Latest Blogs

As a facilities manager, your big-picture goal is to keep things running smoothly. However,  that’s a lot easier said than done. Some days, it’s likely that you spend more time putting out figurative fires than integrating the buildings, people, and processes under your care.

As a leader in your manufacturing company, you must comply with regulations and ensure the safety of your workers. However, it’s virtually impossible to make smart decisions without a clear understanding of safety conditions at each factory. To make matters worse, many manufacturing supervisors allow incidents to slip below the radar either due to under-reporting […]

We’ve previously written about how the “Retail Apocalypse” is overblown in the media, but the recent numbers are hard to ignore. Even if what’s been dubbed “the end of retail as we know it” isn’t as bad as they say it is, retail performance is in decline. The number of US store closings in 2019 […]

Directing teams in the field requires constant monitoring and meaningful analysis. Yet, many organizations with field inspectors, work crews, and mobile technicians suffer from the same pain points they experienced twenty years ago. In this blog, we’ll discuss the three biggest problems we see companies struggle with in the field and share what we’ve learned […]

It seems like every year there’s a highly publicized outbreak of foodborne illness that ends up linked to a major restaurant chain or food producer. The public outcry often leads to investigations, new regulations on the products involved, and corporate apologies. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forced to deal with the fallout regardless […]

The US manufacturing industry continues to grow despite an increasingly service-based and online economy. According to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, capital growth in manufacturing will exceed the general economy throughout the rest of 2019. It’s a positive outlook for many companies that manufacture goods within the United States, but it’s only a […]

Can a quality inspection solution improve my business? We hear this question often at FORM, and the answer is always a resounding “yes.” Reliable, consistent, and timely information is the key to understanding quality throughout the product life cycle. Quality inspections using paper and spreadsheets aren’t competitive in today’s market. Simply put, manual methods will […]

Unfortunately, you can’t be in two places at once. But what if you could oversee every location in your business personally? You’d certainly know precisely what was going on throughout your company, but productivity would suffer because of your presence.

At FORM, we’ve seen observational data collection in every shape and size, from restaurant walkthroughs to manufacturing safety evaluations. No matter the use case, there’s always room for optimization. However, it may surprise you that that most of the observational data collection problems we encounter are solvable without ever spending a penny. We gathered a […]

In today’s consumer-driven market, it’s not enough to serve great food at affordable prices. The way a guest feels about your brand and their most recent visit is what keeps them coming back. While the quality of your food, the value of your menu, and the amenities you provide are essential, they’re just small parts of […]

The use of data analytics in manufacturing is increasing at an exponential rate. From neural networks that detect inefficiency to machine learning techniques that can predict when assets will break down, it’s clear that big data in manufacturing is here to stay.

Unless you’ve been avoiding the news for the better half of a decade, you’ve likely heard or read the words “Retail Apocalypse.”  To some extent, the media isn’t wrong to call the signs of a dramatic change in the market the end of retail as we know it. Households in the US spend 50% more […]