Women in Manufacturing: Survey Shows Concern that Poor Product Communication is Causing Missed Sales and Product Delays

BOSTON, March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Canvas GFX, Inc, the leading provider of visual communication and collaboration solutions to the manufacturing and technical industries, released new research on International Women's Day showing how female employees view issues surrounding communication and knowledge transfer within the business.

With women representing less than 30% of the US manufacturing workforce, their voices can often go unheard. The  survey from Canvas GFX sought the opinions of over 140 female manufacturing professionals from a variety of industries, such as autonomous and electric vehicles, aerospace and defense, space, green tech and more.

The research highlights concerns among female employees that documentation which is routinely late, inaccurate, and outdated is causing downstream damage to the organization. Common outcomes threatening companies' top-line performance include delayed product launches and delayed or missed sales opportunities.

An accompanying report based on the findings lifts the lid on significant challenges associated with product documentation overall, as well as the causes of those challenges. It suggests an endemic problem in the manufacturing industries, described in the report as Product Communication Disorder.

Carried out in conjunction with Censuswide, the research shows worrying insights for a manufacturing industry that is investing heavily in cutting-edge technology. For instance, 62% of women say that inefficiency in current documentation workflows risks undermining gains made through other process and technology initiatives.

Perhaps of more concern is the fact that  1 in 3 women (33%) saying they don't see their organization actively seeking ways to improve their documentation workflows and processes.

"Women have an increasingly important role to play in manufacturing industries and it is essential we understand their perspective on the challenges companies face," said Patrica Hume, CEO of Canvas GFX. "A clear takeaway from this research is that female employees believe the manufacturing industry faces a defining challenge when it comes to poor communication and product documentation, which is intricately connected to the success of the entire organization. And when the processes in place break down, the result is self-inflicted damage that could - and should - have been avoided."

Additional findings include:

• 99% of women experienced bottlenecks in content creation, with 65% saying such bottlenecks are frequent
• 70% of women had experienced product or project errors or delays in the past two years as a result of difficulty collaborating on content
• 43% said outdated documentation led to delayed or missed sales opportunities, while inaccurate or hard to understand documentation has caused manufacturing errors (47%)
• 6% of women said they had experienced product wastage through defects as a result of slow or delayed creation of critical product content

For the full report and methodology, visit https://www.canvasgfx.com/resources/product-communication-disorder

About Canvas GFX 
Canvas GFX develops visual communication and collaboration solutions trusted by leading brands from verticals including aerospace and defense, automotive, commercial and domestic appliance, energy, and education. Canvas solutions power interactive 3D content experiences that enable everyone to communicate and understand complex information with absolute clarity.

https://www.canvasgfx.com/

Media Contact:
Liberty Communications for Canvas GFX
[email protected]

SOURCE Canvas GFX