Martin Pauer new Marketing Director of Huawei CBG Switzerland

Martin Pauer, a native of Vienna, was previously responsible for product and brand communications for Huawei in Germany as Director Marketing Communications. With 2022, Martin Pauer now leads the marketing and PR agendas of Huawei CBG Switzerland. "I am very much looking forward to bringing new product innovations from Huawei to life in Switzerland together with our motivated team and strong local partners [...]

Editorial - March 1, 2022

Martin Pauer, born in Vienna, was previously responsible for product and brand communications for Huawei in Germany as Director Marketing Communications. Martin Pauer will now head the marketing and PR agendas of Huawei CBG Switzerland from 2022. "I am very much looking forward to working with our motivated team and strong local partners to bring Huawei's new product innovations to life in Switzerland," says Pauer. "We have big plans and want to continue to grow, particularly in the areas of sport and health as well as smart office." In addition to many years of industry and management experience, Martin Pauer can also look back on successes as a founder and in establishing pan-European partnerships in the consumer electronics sector. Among other things, he worked for the Manpower Group and Samsung Electronics in Austria. Martin Pauer has been working for Huawei since 2018, most recently as Director Marketing Communications in Germany.

Take ad hoc action plans against threat of cyberattacks

After the number and frequency of cyberattacks against organizations and companies has grown very strongly in recent months, the threat situation is likely to intensify further in the coming weeks and months. This is because the sanctions that Western countries have hit and are likely to hit Russia are not likely to remain without consequences. "It [...]

Editorial - March 1, 2022

In connection with the war in Ukraine, there is a threat of increased cyber attacks. Companies should therefore make action plans to defend against them. (Image: iStockPhoto.com / PeopleImages)

After the number and frequency of cyberattacks against organizations and companies has grown very strongly in recent months, the threat situation is likely to intensify further in the coming weeks and months. This is because the sanctions that Western countries have hit and are likely to hit Russia are not likely to be without consequences. "There is a great danger that Russia will take measures against the Western states for its part," warns Bettina Zimmermann, crisis manager and CEO of GU Sicherheit & Partner AG in Wil/SG. According to security experts, cyber attacks are also likely to be increasingly directed against critical infrastructures. However, the NCSC - as of March 1, 2022 - currently sees no increase in threatening activities in cyberspace that directly affect our country. However, untargeted attacks that arise as a side effect of cyber operations surrounding the Ukraine war are possible, it says. Nevertheless, security experts recommend that companies update their action plans against the threat of cyberattacks.

Counterattacks by hackers

In particular, companies and organizations that are not equipped with advanced protection against massive cyberattacks become easily surmountable targets for hackers. Hybrid warfare by Russia in Ukraine is a fire accelerant for additional hacking attacks, according to cybersecurity experts. In the process, waves of hacker attacks of all kinds, as an asymmetric response to anti-war embargoes by the West, can threaten not only companies counted as critical infrastructure, but potentially all companies with little or no preparation. "The threat situation is expected to intensify in the coming days and weeks," fears André Tauber, CEO of IT security service provider Connectware. "One reason for this will be the expected counterattacks by hackers aimed at retaliating against the sanctions imposed by the EU, USA and other Western countries." Now that Switzerland has also joined these sanctions, the risk of being targeted by actions from cyberspace is increasing in this country as well.

With a SIEM system, for example, anomalies in user and machine behavior can be detected using machine learning. (Image: Connectware)

Ad hoc action plans against cyberattacks in five steps

Bettina Zimmermann therefore recommends that companies review and optimize their cybersecurity now. IT security service providers such as the aforementioned Connectware suggest implementing action plans that include the following steps:

Make employees aware not to click on links or attachments that are suspicious
Check firewall policies and possibly make more restrictive settings
Create backups of the systems
Perform vulnerability scan and close security gaps
Monitor the IT infrastructure and check for anomalies to detect attacks

Threats from cyberspace are now considered by companies to be the Top risks counted. But not only that: Companies are also particularly afraid of production downtimes, as the latest Allianz Risk Barometer found, for example. This is why business continuity management is becoming even more important. It is therefore recommended not only to make action plans for cyber defense, but also to review contingency plans in case of failure of business-critical processes. And: "Think in terms of worst-case scenarios, then you will be well prepared for less bad things," says crisis manager Bettina Zimmermann. Sources: GU Security & Partner Connectware

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ad-hoc-aktionsplaene-gegen-drohende-cyberangriffe-ergreifen/

Noord designs the brand for Digital Administration Switzerland

The federal government and the cantons have joined forces for the digital transformation of administrations, as an organization under the name "Digital Administration Switzerland" or DMS for short. DVS has been operational since January 2022 and shapes the strategic management and coordination of the digitization activities of the federal government, cantons and municipalities. For the new brand and corporate design of the Digital [...]

Editorial - 28 February 2022

The Confederation and the cantons have joined forces for the digital transformation of public administrations as an organization under the name "Digital Administration Switzerland" (DVS). The DVS has been operational since January 2022 and is responsible for the strategic management and coordination of the digitalization activities of the Confederation, cantons and municipalities. The Noord agency is responsible for the new brand and corporate design of Digital Administration Switzerland. The new brand is intended to represent the values of DVS and stand for digitalization and progress. The branding concept includes a trilingual logo, new colors and fonts, as well as an image concept. The logo combines various aspects: the "CH" and the inverted cross for Switzerland and a reference to pixels for digitalization. If the logo is animated, it also symbolizes the merger of eGovernment Switzerland and the Swiss Conference on Informatics (SIK). The core topics of the Swiss Digital Administration are presented with new illustrations and used on various channels. The new branding is particularly effective on the website, where animated elements are also used in some cases. Noord also created templates for brochures and office applications.

Website of the DVS digital-administration-switzerland.ch

Innovation project for Swiss Army: Ruag relies on CSA Engineering

As part of Ruag's Innovation Accelerator program, CSA Engineering is one of five start-ups and small companies that are supporting the technology group as a partner in an innovation project within the "Digitization of the Armed Forces" initiative. In the current innovation project, the feasibility of data aggregation using system-independent, secured sensors for predictive maintenance ("Predictive Maintenance") on the Infantry Fighting Vehicle 2000 was demonstrated. In [...]

Editorial - 25 February 2022

Ruag relies on SME CSA Engineering for an innovation project related to predictive maintenance in the Swiss Army. (Image: Unsplash.com)

As part of Ruag's Innovation Accelerator program, CSA Engineering is one of five start-ups and small companies that are supporting the technology group as a partner in an innovation project within the "Digitization of the Armed Forces" initiative. In the current innovation project, the feasibility of data aggregation by means of system-independent, secured sensors for predictive maintenance ("Predictive Maintenance") was demonstrated on the Infantry Fighting Vehicle 2000. In the next step of the project, the concept will be validated and the focus will be placed in particular on the evaluation of the data using AI algorithms.

Data-based maintenance concepts

Modern maintenance concepts identify optimized maintenance times based on sensor data and digital analytics. This requires meaningful data on the system status and system usage. This data is aggregated with a sensor module and forwarded securely for further evaluation. Optimized, plannable maintenance results in increased system availability. This can be optimized by means of analytics-based maintenance approaches using statistical methods or AI. CSA Engineering has developed a new module for this purpose, with which meaningful data can be collected with selected sensors, temporarily stored and securely read out at predefined positions via a wireless connection.

Innovation project: Ideas for the safety of tomorrow

Ruag offers selected start-ups and small companies in the newly created RIO (Ruag Innovation Organization) division an innovation platform with a strong academic link, technical expertise and an established business network. Together, innovative ideas are developed to increase Switzerland's security. By involving start-ups and small companies in selected initiatives, the company is able to bring innovations to market faster and secure critical technologies in the long term. Partners of the innovation platform benefit from the infrastructure and know-how. In a protected environment with a secure working environment, the partners develop new value propositions and innovations together. In addition, the innovation partners have access to RUAG's development and production infrastructure - including implementation and professional support from experts. Source: www.csa.ch

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/innovationsprojekt-fuer-schweizer-armee-ruag-setzt-auf-csa-engineering/

New strategy at Conforama

m&k: Martin Koncilja, where do you currently see the most important challenges in your functional area? Martin Koncilja: In furniture and electronics retail, we are in a very competitive market with many competitors. On the one hand, there are the stationary retailers, and on the other hand, there are the online pure players. With my marketing measures, I have to [...]

Editorial - 25 February 2022

Martin Koncilja is Marketing and E-Commerce Director at Conforama Switzerland. (Image: zVg.)

m&k: Martin Koncilja, where do you currently see the most important challenges in your functional area? Martin Koncilja: In furniture and electronics retail, we are in a very competitive market with many competitors. On the one hand, there are the brick-and-mortar retailers and, on the other, the online pure players. With my marketing measures, I have to increase the frequency in our 22 stores and bring new customers to our online store Conforama.ch. Are there any developments in marketing at the moment that you are keeping a particular eye on? The development in retail is clearly moving in the direction of cross- and omni-channel. The best possible link between brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce is also a major concern for me, and this is where I place my focus. You now also use the Swiss Brand Observer for market monitoring. What needs at Conforama led to this, and why did you choose this tool in particular? In the retail business, everything has to happen quickly, and since Link launched with this great product in September 2021, the timing was perfect for me to jump on the already moving train right away. In order for me to quickly develop Conforama Switzerland's new marketing strategy, I need to know exactly how well Conforama is known and what its image is in Switzerland and in the various language regions at all times. And this is exactly where the Swiss Brand Observer can provide me with important insights, as it continuously shows me how well known our brand is, how our communication and advertising measures are perceived, and in which image attributes our strengths lie. Has the SBO already been able to provide initial insights, and how do you derive added value from the SBO? The fact that the data is updated weekly and representatively in the SBO gave us the opportunity to quickly and effectively see how Conforama customers and non-customers perceive us and our latest advertising measures. I have already been able to present these very important findings to the management and define initial measures to strengthen our brand image. As I said, there is no time to lose in retail, and we need to permanently know the consumer's point of view, as it is a highly competitive environment. Can you please summarize again the three strengths of the SBO? Every week, you get the latest market data on the perception of your own brand and competitors, the results can be filtered as you wish (e.g. by region or income) and using the dashboard is child's play.

You can find more information about the Swiss Brand Observer at Swiss-brand-observer.ch.

What does "Brag List" actually mean?

You don't have one? Then you are either a woman or very cool. Or both. Brag list is derived from the English "to brag", which means "to boast", "to show off" or "to do important". In (antiquated) German, it's called Prahlhans, not Prahljohanna, because men just seem to have it down. For people who suffer from the Impostor Syndrome [...]

Editorial - February 24, 2022

You don't have one? Then you are either a woman or very cool. Or both. Brag-List is derived from the English "to brag", which means "to boast", "to show off" or "to act important". In (antiquated) German, we speak of Prahlhans and not Prahljohanna, because men just seem to have it down pat. A brag list is helpful for people who suffer from impostor syndrome and constantly question their own abilities. Unfortunately, these are often women, because bragging tends to be seen as attractive self-confidence in men, but tends to be interpreted as inappropriate bitching and aggressive behavior in women. High time to clear this up. But not before we briefly explain why this is the case. Franziska Schutzbach gets to the heart of the matter in her current bestseller "Die Erschöpfung der Frauen" (Women's Exhaustion): women are still often brought up to make less of a name for themselves. We experience the consequences of this every day in meetings and brainstorming sessions when their ideas fail due to an unconscious bias on the part of everyone (men and women) or - even worse - are adopted by men, customers and bosses without reference to the source. This changes when you keep a brag list.

Cheat sheet to show off

The idea is gender-neutral, but software developer Julia Evans still describes the method as "career gold for women". She even includes a template in her blog on how to create a brag list. The idea that good work automatically earns recognition is naive. The practice is much more complicated and frustrating. Something like this: You do something important or great, only to find out later that others are rewarded for it. This usually happens because people have not understood or do not want to remember who is behind it. Women can tell you a thing or two about this. Agencies too. When the client declares their ideas to be their own. So would you rather brag than complain? Why not. The first step is to document everything that has been achieved. On a brag list, that is. Because otherwise it will be forgotten, especially by people with low self-esteem. So instead of getting annoyed afterwards when yet another braggart gets the credit, it's better to pull out the list at the crucial moment and be ready. But even cooler: don't keep a list and just do your own thing with confidence.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

The ISO becomes 75

ISO turns 75: When ISO held its first meeting in 1947, countries around the world were in reconstruction. People at the time were looking for ways to turn a bad situation into something positive. "With courage and enthusiasm, they set out to find the most efficient techniques for promoting the most effective technology. The [...]

Editorial - February 24, 2022

The ISO — View of Geneva, where the world standards organization ISO is headquartered. (Image: Pixabay.com)

ISO turns 75: When ISO held its first meeting in 1947, countries around the world were in reconstruction. People at the time were looking for ways to turn a bad situation into something positive. "With courage and enthusiasm, they set out to find the most efficient techniques to promote the most effective technology. The answer they found was ISO standards," the International Organization for Standardization, as ISO is known by its full name, writes today. In its 75 years of existence, the organization has become the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards. It is a network of national standards bodies from 167 countries with a central secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.

Under the spell of rapid change

But Ulrika Francke, president of ISO, doesn't just look back at the organization's history. "Today, our world is facing the greatest challenges of all time. We will continue to work to promote the benefits of standards and develop new ones when needed, using our proven system of transparency and international consensus," she is quoted as saying. And ISO Secretary General Sergio Mujica also says: "As we celebrate the achievements of the past 75 years, we look to the future. The pace of change has continued to accelerate, and ISO is helping to drive and guide that evolution."

ISO standards are now part of everyday life

When the organization was founded, it was not just about overcoming technical challenges, but about a new way of working together. The ISO system was created based on the idea that every voice must be heard if we are to find a way to live and work together successfully. Today, 24197 ISO standards are proof of the success of this idea. They cover everything from the fundamental aspects of the built world to the cloud technology that allows you to read this. Over the last 75 years, ISO standards have become integrated into almost every aspect of our lives. ISO standards are voluntary and not regulations or laws, although countries may decide to adopt the standards developed by ISO as regulations or refer to them in legislation. More information: www.iso.org

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/die-iso-wird-75/

Koch sets a double point for EKT

Founded in 1912, the "Elektrizitätswerk des Kantons Thurgau" has been supplying Thurgau with energy for over a century. Over the years, in addition to the areas of grids, energy and production & buildings, a further business area "Digital Services" has been added. This increasingly important business area was to be reflected in the new branding. The data division needed a corresponding [...] in its appearance.

Editorial - February 24, 2022

Founded in 1912, the "Elektrizitätswerk des Kantons Thurgau" has been supplying Thurgau with energy for over a century. Over the years, in addition to the areas of grids, energy and production & buildings, a further business area "Digital Services" has been added. This increasingly important business area was to be reflected in the new branding.

The data area needed an appropriate place in the appearance. At the same time, the brand's overall appearance was to become louder, more modern and more meaningful. The Koch agency designed and implemented the desired change together with the client.

Responsible at EKT: Marc Senn (Marketing and Sales Manager), Dominique Lambert (Communications Specialist / Content Marketing Manager). Responsible agency: Agencychef.ch.

Aviation safety: 100 years of Swiss air traffic control

Without air traffic control, today's dense air traffic would probably be in complete chaos. Skyguide is responsible for aviation safety in Switzerland. With its 1500 employees at 14 locations, it ensures safe, efficient and sustainable air traffic management in Switzerland and the neighboring areas of neighboring countries, which is probably the busiest airspace [...]

Editorial - 23 February 2022

Swiss air traffic control — Air traffic control in Switzerland is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Pictured: View from the tower at Zurich Airport in 1970 (Photo: Skyguide)

Without air traffic control, today's dense air traffic would probably be in complete chaos. Skyguide is responsible for aviation safety in Switzerland. With its 1,500 employees at 14 locations, it ensures safe, efficient and sustainable air traffic management in Switzerland and the neighboring areas of neighboring countries, probably the busiest airspace in Europe.

In the beginning there was Guglielmo Marconi

This year, air traffic control in Switzerland celebrates its 100th anniversary. It all started with Marconi Radio AG, a subsidiary of the company of inventor and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. It was founded a hundred years ago, on February 23, 1922, to develop wireless telegraphy - the birth of Swiss air traffic control. On May 10, 1928, the company name was changed to Radio Schweiz AG to emphasize its Swiss character. And on January 1, 1931, the Swiss Confederation entrusted Radio Schweiz with the provision of air traffic control services in Switzerland. Since then, aviation has undergone a great development. In the second half of the last century, the airplane was able to establish itself worldwide as an efficient means of mass transportation for passengers and freight.

Air traffic control made today's development of aviation possible

Another decisive factor was the technological development of air traffic control, which used communication, navigation and monitoring systems to ensure flying at all times of day and in practically all weather conditions. In 1987, most of the non-aviation-related business of Radio Schweiz AG was transferred or sold to Swiss Post and private companies and the rest was subsequently transferred to Swisscontrol. Skyguide was founded in 2001 following a Federal Council decision with the aim of integrating civil and military air navigation services. The company is majority-owned by the Swiss Confederation and has its headquarters in Geneva. "Aviation has undergone fundamental development over the last 100 years. In the coming years, we will be implementing innovative solutions such as the Virtual Center, which will continue to have a significant impact on air navigation services in the future," says Alex Bristol, CEO of Skyguide. Skyguide is now celebrating this centenary with various activities throughout the year: With simple local events at skyguide's 14 locations in Switzerland for employees and the media, through a publication and with a YouTube series and social media campaigns that bring the day-to-day work and services of air navigation services closer. Source and further information: Skyguide

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/sicherheit-in-der-luftfahrt-100-jahre-schweizer-flugsicherung/

Data protection emergency: cybersecurity budgets on the rise

The gap between an organization's expectations and the IT department's ability to meet them has never been greater. This is according to the Veeam Data Protection Trends Report 2022. This report, which surveyed more than 3,000 IT decision makers worldwide, finds that 89 percent of organizations are not protecting their data [...]

Editorial - 23 February 2022

Data backup — Enterprise data protection emergency: 89 % of IT executives see a "protection gap" between tolerable data loss and how IT protects its data. (Graphic: Veeam)

The discrepancy between a company's expectations and the IT department's ability to meet them has never been greater. This is evident from the Veeam Data Protection Trends Report 2022 highlights. This report, for which more than 3,000 IT decision-makers worldwide were surveyed, found that 89 percent of companies do not adequately protect their data. In addition, 88 percent of IT executives would expect budgets for data protection to increase more than IT spending in general. Data is simply becoming more and more important to business success, and the challenges of protecting that data are becoming more and more complex. This makes it all the more striking that there is still a kind of data backup emergency in many places.

The data protection gap is widening

The respondents stated that their data backup capacities cannot keep pace with the company's requirements. The large discrepancy between the amount of lost data that can be recovered after an outage and the frequency with which data is backed up has increased by 13 percent in the last 12 months. This indicates that the amount and importance of data continues to increase, but so do the challenges of protecting that data in a satisfactory manner. This is mainly due to the fact that the challenges companies face in securing their data are immense and becoming more diverse. For the second year in a row, cyber attacks were also the main cause of downtime. 76 percent of companies reported at least one ransomware event in the last 12 months. It is not only the frequency of these incidents that is alarming, but also their scale. Per attack, organizations were unable to recover 36 percent of their lost data, proving that data protection strategies are currently unable to help organizations prevent, remediate and recover from and after ransomware attacks. "The best way to ensure that data is protected and recoverable in the event of a ransomware attack is to partner with a specialized third-party provider and invest in an automated and orchestrated solution that protects the myriad data centers and cloud-based production platforms that businesses of all sizes rely on today," said Danny Allan, CTO at Veeam.

Companies face a data backup emergency

To close the gap between data protection capabilities and the growing threat landscape, organizations will spend about 6 percent more annually on data protection than on general IT investments. Although this will only partially reverse the trend of data protection needs outpacing existing capability, it is positive to see that business leaders are recognizing the urgent need for modern data protection. As the cloud continues on its path to becoming the dominant data platform, 67 percent of organizations are already using cloud services as part of their data protection strategy, while 56 percent are already using containers in production or plan to do so in the next 12 months. Platform diversity will increase in 2022, with the balance between data centers (52 percent) and cloud servers (48 percent) converging. This is one reason why 21 percent of organizations rank the ability to protect workloads deployed in the cloud as the most important buying criteria for enterprise data protection in 2022. 39% believe that IaaS and SaaS capabilities are the key attribute for modern data protection. You can find more information at https://www.veeam.com/de

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/datensicherungs-notstand-budgets-fuer-cybersicherheit-steigen/

LinkedIn as a new source for phishing

As the online portal SwissCybersecurity.net reports, cybercriminals have recently been increasingly targeting LinkedIn users. The English IT security service provider Egress has found that phishing attempts with fake LinkedIn logos have more than doubled since the beginning of February. Via cleverly disguised messages behind common subject lines such as "You were found in 9 searches this week" or "You have 1 [...]

Editorial - 22 February 2022

Cybercriminals have discovered LinkedIn as a pool for phishing scams: Phishing attempts increased by more than 200 percent in February. (Image: Unsplash.com)

As the online portal SwissCybersecurity.net reports, cybercriminals have recently been increasingly targeting LinkedIn users. The English IT security service provider Egress has found that phishing attempts with fake LinkedIn logos have more than doubled since the beginning of February. Using cleverly disguised messages behind common subject lines such as "You were found in 9 searches this week" or "You have 1 new message," scammers aim to trick unsuspecting users into entering their LinkedIn credentials on fraudulent websites. The emails are deceptively designed, according to Egress: Not only do they contain the address of LinkedIn's headquarters, links to unsubscribe from newsletters, but also links to the support section or even information from the recipient.

The report by SwissCybersecurity.net does not indicate whether and to what extent Swiss users of the social network, which is primarily geared toward business contacts, have already been the target of such phishing attempts. The main targets are currently companies from the Anglo-Saxon world, i.e. the USA and the UK. Nevertheless, the potential of LinkedIn for cybercriminals is high overall: according to its own information, the business network has over 810 million users worldwide. In the ranking of the "most popular" brands for the machinations of cybercriminals, LinkedIn now ranks fifth. Particularly perfidious: According to Egress, conventional e-mail security mechanisms are being circumvented. The danger of becoming a victim of a phishing campaign as a user is therefore real. It is therefore recommended to be extremely cautious if you receive an e-mail asking you to click on a hyperlink, especially on mobile devices. Source: SwissCybersecurity.net

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/linkedin-als-neue-quelle-fuer-phishing/

Automated workforce planning for the smart factory

Automated employee planning creates more transparency: Since the beginning of the year, the production plans for the total of 300 product variations of the Swiss chocolate wafer manufacturer Kägi Söhne AG in Lichtensteig, St. Gallen, which were created with the help of a mathematical model, have been loaded into the employee planning system, with which suitable personnel schedules are created in each case within three minutes on the basis of various components. For this purpose, the system includes work plans [...]

Editorial - 21 February 2022

Employee Planning — Automated employee planning: Business Intelligence and AI specialist axeed AG accompanies Kägi's "Smart Factory 2024". In the picture: Memo Diener, CEO of axeed AG (left) and Pascal Grin, COO Kägi Söhne AG. (Image: axeed AG)

Automated workforce planning creates more transparency: Since the beginning of the year, the production plans for the total of 300 product variations of the Swiss chocolate wafer manufacturer Kägi Söhne AG in Lichtensteig, St.Gallen, which were created with the help of a mathematical model, have been loaded into the workforce planning system, with which suitable personnel schedules are created in each case within three minutes on the basis of various components. For this purpose, work schedules are stored in the system that define how much time and how many employees are needed to produce a certain quantity of a specific product. In the next step of the automation process, a special matrix was stored with the qualifications and a corresponding role assignment, on the basis of which the defined requirements for the production of each product group can be met.

Automated employee scheduling leads to higher satisfaction

Technical skills are one production component. The availability of individual employees is just as important. The working hours (full-time/part-time), hourly wages, availability for overtime, vacations and specific blocked days are therefore entered in the digitalized Kägi employee planning system, which can be automatically taken into account when planning each order. The allocation of employees to the one to three shifts with which Kägi operates, depending on workload and product line, is also recorded in the system. Numerical coding enables fair variation between the shifts. The result: employee planning, which previously took up to one working day, is now available within a few minutes. "Especially when it comes to working hours, time balances and shift scheduling, automated employee scheduling brings more transparency and fairness," explains Pascal Grin, COO of Kägi Söhne AG. "Comprehensible decisions ensure greater employee satisfaction in the long term. The feedback on automated personnel planning is positive, not least because our teams now receive their schedules immediately after completion of the production plans, twelve hours earlier, without the previous one-day delay."

First step: process of self-analysis

In order to achieve such time savings and optimized processes through automation, companies must always first go through a process of self-analysis. "Automation means questioning the system and finding a set of rules on the basis of which the artificial intelligence works," says Memo Dener, CEO of axeed AG, which is supporting Kägi on the path to "Smart Factory 2024". "Ultimately, this leads to more than just the desired implementation of more efficient workflows through automated processes. Companies get to know their processes, resources and possibilities better, which is an important basis for continuous progress and further development." After production and employee planning, the next step for Kägi is real-time monitoring of machines so that the benefits of the automation processes already implemented can also be continued in this area. Source and further information: axeed AG and Kägi Sons AG

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/automatisierte-mitarbeiterplanung-fuer-die-smart-factory/