Committed to top quality

Alexander Eberle, Manager EPM (Emmi Process Management) at Emmi, gives us the internal quality tariff right at the start of our visit to the milk processor: "It's always busy at Emmi. Nevertheless, we don't do things by halves. And the same applies at all times: we continue to develop."

This last sentence is one of five Emmi core values. Eberle: "If you stand still, that's poison. That's why we are constantly developing everything, including our quality system. Right now we are introducing our Q management software to our North American colleagues. Spain and Italy are to follow."

Market leader chooses market leader
When asked about the tough competition in the food industry, Eberle explains simply: "Our industry is fiercely competitive. But we can also hold our own against the large foreign dairies. "In other words, Alexander Eberle is proud of his long-standing employer. He wants the best for them. Is that precisely why he, as quality manager, relies on IQSoft, the most successful quality management software in Switzerland?

Exchange as a success factor
Eberle puts it into perspective: "In 2012, I was looking for a good and uniform solution for Q management for Emmi. Working with Word and Excel was too time-consuming and error-prone for me. We examined several providers. The decisive factors in favour of IQS AG in Zofingen and their IQSoft software: the proximity to us, the support, the expected costs and the committed presentation of the product by IQSoft veteran Michael Kiel! His know-how and his enjoyment of the software totally convinced me."

"The cooperation with IQS AG is valuable. Through the exchange with Mr. Kiel, we achieve a lot, because without input from the outside, one is always somewhat blind to operations. Emmi finds: IQSoft takes us further. In addition, the solution is, in my opinion, good value for money and the support is very fast."

On the front line every day
Emmi currently uses IQSoft in the areas of food safety, knowledge management, document control, audits, continuous improvement process and idea management. Eberle finds his electronic assistant to be a stabilizer. And not only before but also after audits: "After each audit, you take a deep breath. To stay on track, we have now scheduled our documents. This is a constant reminder of what needs to be done. A new employee told me about this just yesterday: 'I come into the office on Monday and at 08:20 I know what's due via the IQSoft messages. Great!"

"After every audit, you take a breath."

Clear rules
Emmi adheres to clear rules when it comes to electronic quality management: Document management with IQSoft takes place on a local server. If a document is approved by the responsible body, it is available in the cloud (Sharepoint) five minutes later after publication. The teams in production, product development and logistics are currently integrated. The rollout for departments such as IT, sales or corporate development is on Eberle's wish list.

Data that is too sensitive is not placed in the cloud. Alexander Eberle also manages it with IQSoft, but in protected areas.

Impressive figures
Around 1,000 of Emmi's 3,000 employees in Switzerland work with IQSoft. Over 10,000 documents can be accessed. And the trend? Increasing. Every data record is not only needed, but also checked. Individual Emmi companies alone have over 1800 documents.

There is a lot to do. The Emmi-Q team gets to work
According to Eberle, the effort required for EPM (Emmi Process Management) is already quite high. Nevertheless, he thinks the chosen system is first-class. So much so, in fact, that some people at Emmi have renamed EPM "Eberle Process Management" with a smile.

Alexander Eberle knows that, and it doesn't bother him: "People just feel my enthusiasm. And that's a good thing: If I'm not enthusiastic about a system, I can't inspire others.

This statement fits perfectly with the definition of his core task at Emmi: "New subsidiaries are joining the Emmi Group all the time. People then hear: 'We're Emmi now!' And to guarantee Emmi quality, the Emmi values apply. As QManager, you're clear: we have to inspire people and get everyone on the same boat."

No rash actions
Eberle knows that the introduction of new quality structures takes time. He deliberately avoids high pressure: "Too much pressure only leads to one thing: people dropping out. It's much better to stay on the ball." And he explains that he familiarizes himself with each new IQSoft element until he knows exactly what its advantages are. Only then does he "go out" and present it to his people.

Multilingualism and the consequences
Emmi currently uses IQSoft in German and English. However, Spanish, Italian and French would also be installed. Eberle notes: "Multilingualism causes the number of documents to rise sharply. But that has a positive effect on motivation and quality."

Opportunities for improvement? A hit at Emmi
Emmi made the IQSoft "Opportunities for Improvement" module available to all employees when it was introduced in 2015. 16,500 notifications have triggered over 29,000 measures: "There's something going on and it's accessible."

Also on its way to top scores: the IQSoft "idea management" element. After going live in March 2018, Emmi recorded 900 innovative suggestions within six months. Other companies dream of such commitment. At Emmi, each individual's contribution to improvement is already part of the DNA thanks to many years of experience with the Japanese management doctrine Kaizen. "IQSoft now makes it even easier to contribute your own ideas."

Audit management? This is what IQSoft was once invented for
In Switzerland alone, Emmi companies undergo a total of at least 100 audits every year. Since 2013, IQSoft has carried out around 560 audits for Emmi companies worldwide.

Training? E-learning on the rise
Within IQSoft document management, Emmi offers employees the option of self-study for those training courses that are not run via Human Resources. In this way, it is digitally documented who has completed which training.

But did the participants really learn anything? A new function announced by IQS AG checks this: The upcoming version of the IQSoft module "Educ" can start a knowledge test after the completion of each self-study. Anyone who does not take it will not be able to tick off the self-study in the system.

Alexander Eberle is looking forward to this standard innovation in IQSoft, because it creates security in everyday work. In any case, he is of the opinion: "Standards are good for such important software. They create uniformity across companies. »