How Augmented Reality Can Transform Field Service Operations
These days, enterprises need to stand out from the crowd and deliver the best possible customer experience in order to thrive—and that’s why some companies have started providing aftermarket field service. When everything goes according to plan, this service gives businesses an additional source of revenue while improving product uptime and keeping customers satisfied.
However, field service isn’t a magic bullet. Challenges that can get in the way of your company’s ability to successfully provide field service include:
The complexity of equipment requiring this type of service
High levels of employee turnover
On-the-job safety hazards
These obstacles might sound discouraging, but they aren’t insurmountable. When they adopt augmented reality, field service providers can increase their efficiency while delivering better results than ever before. Here’s a closer look at how AR solutions like smart glasses can improve training, safety, and other aspects of field service operations.
Training and Skill Development
If you make the switch to AR-powered training, you won’t miss your previous training process—this form of training boasts a higher retention rate than just about any other training method. Furthermore, augmented reality-based training is an immersive experience that doesn’t use real-world resources, and your employees won’t have to travel elsewhere to get this training. Most importantly of all, AR training is entirely free of safety risks.
Augmented reality can also help your employees develop skills in other ways. For example, if you have technicians who are about to retire, you’ll need to pass their knowledge on to other people in your organization. Fortunately, AR can make that a cinch—with this technology, your retiring techs can record themselves doing their jobs. Newer technicians can then use the same technology to access these recordings while working.
Overall, implementing augmented reality for field service is a powerful way to scale operations in your business by streamlining crucial parts of the training and onboarding process.
Diagnosis and Repair
Identifying problems with equipment and taking steps to resolve these issues is the heart of aftermarket field service. If your technicians still rely on “standard” paper manuals, they’ll be able to complete these tasks—but it might take a while for them to do so. By today’s standards, traditional manuals are inefficient and lacking in context. Maintaining these documents can come with a surprisingly substantial cost, as well.
Instead, consider using AR technology for this purpose. With the power of augmented reality, your technicians will be able to overlay information about whatever piece of equipment they happen to be repairing onto their real-world surroundings. That guidance will allow them to work faster than ever while providing accurate, high-quality workmanship.
Remote Troubleshooting
In some situations, your techs might run into a problem they’re unable to fix without guidance from another person. In the past, that would be enough to stop even the most skilled worker in their tracks, but that’s no longer a concern with AR.
When they have access to AR devices, technicians can get instant support from remote experts. These professionals will be able to walk your techs through any issue they might have—thanks to the collaborative problem-solving this technology enables, your employees will be back on track in no time.
Safety Enhancements
Augmented reality technology can also keep your workers safe on the job. With the information overlay and on-demand expertise AR provides, your technicians will know about potential hazards long before they become an issue. They’ll get the instructions they need to avoid causing additional safety-related problems, too.
Customer Experience
Your technicians will appreciate the troubleshooting instructions and remote guidance that AR provides, but that’s not the only useful information they can access with this technology. Augmented reality can make it easy for techs to look at your customers’ repair history and bring up notes about past repairs, which will help them diagnose and repair current issues.
Along with the improved service your techs can deliver to clients thanks to augmented reality, field service providers can also use this technology to improve their customer experience. With the help of AR, you can make it easy for clients to visualize how you’ll repair or upgrade their equipment. And when your clients receive total transparency on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, you’ll have no trouble building bonds of trust with them.
Data Collection and Analysis
As if the other perks of AR weren’t enough, this technology can help you collect data to improve your service calls and training procedures. Better yet, by knowing what problems your customers commonly encounter with your existing equipment, you’ll have a chance to address these issues while developing new products.
Get the AR Solution You’re Looking For
Augmented reality solutions such as smart glasses are already making an impact in industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and so much more. Even if you haven’t already considered the potential applications of augmented reality, field service providers have a lot to gain by putting this technology to use. By adding AR to your workflow, you can improve your technicians’ speed and accuracy, keep these professionals safe on the job, and enhance your customer satisfaction.
At MACE Virtual Labs, we provide the industry’s best VR and AR bundling and kitting services. As part of our efforts to continue enhancing our product and service lineup, we’ve recently partnered with Magic Leap—a company specializing in powerful, comfortable AR technology built for long-lasting use in the field. To take the first step towards creating an augmented reality fleet for your company, get in touch today!