fully connected data across design, production, quality, and business systems. This indicates a significant gap between operations and what is actually happening on the factory floor.
🔍 Connected Operations, Disconnected Data
According to Hexagon's 2026 State of American Manufacturing Report, while 77% of manufacturers describe their operations as connected, only 40% have fully connected data across systems. Furthermore, 39% of manufacturers report limited feedback between design, production, and quality teams, and 67% are unable to integrate data from most systems into a single view.
📈 Key Findings of the Research
This research, commissioned by Hexagon and conducted by Dynata with 511 US manufacturing professionals, reveals significant findings:
- Nearly 70% of manufacturers lose at least six hours per week due to quality issues; 42% say problems are detected too late.
- 85% face barriers to increasing automation; cybersecurity concerns and difficulties in demonstrating cost and return on investment (ROI) are prominent.
- Only 7% expect workforce disruptions (compared to 18% last year), while 41% anticipate AI creating new roles.
🗣️ An Industry Perspective
Steve Ilmrud, Vice President of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, explains why this data is so meaningful to him:
❓ Why is there a gap between connected operations and fully connected data?
According to Steve Ilmrud, most facilities have added systems one by one over the years. Each solved a real problem, but they were not designed to communicate with each other. This leads to a widespread disconnect, which the research supports: 77% of manufacturers say they are connected, yet 67% do not keep their data in a single view.
🤯 The Report's Biggest Surprise
Ilmrud states that the biggest surprise was how wide the gap is between manufacturers' beliefs about their own connectivity and the reality shown by the data. In the same companies, 40% say they are fully connected end-to-end, while more than a third report limited feedback between design, production, and quality. This indicates that the label is getting ahead of the reality, and quality issues are hidden precisely in this gap.
🤝 Disconnect Between the Factory Floor and Senior Management
Currently, this situation does not seem to be improving. While 80% of managers say their data is integrated, only one-third of the factory floor agrees. The solution begins by asking the people who use the equipment where the information breaks down.
💡 Most Actionable Insight for Readers
Ilmrud says, "Focus on bringing people, data, technology, and processes together in a single, unified view." Two-thirds of manufacturers state they are not doing this, and as the factory floor becomes more connected, this is a major oversight. From this, asking the people who use the equipment where the biggest gaps are and what needs to be fixed first will be more effective than expecting managers to have the right answers.
