What is your State of Quality entering into 2025?

The new year gives all of us an opportunity for a fresh look at what is working, or maybe not working, to keep our personal and professional lives at optimal performance. This is also a good time to review the management systems that are supporting our business, and ask yourself, what is the State of Quality of my organization?

In 2025, as manufacturers face increasing pressure for efficiency, compliance, and continuous improvement, a well-structured and effective quality management system (QMS) is more critical than ever. Across industries, the business world is changing at an unrelenting pace. As you can see from the infographic above, keeping up with a constantly evolving economy, technological advances, talent shortages, competition from overseas, and procurement of supplies can make it hard to sleep at night. What remains constant for a company’s survival is the need to maintain the highest level of quality with the highest level of efficiency.

CADDi’s American Manufacturing Pressure and Productivity Index, based on a survey of over 330 U.S. manufacturing leaders, reveals:

• 56% lack skilled labor as a top pressure driver.
• 68% believe at least half of institutional knowledge will be lost in the next decade.
• 23% of manufacturers say speed of getting a product to market is a 2025 priority, but is at risk.
• 32% say they have to navigate supply chain disruptions.
• 77% of procurement managers say that every few projects a new part, product, or supplier is needed because they didn’t meet engineering’s specs.
• 27% of manufacturers fear they aren’t transforming fast enough to survive.
• 45% of senior managers cite digitally transforming their operations as a top business pressure.
• 51% said demands to bring more production onshore is a Top 3 pressure point.

The survey indicates that quality and senior managers are feeling a significant amount of pressure and have a gloomy view of what’s to come in the future, including 84% anticipating a recession within the next 2 years.

Assessing your State of Quality and managing risks

Your QMS has a direct impact on some of these key pressure points, and offers an opportunity to assess your State of Quality and strategically manage these risks.

Skilled Labor: Documented work instructions help to ensure work is performed properly and consistently, along with adequate training and retraining.

Best practices for work instructions in the workplace include: ensuring clarity by using simple language and visuals, maintaining consistency in format and terminology, tailoring instructions to the audience’s knowledge level, regularly updating instructions to reflect process changes, incorporating employee feedback, and utilizing technology for accessibility and ease of use; essentially, making instructions clear, concise, and easily accessible to all employees while allowing for continuous improvement based on feedback and changes.

Institutional Knowledge: Best practices for knowledge management in manufacturing include: aligning knowledge management objectives with organizational goals, conducting a knowledge audit to identify gaps, creating a knowledge sharing culture, utilizing a dedicated knowledge management platform, capturing both explicit (documented) and tacit (unwritten) knowledge, training employees on knowledge management tools, and regularly measuring the effectiveness of knowledge sharing initiatives to identify areas for improvement. 

With turnover, there are new process owners that have to deal with the company and department’s culture, as well has how things have been done, and could be done. What onboarding process is in place to help ensure the QMS is appropriately sustained during these transitions and subsequent changes?

Supply Chain: Best practices for supply chain management, supplier qualification and risk management include: building strong supplier relationships, diversifying your supplier base where it makes sense, regularly assessing supplier capabilities, identifying and mitigating potential risks through risk mapping, utilizing technology to monitor performance, implementing contingency plans for disruptions, and actively communicating with suppliers to address issues early on; all while considering factors like geographic location, financial stability, and ethical practices of potential suppliers.

Early warning signs from a supplier, like deteriorating quality and delivery performance, price increases, changing payment terms, management turnover, are all early indicators that something could be wrong that requires focus and involvement.

Digital Transformation:  Fundamentally changing operations by integrating advanced digital technologies across all aspects of the manufacturing process, from product design and planning to production and distribution, aiming to optimize efficiency, quality, and flexibility through data analysis and automation, essentially replacing manual or paper-based systems with digital tools and connectivity.

CADDi’s research indicates that data and collaboration issues are exacerbating the pressure. Internal teams can’t access the information they need to do their jobs and make smart and profitable decisions fast enough, which increases the stakes for manufacturers that don’t take steps to address the inefficiencies.

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Key aspects of digital transformation in manufacturing include:

Process automation:  Utilizing robotics, machine learning, and other automated systems to streamline production processes and reduce human intervention. 

Data analytics:  Collecting and analyzing large amounts of real-time data from machines and sensors to identify trends, predict issues, and make informed decisions. 

Connected systems:  Integrating different systems across the manufacturing value chain, allowing for seamless data flow and improved collaboration. 

Design optimization:  Using digital design tools to create products that are more efficient to manufacture and maintain 

Predictive maintenance:  Monitoring equipment health to proactively identify potential failures and prevent downtime 

Supply chain visibility:  Tracking inventory and materials throughout the supply chain to optimize logistics and delivery times 

As we welcome the new year and set our resolutions, manufacturers need to re-evaluate their strategies to reduce these pressures and drive productivity gains.  We are all resource constrained, so we have to strategically pick the area we can influence and begin to make proactive changes to improve and be ready for the future.

This article was written by Jim Lee, CEO of simpleQuE. With 36 years of experience in quality, engineering and manufacturing. Jim was also a partial owner of an accreditation body, a former president of a certification body, and former RABQSA/IRCA certified lead auditor, IATF® certified ISO/TS 16949 lead auditor, and certified Aerospace Auditor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Ohio University, has been on ANAB’s Accreditation Council, and various ANAB subcommittees. Jim has also served on various ASTM subcommittees, on two previous AS standard writing committees, and is currently on the standard rewrite committees for AS9110 and AS9120. As a participant on various aerospace standard development committees, Jim gains firsthand insight into the rationale and intent behind evolving requirements. This involvement allows him to better interpret the meaning and purpose of the language used in the standards, ensuring our clients and team members have a clear understanding of not just what the requirements are, but why they exist. That deeper clarity supports more effective implementation strategies, promotes compliance, and helps organizations navigate changes with confidence and accuracy.

SimpleQuE is a leader in AS, IATF® and ISO consulting, internal auditing, and training. Contact us for a consult and see the difference that our experts can bring to your quality, environmental and safety management processes.