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Manufacturing has entered a new phase in which measurement alone is no longer sufficient. 

It seems unlikely that small businesses will see tariff relief any time soon, given the Trump Administration’s aggressive response to the Supreme Court’s decision, in which he promised to maintain or increase tariffs on importers of foreign goods using other sections of the Trade Act of 1974.

You see it a lot with e-commerce. Online shopping is said to offer an advantage. An array of “reviews” posted by other shoppers of the product you are considering. Amazon and others have converted these comments on the worthiness of a product into tools that help browsers decide if they want to become purchasers.

Keith Bevan is the education chair of the Coordinate Metrology Society.

Ron Hicks is the chair of the board of directors for the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS).

Traditionally, visual or physical standards were the backbone of quality assurance. But as markets globalize and product iterations accelerate, those physical samples no longer meet the demand for consistency and speed.

Across manufacturing, aerospace, medical devices, and software-driven production environments, one challenge consistently rises to the top of executive discussions: the widening skills gap in quality engineering. 

Keri Ginn is an NDT ASNT Level Three as well as a senior quality manager at AAR Government Services. She's an expert in NDT quality management, supplier audits, and business analytics and she's recently written an article for Quality about recruiting the next generation of NDT professionals.

Industry is entering what many describe as the next industrial revolution, an era defined not by a single breakthrough technology, but by the convergence of powerful forces reshaping how products are designed, manufactured, and delivered. 

Global supply chains are under sustained strain, characterized by extended lead times, rising costs, and limited flexibility in the event of disruptions.