By pursuing sustainable corporate practices, Tecan is looking to secure the longterm expansion and prosperity of the Company for the benefit of all interested parties. Tecan sees sustainable corporate practices as more than just a series of individual measures. Instead they are a basic mindset that shapes all corporate processes and unites economic, ecological and social aspects. T ecan’s business principle is to treat partners – including employees, sharehold ers, customers, suppliers, government agencies and stakeholders – professionally, fairly and to high ethical standards.

At Tecan, prudent corporate activity is an integral component of the daily routine of both employees and management. This requires clearly structured, transparent business processes. It is important that Tecan employees are familiar with globally binding internal corporate guidelines, business processes, and country-specific laws and regulations. Employees can access the most up-to-date version of these documents at any time in the Tecan Management System (TMS). The documents also convey intangible values that form the guiding principles of the corporate culture. The TMS is rated as a model tool by customers and external partners alike. Tecan develops the TMS on a continuous basis.

 

Tecan has had a continual improvement process (CIP) in place for a number of years. Employees in all areas of the Company should identify potential improvements at a day-to-day level, put forward solutions and contribute to their rapid implementation. The aim of the CIP is to increase the Company’s profitability, enhance efficiency as well as quality and occupational safety, and improve internal collaboration. Where possible, the success of the CIP is measured using key performance indicators, such as productivity, throughput time and inventories in production.

 

Tecan developed and installed the production and logistics system PULS specifically for continual process improvements as part of just-in-time manufacturing. This integrated system enables Tecan to eliminate weaknesses and to better achieve the required, everstricter quality standards. The sustainability of the improvements is ensured by means of an audit system, which covers the relevant areas from occupational safety and environmental protection through management and collaboration. One of the guiding principles of PULS is to avoid waste caused, for example, by overproduction, standby time, excessive inventories and defective units.

 

As part of the existing lean production, a consistent one-piece flow approach – an “employee-linked workflow”– was adopted in the production system. The employees accompany the instrument along the entire production path to completion, with no interruptions between the various work steps. Not only does this production process shorten production times and further improve quality, it should also further increase employees’ motivation levels.

 

At the Maennedorf site, all employees have clearly defined responsibilities in the manufacturing process of the various product lines, and each product line is overseen by a production manager. Responsibility for the timely execution of orders, the procurement of materials and the observance of the agreed objectives is clearly allocated to individuals. Performance reviews are undertaken on the basis of KPIs (key performance indicators). Each morning, the production manager discusses the next steps to be undertaken with the entire team before production gets underway.

To ensure sustainable corporate growth, it is crucial that any risks that could compromise this growth be recognized early on, assessed in terms of likelihood and consequences, and mitigated through an appropriate plan of measures. Tecan has a well-established global risk management process for this purpose. The process encompasses, among other factors, strategic risks, environmental and product risks, market and customer risks as well as occupational safety risks. It also focuses on political and economic developments as well as the possible impacts certain events may have on external partners such as customers or suppliers.

 

Tecan continuously adjusts its risk management system in line with changes to the environment and takes current events into account in its risk assessment. Under the business continuity plan, for example, in the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding, direct suppliers in the affected region are examined, and information gathered on their subcontractors. The aim is to ensure Tecan’s ability to supply, even in this type of exceptional situation. The Board of Directors reviews annually whether the risk assessment of business activities is appropriate and whether it takes into account both internal and external changes. Where necessary, new measures to mitigate risk are implemented. Tecan’s risk management system is also regularly audited by a key insurer, who attests to the instrument’s high standard, enabling a premium reduction. Some of the Company’s employees hold risk management certification. Tecan attaches great importance to this high level of qualification being present internally and to the Company not having to depend exclusively on external experts, as is often the case at other companies.

 

Tecan has a solid SAP-based infrastructure for business processes which integrates sales, customer service, production and the entire financial area in one platform and harmonizes processes. This platform also forms the basis for a “business intelligence reporting suite” with integrated planning modules, for instance for human resources or the budget process. Annual updates ensure that Tecan always has the latest software versions, thus limiting outages and helping avoid large-scale, expensive update processes with long test phases.

 

In the financial area, Tecan uses an internal, self-managed treasury system and in doing so is taking a pioneering role. Tecan executes all money transfers for all Group companies centrally, and manages their cash reserves. This has enabled Tecan to optimize the number of banks it uses in connection with its business activities, and transfer cash reserves to banks at lower risk of failure. The treasury system has also improved short-term financial planning and ensured an interest rate benefit compared with decentralized management.

 

Tecan uses an IT-based control system in the financial area. This automatically recognizes and flags potential areas of conflict with regard to employees entrusted with a range of duties, which when combined could result in a risk of manipulation. The system is an integral part of the IT audit by the auditors. In this process, Tecan provided evidence that the access control system is working well.

 

All IT services offered by the Group worldwide are outsourced to servers of an external service provider. The data is backed up redundantly, and the data centers are physically separated from one another and from the production sites. This enables Tecan to minimize the risk of critical data loss and increase data security. Global round-the-clock IT support is also available to Group companies, thereby reducing outages.

 

Tecan has established several organizational control mechanisms with the aim of ensuring correct corporate behavior. These include an internal auditor, who reports directly to the Board of Directors. Tecan has a formalized Code of Conduct that is binding for all employees, managers and Board members. In this Code, Tecan undertakes to maintain the highest standards in its business activities and to respect ethical values. The document is available to the public on the Company’s website. Tecan aims to document internally and externally that the Company is a credible and reliable business partner and employer in all situations through the Code. The Code of Conduct also brings together key guidelines that are already included in other tools, such as the employment regulations or the Tecan Management System, in a comprehensible form. It helps employees understand the Company structure, and to seek further information or support in cases of doubt. The Code promotes compliance with standards on occupational health, safety and the environment. It provides instructions on ensuring data protection and handling confidential information, and requires accurate and timely communication of information and careful logging of relevant meetings and processes by Tecan staff. The Code also stipulates compliance with competition law as well as national and international trade law for the import and export of products. It guarantees anonymity for whistleblowers. Although Tecan only generates a small portion of its sales in countries with an increased risk of corruption according to the criteria of the organization Transparency International, the Code of Conduct has a zero-tolerance policy toward bribery and corruption. Line managers are responsible for ensuring that all of their staff know and understand the content of the Code of Conduct. All employees must attend and successfully complete a training course on the Code.

 

The Code is established worldwide and the relevant employees have been given training on it. Tecan conducted the training for a proportion of the employees in the form of e-learning courses. People exposed to higher business risks in their function, such as sales or procurement staff, also had to attend training courses in person. The Code is available in English and German as well as various other languages, including Chinese and Japanese. By providing these different language versions, Tecan wishes to ensure that this important document is understood by employees all around the world.

 

Tecan’s most important suppliers are also provided with a dedicated version of the Tecan Code of Conduct, to which they must commit. This document, the “Tecan Supplier Code of Conduct”, defines the minimum requirements by which all suppliers must abide. These refer to internationally recognized ethical standards relating to labor and the environment, as well as business practices. The requirements are based on the ten principles of the UN Global Compact initiative.

 

Tecan also carries out regular detailed screening of its distributors, and has established a separate process with a TMS directive (Distributors and Intermediaries Anti Bribery Due Diligence) for this purpose. The screening is carried out with the assistance of an external specialist service provider who draws up a due diligence report. This process is supplemented by Internet research and a database analysis as to whether companies or individuals related to Tecan appear in connection with corruption, bribery or other untolerated behavior. In particular, the TMS directive requires that all Tecan distribution partners and their owners, directors and employees refrain from bribing representatives of governments or state-owned or private enterprises, or from taking bribes. It does not matter whether bribery is prohibited, tolerated or allowed in the countries in which business is being done. Bribes are prohibited irrespective of whether a bribe is connected to a specific act or omission or is granted or received with a general view to the future execution of duties. Bribes do not only involve cash payments but also mean, for instance, lavish gifts, hospitality and entertainment. Distributors and intermediaries need to ensure that their representatives and their sales force are trained and adhere to Tecan’s standards on doing business. In individual cases, the screening has led to Tecan terminating relationships with intermediaries. The process is also applied during the selection of new distributors.

Tecan has established processes Group-wide and at its individual business locations to ensure compliance with national laws and regulations as well as with internal guidelines on safety and environmental protection. The Company invests substantial amounts each year in pursuit of further improvement. Tecan cooperates closely with public authorities and standard-setting bodies around the world to recognize new trends in regulation, occupational safety and environmental protection as early as possible and to integrate them in its corporate processes. The Company actively shapes these developments in significant economic regions by participating in key industry associations.

 

Internal and external experts regularly inspect whether Tecan’s locations comply with country-specific regulations and the Company’s internal standards for product and occupational safety as well as health and environmental protection. These inspections also cover measures that Tecan has to implement if it fails to meet any requirements. Each year, the locations are subject to a number of audits conducted by regulatory authorities, testing, monitoring and certification agencies, customers, and Tecan’s own specialist teams. As part of a continual improvement process, gap analyses are performed and improvement measures implemented. In 2016, Tecan was again subject to a number of sometimes very extensive audits by customers at its production sites. These included leading diagnostics companies that Tecan supplies with instruments through its OEM business in the Partnering Business, or will supply in the future. The audits covered areas including processes, quality management systems, product design, validation and documentation. The customers again attested a high standard at Tecan with regard to the relevant requirements. One extensive audit of a production site by an international authority also took place during 2016 and was successfully concluded. Customers in the Partnering Business were supported in authorization applications for new diagnostic instruments through the provision of key documentation. Tecan put together an ISO 14971-certified product risk management process for medical devices that covers the entire lifespan of a product and evaluates all possible risks, especially those pertinent to patients and users. The Tecan parent company, all production sites and almost all sales subsidiaries are now ISO 13485 certified. With global certification to this standard by a certifying body, Tecan has established a stringent system of control, which has a very good reputation in the life science industry worldwide.

 

As part of its certification strategy, Tecan obtained a full, Groupwide matrix certificate based on ISO 13485. The Company wants to ensure that all units worldwide work according to the same processes and strive together to continuously improve their products and services. The matrix certificate also accommodates the current and future Group structure with an increasing number of subsidiaries. In Europe, the sales subsidiary in Germany was awarded the main certificate, while subsidiaries in other countries received subcertificates. This new method of coordinated certification has benefits for customers and Tecan alike: greater transparency; the possibility to systematically monitor processes worldwide; and harmonized, standardized systems that also accommodate differences in the markets. The matrix certificate results in considerable simplifications and increased safety compared to individual certificates. The certifying body verifies the certification annually with sample checks at different subsidiaries. Tecan products must also satisfy the following important requirements, among many others: US QSR (Quality System Regulation)/21 CFR 820, CMDCAS (Canadian Medical Device Conformity Assessment System), JPAL (Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs Law) and CCC (Chinese Compulsory Certification). New opportunities are developing for Tecan in emerging markets, which will place additional requirements on the Company.

 

Regulatory requirements are increasing around the world. To ensure that the current versions of these are understood and satisfied everywhere, Tecan is in constant contact with local organizations and authorities. Several online applications provide Tecan’s technical staff with the necessary technical support for managing product registrations and clarifying regulatory requirements in more than 60 countries.

 

Tecan has a central Quality & Regulatory organization at Group level to ensure ongoing improvements in the high quality standards worldwide. In Europe, all of the quality systems of the national subsidiaries and organizations have been harmonized and processes standardized, including sales, service and complaint processes, for example. Tecan operates a Central Complaint Unit for customer complaints.

 

Tecan performs a global management review every year in which relevant data from all Group companies are reviewed centrally. The process assesses whether quality management is still optimized to the legal requirements and regulations for the products and services supplied by Tecan. Tecan undertakes this review with regard to the individual national markets as well as from a Group-level perspective.

 

Tecan’s approach to product development is also characterized by an awareness of quality and regulatory requirements. Specialists collaborate from an early stage, supporting the process in a series of structured stages that span the product’s entire life up to the point where it is withdrawn from the market.

The Company attaches great importance to acting responsibly and in an environmentally friendly manner in the development, manufacture and global distribution of Tecan products as well as in all services it provides. All Tecan production sites and the majority of suppliers are located in stringently regulated markets. Direct suppliers are subject to an audit program in order to ensure sustainable business.

 

 

	Unit	2014	2015	2016*
Employee figures
Employees	No.	1,224	1,369	1,413
Full-time positions	in % of all employees	88.3 %	87.5 %	88.8%
Part-time positions	in % of all employees	10.1 %	12.5 %	9.8%
Trainees	No.	19	21	20
New positions created	No.	-8	145	44
Gender diversity
Women	No.	349	413	431
Men	No.	875	956	982
Women	in % of all employees	28.5 %	30.2 %	30.5%
Men	in % of all employees	71.5 %	69.8 %	69.5%
Women in management positions	in % of all managers	24.1 %	23.5 %	23.4%
Women in the Board of Directors	No.	2	2	2
Women in the Board of Directors	in % of all members	28.6 %	28.6 %	28.6%
Basic and continuing training**
Investments in basic and continuing training	CHF	511,424	639,254	585,204
Investments in basic and continuing training	CHF per employee	1,105	1,321	1,117
Other figures**
Staff turnover rate		12.4 %	10.4 %	11.0%
Absence rate		2.1 %	2.5 %	2.3%
Average number of years of service	Years	6.5	5.7	6.8
Average age	Years	39.8	40.7	41.7

* Including Sias AG, excluding SPEware Corporation.
** Data for Switzerland only

 

	Unit	2014	2015	2016
Net floor area	m2	24,880	28,152	28,249
Energy consumption
Total energy consumption	Gigajoules	19,705.7	20,927.6	18,817.4
Total direct energy consumption	Gigajoules	3,598.3	3,363.8	3,595.3
Total fuel consumption	Gigajoules	0.0	0.0	0.0
Fuel consumption/m2	Gigajoules/m2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Total natural gas consumption	Gigajoules	3,598.3	3,363.8	3,595.3
Natural gas consumption / m2	Gigajoules/m2	0.1	0.1	0.1
Total indirect energy consumption	Gigajoules	16,107.5	17,563.8	15,222.1
Total consumption of electricity	Gigajoules	12,084.2	12,706.0	11,113.8
Consumption of electricity/m2	Gigajoules/m2	0.5	0.5	0.4
Total heating energy	Gigajoules	2,091.1	3,089.2	2,202.6
Heating energy / m2	Gigajoules/m2	0.2	0.2	0.1
Total cooling energy	Gigajoules	1,932.2	1,768.6	1,905.6
Cooling energy / m2	Gigajoules/m2	0.2	0.1	0.1
Total steam consumption	Gigajoules	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steam consumption /m2	Gigajoules/m2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Energy intensity (total energy/turnover)	Gigajoules/CHF million	49.3	47.5	37.2
Water consumption
Total water consumption	m3	8,207.5	6,910.5	6,694.7
Water consumption per head	m3/head	9.8	9.1	7.5
Paper consumption
Total paper consumption	kg	18,877.3	22,725.8	25,437.9
Paper consumption per head	kg/head	22.6	27.1	28.4
Percentage of recycled paper	Percentage	68.3	84.5	80.9
Waste consumption
Total waste	Ton	96.3	163.4	195.7
Normal waste	Ton	36.0	80.7	85.6
Recyclable waste	Ton	58.5	80.5	107.1
Hazardous waste	Ton	1.8	2.2	3.1

 

	Unit	2014	2015	2016*
Total direct CO2 emissions (scope 1)	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	0.00	183.76
Emissions via fuel consumption	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	0.00	0.00
Emissions via natural gas consumption	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	0.00	183.76
Total direct emissions of other greenhouse gases**	Ton	n.a.	0.00	0.00
Total indirect CO2 emissions via  energy procurement (scope 2)	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	70.96	962.35
Emissions via electricity procurement	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	39.83	819.84
Emissions via heating energy	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	15.59	127.59
Emissions via cooling energy	Ton (CO2 equivalents)	n.a.	15.54	14.92

*Including sites in Maennedorf (CH), Grödig (A), Hamburg (GER) and San Jose (USA), 2015 site in Maennedorf (CH) only
**Methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, nitrogen trifluoride

 

Tecan’s management considers instilling the Company’s vision and common values in all its employees and ensuring these are put into practice to be of key importance. As part of a major brand refresh project, Tecan reformulated the vision in 2015. As a common basis for collaboration, it has great importance in Tecan’s corporate culture.

 

 

In the brand refresh project, Tecan drafted comprehensive guide­lines, common values and principles of conduct for employees, to which the image of the Company was also linked. The result of this link is the Tecan brand – a key factor for the Company’s success. The building blocks of the Tecan brand are graphically visualized in the “brand house”: the unique selling points for the Company’s positioning in the market, as well as its promise to its customers and the elements of its visual image are built on the foundations of the three core values – trust, highest standards and ambition. Tecan’s inner strength is made up of reliability, highest performance standards for the products and ambitious goals for innovations and process improvements. Through its new vision “Every lab. Every day. Empowered.”, Tecan aims to maintain a global presence with outstanding technologies, products and support. The Company wants to actively shape the future of automated workflows in life sciences and clinical diagnostics by facilitating key innovations and empowering those involved to achieve. When it comes to its unique selling points, Tecan sets particular store by the characteristic “­leading”. Throughout its corporate history, Tecan has launched many pioneering projects and has played a decisive role in the laboratory automation industry. In future, Tecan wishes to increase its focus on these traditional strengths and, on that basis, further strengthen its leading, formative role in the industry. 

 

The vision and values have been implemented in the Company by means of an intensive program, with events again held at various sites during the year under review to increase and renew awareness. The elements of the Tecan brand are comprehensively described in the brand book, which is available on the intranet and is given to new employees on their first day with the Company. 

 

The brand house has firmly established itself in Tecan’s day-to-day routine, with the various elements having been integrated into, for example, year-end process and employee meetings as part of their performance review. 

 

Tecan’s central customer promise is “Always There For You” – all of the Company’s activities are geared toward its customers. This promise is put into practice in an exemplary manner by numerous Tecan employees across the world in their daily dealings with customers and colleagues. To honor these sometimes extraordinary efforts and special commitment, Tecan created the “Always There For You Award” during the year under review. Employees can nominate colleagues for this prize on the intranet. The winners will be announced to the entire Group and receive a special financial bonus.

 

At Tecan, ongoing professional and external basic and continuing training is a key requirement critical to business. Due to strict industry-specific requirements, Tecan has high training expenditure: The Company must comply with requirements and guidelines set forth by various supervisory authorities and must also demonstrate that its employees possess the required knowledge. In the year under review, investments in basic and continuing training again increased significantly per employee. Aided by an SAP-based system, Tecan ensures that training processes are carried out to a sufficient standard throughout the Company. Each individual employee receives a personalized training profile. This enables employees and line managers to check and update the current training status. It also ensures that information on training levels is available electronically at all times for audits. Tecan is working continuously to develop and improve this learning system. It should provide an effective performance record and offer employees the best possible training opportunities.

 

Tecan is increasing investments in management training. Strong leadership is indispensable if the Company is to generate sustainable value. Employees can choose the right offer for them from a wide range of seminars and training opportunities. Specific four-part seminars, for example, provide managers from all levels with practical guidance for developing their leadership skills, motivating employees and raising the Company’s productivity. 

 

This seminar offering is established as standard and is extremely popular. All the seminars include written individual and group exercises as well as larger group projects, including case studies and simulations of challenging business situations. A new two-part project management seminar is a further training focus: First, a common basis is ensured using e-learning, then the participants take part in a two-day situational training session. Through this seminar, Tecan is building up important knowledge, establishing an internal Company standard and providing training on uniform methods and terminology. This seminar is compulsory for all project managers, subproject managers and project staff.

 

Tecan also holds a financial seminar for novices. This is aimed at employees without in-depth financial training, who require advanced knowledge for their budget processes, project planning or business analyses. 

 

The Te-Wiki is a tool available to Tecan employees for the purpose of exchanging information and experience. This platform includes general information describing Tecan products, as well as experiences of employees in sales and customer services from direct contact with customers. All Tecan employees can also benefit from the knowledge of their colleagues by asking questions or outlining issues via “tickets.”

 

In countries employing a dual education system, Tecan instructs trainees from various vocational and professional groups. 

At Tecan, strong customer loyalty and a high degree of customer satisfaction are key factors for sustainable business growth. In collaboration with external market research institutes, Tecan regularly measures and evaluates customer loyalty and satisfaction. In addition to regular customer surveys, the Company also conducted its most recent global survey of more than 1,000 researchers in 2015. Both customers and non-customers were questioned about their perception of Tecan compared to its most important competitors in the various market segments. The survey confirmed Tecan as the leading brand in the field of laboratory automation. It stands for the highest standards, quality, reliability and innovation. These are decisive success factors for building up and strengthening a brand in this sector on a sustainable basis. In addition to the largely positive results, the survey also identified room for improvement, which Tecan is now addressing with appropriate measures. 

Tecan offers a wide range of healthcare initiatives for its employees including medical courses, vaccination programs and various sporting activities. The Company also supports chronically ill employees, taking efforts to ensure they remain integrated in the workplace as far as possible.

 

Tecan attaches great importance to good cooperation with the people and authorities where it does business. The Company also supports various projects serving the common good at its various locations. 

 

In addition to individual projects, Tecan also gets involved in long-term projects. For example, the Company supports the learning concept “Spürnasenecke” (a corner for children with a nose for discovery) for kindergartens, which was developed in Austria together with the Tecan site in Salzburg. The “Spürnasenecke” lets teachers lead children toward scientific discoveries in a playful way.