BEYOND SURFACES

Rising to the challenge when yoU CAn’T woRK TogeTheR, do The neXT BeST ThIng When management in Oerlikon’s US subsidiaries created a video to thank and encourage all coworkers, it kicked off a series of additional videos. “Many of us thought it would be great to skip the commute and work in whatever degree of casual dress we felt suit- able. But we soon saw another side, and interacting via Skype just wasn’t the same. We also might have felt a bit of guilt knowing that our essential personnel were still in our facilities, working hard to keep our business moving”, explains an employee from Oerlikon Metco in Westbury. Thus, the essential workers created a video to support non-essential workers at home that showed how smoothly operations were running. Others produced a video encouraging masks as the new social norm, and another one featured even the employees’ pets happy to have their owners at home. “The videos really helped us feel we were all together!” USA dIgITAl SeRvICeS FoR oeRlIKon BAlZeRS CUSTomeRS With newly developed software tools and apps Oerlikon Balzers supported social distancing — and not only during the lockdown. For example, the “vConnect digital plug” equipment enables coating systems connectivity and supports social distancing by making it possible to monitor the coating pro- cess virtually. Through our “vSHARE” app, experts can address coating equipment requests quickly, remotely and in real-time. A third tool, the “Pick-up” app, provides “front door delivery” functionality that allows deliverys to be confirmed without signing the driver’s scanner. worldwide Beyond SURFACeS 02|2020 19