Something is happening with the electronic vaccination card. After For data protection reasons, a first attempt to digitally manage vaccinations performed, failed, Swiss citizens should once again have the opportunity to collect, manage and use their vaccination data electronically. To make this possible, a broad consortium has published a feasibility study. The consortium includes the Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH, the Association of Swiss Doctors FMH, pharmaSuisse, HCI Solutions, Interpharma and the cooperative MIDATA.

Secure electronic vaccination card is possible

The study shows: A secure electronic vaccination card is possible. And the added value of such a card would be considerable: "It would give citizens sovereignty over their vaccination data. They alone decide to whom they make it available," explains Professor Serge Bignens of the BFH, adding: "At the same time, they can be better informed and made aware of the benefits of vaccinations. As a result, he says, people can better manage their own vaccination protection, which in turn increases public health. In addition, an e-vaccination dossier simplifies access for physicians and pharmacists to the current vaccination status, which in turn also makes it possible to retrieve electronic vaccination recommendations. Finally, researchers can use anonymized vaccination data to discover new insights and correlations. This is made possible by the use of the data platform of the non-profit cooperative MIDATA.

Switzerland is lagging behind in the use of health data, as shown by relevant international studies such as the Bertelsmann Foundation's digital health index, in which Switzerland ranks fourth to last. Yet the experiences of recent years have once again highlighted how important a functioning health data ecosystem is for society. After all, it is also data from this ecosystem that helps to further develop vaccines. 

Overriding principles: Robust data protection and data sovereignty for patients

The feasibility study was drawn up along certain key principles. In addition to the data sovereignty of citizens, data protection is also central. This has top priority in the concept developed. Furthermore, the concept is public and the standards of the proposed solution are widely applicable, which means that the model can be expanded as desired. The authors have also ensured that the proposed solution is compatible with other initiatives - in particular with the electronic patient dossier (EPD). Citizens can thus freely move their data from one place to another. Another key point: the electronic vaccination card could be implemented quickly - as soon as sustainable funding is secured. 

Long-term funding and construction of the system as next steps.

An immunization data ecosystem needs funding. The study details which components would need to be integrated, redeveloped, maintained, and operated. The next step for implementation is to secure long-term funding. After that, the system can be built and maintained. This will require private and public investment, as the e-vaccination card will be available to patients free of charge. 

The study presented shows that a secure and broadly supported electronic vaccination card is possible for Switzerland, explicitly also with the technical feasibility of a connection to an EPD. According to the authors, the study comes at the right time, because it is also of interest to the federal administration. The federal administration is currently working on the introduction of a vaccination card in the EPD.

More information and source

Indoor air quality is important for a whole range of reasons: it affects employees' work efficiency and job satisfaction, the utilization of expensive office and conference rooms, the expansion of facility management control options for ventilation and air conditioning technology, and last but not least, the optimization of energy costs. Wherever people meet in enclosed spaces, the Air purity a sensitive topic. This applies first and foremost to workplaces, but also to other premises, for example in daycare centers, schools or universities.

Measure indoor air quality

The technology for room air measurement is now easy to install and operate, robust and efficient in operation, and last but not least, cost-effective. The sensors are simply attached to the relevant room using plug-and-play and connected to a dedicated cloud via a separate network (LORA-WAN) that is independent of the normal WLAN and a gateway. There, the values fed in are processed and can be called up and read at any time via an online dashboard. Essentially, the following five positive effects can be achieved from this.

1. increase of well-being and efficiency

People need adequate ambient air quality for concentrated learning and work. It has a measurable influence on their work performance. Poor indoor air quality causes fatigue, lack of concentration or even headaches. Sensor technology is used to measure the parameters that are decisive for this, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), temperature, humidity and volatile organic compounds (VOC) are recorded. This allows, for example, the simple measurement of CO₂-The germ and aerosol content of the air can be deduced from the room air content and humidity. If required, other parameters such as fine dust, radon or carbon monoxide can also be measured by sensors.

2. anonymous occupancy measurement

By measuring these current values, exceedances of the limit values are reliably recorded and made transparent in real time. In addition, this makes it possible to measure the occupancy of a room, i.e. the number of people in it, anonymously and without the use of surveillance cameras. In this way, for example, current overcrowding or chronic exceeding or falling below occupancy limits can be reliably detected without having to record personal data.

3. current values as instructions for action

The measured values can be provided directly to those affected and serve as instructions for action. For this purpose, they are simply made visible directly in the room concerned by means of colored light, quasi as a traffic light signal. The values are also transmitted via device management over a separate network to a separate cloud. There they are processed, analyzed, compared and then made available via an online dashboard. In addition to those directly affected, other authorized persons, such as managers or air-conditioning technicians, also have access.

4. reduction of energy costs

The instructions for action based on current measurements enable much more targeted and efficient ventilation - resulting in higher energy efficiency and lower costs. Especially in times of drastically rising energy prices, this is an important aspect for companies. And by the way, the potential for disputes between "fresh air fanatics" and "heat lovers" that is latent in many offices is eliminated, since ventilation is now based on neutral values.

5. efficient facility management

For facility management, the air quality values are the basis for efficient control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology. These optimization options also ultimately serve to increase energy efficiency and reduce operating costs. Furthermore, even the link to alarm systems is possible, since the differential pressure between different rooms provides information about the air flow in the building, and thus deviating values can be detected.

Source: www.leanbi.ch. LeanBI, headquartered in Bern, is a Swiss specialist for data science applications that develops customized data analysis solutions based on artificial intelligence. The applications cover areas such as quality and process optimization, automated damage detection for infrastructures, and analysis of air quality and user behavior in rooms. ​

For companies and investors alike, the innovation potential of the biotech sector over the past two years has been dominated by the development of vaccines and therapies against covid-19. This emphasis is now increasingly diminishing. At the same time, the financial markets are focusing more on chronic and severe diseases that affect a larger proportion of the population. Important technological advances that have so far focused on the treatment of rare diseases are now being tested more frequently in clinical trials for indications with high patient numbers.

The biotech industry will benefit from this because it is a pioneer in a large number of new therapeutic approaches. Many biotech companies have recently begun to expand their clinical projects from their previous focus on rare diseases to the treatment of diseases with higher patient numbers. This involves the use of a new generation of technologies that bring with them enormous disruptive potential. More and more product candidates not only meet the medical need in indications that were previously virtually untreatable, but also promise a complete cure. Several of our portfolio companies are presenting groundbreaking clinical trial results this year.

Moderna's next vaccines soon ready

At Moderna, the results for the Omikron-specific booster vaccine and the mRNA-1010 influenza vaccine are probably the most important events for 2022. A new generation of these mRNA vaccines is expected to be superior to conventional influenza vaccines in terms of efficacy profile and efficiency by including additional antigens and virus strains in addition to the four selected by the WHO. If a combination vaccine against influenza and coronaviruses can be brought to market, the global market for flu vaccines, which currently accounts for around 500 million doses annually, could expand significantly, possibly even doubling. Combination vaccines also appeal to people who are skeptical about regular single vaccinations. Because of the fast development times and good tolerability of mRNA vaccines, their protagonists Moderna, Biontech and Pfizer would be the big winners of such a breakthrough. Because industry experts estimate the prices for such combination vaccines at up to USD 60 per dose, this opens up enormous sales potential.

In Moderna's long-term plans, the efficacy of mRNA technology in influenza is only an intermediate step. Currently, Moderna has three important Phase III trials underway. In addition to the flu vaccine, they have a vaccine against RSV, a serious respiratory infection in infants and young children, and a vaccine against cytomegalovirus (CMV). Currently, there are no treatment options against this herpes virus, which can cause deafness and developmental disorders in newborns.

Genome editing - technology for billion-dollar sales

Genome editing, which aims to permanently cure diseases, is on the verge of a major commercial breakthrough. This involves excising fragments of human DNA thought to be genetic triggers of disease and repairing them with genetic replacements. Crispr Therapeutics, in collaboration with Vertex Pharma, is developing therapies for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease. There are currently no adequate treatment options for these two genetic disorders in the formation of blood cells that cause severe disease progression.

Due to a specific genetic predisposition, the severe form of sickle cell anemia is dominant in the USA, with about 50 000 patients. Beta-thalassemia, also called Mediterranean anemia, on the other hand, tends to appear in southern Europe, while its severe form occurs in about 1,000 patients in the United States. This therapy is a complete cure after a single dose. The market approval of the first drug based on genome editing would revolutionize the treatment of this disease. Accordingly, the pricing power for this product, which only needs to be administered once, is great. In the second half of 2022, Crispr and Vertex Pharma will be the first companies to submit regulatory data and a regulatory filing. If, as expected, the product makes it to market in 2023, it could generate peak annual sales in the billions.

As genetic engineering techniques for drug development, RNA-based therapeutics such as siRNA and ASO (antisense oligonucleotides) have received market approval in niche indications in recent years. Alnylam is a leader in siRNA-based drugs and should report clinical results for its already approved product, Onpattro, by mid-year. If successful, the application would expand from 50,000 patients with ATTR amyloidosis and polyneuropathy to date to up to 300,000 more patients with ATTR cardiomyopathy. ATTR is a rare disease in which a certain protein is not broken down in the body and is deposited in organs.

Artificial intelligence creates new foundations

Rational drug design is a novel approach that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze the molecular movements of protein molecules for their role in disease development. The company, Relay Therapeutics, has three cancer drugs in Phase I clinical trials that target disease-causing proteins that were previously not considered accessible targets for therapies. Black Diamond Therapeutics uses machine learning techniques for cancer therapies that work independently of specific tumor types.

Thanks to its pioneering role in numerous disruptive technologies, the biotech industry could soon attract the interest of investors again. The numbers speak for themselves. While an average of 20 drugs were approved annually in the USA, the world's largest drug market, at the beginning of the noughties, this figure has risen to 58 in 2021. At the same time, in purely quantitative terms, the total number of clinical trials and the patients treated in them is significantly higher than before the pandemic began. The importance of biotechnologically produced drugs will continue to grow in the future. It is estimated that biotech products will account for around 40% of total prescription and over-the-counter drug sales by 2026. 

Author:
Dr. Daniel Koller joined Bellevue Asset Management in 2004 and since 2010 has been Head Investment Management Team of the BB Biotech AG, an investment company based in Schaffhausen/Switzerland. From 2001-2004 Daniel Koller was an investment manager at equity4life Asset Management AG and from 2000-2001 an equity analyst at UBS Warburg. He graduated in Biochemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and holds a PhD in Biotechnology from ETH and Cytos Biotechnology AG, Zurich.

Editor's note: BB Biotech AG holds shares in some of the companies mentioned in the text or has them in its portfolio.

The greatest potential for reducing the energy consumption of buildings in Switzerland lies in space heating and domestic hot water. In new buildings, domestic hot water is already being integrated into energy-efficient and environmentally friendly heating systems. However, in view of the unchanged high energy consumption for domestic hot water preparation, new solutions must be sought.

Decentralized domestic hot water preparation

As part of the research project "Domestic Hot Water Storage BWW++" of the Competence Center Thermal Energy Storage (HSLU) and BMS Energietechnik AG, Lorenz Rüegsegger from Sumiswald and Patrick Heller from Willisau have now developed a novel system for decentralized domestic hot water preparation. This includes a decentralized heat pump that draws its evaporation energy from the heating circuit in winter or the room heat in summer and operates a fresh water station via a latent heat storage tank.

The award-winning work helps to make an important contribution to efficient thermal energy supply in decarbonized residential buildings. In addition, the solution is scalable not only nationally but also internationally, making it a promising approach from an economic perspective as well. The system has a high energy saving potential and is expected to find long-term application in new buildings in the residential sector. Optimal use can reduce annual thermal energy demand by 12 % and final electrical energy demand by 20 %.

Project will be continued

With this practical and future-oriented project, the two young researchers convinced the jury. It is also gratifying that the project will be continued together with the industrial partner.  

For Gerd Scheller, Country CEO of Siemens Switzerland, promoting young talent is very important: "With the Excellence Award, we want to motivate young people to work on scientific topics that can be implemented in practice." In addition to scientific achievement, the degree of innovation, social relevance and practical applicability of the work are the main factors that count in the evaluation of the work. The Excellence Award is part of the "Generation21" education program, with which Siemens seeks dialog with young people and promotes young talent in the fields of science and technology. "With this commitment, we accompany young people in their development and education and support them in seizing their future opportunities," says Gerd Scheller.

Source: Siemens Switzerland 

The virtual ConSense EXPO around quality management and integrated management systems was held for the first time in 2020. Since then, it has become firmly established in the trade fair calendar of experts and decision-makers involved in these areas. The event conveniently provides comprehensive information on innovative solutions around QM software and IMS, including key topics such as data protection, occupational health and safety, environmental protection management and other management areas, right through to GxP-compliant software solutions. Web-based solutions, hosting options, offers from ConSense Management Consulting and much more were also presented. In the aftermath of this virtual trade fair, we talked to Dr. Iris Bruns, Managing Director of the ConSense GmbH from Aachen.

 Ms. Bruns, the economy is looking back on two difficult years, and it doesn't necessarily seem to be getting any easier. So how has the market for your software solutions changed in recent months - due to the pandemic?
Iris Bruns: Fortunately, we are in a situation where our products are independent of industry and company size. The industries in which we operate perceived the situation differently; some were severely slowed down by the pandemic, while others, such as the pharmaceutical industry or medical technology, actually boomed. But our ambition always remained to support customers where there was the greatest need. We also tried to strengthen the industries that were not doing so well, for example by providing free access to our software as part of special promotions. One of the biggest challenges during the pandemic proved to be the decentralization of companies: It is not easy to run a risk or quality management system from a home office. Currently, the war in Ukraine is having a certain braking effect - but also increasing the need for risk management.

What lessons do you now draw from the April 2022 ConSense EXPO?
We have now held the virtual ConSense EXPO for the fifth time and are seeing a high level of acceptance. We see this in the more than 900 views of the online conferences at our trade show. The entire experience with virtuality from the pandemic has meant that our offerings have been readily used. We are also constantly trying out new tools ourselves. For EXPO, for example, we created virtual meeting spaces, such as the virtual coffee lounge. This still proved to be somewhat unfamiliar to trade show guests, but some things simply need a little more time. Overall, we are extremely satisfied and remain true to the concept. We will hold the next ConSense EXPO from September 20 to 23, 2022.

Which solutions were most in demand?
Our browser-based solution ConSense PORTAL met with great approval, as more and more companies are switching to web-based systems. For a long time, many companies were QM software as a web or cloud solution very cautiously, but now the topics of information security, cloud and web solutions are receiving more and more attention.

Keyword conferences: Which topics were most in need of information?
The classic topic remains quality management. Increasingly, this involves combining topics such as environmental management or information security into an integrated management system. The low-code debate has also become more relevant: With our "ConSense FORMS" solution, we have picked up the ball here and created the possibility of developing electronic forms and automatic workflows even more easily. This solution received increased demand due to the developments towards more decentralization and paperless processes.

From which sectors do most of the requests come?
Mainly from the medical sector, but also from the food industry. There, it's mainly about licenses for our ConSense GxP solution. But inquiries from the energy sector are also increasing.

To what do you attribute these findings?
Many companies have used the last few months to get their quality management up to speed. Often, the resources to do so were lacking for a long time; the economic "sink" then released the necessary forces and investments were made accordingly. Others, unfortunately, had to put on the brakes.

Regardless of how your in-house exhibition goes: What are the general trends in quality management and integrated management systems?
That's not easy to answer in a nutshell. But there is one common denominator: the diversity that is shown in the entire range of our modules. One topic, for example, is audits: These affect everyone, increasingly also in the form of remote audits. We are also seeing growing interest in training and competence management. The focus on personnel issues is increasing, e.g., in the area of downtime management. On the technical side, there is an increasing focus on cloud and web solutions, with particular attention to information security.

How do you react to this?
We have expanded our service and consulting activities accordingly, for example by offering a complete management system check. We have also introduced a model for management assessment, because leadership is a central issue in quality management. Prof. Dr. Herbert Schnauber from the Ruhr University in Bochum has developed a self-assessment methodology that we now offer in cooperation with him. This leads efficiently to strategically useful results in a very short time. Overall, we see that collaborative work on processes is becoming increasingly important; people are moving away from rigid systems.

This certainly also leads to increasingly complex software systems. How difficult is it for you as a software manufacturer to map this increasing complexity?
You raise an important point here. The acceptance of software by employees is crucial. As software developers, we must therefore first and foremost always put on the glasses of an end user. Reducing complexity is a big issue. We also have to place more and more emphasis on this in training courses; recently, we have been increasingly using moving images in the form of video tutorials. More, shorter units, supported by flanking measures, also help.

The more complex the systems, the more diverse the authorizations of the software operators are likely to become?
That's right, authorization management is an important factor. We try to keep the funnel as narrow as possible here. All our software solutions have a dedicated roles and rights system for assigning authorizations and distributing information in a targeted manner. It is also not expedient to train all users on all functionalities, but rather according to their roles.

What new products and solutions can be expected soon?
We can currently present many further developments. The focus - as already mentioned - is on cloud and web solutions. Even ConSense GxP, which has so far been available as a desktop application, is currently being developed as a web-based solution. Low-code, training and qualification management, and risk management are just a few more keywords.

And how is the Swiss market for your products developing?
We serve the Swiss market from our South location in Friedrichshafen. Switzerland is developing very positively as a target market. Because when it comes to quality, a lot of good things have always come from Switzerland - and are migrating from south to north...

ConSense GmbH

Since 2003, ConSense GmbH in Aachen has been developing scalable solutions for all company sizes. According to the company, the focus of its development work is on optimal support for organizational processes and user-friendliness. With far more than 750 customer companies and a number of users in the six-digit range, the ConSense software products are used in all industries.

www.consense-gmbh.de

If you as a manager want to improve your customer service, you should first establish a corresponding corporate culture: a holistic concept in which people are at the center of organizational processes. This is not easy. But the following ten tips can support you in your endeavor.

1. formulate a mission statement

Your mission statement should reflect the company's core values with regard to customer service. It should be short enough to be memorable - but long enough to be meaningful. Write your mission statement in an understandable and impactful way so that all employees grasp the essence of the intended changes.

2. develop a corporate mission statement

Not everyone realizes what good customer service looks like on the first day they start their business. For that, you need to be proactive. It's easier for your staff if they can use a mission statement - a longer version of your mission statement - as a guide. Formulate this mission statement so succinctly that it could be printed on a card and pocketed.

3. focus on personal responsibility

For a contact center to operate efficiently, employees should be empowered to act. Make sure that your supervisors explicitly point this out to them and support them in doing so. Keep bringing up the principle of empowerment in your training sessions and have managers reinforce it. Demonstrate this attitude by recognizing and rewarding employees who show initiative.

To ensure that empowerment doesn't just remain lip service, you need to communicate one thing clearly: Every employee has the right (after a certain training period, of course) to make his or her own decisions, even if they turn out to be costly. This is an important part of the learning process and the most important operational point you need to focus on when creating a service culture.

4. consider personality as the most important hiring criterion

To keep it short: Place more emphasis on certain personality traits of the candidate during interviews than on his/her experience (nevertheless, professional experience should of course be appreciated and taken into account).

When creating rosters, look for truly service-oriented employees and give them the tools they need to be actionable. After all, frontline managers are among the most important players in building and maintaining an optimal customer service culture.

5. involve the executives in your onboarding process

To establish a culture of service, involve the CEO or management directly in the training. There's nothing more effective than having executives present when you want to show that your company takes customer service seriously. In this way, you demonstrate that leadership has a direct interest in the performance and success opportunities of customer service employees. It also communicates the mission statement and company mission from the outset through the executive level.

6. start each shift with a standup meeting

Whether you call it a Daily Huddle, Standup Meeting or Team Meeting, a recap of key service principles at the beginning of the shift is optimal for getting employees in the mood for the day. This ritual can become a catalyst for your service culture, especially if employees are allowed to take turns leading the meeting. On the one hand, it serves as a direct exchange and consolidation of expertise throughout the group; on the other hand, it offers employees the chance to develop leadership skills.

To establish service optimization strategies throughout the company, a daily reminder of the principles of customer service is excellent. It promotes a sense of togetherness and morale among those on whom success directly depends: the agents who are in direct contact with the customer.

7. avoid management that is remote from employees

Employee proximity is another important aspect of creating a customer service culture. If a manager hides in his office, he misses countless opportunities to support his team and the service culture. And that brings us back to hiring criteria: Make sure the right people are in the right positions. This will ensure that your managers are approachable and happy to help.

8. revise your customer service trainings

Training is not necessarily considered relevant to a company's culture. But this is not true of a customer service culture. Service employees should absolutely learn the rules, processes, and touchpoints that make up their day-to-day operations. Make them aware of the many ways your company caters to the customer. If you take the time to select top candidates, you should also invest in the best possible training.

9. eliminate the responsibility thinking

"Not my job" - Getting such phrases out of the heads of employees and managers must be a concern for any company with customer service ambitions. Everyone should be ready to lend a hand during peak times.

A lateral approach solves practical problems, boosts morale, and clearly shows all employees that everyone in the company is working toward the same, common goal.

10. encourage collaborative thinking

When a customer service breakdown occurs, encourage all departments to work together to find the reasons and ways to avoid it in the future. This not only leads to better results, but also benefits the corporate culture - because it shows what is valued in your company. Remember: acting responsibly and making a sincere effort to learn from past mistakes are the cornerstones of any customer service culture.

If you take these ten pieces of advice to heart, you'll be well on your way to a service culture that will benefit your company and your customers in the long run.

Author:
David Evans is Head of Product Management at Vonage. He has more than 20 years of experience in Innovative Software and over 12 years of product management experience. With his team at Vonage, Evans takes a customer-centric approach to product development and is always looking for new ways brands can connect with their customers to drive loyalty and growth.

The Swiss Digital Initiative launched the Digital Trust Label in January 2022 (we reported on it). The label shows the trustworthiness of a digital application such as a website or an app in simple and non-technical language. Digital applications are tested against 35 criteria in four dimensions: Security of the digital service, Privacy of the digital service, Reliability of the digital service, and Fair interaction with users, which includes notification of the use of automated decision-making processes. The set of criteria was created by the first Label Expert Committee (LEC), led by EPFL, and further developed based on feedback from several public consultations. The developed criteria serve as the basis for an independent review.

Further develop trustworthiness of the label

The mandate of the first Label Expert Committee ended with the finalization of the first version of the Digital Trust Label criteria catalog. As digital technologies are advancing rapidly, the continuous development of the label is a priority for SDI. The experts meet regularly, gather feedback throughout the year, and develop recommendations for possible adjustments to the label. Following an open application process with a number of high quality dossiers, new members have now been added to the expert committee. The new representatives come from civil society and consumer protection, the public sector and international organizations, academia and the private sector. They are experts with proven know-how and expertise in the four dimensions of the Digital Trust Label:

• Marcel Blattner, Principal Data Scientist and Team Leader, ETH Swiss Data Science Center
• Nikki Böhler, Director, Opendata.ch
• Sophia Ding, Managing Consultant, Head Trustworthy AI & Responsible Tech, AWK Group
• Maximilian Groth, Co-Founder & CEO, Decentriq
• Michael Kende, Senior Fellow and Visiting Lecturer at the Geneva Graduate Institute, and Senior Advisor at Analysys Mason.
• Rodolphe Koller, Editor-in-Chief, ICTjournal
• Diego Kuonen, CEO, Statoo Consulting & Professor of Data Science, GSEM, University of Geneva
• Patrick Schaller, Senior Scientist System Security, ETHZ
• Mitchell Scherr, CEO, Assured Cyber Protection
• Manouchehr Shamsrizi, Co-Founder, gamelab.berlin Humboldt University's Cluster of Excellence and Co-Founder RetroBrain R&D
• Martin Steiger, Partner Steiger Legal, Co-Founder Data Protection Partner 
• Tuulia Timonen, Head PSC Service Excellence, Posti Group
• Leila Toplic, Head Emerging Technologies Initiative, NetHope
• Charlotte van Ooijen, Associate Director Digital Government and Data, The Lisbon Council for Economic Competitiveness and Social Renewal

 Digital Trust Label with tamper-proof QR marking

To further strengthen the credibility of the label and make it forgery-proof, SDI has also partnered with SICPA, a leading Swiss provider of secure authentication, identification and traceability solutions. SICPA's blockchain-based and cost-effective digital solution verifies the dynamic content of paper-based and digital documents by applying a tamper-proof QR mark. The Digital Trust Label will be tagged with a corresponding QR mark, making it instantly verifiable using common verification tools such as web and mobile apps starting in the third quarter of 2022.

Further information

The global healthcare crisis has forced hospitals to accelerate the use of tools and processes such as RPA to create much-needed headroom in hospitals and build a more resilient healthcare sector. Processes critical to the operation of healthcare facilities and the delivery of medical care to patients are increasingly being automated to drive efficiency, accuracy and cost savings. This has been especially important during the pandemic as hospitals look for innovative ways to better utilize their capacity. The processing of patients, their data and schedules is becoming increasingly automated in healthcare.

Bots assist with vaccination scheduling

For example, because COVID vaccinations have lost none of their timeliness and may become an increased issue again for the fall, continuous scheduling of patients for booster vaccinations is critical to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. However, this manual process is fraught with logistical difficulties and can be very time consuming. Instead, bots can be used to automate scheduling and free up professionals' time. This leaves more time for staff to focus on COVID-related patient care.

Process Discovery: Completely map processes quickly

Ultimately, Process Discovery (also known as task mining) and mapping of all healthcare processes will help staff save lives. Increased process visibility reinforces operational efficiency and process quality. Valuable time and costs are saved. This is made possible by automated Process Discovery, which maps complete healthcare processes within a short period of time. Improvements can thus be implemented more quickly.  

Accurate data evaluation by means of automation

Increased transparency of healthcare processes is leading to better data collection - a critical factor in managing a pandemic and tracking individual needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to national data becoming more important. Specifically, data to understand how the virus is evolving and what actions can help minimize its spread. However, at the national level, it is complex to collect, process, refine, and validate data from individual hospitals. Data must be obtained from specific hospitals, which have their own data collection and processing protocols. Once humans process gigabytes of data, errors are almost inevitable. Then there are the privacy parameters that must be adhered to when processing data and the need for anonymity to protect patient privacy. So there are a number of components to consider. Automation helps to make these processes efficient and compliant. 

Overcoming potential logistical hurdles in the healthcare system.

Successful real-world deployments of RPA can already be found in medical facilities around the world. The Brazilian Ministry of Health, for example, recently used automation to address logistical challenges in its hospitals. Collecting and processing data for a population of more than 200 million people is a daunting process. Automation has increased accuracy and efficiency while reducing the workload on medical and IT staff.

"If healthcare executives are open to creating new innovative systems that streamline labor-intensive and time-consuming processes and create more space for patient care, RPA can ultimately benefit the healthcare provider, patient and facility alike, creating greater impact and more effective healthcare outcomes," said Mayk Tilinski, vice president EMEA for Nintex Kryon. 

Source and further information: https://www.nintex.com and www.kryonsystems.de

Around 200 guests found their way to the Bern Kursaal, the venue for the SAQ's traditional event. Nothing more than the "quality of tomorrow" was the topic of the day. Accordingly, the first speaker, Dr. Martin Menrath, lecturer for Global Quality Management at the Technical University of Berlin, gave the topic a main stage. His presentation was entitled: Why must quality be more than quality in the future? He pointed out that people must become part of the new "Quality 4.0." Adapting to change would become more important than following a plan. In concrete terms, employees must be involved in all processes. When it comes to introducing agility, for example, employees must not be overburdened, so the negotiation processes must be iterative, Menrath said.

How agile organization and quality management "get along"

So is agility combined with quality wishful thinking? This was the question addressed in the presentation by Peter Pedross, a specialist for agile concepts, for example in the automotive and aviation industries. Quality is still needed, he said, even if agile concepts might sometimes give a different impression. "Agile is here, but it has not yet arrived in all topics," Peter Pedross said. He pointed to the new role of quality management within agile processes: Moving away from being a pure testing authority to becoming a service organization. After all, when developing new solutions, quality management must first provide answers. Last but not least, agile concepts require more metrics and even more planning - but distributed over smaller and shorter process steps and overall with a leaner QMS in each case.

New Leadership: Also a Quality of Tomorrow

The panel discussion between Diego Politano (Hasler Rail) and Nadja Perroulaz (Liip) focused on New Leadership - another factor that plays an important role in the question of tomorrow's quality. Two cultures met there: On the one hand, an internationally active industrial company that is managed in a quasi-classical manner - albeit with a remarkably high proportion of women in senior management at 50 percent. On the other hand, there was a software company that was completely committed to Holacracy: No more bosses, but roles and a circle structure. "And that works?" one might ask, which Diego Politano did, expressing his concerns about whether Holacracy is an ideal model even in challenging times. Nadja Perroulaz spoke of good experiences, "even with layoffs we've had to make." She acknowledged, however, that Liip was operating in a somewhat "luxurious industry." The lively, adversarial discussion, led competently by moderator Andrea Vetsch, allowed the conclusion that new management models are needed and that these can also work in industries that have operated successfully with "conservative" concepts up to now. "Managers of tomorrow have a difficult task in any case," the discussants agreed.

Quality management in circular economy and education

The second part of the conference was devoted to the topic of quality in the circular economy and in education. The participants were actively involved in the form of workshops - a format that met with great approval. There was a great deal of activity in all the workshops. For example, the role of quality management in circular design was discussed. How does an idea become a marketable solution? And when along the entire value chain do we need to talk about quality? One answer: Actually, always. And it was also shown that the Circular Economy offers opportunities for many new business models. Who would have thought, for example, that a business could develop from renting out lying minutes on mattresses?

Another finding from the workshop on "Quality in Education": It is increasingly a matter of imparting skills instead of pure knowledge. This means that the requirements for personal certification, for example, are changing. This should therefore not remain static; the 360° assessment is likely to become the method of choice in the future.

Some philosophy at the end

Yves Bossart's lecture was the philosophical conclusion. It revolved around the question of how humans should deal with change. "Change was yesterday, today it's acceleration," Bossart stated right at the beginning. Instead of saving time, new technologies are leading people to live in shorter and shorter cycles: relationships are getting shorter, including the duration of employment relationships. "Everything flows," Bossart said, referring to the ancient philosopher Heraclitus, who coined the phrase. While life is a miracle, it is also "an imposition" with ever-new challenges, Bossart continued. He recommended stoic composure as an attitude against this: to be content with what is at the moment. A good dose of humor also helps in dealing with change. With all the uncertainty that the future brings, philosophy can help, for example with Socrates: "I know that I know nothing," because ignorance is the normal state of people. Last but not least, human beings are nevertheless very capable of change, as the Corona pandemic has also shown. "Suddenly you have to get used to not wearing a mask on public transport again," says Bossart. And if nothing works at all anymore, Bossart recommends something Seneca: Be a friend to yourself. This was a good way to get back to the theme of the conference: "Quality tomorrow" also includes a lot of care for personal quality of life...

Further information: www.saq.ch

Tide Ocean SA from Basel is honored with the Swiss Ethics Award. With its innovative approaches, the Swiss company contributes to solving the plastic pollution of the world's oceans. 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually, only 9% are recycled, more than 8 million tons end up in the world's oceans. Tide Ocean operates a complete value chain for upcycled ocean plastic and is particularly involved in Southeast Asia, the region with the highest rate of plastic waste.

Fishermen who used to live as sea nomads from fishing and can no longer continue this traditional lifestyle today receive a price well above the market from Tide Ocean for collecting plastic and thus a new source of income. Social enterprises sort and process the plastic waste. The workers employed there receive social security, training and, in some cases, housing. The soiled plastic is reprocessed by a worldwide award-winning process into a fully usable and versatile raw material. The granulate is sold to customers in the plastic processing industry and flows back into the material cycle in the form of durable products. The production of the recyclate is more environmentally friendly than the production of new plastic and causes three times less CO2 emissions. Wherever possible, Tide Ocean relies on renewable energy in the value chain. If the use of fossil energy forms cannot be avoided, the CO2 emissions caused are compensated for through reforestation projects.

By seamlessly encompassing the entire value chain, the company has an ecologically and socially holistic and internationally scalable business model that is committed to ethics in an exemplary sense. These were the reasons for the jury to award Tide Ocean with the Swiss Ethics Award. With the Swiss Ethics Award, the Swiss Excellence Forum honors projects that set new ethical standards in the field of business. Also nominated were Energie 360° AG, Hunziker Partner AG, Recycling-Paradies AG and Yourharvest AG.

Source and further information: Swiss Excellence Forum

18,531 trade visitors to Control 2022 finally experienced QA developments from the fields of vision technology, image processing, sensor technology, and measuring and testing technology again in Stuttgart - up to date, live and present. 617 exhibitors showed solution innovations and efficient QS cutting-edge technologies on nearly 23,000 square meters in six halls from May 3 to 6, 2022 in Stuttgart. "It's great that we can exhibit at Control again after two years without," said Gerhard Mohr, managing director of Kapp Niles Metrology GmbH in Großostheim. "It's gratifying to see that the trade visitors are arriving again, that the attendance fairs are picking up speed again and that we're getting a bit closer to the old reality." Georg Gutsch, area sales manager at Kapp Niles reinforced this statement, adding, "Face-to-face exchange simply has many great advantages that are not even possible with online formats."

Hubert Meintrup, Advisor New Technology at Matrix Automations GmbH in Ostfildern, also expressed his relief at finally being visible again to interested parties and users in the industry. "We are happy to be here again." Matthias Ruf, head of sales at the SKZ Plastics Center in Würzburg, Germany, was equally pleased. "For us, Control was successful from the very first day of the fair, with great interest on the part of visitors," Ruf explained. "We are happy to be able to present ourselves here as SKZ in a professional manner."

Control 2022: Finally live again!

For the 2022 industry highlight, 31 percent of exhibitors came from abroad; six percent of exhibitors came from Switzerland, four percent from Italy, three percent from the USA, and a good two percent of exhibitors came from the UK. Fabian Krüger, Control project manager, expressly thanked every exhibitor, including the trade show teams, for making the Control restart a reality. Bettina Schall, Managing Director of trade fair promoter P. E. Schall, also expressed her delight and satisfaction: "This trade fair was awaited with great anticipation, with excitement, and with the best mood in the run-up to the event. Because we all missed the personal exchange, the expert discussion at eye level, the real experience of the plants with all our senses. Fortunately, this is now possible again!"

Fast, precise and inline

Control is regarded as a pacesetter in quality assurance and provides trade visitors with everything they need to score points in international competition with excellent QA in manufacturing. In all the halls, it was consistently noticeable that there is a huge demand for personal exchanges on new developments. In the past three years since the last Control, quality inspection and quality assurance have taken on a new importance due to growing automation and digitalization, non-contact processes and remote services, small batch sizes, zero-defect manufacturing and data analysis. Therefore, news around measuring and testing technology, materials testing, analysis equipment, vision technology, image processing, sensor technology as well as weighing and counting technology were eagerly awaited. Above all, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) processes also met with great interest. The fact that AI has long since arrived in production and significantly simplifies QA processes could be experienced in many places. Even small industrial companies can realize a simple entry into AI support, as demonstrated, for example, by Dr. Dominik Lausch from Denkweit GmbH in Halle together with Marvin Krebs from Xactools in Bönnigheim. Measurement processes have to be increasingly fast, and they have to be more and more reliable. AI-supported methods provide support in this regard. One of the current topics is that measuring, testing and inspection processes are an integrated part of the manufacturing processes. Instead of taking place in specially created measuring environments, inspection processes are instead taking place in environments with dust and vibrations as well as under time pressure, resulting in new challenges for measuring machines and inspection equipment. "We are increasingly working on this," confirmed Dr. Heike Wenzel, Managing Partner of the Wenzel Group, who was also excited to finally be back live in Stuttgart.

Next Control in May 2023

On an international scale, Control is the most interesting and also the largest trade fair on the subject of quality assurance. With top-class events accompanying the trade show with the renowned research institutes of the Fraunhofer Institute, Fraunhofer Allianz Vision and Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), as well as the special show "Contactless Measuring Technology", Control is traditionally a firmly established marketplace of innovations. The next Control - International Trade Fair for Quality Assurance - will take place from May 9 to 12, 2023.

Further information: www.control-messe.de

According to the latest "KPMG Forensic Fraud Barometer", Swiss courts dealt with 68 cases of white-collar crime in 2021. The total damage of CHF 567 million, including a CHF 300 million case, was 37 percent higher than in the previous year. The actual figures are likely to be much higher, as many cases are not even reported. Each year, KPMG's Forensic Fraud Barometer records the court cases that have been publicly heard and published in the media. The cases taken into account are those with an offense amount of more than CHF 50,000.

Public institutions most frequently affected by white-collar crime

With 25 out of a total of 68 cases heard by the courts, public institutions were particularly frequently targeted by white-collar criminals. In seven cases, there were convictions related to illegally obtained Covid 19 loans. "I expect that we will see more such cases in the next editions of our Fraud Barometer due to a delayed effect," explains Anne van Heerden, Head of Forensics at KPMG.

The second most court cases related to white-collar crime involved commercial companies - with a loss amount of CHF 134 million. Financial institutions were affected as victims in only three cases, with a single fraud case accounting for more than half of the total loss for 2021 at CHF 300 million.

Private individuals were the largest group of offenders

Commercial fraudsters were replaced by private individuals as the largest group of offenders in 2021. This group accounted for 23 out of 68 of all negotiated white-collar offenses, or one third. The average offense amount was around CHF 700,000. With 18 cases with a total offense amount of more than CHF 123 million, employees in executive functions ("management") were the second-largest offender group. The average amount of crime per case was almost CHF 7 million, which is around ten times higher than for the perpetrator group of private individuals.

"The crime amounts caused by management are generally higher than for private individuals or employees. On the one hand, this group of offenders often has inside information, and on the other hand, they are in a strong position to use this information for criminal purposes," explains Anne van Heerden.

Most cases in Zurich, largest in Bellinzona

Zurich was the region most affected by white-collar crime last year: with 22 out of 68 cases, this region accounted for just under a third of the crimes tried - compared with eight in the previous year. In the Lake Geneva region, which recorded the most white-collar crimes in the previous year with 19, only six cases were tried in 2021.

The largest cases of white-collar crime were heard at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, including the largest case with an offense amount of CHF 300 million. The average offense amount of the largest six cases was over CHF 70 million. Even excluding the largest offense or damage amount of CHF 300 million, the average offense amounts heard in Bellinzona were many times higher than in the other regions.

(Social) insurance fraud most common offenses

The most frequent type of offense in 2021 was (social) insurance fraud, with 20 cases, which was litigated much more frequently compared to the previous year (2020: 8 cases). This is partly due to the seven fraud cases related to Covid 19 loans mentioned earlier. "White-collar criminals try to exploit new legal frameworks and loopholes in the system immediately and specifically for their own purposes," says forensic scientist Anne van Heerden. "Unsurprisingly, this was also the case with Covid 19 loans." Also on the rise last year were court cases involving fraud. In these cases, perpetrators convince the victim to make an advance payment under false pretenses, for example, but the payment is not followed by the agreed-upon or promised service.

Source and further information: KPMG