Lede
Some bosses still treat the factory like a filing cabinet.

What does not make sense

• Writing tasks twice on a wall when the data sits in the system.
• Hand ticks for Kanban while the machine logs every event.
• When a fault hits, hire checkers, not fit sensors.
• Paper notes for meetings, then type them up later.
• No budget for screens or gateways, but endless audit theatre.

Sense check / The numbers

1. UK productivity growth was 0.0% in 2023 on output per hour, and output per worker fell 0.6% year on year. That is a flatline, not a plan. [ONS]
2. 49% of UK businesses still run a physical paper filing system. 45% of business processes remain paper based on average. That is half the shop floor stuck on pulp. [Facilities Management Journal; Deep Analysis]
3. 75% of companies still use paper cheques, despite digital options cutting days sales outstanding and errors. Cost on purpose. [PYMNTS]
4. Predictive maintenance typically cuts machine downtime by 30% to 50% and extends asset life by 20% to 40%. Sensors pay for themselves. [McKinsey].
5. The biggest tech firms are now multi trillion in market value. Capital flows to data, not clipboards. [CompaniesMarketCap]
6. SMEs are most of UK firms and jobs, yet still need help to adopt CRM, ERP, and AI tools. Policy says it. The shop floor shows it. [DBT SME Digital Adoption Taskforce].

The sketch

Scene 1: Production line. A sensor with a price tag. Next to it, two new hires with clipboards. Sign reads: “Fault response: add paperwork.”

Scene 2: Boardroom. A whiteboard crammed with hand ticks. Laptop on the table shows the same tasks already closed. Manager: “Great work duplicating the past.”

Scene 3: Finance meeting. Slide shows downtime costs. Someone whispers: “Or we could fit the sensor.” Chair replies: “We prefer heritage solutions.”

What to watch, not the show

• Capex fear dressed up as prudence. Opex leaks out of downtime instead.
• Skills gaps and training not funded, so tools gather dust.
• Compliance theatre to please audits, not to fix failure modes.
• Siloed data. No clean pipe from machines to dashboards.
• Procurement rules that reward lowest upfront cost, not total cost.
• Culture that praises busyness, not cycle time.

The Hermit take

Count what breaks and for how long. Then buy the thing that stops it breaking.
If you can write it twice, you can automate it once.

Keep or toss

Verdict: Toss.
Toss hand written duplication and extra checks on paper. Keep visual boards only if they sync to live data. Keep humans for problems, not for pretending to be sensors.

Sources

ONS productivity flash estimate, 15 Feb 2024 – https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/articles/ukproductivityintroduction/octobertodecember2023andjulytoseptember2023
Facilities Management Journal, 19 Oct 2023: almost half still use paper filing – https://www.fmj.co.uk/almost-half-of-uk-businesses-still-use-a-physical-paper-filing-system/
Deep Analysis survey, 30 Oct 2024: 45% of processes are paper based – https://www.deep-analysis.net/45-of-business-processes-are-paper-based/
PYMNTS, 29 Aug 2024: 75% of companies still use paper cheques – https://www.pymnts.com/digital-payments/2024/75percent-companies-still-use-paper-checks-despite-high-cost/
McKinsey, 14 Aug 2017: predictive maintenance cuts downtime 30% to 50% – https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/manufacturing-analytics-unleashes-productivity-and-profitability
CompaniesMarketCap live rankings: multi trillion tech firms – https://companiesmarketcap.com/
UK Government, SME Digital Adoption Taskforce final report, 31 Jul 2025 – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sme-digital-adoption-taskforce-final-report/sme-digital-adoption-taskforce-final-report
UK Government, SME Digital Adoption Taskforce interim report PDF, 30 Jul 2025 – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688a43c9b223ff124d388902/sme-digital-adoption-taskforce-interim-report.pdf