In-depth knowledge of a product or service and the wealth of experience acquired from overcoming internal challenges and our clients’ needs are intrinsic values to any organisation. Commonly expressed as expertise or know how, this sort of knowledge lets you stand out from the competition. But what happens when just one or two members of the company have all the internal knowledge? When they retire, go to another firm or are simply unavailable for whatever reason, you run the risk of losing priceless information.
But there is a solution: you can document it. Nowadays, technologies based on Augmented Reality (AR) can help you to make it a fast and precise process. That way, not only do you perpetuate knowledge, but you also enable it to be transferred. The outcome is reduced investment in training, higher productivity and a lot of other benefits. Today we talk about that transfer of knowledge that is so important in a company:
Contents
- Knowledge Transfer in industry 4.0
- Industrial specialisation crisis
- Vuforia Expert Capture, Augmented Reality geared towards industry
- Success cases of Augmented Reality applied to industry
- Benefits of augmented reality applications for industry
Knowledge Transfer in industry 4.0
Finding specialists who provide the same value as technicians who’ve earned their stripes in the field is a complicated business. The shortage of qualified labour has been the cause of a crisis in specialisations throughout industry, and it’s not getting any better: analysts calculate that more than two million specialised manufacturing posts will be vacant by 2025.
The theoretical solution is self-evident: document this knowledge and transmit it to the persons we feel might need it.
The aim is also clear: enable other professionals in the company to access the knowledge. And if associated skills are acquired in the shortest possible time, productivity stands to benefit even more.
The problem up till has been finding a practical solution. The traditional approach of documenting protocols with static texts, figures and images requires a lot of investment in time and considerable skills in synthesising data. What’s more, understanding this type of protocol with symbolic information that has little to do with reality is such a complex process that a lot of training hours are needed.
But procedures can be documented onto reality; Augmented Reality (AT) makes it all much simpler. That goes for both the documentation and for the knowledge transfer.
In this article we’re going the explain the advantages of Vuforia Studio and Vuforia Expert Capture and how these AR tools work in the training and instruction tools developed by PTC. Aritex applies them to digital transformation projects in industry.
We’ll explain how Vuforia Expert Capture can optimise knowledge transfer in the heart of any company.
Below, we show you what the ‘industrial specialization crisis or gap’ is and what it is causing:
Industrial specialisation crisis
To start with, let’s contextualise the industrial specialisation crisis with one item of information and what it means for the future.
The data: Ageing industrial technicians.
At present, more than 25% of industrial technical specialists are over 55 years old.
The consequences: Service outsourcing
Given the difficulties in finding specialist labour that enables staff renewal, the most common trade-off is to outsource specialised services that were previously carried out by company employees. This practice may have some advantages, but outsourcing steals value from the company, which loses present and future knowledge. And it’s not the most profitable solution in the long term.
The alternative: Internal knowledge transfer
Here you generate knowledge within the company and transmit it to specialist personnel, increasing the reserve of specialisations, providing the organisation with resources that enable you to continue increasing quality standards and the company’s value.
And that’s where PTC’s Vuforia Expert Capture comes in.
Knowledge Transfer in industry 4.0 with Augmented Reality
Vuforia Expert Capture is the fastest and simplest way to create detailed instructions with Augmented Reality (AR) to help workers on the front line to do their job quickly and precisely.
It enables experts’ knowledge to be converted into a reusable learning resource. And it’s all on a simple tablet. Let’s see how.
Vuforia Expert Capture, Augmented Reality geared towards industry
Vuforia Expert Capture, enables the real world to be captured on video, where a virtual layer can then be superimposed onto what the camera sees. The software enables the context to be simply enriched and so enable any procedure to be easily understood thanks to text instructions, added diagrams, voice notes and working examples at every stage.
The software installed on a tablet, smartphone or an augmented reality device (e.g., a pair of AR glasses) recognises the physical asset and “sticks” on the digital information that we want. Then users can consult the procedures in the same setting (or a different one) and interact with the physical asset with both hands free to apply the instructions that they receive visually.
Applications of Augmented Reality in Industry
The main and most effective applications for reducing the specialisation gap in industry are:
- Visualisation of the physical asset. The applications for viewing with augmented reality superimpose information onto the physical asset. As an interactive digital twin can be generated, this application can be used in training as well as for guidance. The risk of making mistakes is minimised in both cases.
- Guidance with procedures. This application enables instructions, device statuses and output data of physical assets to be superimposed, which in turn enables complex procedures to be used on site.
- Remote assistance. This functionality virtually connects experts and workers to work on specific devices or equipment. We’ll explain how it works later on.
Success cases of Augmented Reality applied to industry
The AR software Vuforia Studio and Vuforia Expert Capture has already made a big contribution to improving productivity in a lot of companies. Let’s see a couple of landmark cases to get a better idea about what this technology has to offer.
GSI : Optimised training with Augmented Reality
GSI, an affiliate of AGCO, the industrial agricultural solutions multinational, decided it wanted to reduce time and money spent on operations and maintenance training. And it did so thanks to Vuforia Studio:
- It replaced more than 200 complex images used during training with augmented reality experiences.
- It managed to reduce the total time spent on personnel training by 60%.
BAE Systems: Greater productivity thanks to AR
BAE Systems, a British aeronautics multinational, decided to use Vuforia Studio to evolve its training and guidance resources. Thanks to the development of work instructions based on augmented reality and Microsoft HoloLens displays for training and maintenance, the company saw spectacular improvements in results. BAE used augmented reality to make a real impact on the specialisations gap:
- The cost of guidance resource development went down by 90%.
- AR-based training was 30% more effective than previous methods.
- Battery assembly time was reduced by half. That’s right, 50%!
Benefits of augmented reality applications for industry
Cost reductions. Greater efficiency. Increased productivity. Increased workforce safety. There’s a greater sense of belonging too, although to create this feeling the company has to include the teams right from the start and get them to participate in the adaptations made with this technology. And that’s what projects based on augmented reality can offer to industry.
But what’s even more important is that they enable you to protect your company against the specialisations gap and ensure the survival and growth of a vital asset: internal knowledge.
Aritex develops guidance and training projects that use augmented reality based on PTC’s Vuforia Studio and Vuforia Expert Capture.
Because you know that knowledge is your company’s most important asset. Don’t let it fade away.
