Manufacturing software is designed to be resilient. Built-in validations, safeguards, and redundancies help prevent failures before they impact operations.
However, no production environment is risk-free. When failures do occur, the business impact depends not on the software alone but on how critical that software is to production and quality.
Software resilience has limits
Manufacturing software is typically engineered with safeguards such as validation checks, redundancy, and error handling. These features significantly reduce failure rates, but they cannot eliminate risk entirely.
Failures still occur due to:
- Unplanned production changes or process deviations
- Software aging and compatibility issues
- Integration with external systems (MES, ERP, PLCs, IT security tools)
- Human error during configuration or operation
- Delayed updates or missing patches
- Company policies blocking services they should not.
When these issues arise, the impact matters more than the cause. And that impact differs greatly depending on whether software is quality critical or production critical.
Where failure hurts most
Not all software failures look the same:
- Some stop production immediately, causing downtime and missed deliveries. Unplanned downtime remains one of the costliest issues in modern manufacturing: a 2024 Siemens report estimates that the world’s five largest companies lose up to 11% of their annual revenue to these events, with some sectors facing over $2M per hour in lost output (including $2.3M per hour in the automotive industry).
- Others allow production to continue, but introduce quality, traceability, or compliance risks that surface later. In regulated environments such as pharmaceuticals, quality‑related disruptions cost $100,000–$500,000 per hour, even when production doesn’t stop.
Understanding which scenario applies to your operation is the first step toward choosing the right coverage.
Atlas Copco’s software maintenance contracts
This is where TechCover, Atlas Copco’s software maintenance offering, comes in. Built to support both quality‑critical and production‑critical environments, TechCover provides the expertise and response levels your operation needs when software reaches its limits. It ensures your systems remain resilient not only by design, but through ongoing support aligned with real manufacturing risks.
TechCover Quality Critical
Quality‑critical software supports processes where failures may not stop production but can lead to serious downstream consequences.
Typical risks include:
- Incorrect measurement or validation results
- Missing or corrupted traceability data
- Compliance issues discovered after shipment
These issues often remain hidden until it is too late — and by then, the cost is far higher. Quality lapses don’t just create technical problems; they drive significant operational impact. As McKinsey highlights, failures that compromise quality can trigger recalls, warranty claims, and reputational damage, all of which have grown more costly as supply chains become more complex and customer expectations continue to rise.
TechCover Quality Critical ensures:
- Expert support when quality‑related anomalies occur
- Access to updates and fixes that maintain compliance
This plan is ideal when quality, data integrity, and compliance are as critical as output itself.
TechCover Production Critical
Production‑critical software is directly linked to line availability. When it fails, production stops.
Typical risks include:
- Immediate downtime
- Missed production targets
- Escalations across operations, IT, and management
In these situations, response time is everything.
TechCover Production Critical provides:
- Faster response and prioritization
- Proactive monitoring of your software and related environments
- Reduced time to recovery when every minute counts
This plan is suited for software that keeps your production running without tolerance for delay. Full adoption of condition monitoring and predictive maintenance practices across Fortune Global 500 industrial organizations could save 2.1 million hours of downtime annually (Siemens Report 2024).
Choosing the right plan: a simple decision guide
1️⃣ Does software failure stop production immediately? ➡️ Production Critical
2️⃣ Do you need support outside of normal business hours? ➡️ Production Critical
3️⃣ If not, does it affect quality, traceability, or compliance? ➡️ Quality Critical
The right choice is not about software complexity it is about operational impact.
Conclusion: TechCover, designed for real-world manufacturing
Atlas Copco software is engineered to be robust, but TechCover acknowledges a fundamental truth of manufacturing: resilience alone is not enough without expert support when limits are reached.
TechCover ensures that when issues arise, your response is aligned with the real risk to your business whether that risk is lost production or compromised quality.
Let’s Talk
Not sure which TechCover plan fits your operation?
Your Atlas Copco representative can help you assess your software landscape and choose the coverage that matches your operational priorities.
