The manufacturing industry, especially SMEs, is considered the backbone of the economy in the DACH region. Nevertheless, the manufacturing sector, at the intersection of tradition and technology, has been facing very many challenges at the same time for several years. This IDC study therefore addresses the question of how individual business units such as HR, Finance and IT can navigate through these turbulent times and what role technology plays in this.

Scarcity of raw materials, cost pressure and cybercrime challenge companies

The study showed that the manufacturing industry is currently facing many challenges. For 43 percent of respondents, the global shortage of components and raw materials tops the list, with persistent bottlenecks in the supply chain, and the chemical and metal industries suffering from sharply increased energy prices.

Other important factors that manufacturing companies need to address: 

• Competitive pressure - 35 percent
• Rising internal costs - 33 percent     
• Increase in cyber attacks - 32 percent           
• Difficulties in entering new markets - 30 percent           
• Increased fluctuation in demand - 29 percent     

To succeed, manufacturing companies need to restructure their processes to become more resilient and adaptable. A balans between cost and safety plays a critical role in this. The study underlines that having the right skills and talent available to address these challenges is the foundation for successful restructuring and sustainable growth. Alexandra Hartung, Head of Medium Enterprise Germany says: "The study identifies key skills gaps that could slow down the transformation process. In particular, the lack of digital and IT skills as well as operational skills is seen as an obstacle. This leads to delays in digital transformation, limited development of new business models and higher reject rates in production. Successful transformation is achieved by attracting skills and talent, improving the employee experience and increasing operational resilience."

The development of employees

52 percent of respondents emphasize the need for skills development. This includes the continuous further qualification and retraining of employees in order to meet current and future requirements. For example, the switch to electric vehicles or the energy transition in the metal industry requires an adaptation of production processes. In addition, 46 percent of respondents said that investments must be made in employee recruitment. This includes recruiting digitally and IT-savvy employees as well as service and maintenance engineers in the field. In addition, the recruitment of software developers and cybersecurity experts is considered essential to develop smart and connected products.

Personnel development is the focus for 44 percent of respondents. Also gaining in importance is the creation of inclusive work environments in which both less experienced employees and employees with disabilities (e.g., wheelchair users on assembly lines) can do their jobs effectively. Twenty-eight percent of respondents emphasize the importance of employee retention. This includes improving employee experience and satisfaction, as well as specifically assigning skill profiles to appropriate tasks. Not only employee retention, but also collaboration between chief human resource officers (CHROs), chief information officers (CIOs) and chief operating officers (COOs), is of great importance, according to the study. Only through a joint effort can the foundations for sustainable business growth and effective business transformation be laid.

This is also confirmed by real-life examples in the manufacturing industry - The Freudenberg Group. Sarah O'Hare, Global Head of HR at Freudenberg Group, says: "A modernization of the complex and fragmented HR system was urgently needed. End-to-end streamlined HR processes and a single valid truth for master data in one central location was a truly transformative solution for us. We were particularly excited about the excellent mobile functionality we implemented. Overall, it's been a great success across the board, especially in terms of increased efficiency: what used to take weeks or months and require a lot of effort from our 800 HR professionals can literally be done in 30 seconds - sometimes as little as five - with Workday." 

Hartung summarizes the study results: "Investments in employee experience are essential to align the manufacturing sector for sustainable growth. Only through the targeted integration of specialist skills and the implementation of progressive HR strategies can manufacturing companies in the DACH region successfully meet today's challenges."

Based on this IDC study, Hartung's suggestions would be:

• Offering careers instead of jobs: To attract employees, the corporate culture must be adapted accordingly or continuously developed.
• Find influencing factors for a good employee experience and adapt them individually
• Capture job and/or task requirements and identify competency gaps.
• Identify talents with the required competencies and enable them to perform tasks that match their strengths

Source: www.workday.com 

The "Swiss Insurance Monitor 2023" is an annual study conducted by the Institute for Marketing and Analytics (IMA) at the University of Lucerne on customer perspectives in the insurance industry. The survey, which is representative for Switzerland, was conducted in cooperation with VDVS - Verband Digitalversicherung Schweiz, elaboratum suisse GmbH, FinanceScout24 (SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG) and a consortium of insurance companies, health insurers and service providers.

Online versus offline interaction

In Switzerland, people increasingly prefer online platforms such as independent comparison portals and insurance websites when searching for insurance and calculating prices. Nevertheless, they most frequently use personal customer advisors to prepare insurance quotes. The trend toward handling insurance matters online is also evident in claims processing. However, people tend to prefer offline methods when concluding and terminating contracts. People who are technology-savvy and prefer online channels when concluding contracts, as well as urban dwellers and younger age groups, also tend in this direction.

Regardless of the preference for how to interact with insurance companies, customers have a slight preference for direct personal contact (e.g., via phone, email, or in person) when dealing with most insurance concerns compared to options without direct personal contact (e.g., customer portal or insurance app). Thus, customers also highly value their customer advisors at insurance companies and health insurers. 80 % of respondents state that they are satisfied with them and attest to their good accessibility and appropriate frequency of contact.

Potentials and challenges in the insurance industry

As previously noted, respondents are more likely to want to interact with insurance companies online: More than 50 % of customers can imagine signing insurance claims exclusively digitally in the future. In addition to online interaction, 41 % of respondents would like to have the option of simulating claims online, and 61 % of respondents would like to be able to compare new and existing policies online. Customers are undecided as to whether further personal information such as age, education or gender should be included in the premium calculation. However, if this is accompanied by premium reductions, the proportion of customers who are positive about this increases from around 40 % to almost 60 %. Similar behavior is to be expected in the interaction with customer advisors. With regard to interaction with customer advisors, respondents are less willing to pay higher premiums for increased contact - quite the opposite: they would even limit contact if this were accompanied by premium reductions.

By contrast, only around 25 % of respondents would like to receive video advice by telephone in the case of property insurance and health insurance. In addition, insurance customers are less willing to involve artificial intelligence in clarifying insurance concerns - even when artificial intelligence supports service employees. Trust in service employees prevails insofar as the respondents tend to expect a satisfactory result from them.

Insurance topics: Interest and level of information

The interest of the population living in Switzerland in insurance topics remains unchanged compared with the previous year. However, there are differences in the level of information on insurance topics. In the 12-month observation period of the study, more people sought information on new or alternative insurance offerings and concluded contracts more frequently, compared with the Swiss Insurance Monitor of 2022. The increased engagement and interest could be explained, for example, by a slight rise in insurance premiums for property insurance and health insurance, but also by other external circumstances. More than 80 % of respondents for health insurance and 64 % for property insurance say their insurance premiums have increased at least slightly in the past 12 months. It is not possible to say whether insurance policies are being switched as a result of this.

Sustainability in the insurance environment

In the insurance sector, the issue of sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Insurance customers appreciate it when insurance companies take sustainable measures and generally rate them positively. However, insurance companies themselves are often not primarily associated with sustainability. Nevertheless, insurance companies have the opportunity to make sustainability tangible for their customers. This can be achieved, for example, by increasing the use of digital technologies, promoting sustainable standards in the supply chains of partner companies, and training employees in sustainable behavior.

Source: www.unilu.ch

According to the new Sharp study, more than a third of respondents (35 percent) are more concerned about cyberthreats than they were a year ago, with more than a third of organizations also saying they had been affected by some form of cybersecurity breach in the past 12 months. These were primarily malware (36 percent), cloud security breaches (35 percent), phishing and network vulnerabilities (33 percent) and computer viruses (32 percent).

Little trust in IT security measures

Eight out of ten of those surveyed (81 percent) also lack confidence in their company's ability to deal with security risks appropriately or to reduce them preventively. What is worrying here is that even low-threshold security measures are not yet ubiquitous: Not even half of companies (38 percent) reported having firewalls, and even fewer (34 percent) confirm having stringent password policies. Surprisingly, given this fact, more than half (63 percent) of the companies surveyed have no plans to increase their IT security budget this year.

Modern work concepts reinforce concerns

In terms of the potential impact of an IT security breach on their business, respondents said reputational damage (40 percent), as well as negative impact on recruiting and business continuity (36 percent each), financial loss (35 percent) and dwindling customer confidence (33 percent) were their biggest concerns. These are exacerbated by trends such as hybrid work models and BYOD approaches for employees (28 percent each).

"Companies of all sizes operate in an increasingly complex digital environment. As a result, they face ever greater, ever-changing IT security challenges. Especially for smaller companies without extensive IT resources, these risks feel even greater and more threatening," comments Antonio Papalo, COO at Sharp Electronics Switzerland, on the results of the survey. "Nevertheless, it is essential that every company, regardless of its size, protects its data in the best possible way and ensures that all networks and devices are as secure as possible. Professional advice from reliable partners can make an important contribution here: with their support and expertise, such partners ensure that the right decisions are made when it comes to IT security issues and that the security strategy and solutions are holistically designed and always up to date."

Source: www.sharp.ch

Editor's note: This news item refers to the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG). The law is the implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive. Switzerland does not (yet) have a comparable legal regulation. However, the Federal Council intends to define the requirements for lawful whistleblowing in the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR).

Since July 2, 2023, companies in Germany with more than 250 employees have been required to provide a confidential internal reporting office for whistleblowers to report legal violations within the company. Companies with 50 or more employees have until December 17, 2023 to do so. Certain industries are even obliged to set up such a system, regardless of the number of employees. Concrete requirements are associated with this: Within seven days of receiving a report, its receipt is confirmed, and after three months at the latest, the whistleblowers receive feedback on the measures initiated. Data protection requirements are strictly adhered to, and the identity of the person who submitted the report is protected in the best possible way.

Legal compliant, free of charge whistleblower protection

ConSense addresses the fulfillment of this legal requirement with the current software version ConSense 2023.2: A reporting channel is provided for existing ConSense management systems, which offers employees the possibility to pass on information confidentially and anonymously. In addition, the QM software provides structures for processing the reports within the company: Reports can be evaluated, processed, supplemented with information and measures defined. A big plus for ConSense customers is that the new reporting channel for whistleblowers is available free of charge starting with version v2023.2.

New deletion concepts and event linking

The new software version also includes several other innovations that make ConSense QM software even more user-friendly. With an extension of the deletion concepts, archived document and process revisions can now be anonymized and deleted.

The "Event Linking" function is available as a license-free innovation: Both in the ConSense Suite and in the ConSense PORTAL, this allows central events to be defined (customer call), which can then be conveniently used as links in the processes. Furthermore, ConSense eLearning is now also available in the web-based software solution ConSense PORTAL.

QM software tailored to customer needs: focus on AI integration

ConSense software solutions make it easier for companies to build user-friendly and transparent management systems that win user approval. In the future, the software developer will increasingly rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify quality management work processes and make them more efficient, as Dr. Alexander Künzer, chief developer and member of the management board of ConSense GmbH, emphasizes: "We are convinced that AI integration will set the new standard for future software products, and we look forward to supporting our customers and clients with the implementation of these powerful features in their everyday work."

Source: www.consense-gmbh.de 

Machine operators care for and maintain the equipment they work with every day themselves to prevent breakdowns and repairs from occurring in the first place. If irregularities occur, the operators notice them first. After all, they know the machine like no one else. So it's only natural to assign them basic maintenance tasks. This not only benefits overall plant efficiency. It also reduces the cost of outside labor and spare parts, and gives workers more personal responsibility. However, for this process to succeed, workers must be guided and supported - ideally with the help of digital tools. Solution provider Augmentir lists seven steps for successful entry into autonomous maintenance.

1. start small

To introduce operators to maintenance, tasks such as cleaning equipment or replacing simple wear and spare parts are suitable. Companies should provide their employees with detailed step-by-step instructions. Connected worker tools, which guide employees through the tasks via cell phone, tablet or data glasses at the workplace, are particularly suitable for this purpose. If they have any questions, machine operators can get help from experts and supervisors directly from the app.

2. facilitate search for causes

When cleaning, employees should also pay attention to the causes of contamination and, if possible, eliminate them immediately or at least contain them. If companies use Connected Worker tools, causes and measures can be recorded directly in the app and saved in a knowledge database. In this way, colleagues also benefit from the insights gained. This is a big plus in view of employee turnover and the shortage of skilled workers.

3. set standards

The next step is to use the collected knowledge to further improve the digital checklists. AI-supported systems provide suggestions for this. To ensure consistent work practices, companies should also regularly define and review which activities operators perform, how and how often. Modern production companies document these standards in electronic SOPs - a central building block for fully functional plants in top condition.

4. Deepen expertise

The advantage of digital tools is that operators are not only supported while working, but also trained - almost incidentally. For example, through on-the-job training via video or image-rich lessons that are understandable even without language skills. Connected Worker tools thus help to deepen and supplement job-specific knowledge.

To prevent well-trained machine operators from working quickly due to too much detail, modern connected work suites dynamically adapt instructions to the employees' level of knowledge. Artificial intelligence (AI) recognizes the user who needs more or less assistance.

5. strengthen personal responsibility

Thanks to digital work instructions, machine operators can perform their tasks independently, safely and with optimum quality. Maintenance and service technicians are greatly relieved, as they only need to be called in for more complex cases. Machine operators take more responsibility for their equipment, as they no longer have to rely on others. This reduces the risk of equipment continuing to run until it is damaged, despite recognizable defects.

6. design working environment intuitively

The more intuitive the working environment, the easier it is to implement autonomous maintenance. Above all, visual assistance helps employees understand how machines work and comply with regulations. The use of augmented reality by means of tablets or data glasses offers additional support here, as queries can be clarified in a direct chat with an expert.

7. data treasure lift

The increasing digital networking of skilled workers and workers provides companies with valuable operational data. Starting with feedback on work steps that have been carried out, for example during logout/tagout, through error documentation to insights into work execution.

Autonomous maintenance offers clear benefits such as increased overall plant effectiveness, reduced costs and increased employee autonomy. By using connected-worker tools, manufacturing companies can easily and safely involve machine operators in maintenance, which leads to the relief of their maintenance experts. "Operators expand their skills and their job is upgraded. Most importantly, the increased responsibility makes them feel more valued and more connected to their employer," emphasizes Carsten Hunfeld, Director EMEA at Augmentir. "This is an important aspect in counteracting employee turnover and a shortage of skilled workers," Hunfeld continues.

Source: www.augmentir.com

The most common method of searching for and recovering objects and people underwater today is the use of professional divers, who accept the risk of permanent or fatal damage. Their work is associated with many dangers and difficulties.

Tethys targets the industrial inspection and search and rescue segments with an estimated annual potential of over USD 8 billion. Market demand is driven by the increasing need for renewable energy solutions (137,500 new offshore wind turbines by 2050) and applications for autonomous oceanographic exploration and inspection. Building on relationships with authorities in Europe, Tethys Robotics has developed the world's only underwater drone with a VR-enabled user interface that can operate autonomously in all waters and recover objects at depths of up to 300 meters in challenging conditions, ultimately enabling operations in strong water currents with poor visibility. In this way, it will significantly contribute to mitigating the significant risks divers face on a daily basis, while reducing the need for personnel to work underwater.

The startup will invest the CHF 150,000 in improving business development initiatives. This will allow to accelerate the completion of pilot programs with first customers as well as to strengthen the company's international presence and promotion.

The team has been working together for five years and consists of co-founder and project manager Jonas Wüst, co-founder and operations lead, Pragash Sivananthaguru and co-founders Andrej Studer, Johannes Lienhart, Bastian Schildknecht, Florin Kümin and Gallus Kaufmann. Together they want to lead underwater robotics into a new era.

Jonas Wüst says about Venture Kick: "Since our launch, we have had the opportunity to hone our presentation skills at Kickers Camp, which allowed us to secure sufficient funding to drive our product and business development. At the same time, we were able to launch several pilot projects with early adopters, whose feedback allowed us to make an informed decision about our go-to-market strategy. With the Venture Kick win, we now have the resources and financial support to bring Swiss underwater robotics to the international stage."

Source: www.venturekick.ch

Smart robots in the service of logistics: The company Agility Robotics from Salem (Germany) develops and builds such systems. "Digit," as the 175-centimeter machine is called, weighs around 65 kilograms. It has claw-like gripping hands that can handle loads of up to 16 kilograms.

Exceptional flexibility

The distinctive leg design, reminiscent of a bird, gives Digit exceptional flexibility and allows him to squat in front of shelves to retrieve items. This makes it ideal for seamlessly collaborating with people in a variety of work environments, developers say. When the on-board battery runs out of energy, the robot marches itself to a charging station. This takes eight hours per 24 hours, so it can be active for 16 hours a day. Digit is equipped with a generative "Large Language Model" based on artificial intelligence. It is based on neural networks and can understand, process and generate natural language. 

Autonomous loading and unloading

The robot models are trained with huge amounts of text and sometimes have several hundred billion parameters. Digit can even reprogram itself based on a verbal command. To orient itself, it is equipped with cameras and LiDAR. This high-precision laser-based system is used to measure distances. Digit's initial tasks include transporting crates and totes within its own factory and the production sites of launch customers. In the medium term, it is expected to load and unload trucks autonomously. Further fields of action include order picking, i.e. collating ordered goods so that they can be packed and loaded.

Source: www.pressetext.com / Agility Robotics