Employment agency immerses itself in the working world of tomorrow
March 3, 2022
Digitalisation and automation are part of everyday life at TEKA - and yet they are always new
Even before the Corona pandemic, TEKA was pushing ahead with the digitalisation of the working world in its own company. In the last two years, it has progressed strongly at all levels - and is visible everywhere behind the factory gates. Now the Coesfeld employment agency has taken a look on site and sees pioneering approaches for other medium-sized companies.
"The Corona pandemic has changed a lot in the world of work. The question is already being asked: what will remain after the pandemic? How can the medium-sized companies in particular, which outnumber the others in our region, pursue innovative paths? At TEKA I got to know many possibilities for making processes more flexible and thus more efficient, which can be exemplary for others," states Stefan Füchter, team leader in the employer service at the Coesfeld employment agency after his tour of the special machine manufacturer.
What Stefan Füchter means becomes clear as soon as you enter the factory hall at Millenkamp. Several air trackers are mounted on the ceiling of the hall. The small grey boxes developed by the company monitor the indoor air quality in production. All measurements are displayed in real time on a central dashboard. "Health protection is, after all, our profession. In recent years, our extraction technology has become increasingly digital and networked - and what our customers benefit from should also benefit our workforce," explains TEKA Managing Director Simon Telöken.
Relieving the burden on employees
When entering the warehouse, large-format screens also catch the eye. They provide an overview of incoming goods, free storage spaces and optimisation potential. The warehouse is completely paperless. Employees can see via scanner whether the item is needed for production or is going into the warehouse. "This makes all warehouse processes more transparent, more flexible and thus faster, and also relieves the individual employee because superfluous routes are eliminated," Telöken continues.
"New Work" is the magic word when it comes to more flexible workplace and time organisation in the commercial departments. What this means in concrete terms can already be seen before entering the offices on the digital signs next to the doors. Every employee can log in via a time recording app and book his or her workstation in the office or, alternatively, have the status "home office" displayed when working from home. This gives an overview of which colleague is where and where workstations are still free in the office. Even before the Corona pandemic broke out, most employees were equipped for mobile working. Via cloud-based applications, everyone has access to the documents they need and can work on them simultaneously with colleagues and communicate about them.
Most of the automation and digitalisation steps were developed and implemented by IT experts from within the company. An internal working group is looking into further process optimisation in other areas. The big advantage is the close contact with colleagues in the individual departments. Because: "Such a change requires an open attitude towards concerns and uncertainties at the employee level. Discussion offers are a good way to accompany this process," says TEKA personnel manager Björn Wendland.
"Take all employees with you on the way"
"It is important for the acceptance and ultimately the success of digitalisation in the company to take all employees along on this path and not just the younger ones who have grown up with the new technologies," Stefan Füchter also emphasises.
"Digitisation is a constant development process. You just have to dare and start," says TEKA Managing Director Simon Telöken, encouraging other companies to trust their own ideas and face the challenges positively.
BU: Employee Yuzuru Okuyama (l.) explains to Stefan Füchter (2nd from l.) from the Coesfeld Employment Agency during a tour with TEKA Managing Director Simon Telöken (3rd from l.) and HR Manager Björn Wendland how the dashboard maps the processes in the warehouse.
