The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented surge in demand for healthcare and consumer products. This crisis has demanded stockpiles of supplies and has shifted the supply chain to local production. 

Businesses worldwide are being tested in a crucible of quality. Companies in which quality was already fragile and inefficient have seen their processes go from lacking to completely broken during the COVID-19 crisis.

Tony Uphoff worked in Manhattan during 9/11. He ran a San Francisco Bay Area business during an earthquake in the 1990s. Despite these experiences, he says that the current pandemic is truly an unprecedented time.

The National Association of Manufacturers released the results of the Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the second quarter of 2020 showing that despite a historic drop in optimism, to nearly 34%, and challenging business conditions, the vast majority of manufacturers (98.7%) have continued or only temporarily halted operations.

It’s hard to know what’s next. This remains true in business and in life, and it feels especially true right now. The news seems to change on a daily and hourly basis. Predictions about the pandemic can seem out of date within a few days.

When I last spoke to Drew Greenblatt, in March, the world looked a little different.

The COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 and most of 2020 was unprecedented, and like all organizations ASQ was forced to take necessary precautions and make difficult decisions. Sadly this included the cancellation of the World Conference on Quality Improvement (WCQI), which had been scheduled for May 4-6 in Columbus, Ohio

As we all wait for a return to some version of normalcy, businesses are taking action. In our fourth Quality Magazine Manufacturing Industry online survey, we looked at what manufacturers are doing, worrying about and what they expect in the future.