Economic risk handling
Reed Electronics AG develops, produces and sells sensors for liquid monitoring and high-tech devices for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Since 2015, the leading SME from Schachen LU has successfully relied on the QM software "Improve" to efficiently cover risk management and other tasks.
Reed combines precision craftsmanship with in-depth knowledge in the business areas of sensor technology, health technology and project engineering to operate successfully worldwide. "Both our solutions and our products are Swiss made, everything is made in Schachen," says Markus Stofer, Assistant CEO and Quality Manager. Reed is the fastest-growing company in its sector in Switzerland. "One of our trump cards is our attractive production depth," explains Markus Stofer. Since 2009, the company has had its own research and development department, which has decisively strengthened Reed's innovative power.
Focus on Health Technology
Reed was founded in 1986 by the current owner and CEO Thomas Christen. Individual solutions for the measurement and level monitoring of various liquids were initially the focus of the company's performance. A correspondingly wide range of float switches, suction lances, level sensors, etc. is still in demand worldwide today. "However, our focus has shifted towards health technology, where global players in the biotech, pharma and med-tech sectors are among Reed's customers," explains the Q manager. The core here is liquid transfer, where Reed products and solutions guarantee sterile tube welding in a non-sterile environment. With in-house developments such as the Biowelder TC®, the company has set a standard and enables users to save an enormous amount of time in the manufacturing process.
Risk management fully integrated
"In the highly dynamic environment of health technology, equipment, products and processes are subject to complex quality control," Markus Stofer explains. As a result of the standards, the risk-based approach came into focus in 2015. When Reed became acquainted with the Improve web software, which
risk management in the overall context of quality management, they were enthusiastic about the conceptual idea. The risk management module can be linked to all 17 existing input screens and modules of the software. "In addition, due to growth, many of our paper-based processes with templates and Excel spreadsheets were no longer time-appropriate anyway," says the quality manager.
Reed handles all corporate risks via Improve and evaluates them annually. The four elements of the end-to-end software structure "record, decide, do, improve" can also be found in the risk management module:
- Identification and analysis
- Evaluation and classification
- Risk management measures
- Monitoring
"What is particularly valuable for us is that the entire risk portfolio, and thus also
changes in risk can be displayed graphically," Markus Stofer is pleased to say. Graphics created in the tool remain consistently linked to the original reports, so that one click is enough to make the history and origin of a risk visible. "This simplifies everyday work considerably and also makes reporting more efficient," says the Q manager. In addition, the tool requires clear responsibilities and personnel assignments for risks and their remediation. "Loss of information is a thing of the past, transparency is significantly increased, and all this with a web software that is practically self-explanatory," says the Reed Q manager with satisfaction. The fact that Improve also simplifies the preparation and execution of audits is an additional welcome effect.
From suggestion schemes to test equipment
Reed also uses the QM software on a broad scale beyond risk management. For example, in the suggestion system, where employees used to report their ideas for improvement on a form. Since Improve was introduced, the system has been used extensively, resulting in more than 50 reports a year, with a high implementation rate of 60 % - 80 %. "This is a real motivational kick for employees," says Markus Stofer. In the previous paper-based process, a lot of things got bogged down, which is radically different today.
In the past, the testing and operating resources were managed in list form on a SharePoint server. The switch to Improve, and thus to the central management of these resources, noticeably relieves the Reed employees in the search for and management of all information. The timely inspection is guaranteed and can be viewed at any time, the certificates are stored electronically and can be retrieved immediately.
The Improve Knowledge and Competencies module is designed to meet the 2015 ISO standard requirement to manage knowledge as a resource. At Reed, the level of knowledge of employees is reviewed in the annual reviews. This results in employee-related learning plans or company training plans. In addition, it is determined in which specialist areas an employee can teach other employees relevant content. The term "knowledge" is defined broadly in this context; knowledge domains include, for example, knowledge about customers, about products, and technical and methodological knowledge. "Overall, the module strengthens our understanding that knowledge is a value and success factor in its own right," comments Markus Stofer.
Proven model
"We made the right decision with Improve," says CEO Thomas Christen. The basic model "ERP plus modern QM special solution" has now proven itself in Reed's day-to-day business for almost four years and has brought many efficiency improvements. The centralisation of tasks, the stringent monitoring of deadlines for pending tasks via automated reminder e-mails and the high level of acceptance among employees are particularly noteworthy, says the company manager. What also stands out for Markus Stofer is the rapid assistance provided by the software company Syn- provis in the event of change requests. "You notice that the software developer is also the project manager - this leads to the customer proximity that we want.
