In an interview with Stefan Kempf, Member of the Management Board of SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH, and Manfred Heil, Managing Director at WeSustain, we talk about the growing management challenge of “compliance” and how the interplay of software and consulting scores points at companies.

(…) In your experience, Mr. Kempf, what are the central challenges and opportunities for industrial companies within the framework of operator responsibility?

One of the central challenges in connection with legally compliant operation is certainly the complete recording, mapping and permanent fulfilment of operator obligations. This requires a comprehensive technical expertise, a suitable structure to present the plants and processes as well as a meaningful allocation of responsibilities for the implementation of the defined measures. This requires a high degree of self-discipline on the part of all persons involved. However, consistent implementation of operator responsibility offers corresponding advantages, such as the fact that business and liability risks for the persons responsible are minimized or planning security is ensured by timely budgeting of the measures. Optimized structures enable lean processes and efficient workflows, which in turn have a direct positive effect on costs and provide a competitive advantage.

Mr. Heil, which of the challenges mentioned by Mr. Kempf does WeSustain solve with the new “Enterprise Compliance Management” software?

As Mr Kempf has already mentioned, the complexity and scope of operator responsibility has exploded in recent years. It is foreseeable that this development will continue, so that compliance management that cannot cope with the increased requirements can become a risk factor in its own right. In this respect, software support is not only economically sensible, but also indispensable from the point of view of liability and risk. The biggest advantage of the “Enterprise Compliance Management” software from WeSustain (short: ECM) lies in the continuous integration of content, processes and data. (…).

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