PR Manufacturing

Oerlikon Expands Use of World-Leading Digital Solution for Contact Warning & Tracing

From employees, to customers, to business partners — to enable safe and reliable production operations in times of COVID-19, the Swiss company Oerlikon relies on KINEXON SafeZone, the world’s most trusted digital solution for proximity warning and contact tracing. 

After successful pilot phases in Germany and Switzerland and a successful endurance test in the U.S., the technology group is rolling out the solution at more than 90 additional locations worldwide. Further digitalization potential in other areas of work is also being discussed. 

The ongoing global coronavirus pandemic has shown businesses one thing above all in recent months: Employee protection is a top priority. While companies have sent some of their workforce to home offices, they have had to take organizational measures for those where this was not possible. These measures range from shift changes to adjusted break times and attendance checks. But the order of the day is still to keep your distance — at least one and a half meters.

To meet this requirement, the Swiss technology group Oerlikon relies on KINEXON SafeZone, the world’s most trusted digital solution for contact warning and contact tracing. In addition, the company wants to use the solution to create new capacities to efficiently trace personal contacts that have taken place. This will help HR and HSE (Health, Safety, Security & Environment) departments to react quickly in case of an infection and to quarantine only potentially exposed contacts. KINEXON SafeZone also ensures that unaffected parts of the sites can continue to operate.

From pilot to broad deployment with nearly 8,000 sensors

In June 2020, Oerlikon launched a pilot project together with KINEXON in Germany and in Switzerland. The pilot involved the use of 60 KINEXON SafeTags — the high-precision sensor-based wearables for proximity warning. After a successful pilot, the Swiss technology company expanded the deployment to 1,560 KINEXON SafeTags at a total of eleven locations in Europe and the US in August 2020. But that’s not all: Oerlikon is currently rolling out 6,000 more KINEXON SafeTags at more than 90 sites worldwide — all with the aim of providing the best possible protection for employees and operations and being well prepared for the months ahead.

Whether in Switzerland, Germany and France or the U.S., we want to provide a safe working environment for our employees, customers and business partners at all our sites worldwide. We have already been able to experience the effectiveness of SafeTags in our operations. At one of our sites, a colleague tested positive and we were able to quickly identify who he was in contact with and take the necessary action. We have received positive feedback from employees who appreciate the added protection and peace of mind that SafeTags provide them. We see the sensor technology as a great tool to protect employees while minimizing business interruptions.”

Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group

Digitization taken further: more use cases and projects on the horizon

The two companies are currently working together to determine what potential KINEXON SafeZone can deliver beyond the pandemic. The alternative fields of application are broad — from collision protection for forklifts to protection against future waves of infection such as the annual flu.

In addition, KINEXON and Oerlikon are evaluating further use cases for the digitalization of production — including, for example, a possible application of KINEXON RTLS (Real-time Location System). Such a real-time location system can be a door opener for the smart factory of tomorrow. It can be used to increase productivity aw well as optimize and automate industrial processes. Proof of concepts are currently being carried out for this purpose.

With Oerlikon, we have an innovative partner at our side who — like us — wants to drive new technologies forward. We are pleased to have helped protect employees and operations in current times with our digital solution. We are looking forward with confidence and hope to move together toward a Smart Factory in the future as well.”

Mehdi Bentanfous, Managing Director at KINEXON

Find the English version of this press release here for download.
Find the German version of this press release here for download.

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