Steinbeis experts scoop the 2019 DIN-Connect award
Is standardization the same thing as simplification? Certainly not. This is something a funding program called DIN-Connect aims to demonstrate by honoring innovative projects offering standardization potential. The winners of the 2019 award include the Steinbeis Transfer Institute of Medical Innovations and Management, and another Steinbeis Transfer Institute, International Business and Risk Management. Both winners have been receiving financial support since March 1 to help them develop a DIN standard that enhances safety in the operating theatre.
The competition is being funded by DIN itself and DKE (the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic, and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE). The aim of both partners is to translate innovations into standards and thus make it easier for them to quickly enter the market. The funding program is primarily targeted at startups and SMEs and is designed to promote outstanding projects by offering €10,000 and €35,000 over up to 12 months.
STEINBEIS EXPERTS ANALYZE THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT OF OPERATING ROOMS
The Steinbeis team headed up by Prof. Dr. Oliver Meissner (director of the Steinbeis Transfer Institute of Medical Innovations and Management) and Prof. Dr. Udo Weis (Steinbeis Transfer Institute: International Business and Risk Management) won over the DIN jury with their project idea, the title of which was “Requirements for Planning and Safety in the Multifunctional High-Tech Working Environment Surgical Theatre”. The joint standardization project will now receive funding of up to €35,000 until November 2019. The winners will also be entitled to have their idea standardized for free and will be coached and supported by DIN or the DKE throughout the process.
DIN STANDARD FOR SAFER OPERATIONS
The Steinbeis experts originally entered into the joint project to develop a DIN SPEC standard that would become valid on a national level in Germany and thus improve OR safety. “The specification will establish the required conditions for everyday handling of new technology in the operating room. This will significantly boost the overall aims of patient safety and employee well-being,” says Oliver Meissner, highlighting the potential offered by the project. “This applies just as much to technical understanding as to soft skills, such as interpersonal factors and the issue of training.” Udo Weis adds, “The risk of making mistakes before, during, and after an operation will be reduced by standardizing processes, roles, and responsibilities. We’re therefore also developing an innovative training concept for specialists working in the OR, and this will also include the idea of ‘life-long learning’ during everyday work.” This is in keeping with Steinbeis principles on a number of levels. The project is not only making it possible to apply theory to practice, it also requires collaboration on an interdisciplinary level. The project partners include leading representatives in the field of medicine, education, medical technology, and trade associations.