AR in the Service Industry
Using AR in the service industry can help companies with a number of different goals. One of the primary purposes is to bridge knowledge gaps between new and experienced technicians, allowing for real-time training.
AR also helps field technicians with troubleshooting tasks by letting them view the problem directly. This allows for quicker, more accurate fix rates and reduces downtime.
Improved Productivity
AR is already used in many industries to improve productivity, but it can also be a powerful tool for the service industry. By enhancing efficiency, it can help companies to cut costs and improve customer satisfaction.
The best way to achieve this is by deploying AR devices such as headsets, smart glasses and tablets. These enable technical experts to provide remote support and assist local employees, thereby saving time and money on travel costs.
In addition, AR can be a powerful training tool. Technicians can learn how to operate and repair machines by using virtual models. It also allows them to train with mentors who have experience with the specific machinery.
Moreover, AR can be used to improve the layout of factories so that workers can locate products and tools faster. This helps reduce downtime augmented reality in service industry and make sure all processes are working.
Additionally, AR can be used for safety purposes as well. For example, technicians can use AR to identify potential hazards before they start a job. This can help ensure they don’t get hurt and that they don’t cause damage to other parts of the equipment or the environment.
It can also help workers assemble items in an efficient manner. For example, if a worker needs to assemble an IKEA sofa, they can use an AR device to visualize the furniture and pull up assembly instructions as they go. This eliminates the need to stop every five seconds to look at a written instruction sheet and reduces errors.
Furthermore, AR can improve the user interface of a product by replacing the traditional buttons, switches and dials. This will not only improve a user’s experience, but it can also save manufacturers significant amounts of money when they remove these devices from their products.
According to a Harvard Business Review guide, AR can increase productivity by reducing downtime and making it easy for workers to access manual process data. This includes cycle times, defects, and operational metrics. It can also enable workers to communicate with each other and with supervisors and managers without having to leave their physical location. This can help employees to collaborate more effectively and make better decisions.
Reduced Downtime
In industries where downtime is an issue, augmented reality (AR) can be used to reduce it. AR displays important data about equipment in the context of the environment, giving maintenance technicians real-time information about efficiency and defect rates. It also connects them with remote experts who can optimize processes and procedures for faster repairs.
The key to reducing downtime is to provide the right content to the technicians in the field. Digital content can include manuals, video or audio recordings and other resources that are easily accessible to technicians during service calls.
For example, at KPN, a European telecommunications company, field engineers use AR smart glasses to see service-history data and diagnostics about the product they are working on. This reduces errors, improves repair quality and produces a 11% reduction in costs for the company.
Besides reducing downtime, AR can increase the productivity of service teams by providing them with contextualized information they need to complete tasks in less time. This means fewer time spent looking up information in manuals and less need for re-calls or re-assignments.
It can also help to streamline training and onboarding for new field workers, such as the DHL team who has reduced the need for traditional instructors in its warehouses. The company’s AR-based onboarding system is a great example of how this type of technology can streamline processes, allowing employees to focus on the actual job at hand instead of navigating through paper documents and training material.
As more companies adopt augmented reality in the service industry, they will need to overcome some of the challenges associated with it. On the human side, this will require training and support to ensure that staff understand how to use the AR system.
On the operational side, it will require a secure network that can keep the system up and running 24 hours a day. It will also need a robust data infrastructure to store and retrieve information from the system.
Despite these obstacles, the potential for AR to make a transformational impact on the way that business is done is enormous. It will change the way that we work and how we think about the world around us.
Increased Customer Satisfaction
AR in the service industry is transforming post-sales support through two significant ways. For one, business brands are using AR to help customers with self-service and technical support through highly interactive visuals and media, screen overlays on technical aspects and quick FAQ answers.
The second way is through remote AR-based customer support, which has been successful in improving first call resolution and reducing dispatch rates. It has also reduced travel costs and shortened the average time that a technician spends on resolving issues.
Field technicians can perform inspections and repairs remotely, without having to bring an expert on site, saving time and money. This has helped Xerox increase its first-time fix rate by 67% and improve efficiency by 20%.
Many other industries are already implementing AR to innovate their operations. Telecom companies, for example, use AR to plan equipment inspections in the field, which saves both time and money while improving customer satisfaction.
Augmented reality can also be used in manufacturing to create better user interfaces for machines and processes. It can make information about a machine or process visible in the context where it is most useful to a technician, allowing them to quickly understand a problem and prompt them to do proactive maintenance that may prevent costly downtime.
In addition, augmented reality can be used in manufacturing to help design products that are easier to operate. For example, it can enable designers to visualize product mockups at scale using tablets. This helps clients understand how new products will look and feel, without having to make a prototype.
This is especially important in fields where products are complex and expensive to design, such as automotive and aerospace. With augmented reality, designers can see the exact look of their proposed products before spending significant money creating a prototype or building an entire assembly line.
Another way that augmented reality can improve customer satisfaction is during the point of purchase (POP). For example, Starbucks flagship roastery in Shanghai uses AR technology to keep shoppers fully engaged and focused on what they are doing when they visit. The experience can also provide a way for consumers to interact with the store’s products and ambience.
Improved Safety
As business owners and workers alike face a greater demand for safety protocols, more companies are using augmented reality to create safer environments. These innovations can help to mitigate a variety of risks in the workplace, from dangerous equipment to toxic chemicals.
Augmented reality is a technology that blends real and virtual worlds together to create an immersive experience for users. It is an excellent tool for manufacturing and maintenance, as it allows workers to perform critical tasks with a high level of confidence.
For example, an augmented reality headset can show assembly line workers detailed instructions for their work, including step-by-step breakdowns of what they must do in their peripheral vision. These instructions are crucial for ensuring that workers follow the correct procedures and reduce accidents.
Similarly, augmented reality can be used to train employees in augmented reality in service industry the use of specialized equipment. This training is more effective and gives learners the chance to practice their skills in a safe environment before putting them into the real world.
AR can also be used to create a more interactive customer experience. For example, if a client has a machine that needs to be repaired, an industrial AR application can provide remote assistance from a qualified technician who can view the customer’s workspace and provide step-by-step troubleshooting instructions.
The technology behind augmented reality is relatively simple, but it requires a combination of computer vision, mapping, localization and depth tracking. This makes it a promising technology for industries that rely on data-driven decision-making.
For example, in factories and warehouses, AR can capture information from automation and control systems, secondary sensors and asset management systems and make it visible to workers and maintenance technicians. This helps to identify problems and prompts factory workers to do proactive maintenance, preventing costly downtime.
A similar approach can be applied to health and safety inspections. Instead of conducting inspections on the job, inspectors can take a visual tour of a workplace through an AR-generated floor map that shows the location of all critical equipment.
Using augmented reality in these types of inspections can be an easy, cost-effective and efficient way to keep employees safe. This can also help to prevent injuries from happening in the first place.
