Practical, close to standards, simple

The operation of Axpo's grids is ensured by the energy and grid control centre in Baden. The control center is responsible for controlling and monitoring grids and power plants. "Quality issues are the be-all and end-all for us - and in view of market liberalization and globalization, they have to be reviewed almost daily," says Karl Peter, Head of Quality Management. Accordingly, Axpo Netze operates a comprehensive QM system, including in the areas of the environment and occupational health and safety.

Systematization has been improved
For a long time, a whole series of Excel ad hoc solutions formed the basis for Q management. "Even though many of them worked well, there was potential for improvement in terms of systematics," says Karl Peter. In addition, the pressure to replace the system with a modern software solution increased due to the regular certification processes and the important requirements of compliance with standards and verifiability.

"That's why we started evaluating various external products at the beginning of 2014, and also considered developing our own," reports the Q manager. We were looking for software that was easy to use, adaptable and efficient. "Proximity to the solution developers was also a criterion, in order to enable adaptation to our needs through parameterization," adds Dominik Suter, Head of Procurement at Axpo Netze. "The often overloaded and cumbersome competitor products had a hard time right from the start against the TQM software Improve, which impressed us early on with its simplicity," says Karl Peter. Improve met all the requirements and was also convincing in terms of its price-performance ratio, so that in mid-2014 a contract was signed with the manufacturer Synprovis from Eich.

Simple steps to productive application
The simplicity of Improve was reflected in its rapid implementation. All operating screens are structured identically, memorable and recognizable in the steps capture - decide - do - improve. The training of the administrator took four hours, users were instructed in only half an hour. "The fact that the software developers at Synprovis train personally was a positive factor," explains Dominik Suter. The fact that no complexity hurdles arose during the migration to the new TQM tool and that the familiar terminology could be mapped also made an important contribution to the internal acceptance of Improve.

Of the 290 employees at Axpo Netze, no fewer than 100 are regularly involved with QM issues and consequently with Improve, across all hierarchical levels. "With Improve, our quality management has clearly become more widespread," says Karl Peter.

Axpo Net-ze is sticking to efficiency-enhancing features of the software, among others:

• Web-based is close to the user - information acquisition directly at the event location, not at a central office;
• structure and freedom - selectable number of mandatory fields in consistently comparable masks on the one hand, good adaptability and input fields in free text on the other, which is very much appreciated by the users;
• Error culture changed - Improve fosters a positive view of errors as a source of learning; error and feedback culture have developed favourably;
• Transparency increased - the depth of information has increased massively, for example, relevant statements on error costs are now possible. Thanks to consolidated evaluations at the push of a button, transparency and clarity are ensured, e.g. through management reviews.

Wide range of applications

• Thanks to consistently recorded customer reports Axpo Netze achieves quantifiable feedback for triggering and monitoring improvements. The term "customer reports" is used deliberately because not only the "customer complaints" provided for in the tool are recorded, but also positive customer feedback. Compared to the past, noticeably more participants generate significantly more messages.
• During the 20 to 25 audits per year In the meantime, Improve has become an indispensable and reliable support and facilitator in occupational safety, occupational and environmental management. "We now have the tool to cover and verify standard requirements," explains Karl Peter. The software also maps the developments of ISO 9001 well and quickly, and new standards can be implemented quickly.

"We displine ourselves."

Standards are quickly implemented. Environmental management is central to the entire Axpo Group; just think of the virtually CO2-free Axpo electricity mix and the strategic commitment to "sustainability as a business model". This group attitude naturally also demands exemplary environmental management from Axpo Netze, for which the TQM software creates perfect conditions.

• In the area of receivables management Axpo Netze has become active itself. "This is not a module, but was developed in-house," says Dominik Suter. It is now possible to quantify receivables from and to customers or suppliers because the services behind them are recorded. "We discipline ourselves with this," says Karl Peter. Applications initiated by customers are proof of how easy it is to develop masks in Improve.
• Risk management is a central issue in the Axpo Group; major risks are managed at Group level. At Axpo Networks level, downstream risks have already been transferred to Im-prove, such as supplier dependency, waste disposal and bad debt losses. In this area of application, the circle of users is narrower because special expertise is required and the tool can be described more as an expert module.

Developer contact instead of hotline
"Synprovis and Improve - that's proximity in every respect," says Q-Manager Peter happily. It is appreciated that one does not solve tickets at a hotline, but finds solutions in contact with software developers. The annual customer conference in Eich also serves to promote an intensive exchange with users. "In this way, we pursue the same goals as with the software itself, namely greater transparency and noticeable simplifications," emphasizes Synprovis CEO Hubert Geisseler.