Insights

Large, orange and sitting behind a protective barrier – Germans’ idea of robots in the realm of work has not changed for years. Because of this, 71 percent of employees still see robots’ field of application, especially in industry, is for dangerous or physically demanding work. However, only 41 percent could imagine robots as service providers or service personnel, while only 14 percent could see them being used in nursing care applications. These are the results of a representative survey of more than 1,000 employees in Germany conducted by business consultancy Staufen.

German industry primarily uses big data for quality management. Approximately seven out of ten companies with Industry 4.0 applications evaluate the data they generate during production in order to monitor the quality of their products. As the 2018 German Industry 4.0 Index from business consultancy Staufen shows, the electrical industry is leading the way. However, companies are far from really fully exploiting the potential of big data. Despite evaluating data, companies’ analyses have so far failed to trace the causes of quality problems, as a joint research project by Staufen and TU Darmstadt has demonstrated.

This year, according to the current “brand eins” study, Staufen AG is once again one of the country’s leading consulting firms. This is the first time that the renowned sector study by brand eins and Statista has counted Staufen AG as one of the top consultancies in another key sector. Customers wasted no time in awarding them the highest score for the consulting field of organization.

Three quarters of German industrial companies are not convinced about predictive maintenance. Their performance capability is not sufficient or, at least still upgradeable. Only 6 percent currently see applying predictive maintenance on the basis of process and machine data as being highly beneficial. These are the results of what is now the fourth German Industry 4.0 Index. Approximately 400 German industrial companies were surveyed on behalf of Staufen Consultancy.

Effectively immediately, Staufen has added members to its management board. In addition to CEO Martin Haas and COO Wilhelm Goschy, the board of the corporate consulting company will now include Michael Hahn and Markus Riegger as well. Hahn’s new position entails responsibility for consulting operations and HR development. Riegger will assume management of the international consulting business, in-house qualifications and the Staufen Academy.

Germany’s top managers have once again named the corporate consultant Staufen the best in the Lean management field, according to the highly-regarded industry study “Hidden Champions 2018.” Dr. Dietmar Fink of the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Management und Beratung surveyed over 700 managers at German corporations and mid-sized enterprises. What’s more, Staufen ranked among the finest names in the industry in terms of its expertise in purchasing, R&D, technology management, operating efficiency, shopfloor management, Industry 4.0 and as a specialist for the manufacturing industry.

One of the most important topics that manufacturing companies face around the globe is having efficient processes. The goal is to make the company fit and agile enough to hold its own against international competitors. As one of the leading figures in the field of Lean management consulting, Staufen has been active for years in many different countries, including Poland and Italy. In 2017, both of these branch offices are celebrating their tenth anniversary. We are honoring the occasion with a brief look back at our work in both countries.

Megatrends such as digitization, individualization and globalization have considerably increased the complexity of many business models. In fact, an increasing number of businesses are already making use of new technological opportunities to optimize their global supply chains or minimize equipment downtime using predictive maintenance. However, the biggest challenge – as expressed unanimously by participants at this year’s “Best Practice Day”, hosted by Staufen Consulting – remains that of keeping a business in a permanent state of adaptability.

The key focus of the BestPractice Day, Europe’s leading Lean Management Congress, is the current state of industrial, technological, and societal change. On July 4 and 5, in Darmstadt, in keeping with this year’s slogan “Go further – Learn. Lead. Design the change”, international lean pioneers and industry leaders will demonstrate how companies can successfully shape their digital transformation.