Findings from the latest Rubix Uptime Index suggest that manufacturers across Europe are becoming more resilient in the face of ongoing market challenges, with overall confidence levels rising despite uncertainty in the market.
Rising five points to 75 in the last six months, the Uptime Index – which is based on a survey of more than 6,800 manufacturers across the UK and Europe – found that manufacturers are taking proactive steps to navigate disruption and strengthen their operations. Manufacturers today are tightening operational discipline, improving visibility over maintenance and inventory, strengthening supplier relationships and embedding digital tools into everyday workflows.
As the manufacturing industry has been subject to prolonged disruption and instability in recent years, the findings of the Index suggest businesses are finding ways to quickly adapt and mitigate external shocks to maintain machine uptime.
“Our latest round of research paints a fascinating picture of the European manufacturing industry,” says David Cullern, Group VP Key Accounts at Rubix. “While manufacturers continue to navigate complexity and instability, we’re seeing levels of confidence rise. That’s not a result of improving market conditions, but rather an ability to manage volatility better.
“What we’re seeing across the manufacturing sector is businesses taking proactive measures to strengthen their resilience as the market is more frequently subject to volatility and disruption – whether that’s from energy prices, international supply difficulties or skills. In practice, that means manufacturers are no longer waiting for stability to return, but are more confidently strengthening their operations to perform in uncertain conditions.”
The Rubix Uptime Index is delivered in partnership with Parker Hannifin and SKF, and provides a periodic health check on the performance of European manufacturing. By tracking confidence across manufacturers today, it reveals how well they’re keeping production lines running, how much they’re investing in the future of their companies, and how well they are responding to issues causing costly machine downtime across the sector.
Latest white paper highlights how to navigate the skills shortage
Alongside the Index, Rubix has published the latest in a series of white papers that explore the principal factors affecting manufacturing uptime. Based on survey insight and in-depth customer interviews, it provides a deeper analysis of the manufacturing sector’s response to the ongoing skills challenge.
The research found more than a third (36%) of businesses are focused on strengthening internal skills, while 27% are investing in training and upskilling programmes. Others are actively improving coordination between teams, integrating technology to support decision-making, and building partnerships with external specialists to strengthen capabilities.
Commenting on the findings of the research, David Cullern added: “When it comes to the skills challenge in particular, confident manufacturers are focused on investing in their people to build internal skills, alongside adopting technology and building longer-term partnerships with external specialists. This proactive approach is contributing to an uptick in confidence across the sector and supporting manufacturers to handle the shocks of a disrupted market.”
While a proportion of manufacturers are responding proactively to the skills challenge, its impact is still broadly felt across the sector. 22% of respondents say maintenance and repairs now take longer to complete, and planned maintenance is being delayed or skipped. 19% also recognise that problems are identified later due to reduced expertise on the shop floor.
To support manufacturers protect uptime and build confidence, the white paper from Rubix outlines five steps organisations can take, including: investing in upskilling existing workforces, reducing complexity in everyday operations, streamlining decision making, blending in-house capabilities with external support, and leaning into connected data, AI and automation.
The research findings confirm that confident manufacturers are increasingly balancing short-term operational needs with longer-term capability planning to navigate skills gaps, with those who successfully combine people, process and technology being best placed to maintain uptime and remain competitive in an increasingly volatile operating environment.
View the full findings of the Uptime Index and download the latest white paper at: www.rubix.com/uptimeindex
