TROY, MI — A majority of manufacturers plan to maintain or increase spending on quality operations over the next year, and more plan to invest in gages than in any other category, according to a recent survey by Quality.

In the survey, gages continued to lead CMMs, software and other categories in upcoming budgets, with 52% of respondents planning to increase spending on gages. Quality software, measurement software, laser measurement equipment and CMMs rounded out the top five. At 52%, gages increased slightly over last year’s survey, when the category finished second at 49%. That year, quality software finished first, at 51%. Gages were followed by measurement software, video measurement equipment and CMMs.

The figures show a dip from 2015, when gages finished first in the category at 63 percent, and was followed by quality software at 62 percent. Measurement software, CMMs and laser measurement equipment followed far behind, at 31%, 27%, and 24%, respectively.

The new findings come from Quality’s 17th annual State of the Profession survey. Respondents to the survey work in a variety of industries, with fabricated metal products, medical equipment and supplies, aerospace products/parts, and motor vehicle parts being the most common primary businesses. About 38% of respondents work for OEM companies, 30% work for components and parts manufactures and 12% work for a job shop.

An article reporting the full results of the survey can be found in the July edition of Quality.