Digitality at the centre
The "Swiss Quality Day", held on 10 May 2017 by the SAQ (Swiss Association for Quality) and SQS (Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems) in the Kursaal Bern, provided contemporary answers to the Digital Transformation under the title "New Dimensions of Quality".
This year's "Swiss Quality Day" was attended by over 340 participants, including many quality managers, business representatives and specialists. Digital technologies and potentials for Swiss products and services were explored in highly interesting presentations and discussions. Xaver Edelmann, SQS President, emphasised right at the start of the event: "Digitality is everywhere - in the Federal Government, at the World Economic Forum, in think tanks and finally also in quality management areas." Quality in times of digital transformation challenges not only the attitude towards networked processes, but also human skills.
What keeps us together?
The introduction to the "Swiss Quality Day" already started with a thought-provoking message. Joël Luc Cachelin, book author and think-tank expert, said: "It is our mission to increase the interconnectedness of the universe. The expert discussed three dimen-sions:
1. We are all part of the network
2. We network with things
3. We operate machine-to-machine communication - where machines learn much faster than humans
The speaker stressed that we should not be afraid of a developing human-machine symbiosis. On the contrary: Digitization increases the quality of life, improves "our social mission", and allows us to better shape many things, for example, social potentials such as the sharing economy, smart technologies, comparison portals or co-working spaces.
Innovative services?
Josef Maushart, CEO of Fraisa Holding SA, explained that the programming of factory areas leads to greater efficiency and expertise. Until a few years ago, Fraisa ran a 3-shift operation with auxiliary staff. Nowadays, nationwide ERP and manless set-up cycles make work easier. The more than 500 employees of Fraisa SA now work specifically on weekdays; over the weekend, highly digitalized machines "take over" the production of precision tools.
Digital innovation also requires mutual trust and a positive readiness for change - possibly, as Joël Luc Cachelin suggests, "intercultural and structural deficiencies" are needed to drive high performance and the pursuit of excellence.
During a roundtable interview, João Lourenço, Head of Marketing Communication Strategy Swisscom, and Dipl. El. Ing. Jörg Halter, EMBA & Project Management, provided practical insights. They agreed on one point: "Where there are no more technical limits, people must not fall by the wayside".
Digital innovation also requires mutual trust and a positive readiness for change - possibly, as Joël Luc Cachelin suggests, "intercultural and structural deficiencies" are needed to drive high performance and the pursuit of excellence.
During a roundtable interview, João Lourenço, Head of Marketing Communication Strategy Swisscom, and Dipl. El. Ing. Jörg Halter, EMBA & Project Management, provided practical insights. They agreed on one point: "Where there are no more technical limits, people must not fall by the wayside".
Spam and attention
The event conveyed a great deal of interdisciplinary knowledge through speakers such as Gerald Winz from the University of Kempten, who reported on intercultural stumbling blocks, through speakers such as Bettina Hübscher from the HSLU, and last but not least through the best-selling author and power speaker Anitra Eggler, who dealt with flexible forms of work and behaviour.
Anitra Eggler once again made clear how distracted and one-sided the mobile society acts and works. She even provoked with the thesis that "the digital revolution is already over", if one takes a closer look at the dominating, but "toxically one-sided" offers of internet players like Google and Co. (For more on the topic "enslaved by mobile phones, driven by e-mails", see the interview with Anitra Eggler in the 05/2017 issue of Management und Qualität).
Ruedi Lustenberger, SAQ President, concluded the highly interesting and stimulating event by saying that Swiss solidity and Swiss entrepreneurship mean "unity in diversity". The SAQ President expressed his sincere thanks to the popular TV presenter Eva Wannenmacher for moderating the event, as well as to the members of the association who had come from all parts of the country.
