Every three years the European Manufacturing Survey (EMS) collects data on techno-organisational innovations in production and the increases in performance achieved in the manufacturing sector. This survey known in Switzerland, Austria and Germany as Modernisation of Production was conducted last in 2009.

In the mid 1980s, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) initiated this survey for the German manufacturing sector. Originally restricted to the metal and electronics industry, since 2006 the German Manufacturing Survey has addressed the whole manufacturing sector.

Since 2001 the survey has also been conducted in other countries. The current European Manufacturing Survey 2009 was carried out in 12 countries. The cooperation enables the partners to conduct international comparisons based on substantially and methodologically equivalent datasets.

Aims of survey:

• New scientific findings
• Evaluation of techno-economic policies
• Information for associations and trade unions
• Company consultancy through benchmarking

Content of survey:

• Strategic importance of manufacturing
• Management of manufacturing modernisation
• State-of-the-art of manufacturing technologies
• State-of-the-art manufacturing organisation
• Human resources, knowledge and competence management
• Outsourcing and globalisation of manufacturing
• Cooperation
• Core performance indicators of manufacturing

This website offers information on this survey and its results. Furthermore it provides companies with an individualised benchmarking (not free of charge) of relevant performance figures. This enables companies to compare their performance to that of other companies.