To help it attract and onboard new commercial banking customers, leading cooperative bank BS Brodnica partnered with TUATARA to implement a cutting-edge, AI-powered virtual assistant. Powered by IBM® watsonx™ Assistant the new solution answers online enquiries with 90% accuracy—enabling the bank to serve existing customers effectively while freeing employees to focus on growth opportunities BS Brodnica was one of the first cooperative banks in Poland to deliver digital banking services to its customers the organization continues to invest in its online and mobile banking platforms to offer faster more efficient and streamlined customer experiences Member of the Management Board for IT and Innovation at BS Brodnica confirms: “We aim to disrupt the status quo in cooperative banking through modern technologies Our customers’ needs are constantly evolving which means we must adapt our offering to keep pace.” the bank saw an opportunity to embrace the latest advances in AI “One of our objectives is to expand our commercial banking business particularly in growth industries such as agriculture,” continues Głowacki We were looking for a way to give our in-branch consultants and contact center teams more time to focus on our customers—and AI was a perfect fit.” BS Brodnica identified several key process areas that would benefit from AI-powered automation As well as answering its customers’ frequently asked questions the bank wanted to use AI to help promote its products and help customers find the best fit for their needs Głowacki says: “We targeted a modern AI virtual assistant that would reduce the workload on our consultants while also giving our customers access to instant Agile development methodology cuts time-to-value Customers have enthusiastically embraced the virtual assistant The virtual assistant can satisfy customer requests with high precision After reviewing solutions from several leading AI vendors BS Brodnica engaged TUATARA to deliver its new virtual assistant conversational AI platform designed to offer exceptional customer experiences “We chose TUATARA not only because of their signficant expertise in creating virtual assistants for the financial industry but also because their team brought a holistic approach to our project,” recalls Głowacki “TUATARA worked with us closely to understand our business goals as well as our technology objectives The care and attention they paid during the earliest phases of the project gave us confidence that we’d made the right choice.” In close collaboration with BS Brodnica, AI experts from TUATARA began developing the new virtual assistant using its purpose-built Actionbot (link resides outside of ibm.com) solution Actionbot combines cutting-edge IBM watsonx Assistant technology with multichannel automation and integration developed by TUATARA allowing virtual assistants to fit seamlessly into existing customer service workflows “TUATARA worked with us to fully integrate our new virtual assistant—named Piotr—with the bank’s knowledge base,” explains Głowacki “This integration allows Piotr to provide customers with accurate the powerful conversational AI from IBM means the assistant can recognize when the time is right to promote additional services which creates valuable up- and cross-selling opportunities.” TUATARA adopted an agile approach to the development of the new assistant including in-person and remote workshops to test out and iterate on new designs the bank worked with TUATARA to train Piotr on real-world customer data and test his responses—helping to ensure that the new assistant would deliver sparkling customer experiences Głowacki comments: “Within just a few weeks we had a working prototype of Piotr that was ready for testing Less than three months after we first engaged TUATARA our new virtual assistant was live and in production—it was a very smooth process.” Piotr assists BS Brodnica customers with their queries 24 hours a day Because the solution is powered by IBM watsonx Assistant it can converse with customers in a wide range of European languages “We want each of our customers to feel that we are with them on every step of their financial journey,” says Głowacki “By launching Piotr we’ve proven that cooperative banks can be at the forefront of innovation in Poland’s banking sector.” With Piotr augmenting its customer services BS Brodnica is freeing its consultants to focus on assisting with more complex or higher-value enquiries “Our new assistant can take on a wide range of tasks that would previously have required support from an employee—even things like filling in digital forms for applications for new banking products,” says Głowacki Piotr can transfer the conversation directly to a bank employee BS Brodnica can empower customers to navigate its digital channels more easily and find the information they are looking for faster Piotr prompts the customer to provide feedback on the quality of the support experience—providing valuable training data that helps improve future conversations Piotr is already having a positive impact on the customer experience at BS Brodnica as Głowacki explains: “Thanks to our new virtual assistant our customers no longer need to spend time queuing up in their local bank branch or waiting on the phone for a contact center agent Long-term customer relationships are built on customer satisfaction and we’re very pleased with how our new virtual assistant is performing.” The new virtual assistant is proving a big hit with BS Brodnica customers During the first two months after the solution went live customers had more than 1,000 conversations with Piotr sending over 3,700 messages to the virtual assistant Głowacki confirms: “One of our most important metrics for Piotr is accuracy because that is essential to be able to quickly respond to customer needs our virtual assistant Piotr can understand customer requests with 90% accuracy and we hope to continue to improve that metric in the months ahead.” BS Brodnica is empowering its consultants to pursue valuable commercial banking opportunities the solution will also help the bank to protect its relationships with existing customers by offering faster and more convenient support services the bank plans to perform an in-depth review of past conversations with Piotr and find ways to enhance the assistant’s responses BS Brodnica is boosting customer satisfaction and strengthening its position as the most innovative cooperative bank in Poland,” concludes Głowacki and we’re looking forward to building on our partnerships to explore new use cases.” The longest-established cooperative bank in Poland, BS Brodnica (link resides outside of ibm.com) was founded in 1862 in Brodnica friendly and professional services to retail and commercial banking customers across the country Founded in Warsaw, Poland in 2014, TUATARA (link resides outside of ibm.com) combines expert consulting with cutting-edge technology to create compelling digital experiences. A specialist in AI solutions, one of the company’s key offerings is Actionbot (link resides outside of ibm.com)—a solution that allows businesses to embed advanced virtual assistants into their workflows To learn more about the IBM solutions featured in this story please contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and watsonx are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copyright-trademark This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be changed by IBM at any time Not all offerings are available in every country in which IBM operates The performance data and client examples cited are presented for illustrative purposes only Actual performance results may vary depending on specific configurations and operating conditions THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF NON-INFRINGEMENT IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided The main tasks of the military chemical forces include detection identification and elimination of all kinds of contamination it was not a chemical threat that put them in the state of readiness but the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic the chemical troops have been disinfecting hospitals “It turns out that our protective measures and procedures also prove their worth in times like these,” says LtCol Dr Deputy Commander of the 4th Chemical Regiment in Brodnica This hasn’t been the first time the chemical forces support society in crisis they have been helping during natural disasters disinfecting buildings and roads after floods removing dead animals from the flooded territory and neutralizing toxic waste The primary task of chemical troops is however to assess the effects of using WMD “Current experience shows how much this kind of forces are needed,” emphasizes Col Jarosław Stocki Chief of the Directorate for Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction at the Armed Forces General Command and explains why: “The range of our tasks is much broader than simply supporting the armed forces in defense against WMD threats.” the war in Iraq made it clear that terrorist bases must be eliminated and Iraqi WMD reserve One of the international coalition’s members who intervened there was Poland it was at the time estimated that the chemical weapon risk was high so the chemical forces were first deployed to the region of conflict Within the Polish Military Contingent “Jordania” (later PMC “Iraq”) several dozen troops of the enforced platoon for eliminating contamination of the 4th Chemical Regiment in Brodnica were deployed to the Middle East They were equipped with devices for chemical and radiation detection installations for terrain and equipment decontamination as well as a chemical and radiometric laboratory The chemists were to secure the contingent in case the Iraqis use chemical weapons analysis of the samples delivered by the Americans the participation in the mission opened to the Polish chemical units the door to international cooperation the chemical troops from Tarnowskie Góry were deployed to secure the Olympics and Paralympics in Greece; two years later the troops from Brodnica were sent to the Riga NATO Summit they participate in the allied contamination detection Exercise Brave Beduin The troops are also part of the Multinational Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Battalion in the NATO Response Force Poland three times held the status of the so-called lead nation “Participation in the NATO Response Force or in military contingents allows the chemical forces to stay combat ready for the tasks they would perform in case WMDs are used in an armed conflict,” explains Col Jarosław Stocki and adds: “The primary goal of the chemical troops would then be to examine the used weapon or substance and define what technology should be applied to neutralize or eliminate it we will also be ready to indicate the potential perpetrator of the attack with the use of chemical warfare agents because we’re working towards acquiring the capability to collect samples from contaminated zones for evidence purposes.” Currently the Polish troops are on a year-long duty in the NATO Response Force The core of the CBRN Task Group of almost 900 troops are the soldiers of the 4th Chemical Regiment in Brodnica Military chemical troops are busy also in time of peace “We’re preparing soldiers to conduct reconnaissance identification and monitoring of contamination and to give early warnings about a threat,” explains SWO Tomasz Spałek of the 5th Chemical Regiment The experts at the National Cyber Security Center developed software for the soldiers of this unit “Regardless of whether it is a leaking storage tank with chemicals this software allows us to send a message in just several seconds we needed over a dozen minutes,” tells us the Warrant Officer He further explains that a soldier in the field first roughly examines the kind of contamination This makes for better battlefield imagery and planning next activities,” emphasizes Col Mirosław Kobryń Such software is also useful for the chemical rescue troops who deal with countering non-military threats such as industrial environment contamination Several times a year they are asked to provide support at the sites where unknown chemicals of military origin are discovered they had to step in when two men had burnt their skin after contact with yperite The substance leaked from a barrel these men had excavated in order to take it to the junkyard Dangerous chemicals are also found on beaches thousands of tons of ammunition and chemical weapons were sunk in the Baltic Sea It happens that the sea throws out to the beach a barrel filled with chloropicrin was found our troops secure the site and the dangerous find and later neutralize the substance,” explains Col Stocki and adds that the chemical troops were also called for when German smoke bombs fitted with capsules full of chemical explosives were found or when ampules with an unknown liquid were excavated They also helped to remove poisonous mould which covered the underground walls of Kraków’s Market Square “Our job in such situations is similar to that of sapper patrols We go to wherever the Police or the Fire Brigade claim a dangerous substance was found,” explains Col Kobryń The material taken by the chemical troops is first examined on site and then its samples go to laboratories in the Central Contamination Analysis Center Military Institute of Chemistry and Radiometry these last months meant primarily the fight with COVID-19 hence they spent hundreds of hours on decontaminating various kinds of buildings Commander of the Task Group of the 5th Chemical Regiment in Tarnowskie Góry carried out decontamination tasks in such places as the home for the aged in Drzewica where 80 people – residents and employees – proved to be COVID-19 positive while paying special attention to frequently touched surfaces such as doors or knobs,” he tells us “It sometimes happens that my team is disinfecting buildings in four voivodeships at the same time,” says Col Mirosław Kobryń Our unit’s activities cover Upper and Lower Silesia as well as Świetokrzyskie and Łódź voivodeships “We have disinfected so far over 2,200 pieces of equipment and 850 people and a terrain of total size of 56,000 square meters,” enumerates the commander They are also present at Wrocław’s airport where they disinfect planes Similar tasks in central and northern part of Poland are carried out by the 4th Chemical Regiment in Brodnica the buildings of the Seym and the Ministry of National Defense They also disinfected the soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent “Orlik,” who had returned from their mission in Estonia The epidemic threat was a sort of test for our chemical units “We train all year long on the training fields and now it’s time for a reality check to test our skills in the conditions of an actual threat,” emphasize the soldiers Col Jarosław Stocki emphasizes that the fight with the pandemic requires the engagement of large forces “Military chemical troops have carried out over 205 tasks No military specialized troops have been engaged to such a big extent since the Chernobyl disaster,” he says and adds that this is the time for drawing conclusions for the future soldiers admit that they could use a few more trainings on biological threats The first lessons have already been learnt The CBRN Directorate suggested that the easiest tasks there are at least two units properly equipped and trained for this kind of tasks we want to take some work load off the back of military chemical troops This doesn’t however mean that in crisis situations they will stop helping people They will be exactly in the places where their specialist knowledge and experience is required for example when disinfecting aircraft and people and not bus stops or staircases,” says Col Stocki He already trains people for such activity during trainings organized for all kinds of armed forces The Ministry of National Defense is also thinking about the growth of the chemical forces materials and equipment for decontamination and disinfection tasks are being purchased the Plan of Technical Modernization of the Polish Armed Forces for 2021-2035 has been verified will be formed,” informs the MoND Operational Center Such subunit for the 18th Mechanized Division will be formed in the structures of the 5th Chemical Regiment Lt Col Piotr Wachna is a deputy commander at the 4th Chemical Regiment of the Polish army based in Brodnica in north-central Poland This regiment is considered to be the elite in the area of protection against chemical weapons “I am responsible for all activities undertaken by the 4th Chemical Regiment,” explains Lt Col Piotr Wachna “I manage the resources designated to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and I am in contact with other military and civil entities/institutions involved in the fight against COVID-19.” Piotr plans everyday tasks conducted by the disinfection teams based on the needs reported to them by hospitals and other institutions as well as other public buildings like the Polish Parliament “No matter how tired we are and the coronavirus-related risk we are always ready to engage in the next task,” he says they disinfected two hospitals in Wolomin and Plonsk and several military and civilian emergency vehicles used to transport COVID-19 patients “I am impressed by the dedication and commitment of our soldiers to the fight against COVID-19 and to saving people’s lives,” says Piotr “They are putting themselves in danger and risking their own health while conducting their tasks.” the biggest task is to maintain readiness and to be able to contain the spread of COVID-19 Piotr and his team are trained to minimalise the risk of chemical “For us right now is the time for action in the conditions of real threat We have been and still are training for these kind of actions,” says Piotr Being part of NATO’s CBRN Defence Task Force Piotr also commands NATO’s Combined Joint CBRN Defence Task Force This NATO body is specifically trained and equipped to deal with CBRN events and/or attacks against NATO populations Piotr was 25 years old when his country joined NATO in 1999 He really values this international cooperation between Allies we have the opportunity to enhance operating standards and expand our abilities The current situation allows us to verify the procedures in place as well as to gain new expertise related to operating in COVID-19 environment,” says Piotr To meet the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic Piotr and his team cooperate closely with subordinate branches in Poland as well as with NATO Allies in other countries “ We constantly monitor the situation and assess the impact of COVID-19 on our tasks and duties,” explains Piotr Piotr’s family is proud of his work and commitment “They know that my work serves the safety of other people and helps minimalise the effects of the pandemic In recent years I have been a guest in my own home due to deployments but my family understands it.” Piotr enjoys listening to classical music like Chopin and reading the literature of the Romantic era “It allows me to decompress and forget for a while about my work and tasks in my everyday service.” “Optimism and faith are very important We need to believe that ‘it will be better’ and look bravely into the future with a wide smile,” concludes Piotr This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Henri-Lloyd leads the way in sailing gear performance and sustainability There’s a saying there’s no such thing as bad weather This year Henri-Lloyd marks six decades in the business of supplying appropriate apparel for sailors Recognised as the original British sailing brand Henri-Lloyd’s new high-quality collections reference the original DNA that the brand is known and loved for all over the world – exceptional protection from the worst of weather to keep you safe Henri-Lloyd was founded when Henri Strzelecki moved from Poland to Manchester and The company was quick to win a market-leading position developing advanced clothing for the most extreme environments backed by a strong reputation for innovation and quality products and still has a manufacturing base located in Henri’s home town of Brodnica Innovative side panels in the Coastal salopettes provide significant extra comfort flexibility and temperature control when in use all day long Widely-known as the first clothing company to adopt Velcro for fastenings Henri-Lloyd also led the way with taped waterproof seams and non-corrosive zips Renowned sailors became advocates, including Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Chay Blyth – and today Henri-Lloyd is the apparel of choice for Sir Ben Ainslie and the INEOS Britannia America’s Cup team Henri-Lloyd continues to pioneer waterproofing technologies to enhance its fabrics’ performance in partnership with premium Japanese supplier Toray has driven the company to develop a waterproof rating of 20,000mm and a moisture vapour permeability rating of 10,000 g/m2/24hr with a 100% recycled nylon face and a microporous coating The new Biscay jacket designed to protect both coastal and offshore sailors features a double layered shell of recycled PFC-free Dri Pro fabric with taped seams that guarantee protection both day and night The Biscay Jacket is made from 2-layer recycled PFC-free Dri Pro shell with taped seams It’s comfortable to wear with a fleece-lined storm collar and double fleece-lined hand warmer pockets A laminated outer cuff combined with inner PU cuff pushes out running water with a soft and skin-tight barrier The hi-vis hood is adjustable and easy to store and Union Jack reflectors ensure easy visibility of crew in any conditions Choosing fabrics which will last over a long period is a key factor in the company’s drive for sustainability says that sustainability is achieved through longevity Olympian and former CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race This is bolstered by Henri-Lloyd’s comprehensive repair service which is testament to the quality of their materials and their construction,” says Frostad Henri-Lloyd’s legacy confers style as well The widely-recognised tricolour stripe debuted on the 1987 America’s Cup kit of Dennis Conner when his team triumphed in the oldest competition in international sport The new range’s aesthetics also incorporate this trademark design Familiar and popular product names have been retained Complimentary colourways mean that salopettes can be combined with a number of different jackets Explore the highly-durable and functional men and women’s collections online at www.hendrilloyd.com, instore in Cowes, Lymington, Dartmouth and Salcombe or across the UK and globally in chandleries and yachting retailers. www.henrilloyd.com