How AR Enables Enterprises to Adopt a Proactive Service Model
AR is a key enabling technology that gives enterprises the power to switch their maintenance models.
Businesses can’t afford lengthy equipment outages, but many operate in a reactive state, only acknowledging and fixing issues as they arise and wreak havoc. This presents significant problems, as parts shortages or limited access for service technicians due to shifting COVID and other global challenges can lead to longer resolution times. Sam Waicberg, co-founder and president, CareAR, shares how AR can enable the adoption of a proactive service model for enterprises.
According to the 2021 Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) Hourly Cost of Downtime Survey, hourly downtime costs have risen 32% in the past seven years. For 91% of companies, hourly downtime costs top $300,000 annually, with a whopping 44% getting hit with charges in excess of $1 million. Downtime can significantly impact a business’s reputation with its customers; if customer expectations are not met, companies risk losing them. In a 2021 study from Qualtrics and ServiceNow, 80% of customers said they had switched brands because of poor customer experience, and 43% of respondents said they were at least somewhat likely to switch brands after only a single negative customer service interaction.
Enter augmented reality (AR). AR is a key enabling technology that gives enterprises the power to switch their maintenance models from the traditional reactive approach to a modern proactive one that better supports service technicians and provides superb customer experiences. This technology can combine “see-what-I-see” video overlayed with contextual visual guidance using smart devices to enable remote support of equipment issues and faster resolution times.
Many decision-makers are looking to adopt a more proactive methodology because it is both cost-effective and time-efficient for the organization. This “shift left” approach lowers costs because issues found early in the process are cheaper to fix. It also fosters better communication between internal teams and technical support representatives, which creates a more efficient organization.
Let’s take a look at how enterprises are leveraging AR to “shift left” and adopt a more proactive and responsive service model:
See More: How AR/VR Is Driving Automation and Robotics for Manufacturers
Enabling Proactive Troubleshooting and Predictive Maintenance
With live visual instructions powered by AR, employees are able to troubleshoot potential issues and implement proactive maintenance before things reach a tipping point and become major problems that could result in devastating equipment failure. The “see-what-I-see” visual display offers a low barrier to entry that provides critical assistance to all customers, regardless of their technical expertise, familiarity, or comfort level with handling significant equipment issues. Data gathered during these AR interactions can then be leveraged to identify trends over time and alert maintenance or a remote technician of any oncoming problems.
Pre-diagnosing Issues and Improving Sustainability
Service truck rolls cannot always be avoided, even in a proactive organization. However, excessive service dispatches can and should be minimized to the greatest extent; one in three service calls results in a site visit and unnecessary added costs. With AR, field service experts can embrace and maintain a proactive mindset by leveraging technology to pre-diagnose potential issues and ensure the right parts and resources are first brought onsite.
But the financial impact is only one part of the story. Excessive service dispatches have other ramifications, such as the negative impact on climate and air quality. According to the EPA, transportation accounted for 27% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020, the most significant contributor of any sector. Trucks (light, medium, and heavy-duty) were responsible for 83% of emissions coming from transportation. As an added benefit, a proactive service approach means enterprises can ensure all equipment is running properly and efficiently, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint. This helps organizations meet and exceed their ESG goals and, with the increased public focus on the climate crisis, likely will improve customer loyalty and growth.
Facilitating Knowledge Transfer and Workforce Retention
The Great Resignation continues to impact the entire workforce: at the end of July, there were 11.2 million job openings, with 4.2 million people quitting during the month. Along those same lines, McKinsey research shows that 40% of workers are considering leaving their current job. With such massive workforce turnover, companies have found themselves in an era of constant restrategizing to handle knowledge and skills loss. Beyond that, as the workforce ages, it also shrinks: more than half of U.S. adults 55 and over became retirees in Q3 2021.
In addition to upskilling the existing workforce, the cost of hiring and training new employees can be expensive and cost-prohibitive. Businesses are now being proactive, leveraging AR to gather content that captures the valuable knowledge of those leaving the workforce, providing a seamless knowledge transfer process. Technicians using AR wearables can capture every step of the diagnosis and repair process and save that information in a database, where full-length videos or short clips can be made available to compile helpful training modules. AR can be an excellent tool to train and bring employees up to speed regardless of their technical background.
Setting Up For Success
Enterprises simply cannot afford to operate by traditional rules anymore. In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, organizations look for every possible opportunity to gain even the slightest edge over the competition. AR has myriad uses and capabilities, making it an ideal implementation for any organization looking to zoom ahead in its respective industry. Our current global landscape also demands agility, scalability, and flexibility, as demonstrated by the dramatic shifts in overall business strategy brought on by the pandemic. If an organization is not flexible and open-minded in adopting new technologies, it will be left behind while more innovative competitors leap ahead.
Don’t wait until it’s too late: “shifting left” from a reactive approach to a proactive model today will set the organization up for a quick response and long-term success when equipment challenges or workforce issues arise.
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