Building the Foundation for Data-Driven Manufacturing Intelligence
With the launch of PolyWorks 2026, InnovMetric is driving the transition toward a connected ‘ultimate inspection lab’ where dimensional inspection data flows seamlessly across plants, suppliers, and engineering/manufacturing systems. Metrology News spoke with Marc Soucy, PhD, President and co-founder of InnovMetric, about how creating a networked quality-management ecosystem is built on centralized data, collaboration, and interoperability.
Q: Delivering on the “Ultimate Inspection Platform” – PolyWorks 2026 is positioned as delivering on a long-standing industry vision of a connected inspection ecosystem. What were the key technological or philosophical shifts that allowed InnovMetric to turn that vision into a practical reality today?
A: We have 30 years of experience turning ideas into innovation. Moving from vision to reality is always a work in progress given the pace of ongoing evolution. Where the industry stands today, there are three primary drivers of innovation:
- A secure data management backbone that centralizes measurement data and treats it as a valuable enterprise asset;
- Cloud technologies that enable the efficient and cost-effective management of massive volumes of data, while ensuring point-in-time backups and state-of-the-art security; and
- Open API and URL technologies that provide data consumers with dynamic access to up-to-date information through their preferred software tools.
Centralization, reliability, and openness: these are key ingredients of a modern, connected inspection ecosystem. They are not incremental features; they form the infrastructure that transforms inspection from a postmortem report to a continuous source of intelligence.
Q: Beyond the Metrology Silo – You’ve long advocated for a digital thread in dimensional inspection. How does PolyWorks 2026 extend that concept beyond metrology workflows into a broader manufacturing context?
A: Dimensional inspection data is the single most reliable indicator of how a product is actually being manufactured. When you deliver that data across the entire enterprise, it changes how decisions are made.
PolyWorks 2026 digitally delivers repeatable and reproducible measurement processes to external suppliers and teams, enforcing the same measurement logic everywhere. Tailored interfaces present exactly what each user needs—nothing more.
The result? External team members learn tasks more easily while avoiding irrelevant tools. Reduced need for rework, fewer interpretation errors.
The PolyWorks digital thread also extends beyond QC labs, carrying a broader manufacturing context and delivering value enterprisewide.
Q: The Untapped Value of Measurement Data – Manufacturers collect vast amounts of dimensional data, yet much of it remains underexploited. What’s been the biggest barrier to turning inspection data into actionable intelligence, and how does PolyWorks 2026 overcome it?
A: The barrier lay in the distribution method. Dimensional inspection data was underutilized for decades because measurement results were shared through manual file transfers. Data with inestimable potential was trapped in local folders and thumb drives. Due to the absence of digital connectivity, quality control teams inherited the role of gatekeepers, and valuable, rich information never reached designers, production engineers, and other stakeholders who needed it.
With PolyWorks 2026, InnovMetric offers simplified deployment of a digital thread for dimensional inspection through a new cloud-based data management service that turns dormant archives into a live feed.
Digitally connected dimensional inspection data is now accessible at any time to manufacturing organizations of all sizes.
Q: Standardization vs. Agility – Global manufacturers want standardized processes, but innovation often happens locally. How do you reconcile the tension between enforcing enterprise-wide inspection standards and enabling engineering teams to move fast?
A: Standardization and agility are not enemies. In fact, standards pack best practices that enable agility whenever needed.
Today, for example, manufacturers of electric batteries have all developed their own approach to battery inspection, but to do so, they have had to innovate. As the field matures, standards will surely emerge. There are other contexts in which enterprisewide standards can quickly reduce costs and streamline operations, including:
- When data is ambiguous and can be interpreted in multiple ways. Providing suppliers with a measurement template or a QIF file leads to a more stable process compared to a 2D drawing, which requires interpretation before it can be converted into a measurement plan.
- When expertise or experience is limited within an organization, centrally approved measurement processes help protect production.
- When approving manufacturing processes or controlling quality in production, the stakes are higher than in the product engineering phase. Standards increase confidence in decisions made close to production.
So, our approach is hybrid: enterprise-level templates for consistency across teams and suppliers, and freedom for engineering teams to feed successful practices back into the standard library.
Q: The Digital Twin Reality Check – The digital twin is often discussed as a strategic goal, but many implementations remain disconnected from real-world measurement. What role should PolyWorks play in making the digital twin truly reflective of physical reality – and not just a theoretical model?
A: A digital twin is only valuable when it mirrors measured reality. And measurement always needs context. It also requires an ecosystem to support the twin throughout its lifecycle.
PolyWorks manages the six key stages of the lifecycle:
- Creation: Uploading digital twins to the data management server;
- Storage: Securely storing digital twins for all fabricated products;
- Use: Controlling access to digital twins;
- Sharing: Enabling the use of digital twins within third-party applications;
- Archiving: Preserving digital twins for long-term retention; and
- Destruction: Permanently deleting digital twins at the end of their lifecycle.
Thanks to cloud storage, PolyWorks can manage millions of digital twins at a reasonable cost.
The capability of PolyWorks to manage, review, and correct metadata is also instrumental for the deployment of digital twin applications. Metadata provides a unique description and characterization of a product, enabling an unambiguous match between dimensional inspection data and the physical product, as well as supporting correlation studies and AI-based analysis.
I believe we play an important role in offering a complete ecosystem where digital twins can thrive.
Part two of the interview with Marc Soucy can be read here.
