Hospitality & Service Management Expert Group
Our topics
Our Expert Group researches and works on topics in the context of hospitality and service management. The focus is on stakeholder-centric management of services, for example in healthcare organisations, gastronomic businesses and hotels. In collaboration with our research partners, we examine research questions and develop systematic approaches. With our business partners, we analyze problems, develop practicable solutions and support their implementation. Our customers and partners are businesses and institutions of any size.
Research and development
The group's applied research and development activities focus on the development or enhancement of processes and methods, and on FM-related strategic issues in a whole-business context, taking into account demographic, economic and regulatory developments, and their impact on companies and the services they provide.
Consultancy and services
The group offers its clients a comprehensive range of services; it not only evaluates operational processes within companies in the capacity of an independent expert, but also provides strategic consultancy services and works together with its clients to develop proposals for improvements and implementation-ready solutions. We collaborate closely with the IFM's other Expert Groups as well as the remaining ZHAW Institutes and other universities.
Teaching
The group's teaching approach combines theory with applied practice on the basis of scientifically proven knowledge. Its courses cover theoretical and management-related findings as well as the technical and mathematical skills which the hospitality and service managers of the future will need. The following courses are offered to BSc and MSc students: Food Service Processes and Management, Value Creation (strategy development, event management, accommodation and business plans), Textile and Cleaning Management and Procurement Management. The group also passes on strategic findings from its research projects in the field of healthcare and consumer FM.
Focal points
Digital Transformation for FM in HC
The digital transformation of non-medical services in healthcare organisations will play a crucial role in the years to come. The Hospitality & Service Management Expert Group researches this topic with a holistic and interdisciplinary approach all the way to specific impacts and measures for Facility Management. In a first step, the strategic need for action for digitalisation in healthcare organisations was examined. The resulting Innosuisse project Digital Competence for Healthcare (DC4HC), had the goal to develop a digital maturity model for the assessment of non-medical support processes.
Service Robotics & Technology
![](/storage/_processed_/a/7/csm_service-robot_8120559e06.webp)
Service robots and technologies are currently being developed at a rapid pace. With its focus on hospitality and service provision, the competence group is involved in national and international further development together with researchers from a wide range of disciplines (see e.g.): RobotCare - user experience in the development of service robots for geriatric care, implementation of service robots in Swiss hospitals and hotels, technologization in retirement and nursing homes, flexibilization of catering services in APHs with the help of technology.
Food Services in Healthcare Organisations / Food for Care
![](/storage/_processed_/6/1/csm_food-for-care_634ffabed2.webp)
The provision of food and beverages plays a major role in healthcare organisations and care homes. Our team addresses the topic in a number of ways, e. g. in the context of the use of technology to make catering services in care homes more flexible, with new concepts for patient hospitality and staff culinary, on the strategic and tactical level, the digitalisation of catering (project DIGINUT), in researching approaches to data-driven decision support in hospital gastronomy,
Hotel Industry Benchmarking in Healthcare
![](/storage/_processed_/6/9/csm_hotellerie-benchmarking_c619fea9f1.webp)
The "Hotellerie Benchmark" comprises the areas of catering and cleaning; the survey and evaluation takes place on a yearly basis and currently includes almost 50 healthcare institutions of acute hospitals, rehab clinics, psychiatric clinics and asylums.
Professional Project Management in Healthcare Organisations
![](/storage/_processed_/e/f/csm_pm-in-hc_7307f404a5.webp)
We are engaged in the development of project management and project-oriented procedures in healthcare organisations, e. g. in the context of the spm project management association's specialist group PM in Healthcare Organisations.
Reference Model for Non-medical Support Services in Hospitals
![](/storage/_processed_/2/4/csm_reference-model_145f76271e.webp)
In order to illustrate complex interconnections of FM in HC in a clear manner, the Reference Model for Non-medical Support Services in Hospitals [RemoS] was developed in collaboration with four hospitals and three partners in industry. The model shows the connections between the result-oriented services in the Service Catalogue for Non-Medical Support Services in Hospitals [LekaS], the underlying processes [PromoS], the related key performance indicators (parameters) [KenkaS] and the corresponding software applications [ApplikaS]. The Reference Model is the basis for the Guideline to use SAP for Facility Management in Healthcare [LesapS] and the IT-supported Assessment, Simulation and Benchmarking Tool for Facility Management in Healthcare [ASBT-FM].
Our projects
-
Net-Zero self-adaptive activation of distributed self-resilient augmented services (NATWORK)
The ambition of the EU NATWORK project funded by Horizon Europe - 6G SNS (2024-2026) is to set the foundations and deploy the very first economically realistic, energy efficient, and viable bio-inspired AI-based 6G cybersecurity and resilience framework for intelligent networking and services, taking a holistic ...
-
Net4Cities – Real-Time Monitoring Networks and Transport Emissions for Tailored Zero Pollution Action Plans in European Cities
The EU Europe H2020 project Net4Cities aims to monitor and allocate traffic emissions of all kinds in order to enable their targeted reduction as part of the Zero Pollution Action Plan. To this end, new standards for monitoring air pollution and noise emissions are being developed in 11 European cities, including ...
-
Packaging technology, stability evaluation, and non-destructive testing for commercialization of perovskite solar modules (PACSTATE)
For commercialization of emerging perovskite solar modules, we aim to develop new encapsulation and anti-degradation materials, a commercial system for accelerated stability evaluation, advanced non-destructive testing and modeling methods for comprehensive solar module optimization.
-
Product Market Fit Boost - Peace of Mind for Your Innovation Idea
A Product Market Fit (PMF) Boost for entrepreneurial ideas of ZHAW-related people (e.g., students, employees, start-ups) that provides innovators with peace of mind.
-
Revolutionizing Skill Development: How AI Can Enhance Training for Decent Work and Climate Resilience
Climate change is affecting most of the world population faster than the population can adopt. This issue is present in daily lives, agriculture, urban planning and distribution of goods and utilities. Decisions need to be taken in real time, supported by knowledge captured in various data representations. The ...
Our publications
-
Sandamirskaya, Yulia; Gerber, Nicole,
2024.
Robotik für Heime – was ist möglich, was nötig?.
In:
9. Fachkonferenz – Das Pflegeheim der Zukunft, Blezinger Healthcare, Interlaken, Schweiz, 20.-21. Juni 2024.
-
Pericin Häfliger, Irina; Müller, Noemi,
2024.
Berufskleidung : ein essenzieller Partner für Hygiene.
Hygieneforum.ch.
Available from: https://www.hygieneforum.ch/wissen/berufskleidung-ein-essenzieller-partner-fuer-hygiene/
-
Gerber, Nicole,
2024.
Transfer English edition.
2024(1), pp. 9.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-30523
-
Merkle, Thorsten; Diez, Karin; Gerber, Nicole; Jeanfavre, Elsa,
2024.
Innovationsforschung im Bereich Gästeservice / Hotellerie in Spitälern.
Wädenswil:
ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-29836
-
Gatziu Grivas, Stella; Hanne, Thomas; Imhof, Denis; Bugmann, Diego; Schmitter, Paul,
2024.
An intelligent platform-based tool for the development of digital transformation strategies [paper].
In:
International Conference on Industry Science and Computer Sciences Innovation (iSCSi), Lisbon, Portugal, 4-6 October 2023.
Elsevier.
pp. 344-353.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2024.05.114
This might also interest you
Newsletter
Stay on top of things and register for our newsletter. We will send you current news 2 – 3 times per year.
Institute for Facility Management
FM in HC
Newsletter
Find out more about the IFM.
Our projects and publications in the context of FM in Healthcare.
Stay on top of things and register for our newsletter. We will send you current news 2 – 3 times per year.