Weak Economy Increases Industrial Engineering Workload

Fri July 17, 2009

Budgets Down, but Workload Up for Engineers

The 2009 Economic Outlook Survey published by GlobalSpec reported this industrial sector trend, which is likely to continue throughout the year if not longer.

"Even though sales may be down, [packaging] engineers and technical professionals are not necessarily working less: they are still busy because they may have to take on more projects due to decreased headcount, fewer internal resources, or a mandate to cut back on the use of outside resources. These busy engineers are likely working under constrained time pressures ..." (reprinted with permission from GlobalSpec, Inc.)

The survey went on to say that compared to 2008, 33% of engineers anticipated more projects, 30% anticipated fewer projects, and 37% anticipated the same number of projects in 2009.  With respect to packaging, our sense of the market continues to reflect these expectations. While some firms have either downsized or put expansion plans on hold, others are launching a variety of packaging initiatives, especially in the following areas.

• Packaging automation to reduce labor
• Packaging automation to conserve floor space
• Packaging redesign to achieve greater Eco-Sensibility™
• Packaging redesign to accommodate consumer demands for both bulk packaging and individual serving packs

In response to engineering departments being stretch thin, we continue to devote resources to those segments of our business that support packaging engineers. They include -

• Comprehensive packaging audits from our STAMP Packaging Management Team
• Package and corrugated design and prototyping from our Packaging Design Centers
• Green Packaging Evaluations to reduce packaging waste and promote recycling and reuse

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GlobalSpec is the leading specialized vertical search, information services and e-publishing company serving the engineering, manufacturing and related scientific and technical market segments.