Burns & McDonnell and Librestream partner to implement collaboration platform supporting critical infrastructure workforces.
ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘librestream’ CATEGORY
Oct 05, 2021 • News • Artificial intelligence • Augmented Reality • construction • Digital Transformation • remote working • Librestream • GLOBAL • Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell and Librestream partner to implement collaboration platform supporting critical infrastructure workforces.
To support clients in the critical infrastructure industries, Burns & McDonnell, a 100% employee-owned engineering, construction and architecture firm, and Librestream, the #1-rated provider of augmented reality (AR) and remote collaboration solutions, are collaborating to implement Librestream’s field-to-office collaboration and knowledge capture platform, Onsight. Onsight’s solution is device-agnostic and is compatible with computers, tablets and enterprise wearable devices, and helps field workers conduct their jobs safely and more efficiently.
THE TECHNOLOGY HELPS FIELD WORKERS ACCESS INFORMATION AND RESOLVE ISSUES MORE EFFICIENTLY
Through the value-added partnership, Burns & McDonnell will support training, technology management and system integrations of Librestream’s full-package solution to help clients navigate unprecedented challenges.
“We are excited to partner with Librestream and its technical excellence to enable our clients to access critical information and more rapidly resolve issues in the field,” says Matt Olson, vice president and managing director of the Networks, Integration & Automation Group at Burns & McDonnell. “The integrated experience that captures and shares knowledge across project teams offers advantages in design accuracy, safety and efficiency while creating multiple benefits — both individually and collectively — through each project phase.”
Evergy Ventures, a nonregulated subsidiary of investor-owned utility, Evergy, made a strategic investment in Librestream to accelerate digital transformation within the energy sector. Through its research, Evergy Ventures identified Librestream as the top provider of remote expert and knowledge management tools. Evergy Ventures is supporting Librestream with strategic guidance and helping develop key relationships with utility innovators.
“This is an incredibly transformative time in the energy industry, and it is great to see Burns & McDonnell, one of our trusted partners in our hometown of Kansas City, partnering with Librestream to continue to advance the digital workforce,” says Dennis Odell, vice president of Evergy Ventures.
Librestream's Onsight platform enables workforce transformation through industrial use cases, powering the workforce of the future by combining AR, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) data visualization, as well as enabling automated on-the-job training, reducing cognitive load and driving operational insights. Onsight enables customers to achieve meaningful business outcomes such as 70% productivity gains, 65%-70% increases in asset uptime, and increases of three times the inspections per day, all with a more integrated experience that captures and shares knowledge across the workforce.
“Burns & McDonnell brings strong industry experience with digital technology, use case development, platform integrations, stakeholder management and training,” says Gary McAuliffe, vice president of sales for global utilities, Librestream. “Together, we look forward to bringing all of the services and technology together to provide Burns & McDonnell clients with tools that are simple to incorporate on projects and increase efficiency and safety.”
Through the official partnership, the Onsight platform benefits to Burns & McDonnell clients will include:
- Field collaboration and conferencing built for rugged environments. When traveling to perform a site visit isn’t possible, videoconferencing supports projects through on-site troubleshooting calls from the field to team members working remotely or in the office. Calling from the field also allows the team to capture situational information for future training and work processes.
- Data gathering and knowledge capture. The technology minimizes time spent sorting through data. It has demonstrated faster field documentation than traditional methods, with Librestream noting a potential 70% productivity gain.
- Workflow — step-by-step guidance and ability to assign tasks to people in the field. With remote specialists a call away and guided systems in place, less-experienced personnel can perform necessary field tasks if needed. With workflows and guided forms, the software captures and organizes field knowledge automatically.
To publicly launch the newly formed partnership, Burns & McDonnell and Librestream will conduct a joint webinar on Sept. 28, 2021, at 11 a.m. EDT. Zachary Wassenberg, product manager with Burns & McDonnell, and McAuliffe will give an overview of the platform and discuss a specific use case associated with bulk electric system reliability (NERC FAC-008 inspections). Sign up for the webinar here.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Artificial Intelligence on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/artificial-intelligence
- Read more about Augmented Reality on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmented-reality
- Find out more more about Librestream @ www.librestream.com
- Learn more about Burns & McDonnell @ www.burnsmcd.com
- Read more about Librestream on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/librestream
Dec 13, 2019 • Software & Apps • News • Augmented Reality • samsung • Librestream
Librestream’s Onsight AR Enterprise platform is now optimized for Samsung’s latest ruggedized tablet, the Galaxy Tab Active Pro...
Librestream’s Onsight AR Enterprise platform is now optimized for Samsung’s latest ruggedized tablet, the Galaxy Tab Active Pro...
Aug 07, 2019 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Workforce • IFS • skills • The Big Discussion • OverIT • Librestream
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector. In the final part of our forum on Augmented Reality, contributors including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service...
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector.
In the final part of our forum on Augmented Reality, contributors including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream offer their advice on what service professionals should ask an AR vendor when considering an AR solution.
What is the one key question you would advise a field service director to ask an Augmented Reality vendor when potentially seeking a solution to implement within their business?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
There will be many questions the field service director will be asked by colleagues, customers, or supply chain partners. Addressing the questions upfront is very important and the AR vendors should all be able to answer them. For example, you need the answer to questions like ‘how do you handle privacy issues’? Or, more basic than that, ‘when I move beyond the pilot phase, will IT let me deploy?’
We felt it was important to identify the common challenges we’ve experienced with customers during deployment. We worked with customers and analysts to develop the Remote Expert Industry Guide.
Our longevity in the AR space has made it clear that sharing video or capturing data digitally can be a touchy subject, especially when end customers are involved. Field service directors and their colleagues need reassurance that the vendor they choose can provide the solution.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
I would like them to ask: “Do you provide an AR App or an Augmented Reality product?”
An Augmented Reality product, such as SPACE1, is a no-code authoring platform, which allows non-technical users to create intuitive and visual work instructions, making them virtually available to any technician. Furthermore, it enables collaboration for training and maintenance purposes.
Any company, looking into AR, should consider only products offering crossplatform support for handhelds, desktop and AR wearables where both realtime remote assistance and access to pre-built AR work instructions can be
served simultaneously, in one single application.
Moreover, decision-makers should select only solutions providing secure data handling in compliance with IT requirements and online/offline capabilities which make the information technicians need available, regardless of any potential connection issue.
Last but not least, features to capture images, annotations and screenshots, add documentation and record live support sessions under the expert guidance (both verbal and supported by visual annotations) are particularly useful in view of future use and sharing.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
“What areas of my service delivery organisation will be affected by deploying AR technology and how do I manage change effectively to ensure successful adoption of your product?”
You can read the first instalment of this Big Discussion here, the second here and the third part here.
In the final part of our forum on Augmented Reality, contributors including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream offer their advice on what service professionals should ask an AR vendor when considering an AR solution.
What is the one key question you would advise a field service director to ask an Augmented Reality vendor when potentially seeking a solution to implement within their business?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
There will be many questions the field service director will be asked by colleagues, customers, or supply chain partners. Addressing the questions upfront is very important and the AR vendors should all be able to answer them. For example, you need the answer to questions like ‘how do you handle privacy issues’? Or, more basic than that, ‘when I move beyond the pilot phase, will IT let me deploy?’
We felt it was important to identify the common challenges we’ve experienced with customers during deployment. We worked with customers and analysts to develop the Remote Expert Industry Guide.
Our longevity in the AR space has made it clear that sharing video or capturing data digitally can be a touchy subject, especially when end customers are involved. Field service directors and their colleagues need reassurance that the vendor they choose can provide the solution.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
I would like them to ask: “Do you provide an AR App or an Augmented Reality product?”
An Augmented Reality product, such as SPACE1, is a no-code authoring platform, which allows non-technical users to create intuitive and visual work instructions, making them virtually available to any technician. Furthermore, it enables collaboration for training and maintenance purposes.
Any company, looking into AR, should consider only products offering crossplatform support for handhelds, desktop and AR wearables where both realtime remote assistance and access to pre-built AR work instructions can be
served simultaneously, in one single application.
Moreover, decision-makers should select only solutions providing secure data handling in compliance with IT requirements and online/offline capabilities which make the information technicians need available, regardless of any potential connection issue.
Last but not least, features to capture images, annotations and screenshots, add documentation and record live support sessions under the expert guidance (both verbal and supported by visual annotations) are particularly useful in view of future use and sharing.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
“What areas of my service delivery organisation will be affected by deploying AR technology and how do I manage change effectively to ensure successful adoption of your product?”
You can read the first instalment of this Big Discussion here, the second here and the third part here.
Jul 31, 2019 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Workforce • IFS • skills • The Big Discussion • OverIT • Librestream
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector. In the third of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor...
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector.
In the third of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream ponder AR's future role in service. Will it be ubiquitous as a rugged device?
Do you think AR will become a mainstream/commonplace part of field service operations within the near future?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
This question is an interesting one. AR is a large bucket. If you look at proven capabilities such as remote expert guidance and digital work instructions, AR is already a mainstream capability for market leaders.
Other AR capabilities such as 3D modeling and cognitive services, while important parts of the digital transformation journey, are further out in maturity. For these proven AR tools, we’ve experienced a shift from Operations to IT led sourcing to deploy at scale across an enterprise.
At scale, these enterprises report strong operational results such as:
• 30% Productivity gain from ‘just in time’ mentoring of field techs;
• 5-10% Increase in asset up-time;
• 50% Reduction in support call duration;
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
Most consulting firms agree that by 2022 over 50% of field service providers will offer a specialized digital customer experience enabling both two-way interaction and workflow initiation through multiple human and non-human channels.
The prediction is confirmed by the fact that OverIT, as an AR product supplier, is no longer reaching out to potential customers to make them aware of the power of such technology, but instead is proactively contacted by prospects who have already developed a well-defined AR strategy for their business. OverIT with more than 85K active users on field have the expertise to guide them in this process.
We are facing the ROI era and Augmented Reality is no longer a proof-of concept.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
The current technology inflection point, where technologies like AR, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will become pervasive, makes it one of the most exciting times to be working with service companies.
Many use-cases that, only a couple of years ago, seemed aspirational at best, are becoming more real and accessible every day.
We are certainly seeing more interest in this area from the industry as cost and complexity reduce – making the technology more accessible to a wider range of organisations.
The Feasibility of AR in Service report produced by the Service Council in 2017 found that 33% of respondents were already using AR, with 43% evaluating it. From what we see in the market, this upwards trajectory has continued and momentum is continuing to build.
The final part of the big discussion will be published next week. You can read the first instalment here and the second here.
In the third of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream ponder AR's future role in service. Will it be ubiquitous as a rugged device?
Do you think AR will become a mainstream/commonplace part of field service operations within the near future?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
This question is an interesting one. AR is a large bucket. If you look at proven capabilities such as remote expert guidance and digital work instructions, AR is already a mainstream capability for market leaders.
Other AR capabilities such as 3D modeling and cognitive services, while important parts of the digital transformation journey, are further out in maturity. For these proven AR tools, we’ve experienced a shift from Operations to IT led sourcing to deploy at scale across an enterprise.
At scale, these enterprises report strong operational results such as:
• 30% Productivity gain from ‘just in time’ mentoring of field techs;
• 5-10% Increase in asset up-time;
• 50% Reduction in support call duration;
• 20% Acceleration in time to resolution.
In addition to these tangible results, our customers describe how AR also provides them with competitive differentiation, worker safety, premium service offers, and worker retention opportunities.
In addition to these tangible results, our customers describe how AR also provides them with competitive differentiation, worker safety, premium service offers, and worker retention opportunities.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
Most consulting firms agree that by 2022 over 50% of field service providers will offer a specialized digital customer experience enabling both two-way interaction and workflow initiation through multiple human and non-human channels.
The prediction is confirmed by the fact that OverIT, as an AR product supplier, is no longer reaching out to potential customers to make them aware of the power of such technology, but instead is proactively contacted by prospects who have already developed a well-defined AR strategy for their business. OverIT with more than 85K active users on field have the expertise to guide them in this process.
We are facing the ROI era and Augmented Reality is no longer a proof-of concept.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
The current technology inflection point, where technologies like AR, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will become pervasive, makes it one of the most exciting times to be working with service companies.
Many use-cases that, only a couple of years ago, seemed aspirational at best, are becoming more real and accessible every day.
We are certainly seeing more interest in this area from the industry as cost and complexity reduce – making the technology more accessible to a wider range of organisations.
The Feasibility of AR in Service report produced by the Service Council in 2017 found that 33% of respondents were already using AR, with 43% evaluating it. From what we see in the market, this upwards trajectory has continued and momentum is continuing to build.
The final part of the big discussion will be published next week. You can read the first instalment here and the second here.
Jul 24, 2019 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Workforce • IFS • skills • The Big Discussion • OverIT • Librestream
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector. In the second of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor...
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector.
In the second of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream discuss what role the technology can play in the challenge around an ageing workforce.
What role can AR play in helping field service companies overcome the ageing workforce crisis they may be facing?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
As the ageing workforce continues to challenge field service operations, the need to transfer and harness the knowledge of these experts is undeniable. With statistics such as 10,000 workers retiring every day in the US market for example, it is clear why this trend is a major driver for AR within field service.
The ageing workforce challenge is also compounded by the introduction of millennial workers. One of our industrial customers shared that it costs up to $1M and nine months to train a new worker to the previous SME standard. With millennials staying an average of three years, doing things the old way is not sustainable.
Using AR to provide ‘just in time’ training instead of ‘just in case’ training is essential. This ‘just in time’ training is achievable with AR solutions like digital work instructions to step them through a process and remote expert guidance to access advice on the job.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
AR makes it easier for companies to move from an employee-centric approach to a wider and constantly evolving enterprise-centric approach where knowledge and know-how transfer are the core elements.
Every company should aim at equipping both technicians and operators with a user-friendly solution which does not require any coding skills for generating new content but instead creates a collaborative working environment where knowledge is easily shared.
Customer satisfaction plays also a pivotal role when it comes to determining the success of a company and the ability to provide the technician with the expertise needed at the right moment helps to reach this ambitious goal.
The spread of consumers’ devices and user-friendly AR products is smoothing such transitions provide all employees, from millennials to more senior operators, with the essential skills required. An AR solution should always adapt to the company information architecture employed and each user should be able to access the data needed to augment the real world with rich and intuitive content.
Choosing an integrated platform, which is flexible and can be easily connected to the existing systems, such as ERP and IoT, will allow enterprises to quickly see the benefits AR can offer to pave the way for success.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
The key use-case in this area is the remote expert whose expertise can be leveraged across multiple field technicians to rapidly increase competency in the field.
This is critical in supporting the next wave of service technicians which the industry needs as more experienced technicians leave the workforce.
This use-case also provides a potential way to extend the career of some technicians, re-deploying field-based workers as remote experts whose specific objective is to increase competence and transfer their extensive knowledge, gained through years of in-field experience, to the next generation of technicians.
The third part of the big discussion will be published next week. You can read the first instalment here.
In the second of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream discuss what role the technology can play in the challenge around an ageing workforce.
What role can AR play in helping field service companies overcome the ageing workforce crisis they may be facing?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
As the ageing workforce continues to challenge field service operations, the need to transfer and harness the knowledge of these experts is undeniable. With statistics such as 10,000 workers retiring every day in the US market for example, it is clear why this trend is a major driver for AR within field service.
The ageing workforce challenge is also compounded by the introduction of millennial workers. One of our industrial customers shared that it costs up to $1M and nine months to train a new worker to the previous SME standard. With millennials staying an average of three years, doing things the old way is not sustainable.
Using AR to provide ‘just in time’ training instead of ‘just in case’ training is essential. This ‘just in time’ training is achievable with AR solutions like digital work instructions to step them through a process and remote expert guidance to access advice on the job.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
AR makes it easier for companies to move from an employee-centric approach to a wider and constantly evolving enterprise-centric approach where knowledge and know-how transfer are the core elements.
Every company should aim at equipping both technicians and operators with a user-friendly solution which does not require any coding skills for generating new content but instead creates a collaborative working environment where knowledge is easily shared.
Customer satisfaction plays also a pivotal role when it comes to determining the success of a company and the ability to provide the technician with the expertise needed at the right moment helps to reach this ambitious goal.
The spread of consumers’ devices and user-friendly AR products is smoothing such transitions provide all employees, from millennials to more senior operators, with the essential skills required. An AR solution should always adapt to the company information architecture employed and each user should be able to access the data needed to augment the real world with rich and intuitive content.
Choosing an integrated platform, which is flexible and can be easily connected to the existing systems, such as ERP and IoT, will allow enterprises to quickly see the benefits AR can offer to pave the way for success.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
The key use-case in this area is the remote expert whose expertise can be leveraged across multiple field technicians to rapidly increase competency in the field.
This is critical in supporting the next wave of service technicians which the industry needs as more experienced technicians leave the workforce.
This use-case also provides a potential way to extend the career of some technicians, re-deploying field-based workers as remote experts whose specific objective is to increase competence and transfer their extensive knowledge, gained through years of in-field experience, to the next generation of technicians.
The third part of the big discussion will be published next week. You can read the first instalment here.
Jul 17, 2019 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Workforce • IFS • skills • The Big Discussion • OverIT • Librestream
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector. In the first of a new four part series, we turn our attention to Augmented Reality where our panel includes Stephen...
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector.
In the first of a new four part series, we turn our attention to Augmented Reality where our panel includes Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream...
Why should field service companies deploy an augmented reality solution if they already have a peer-to-peer video tool (such as Facetime or Skype) already available and free to use?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
Choosing a video chat product as a remote expert augmented reality (AR) solution can seem like an easy path to fulfilling an immediate need.
As AR platforms and capabilities like remote expert guidance have matured, enterprises have developed clear requirements for security, IT controls, usability and performance. Requirements that these kinds of tools are not able to meet. For example, how will the solution perform in low bandwidth environments? Can IT control how much bandwidth will be consumed?
How can I quickly engage supply chain experts and customers? How can I be sure my content is safe and meets privacy requirements?
We deployed the first AR remote expert solution in 2006 – long before remote expert guidance was part of AR. Over the past 12+ years, our enterprise customers like Rolls Royce, NOV, Colgate-Palmolive, SGS, and hundreds more have guided the development of our solution to solve these difficult challenges.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
Augmented Reality does not imply the use of a mere Remote Support solution but of an advanced tool aiming at supporting field technicians in their daily tasks through advanced collaboration and content sharing features.
AR solutions, such as OverIT’s product SPACE1, offer both real-time remote assistance and access to pre-built AR work instructions simultaneously.
In this way, support means collaboration and remote problem solving, but with a groundbreaking concept in mind. When assistance was guided by standard videos, both field technician and remote operator had to rely solely on voice instructions. SPACE1 is one step ahead, allowing experts to make marks that stick where drawn and annotations to be displayed on the users’ point of view while supporting them. Moreover, it enables the sharing of digital twins to be set where the remote expertise is needed, thus broadening traditional field working modalities and creating a brand-new cooperative virtual environment. See it in action here.
By using AR products users can capture images, record live support sessions to retain and share the expert assistance (both verbal and supported by visual annotations) in the future or even generate reports and offer actionable insights into improvement opportunities while providing additional employee training.v
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
AR is a far broader topic, with wider use-cases and implications than simply being used for video calls and ad-hoc collaboration.
AR solutions, embedded in the service delivery process can greatly enhance and enrich the customer experience.
One of the most compelling use-cases is in service call avoidance; where AR, when implemented in a seamless manner, empowers contact agents with enhanced diagnostics capabilities and tooling – being able to see and remotely guide the customer in triage with directive instructions, document sharing and image mark-up. These capabilities can reduce down-time, avoid the need to send a field technician to site and thus directly improve customer satisfaction. Additionally, compliance obligations can also be met through integrated session recording; which isn’t possible in the peer-to-peer space.
That same capability can then be deployed in the field; giving the technicians and the remote experts guiding them much wider capability with a resulting increase in effectiveness and efficiency. In this way, the technology increases first-time-fix rates, improving cost-to-serve and providing another dimension in improving the customer experience.
The second part of the big discussion will be published next week, when the panel answer questions on the role that AR can play in the challenges that come with an ageing workforce.
In the first of a new four part series, we turn our attention to Augmented Reality where our panel includes Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream...
Why should field service companies deploy an augmented reality solution if they already have a peer-to-peer video tool (such as Facetime or Skype) already available and free to use?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
Choosing a video chat product as a remote expert augmented reality (AR) solution can seem like an easy path to fulfilling an immediate need.
As AR platforms and capabilities like remote expert guidance have matured, enterprises have developed clear requirements for security, IT controls, usability and performance. Requirements that these kinds of tools are not able to meet. For example, how will the solution perform in low bandwidth environments? Can IT control how much bandwidth will be consumed?
How can I quickly engage supply chain experts and customers? How can I be sure my content is safe and meets privacy requirements?
We deployed the first AR remote expert solution in 2006 – long before remote expert guidance was part of AR. Over the past 12+ years, our enterprise customers like Rolls Royce, NOV, Colgate-Palmolive, SGS, and hundreds more have guided the development of our solution to solve these difficult challenges.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
Augmented Reality does not imply the use of a mere Remote Support solution but of an advanced tool aiming at supporting field technicians in their daily tasks through advanced collaboration and content sharing features.
AR solutions, such as OverIT’s product SPACE1, offer both real-time remote assistance and access to pre-built AR work instructions simultaneously.
In this way, support means collaboration and remote problem solving, but with a groundbreaking concept in mind. When assistance was guided by standard videos, both field technician and remote operator had to rely solely on voice instructions. SPACE1 is one step ahead, allowing experts to make marks that stick where drawn and annotations to be displayed on the users’ point of view while supporting them. Moreover, it enables the sharing of digital twins to be set where the remote expertise is needed, thus broadening traditional field working modalities and creating a brand-new cooperative virtual environment. See it in action here.
By using AR products users can capture images, record live support sessions to retain and share the expert assistance (both verbal and supported by visual annotations) in the future or even generate reports and offer actionable insights into improvement opportunities while providing additional employee training.v
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
AR is a far broader topic, with wider use-cases and implications than simply being used for video calls and ad-hoc collaboration.
One of the most compelling use-cases is in service call avoidance; where AR, when implemented in a seamless manner, empowers contact agents with enhanced diagnostics capabilities and tooling – being able to see and remotely guide the customer in triage with directive instructions, document sharing and image mark-up. These capabilities can reduce down-time, avoid the need to send a field technician to site and thus directly improve customer satisfaction. Additionally, compliance obligations can also be met through integrated session recording; which isn’t possible in the peer-to-peer space.
That same capability can then be deployed in the field; giving the technicians and the remote experts guiding them much wider capability with a resulting increase in effectiveness and efficiency. In this way, the technology increases first-time-fix rates, improving cost-to-serve and providing another dimension in improving the customer experience.
The second part of the big discussion will be published next week, when the panel answer questions on the role that AR can play in the challenges that come with an ageing workforce.
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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