At the headquarters of the globally active testing and certification organisation TESTEX in Zurich, the conventional paper labelling on the sample storage baskets was replaced with smart digital labels. This led to a significant increase in productivity in the lab as well as higher satisfaction among the lab staff. 

TESTEX is a globally active, independent Swiss testing and certification organisation with over 300 employees at around 30 sites. As an accredited and internationally recognised laboratory, TESTEX tests and certifies textiles and leather goods according to strict international regulations and standards. Because the detailed analysis of the pre-cut textile and leather samples takes several days, the remaining samples are stored in a labelled storage basket in the interim. These baskets frequently have to be retrieved from the interim storage area for additional testing steps. Despite careful stockkeeping, the search for the required baskets in the interim storage area often proved to be very time-consuming because the sample preparation employees had to look through a large number of labels printed on paper and attached to the baskets.

Finding the ideal overall solution together

Thus, the goal of the solution that was planned and realised together with the digitalisation expert LNConsult (LNC) was to significantly optimise this search process. Smart electronic shelf labels (ESL) are the technology that was selected for this purpose: The content on these labels is updated in real time via Wi-Fi. They also have a special ability that makes them much easier to locate: They can flash in various colours and thus “draw attention to themselves” during the search. Another essential requirement for the system was ease of use for the employees. This challenge was solved together by the project partners: LNConsult realised all of the hardware – from additional Wi-Fi access points to the ESLs including special mounts – as well as the software that runs in the background. The specialists at TESTEX developed a graphic user interface that enables the easy and user-friendly operation of the digital label system.

Low search time, high acceptance

Despite some initial scepticism, the system was fully accepted by the employees within a short time. According to Bianca Wittmer, operations expert at TESTEX, “Because the added value became apparent relatively quickly after the implementation, even the last silent sceptics were able to be convinced and the entire staff is now very satisfied with the new system.” A total of around 800 digital labels now make it much easier and faster to locate the required testing baskets, as Mario Frei, a sample preparation employee, confirmed: “Whereas in the past we had to look through hundreds of paper labels to find the projects we needed, now we can make all of the required labels light up with a single click in our app and then find them within a few minutes. The time-intensive search for archived projects, which used to take up to an hour or longer, is now finished in just 10 minutes.”

All goals achieved, and many even surpassed

Along with making it faster and easier to retrieve the sample baskets, the digital solution offers many other advantages. The reduced search time has opened up personnel capacities at TESTEX that can now be used for other tasks. “Another advantage is that the current project status for all departments is visible, and the adaptable, dynamic data for each process is highly valuable,” explained Bianca Wittmer before adding a very positive assessment of the digital label system: “All of the goals were achieved, and many of them were even surpassed. The implementation of the project has opened up other possibilities for further optimisations. Thus, this project was only the starting shot for further potential improvement measures.”