From crisis to top result

As a friend of Swiss SMEs, it is a pleasure to read success stories like those of SwissChuck AG, Effretikon. With 25 employees, SwissChuck manufactures clamping devices for grinding machines and achieves a "proud" 99 percent of its added value in Switzerland. CEO Christoph Allemann: "With an export share of over 80 percent, we succeed again and again in inspiring customers in the international environment through innovation and performance." The main markets are: Europe, China, Japan and the USA. Major customer: the automotive industry. And this became a challenge in 2015.

Unpleasant double blow
In 2015, SwissChuck almost began to falter. First the euro shock, then the exhaust gas scandal. A tough time for a Swiss SME with many customers from the automotive industry. Allemann: "We succeeded in reacting very quickly and with different measures to the changed situation. The focus on new markets (geographically) and industries helped us to compensate for the slumps in our core business."

Intensive quality development
Another key to the 2017 success story: comprehensive electronic quality management. CEO Allemann makes it clear: "IQSoft is the foundation of our error culture. With our high quality standards for products and processes, IQSoft has become an indispensable tool. The structured handling of error management by our employees has become an additional competitive advantage.

A new process map for ISO 9001:2015
As part of the necessary optimisation following the shocks in 2015 and a very mixed year in 2016, SwissChuck really got down to business. The decision was made to certify according to ISO 9001:2015.

To this end, Allemann simplified the Swis-sChuck process map: complicated processes (legacy of the former affiliation with a large corporation) were consistently cut back. On the other hand, he reviewed the existing IQSoft quality management software from IQS AG in Zofingen: "When I started here, I evaluated other solutions and soon ended up with IQSoft again. However, we renewed the program and, after 12 years, switched from Access to SQL along with the associated web modules."

Optimal value creation as the highest requirement
Allemann divided his company into three teams for the process design: one for design, one for operations and one for Sa-les & Service. His aim was to achieve optimal value creation within structures that were as transparent as possible - from quotations to orders to services. For visual process modeling, he used the IQSoft BPM module ("an ingenious tool"). And when he was uncertain about the upcoming certification ("it made me a little nervous"), he appreciated the commitment of the Sup-port team at IQS AG: "They are enormously fast. I'd like to have that with other software providers, too."

Sample templates as a solid foundation
"We worked with IQS AG to develop sample templates for the processes of three teams. I was able to discuss and elaborate these templates with them. It pays to question processes and clearly define goals. Time-wise, our teamwork consisted of: 80 % of thinking, 10 % of process modeling, and 10 % of data collection."

"No matter which element you take now: All the necessary work steps are stored for each point. You can map different standards. And at the end of the day, such clearly presented processes naturally also ensure that new employees understand the pulse of the company very quickly".

Openness as a recipe for success
"We have accomplished a lot for ISO 9001:2015. IQS AG helped us a lot. We had many open discussions with the people from Zofingen. This is still true today. There is room for criticism. In the end, we achieve the optimal solution together."

Hans-Peter Kost, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IQS AG, is only right: "We are always very motivated and it is fun to work for our customers. We like to help. Of course, it is an advantage that IQSoft can be parameterized to a very high degree.

IQSoft as a topic for job applications
Christoph Allemann likes to show applicants the company's own ERP - and IQSoft. No wonder: the Zofingen-based software is now so widespread that IQSoft knowledge is increasingly being required or pointed out in job interviews.

Find instead of search
Whether it's a short note, concept, proof or image: Christoph Allemann wants to find data as quickly as possible. He greatly appreciates the absolute consistency and full-text search of his quality assistant - everything can be assigned to everything: "One or two clicks and you have what you are looking for. That is of course valuable when it comes to maintaining and preserving standards. And if an SQS auditor wants a complete printout of everything, he can get it immediately."

Modules made to measure
One advantage of a flexible quality management program that should not be underestimated: modularity. You only buy and use what you need and expand as required. Swiss Chuck uses, among others, the IQSoft modules document control, opportunities for improvement, process modeling BPM, the audit module as well as the operating and test equipment monitoring.

SwissChuck customers particularly like the latter module. Allemann smiles: "They are thrilled at how easily everything can be called up. We also like to show them our process mirror. No matter how you look at it: IQSoft is very accessible, right down to release and distribution. You could do a lot more. The system is limitless."

Allemann's vision
If you ask the SwissChuck CEO about his goals with IQSoft, he makes it clear: "I want uniformity. I don't just see the program as a tool for meeting standards. It is an information system for everyone. Such information includes, for example, dossiers on major customers, work instructions and so on. We are still working on the integration of all documents."

Allemann wants "the system to be alive". IQSoft must be recognized by the employees as a real support: "It is their tool anyway. For example, they record their ideas and all events. That's the only way the company can move forward. That's the only way to get things moving."

In other words: IQSoft does not manage by itself. It is the users who use IQSoft to get company processes flowing well. And that, according to the CEO, is also necessary: "We have to grow, be more innovative than all the others. And that at the most expensive location in the world. We are now well positioned for this. We always want to act a little more intelligently than our market environment.

Quality management as a significant success factor
A good Q-system, says Christoph Allemann, is self-explanatory. No one needs a lot of training: "An intensively used electronic quality assistant creates competitive advantages every day. Take our delivery times. They are good despite the current overload. Thanks to optimally organized and implemented processes, we stay ahead of the game. A system like IQSoft is very, very helpful in this respect!"

Last but not least: the certification
Before this is forgotten: SwissChuck has been successfully certified according to ISO 9001:2015 since October 2017. Christoph Allemann's conclusion: "We would not have achieved this certification without IQSoft. I bought a 'QM book' in advance and then put it aside, because it was of no use to me in practice.
useful."