ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘augmented-reality’ CATEGORY

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.

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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

OverIT announced that, starting from October, the company will be spun off from the Engineering Group becoming an independent entity controlled by Bain Capital and Neuberger Berman.

In addition, Paolo Bergamo has been appointed as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OverIT. Prior to joining OverIT, Bergamo was Senior Vice President Product Management at Salesforce in San Francisco, California.

In his new role, Bergamo will lead OverIT's global team, growth strategy and vision.

Bergamo has a deep knowledge of Field Service Management, with over two decades of proven global experience in the software sector. Given his track record, Bergamo is ideally placed to lead OverIT in its next phase of growth as innovator and visionary.

"The spin-off is the result of a strategic partnership between Neuberger Berman and Bain Capital, that has the goal to accelerate OverIT's internationalisation and build the global Field Service Management software leader through increased investments" said Piero Galli from Neuberger Berman.

"When searching for a new CEO to lead OverIT growth journey and reach the ambitious goals we set, we wanted someone who deeply understood not only the industry OverIT operates in, but also the ambition of our funds and the culture of a global company. Paolo has proven leadership capabilities and a track record of scaling technology businesses; we are pleased to have him join to lead the company in the next phase of growth" said Giovanni Camera from Bain Capital.

"I'm thrilled to join OverIT at such an exciting period" said Bergamo, "When Bain Capital and Neuberger Berman proposed to me the ambitious project to bring OverIT, one of the flagships of Made in Italy technology, to the forefront internationally, I felt I couldn't miss this great opportunity. I have the ambition to make OverIT an international hub for young technology talent to grow and unleash their potential".

 

OverIT, backed by US capital with development headquarters in Italy and main US office in Miami, is a multinational company with more than 20 years of international and cross-industry experience in Field Service Management. The firm is recognized by premier global advisory and consulting organizations as a leading vendor in FSM, Mobile Workforce Management and AR industries. providing more than 300 international customers and 150,000 Field Service users with process knowledge, innovative functionalities and cutting-edge technologies.

Bain Capital, LP is one of the world's leading private multi-asset alternative investment firms that creates lasting impact for our investors, teams, businesses, and the communities in which we live. Since our founding in 1984, we've applied our insight and experience to organically expand into numerous asset classes including private equity, credit, public equity, venture capital, real estate and other strategic areas of focus. The firm has offices on four continents, more than 1,200 employees and approximately $140 billion in assets under management. To learn more, visit www.baincapital.com.

Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate, and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors, and individual investors globally. The firm manages $433 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2021. NB Renaissance supports ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams with a goal to create market leading businesses. Part of Neuberger Berman since 2015, today NB Renaissance manages €2.0 billion of commitments from a pool of high-quality Italian and international investors. NB Renaissance is currently invested in 12 companies, which include some of the excellence of the Italian corporates. NB Renaissance can count on a team of 20 private equity professionals of Neuberger Berman in Italy, supported by the broader Neuberger Berman private equity platform of 245+ professionals.

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Further Reading:

• Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/overIT
• Read more about AR on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmented-reality
• Learn more about Bain Capital @ www.baincapital.com
• Find out more about Neuberger Berman @ www.nb.com
• Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA

 

Augmented reality (AR) has replaced artificial intelligence (AI) as the most disruptive emerging technology, according to a survey by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Emerging Technology Sentiment Analysis Q2 2021’, reveals that 70%* of industry professionals surveyed stated that AR would disrupt their industry most out of a selection of  seven emerging technologies AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, IoT, blockchain, and 5G, in addition to AR. This was a sharp increase from the previous quarter, where only 51% selected AR. In addition, 58% said they had become more positive towards the technology over the last 12 months.

AR IS EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE DISRUPTIVE THAN AI, 5G, BLOCKCHAIN AND OTHER EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.

Filipe Oliveira, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “This change in how people see AR will likely be long term, and not just a temporary blip. It is clear that people are warming towards the technology, even if they don’t believe that it will make a big difference tomorrow.”

When asked when AR will disrupt their industries, survey respondents were cautious. They expect the impact to be felt later in the decade. While more than half of Q2 respondents said that cybersecurity and cloud computing are already disrupting their industries, only 24% said the same about AR. Moreover, only 10% think that the disruption will come in the next 12 months.

The same pattern was observed when respondents were asked which technologies would live up to all their promises. More than 60% expected cloud computing and cybersecurity to deliver fully, but only 26% expected the same from AR. Further, 50% of respondents said that the technology was hyped, but they could see a use for it.

Oliveira added: “The contrast between the large share of respondents that said AR is disruptive and the low share that said AR was already disrupting their industry suggests that there is some way to go before AR becomes ubiquitous in business. However, several conditions are aligned to make the promotion of AR as a business tool easier.”

COVID-19 has put some AR use cases in the spotlight, namely in healthcare and ecommerce, and new uses are continuing to emerge. For example, in April, Delta Air Lines announced that it would equip all flight attendants with AR technology delivered via 5G to enhance training and help staff with in-flight catering.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about Augmented Reality on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmented-reality
• Read more about Artificial Intelligence on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/artificial-intelligence
• Find out more more about GlobalData @ www.globaldata.com
• Read more about GlobalData on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/globaldata

The largest telecommunication company in the Americas has selected OverIT's SPACE1 to help transform the customer experience for their broadband and television services for their users in the Americas.

SPACE1's unique ability to combine augmented reality-powered remote assistance with guided digital instructions delivered improved interactions between agents and customers, resulting in the telco group choosing SPACE1 during testing to replace their existing remote assistance platform.

This Telco giant was looking for a solution that could support the following: 

1. Real-time customer engagement from SMS or WhatsApp for session control and collaboration
2. Digital work instructions for agents
3. Intelligent indexing and re-purposing of interactions for training and knowledge management

Agents being able to interact easier with end-customers by having preliminary virtual calls to triage results in reduced field technician visits to customer homes by 50% and improved first-time fix rates by 70%. Using Artificial Intelligence, agents from 7 different call centers are equipped with more efficient tools in real-time. They can interact, capture, and record their experiences with the end-customer, which are then processed by and shared within the entire organization.

One of the Telco group's essential requirements was the ability for SPACE1 to integrate seamlessly into their current tools. SPACE1's proven track record with integration has presented them with the right choice for their business compared to other AR providers.

"The selection of OverIT's SaaS offering by the largest Telecommunications group in the Americas marks a new milestone for OverIT's SPACE1 supporting B2C business models. OverIT's industrial-grade AI-based remote collaboration and knowledge management platform is unparalleled in the industry and the only capable of offering complex virtual collaboration scenarios. This contract definitely strengthens the explosive growth of the subsidiary in North America", said Alejandro Nestares, SVP and GM OverIT Americas.

Backed by US capital with development headquarters in Italy and main US offices in Boston and Miami, OverIT is a multinational company with more than 20 years of international and cross-industry experience in Field Service Management. The firm is recognized by premier global advisory and consulting organizations as a leading vendor in FSM and AR industries. 

 

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Further Reading:

• Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/overIT
• Read more about AR on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmented-reality
• Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA

 

Leading global provider of consulting, compliance checks and engineering support for the security, reliability and cyber security of industrial products, H-ON Consulting relies on OverIT's SPACE1 to provide users with an advanced, immersive and unprecedented remote collaboration experience.

The company's remote collaboration system called DIV-CO Collaboration System, for the technical management at customers' facilities, required integration with a component to be dedicated to certification processes and product compliance inspections of industrial manufacturing end customers remotely, with significant benefits for more agile and efficient procedures.

H-ON Consulting choose OverIT's SPACE1 Augmented Collaboration, a high-tech product combing Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence. SPACE1 offers advanced collaboration features for connecting H-ON Consulting's expert technicians with their clients, conducting inspections, tests, certification processes and compliance checks on industrial machinery entirely from remote, relying on real-time sharing of audio/video streaming, product checklists, 3D models, multimedia files and AR notes.

The integration of SPACE1, has resulted into major benefits for H-ON Consulting, such as a 20% increase in the efficiency of its operational staff, improved safety in the execution of product certification operations and significant time and cost savings, thanks to a 30% reduction in travel and the consequent downtime for the execution of large projects.

"In choosing OverIT, we were certain that the solutions provided would exceed our expectations," says Francesco Rosati, Marketing Director at H-ON Consulting. "In addition to the most apparent advantages, such as those related to cost and time reduction, the integration of SPACE1 has allowed us to access advanced post-intervention reporting features and to improve the organization of works both internally and for our customers, enabling us to collaborate remotely even in noisy environments with poor connectivity."

H-ON Consulting is an international provider of consulting and engineering services for the safety and reliability of industrial products. They provide engineering consulting for product safety and technical support for product certification.

Backed by US Capital with development Headquarters in Italy and main US offices in Chicago and Miami, OverIT is a multinational company with more than 20 years of international and cross-industry experience in Field Service Management. With more than 500 professionals, OverIT supports over 300 customers and more than 150,000 Field Service Users. The firm is recognized by premier global advisory and consulting organizations as a leading vendor in FSM and AR industries.

 

 

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Further Reading:

• Learn more about OverIT @ www.overit.it
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
• Read more about OverIT on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/overIT
• Read more about AR on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmented-reality
• Learn more about H-ON Consulting @ h-on.it
• Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA

 

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News welcomes Gary York, CEO and Evans Manolis, Senior Consultant Help Lightning as the group discuss the practical considerations of implementing Augmented Reality in Field Service.

The discussion looks at whether Augmented Reality (AR) is set to become a key part of the field service toolkit, how the shift to remote services will change the role of the field service engineer, the importance of effortless when it comes to new technology, how AR can improve multiple facets of field service operations and how it can be implemented effectively within just a matter of months.

In this excerpt from that conversation, the group discuss how the pandemic drove many field service companies to embrace the technology in a way they never would have thought possible in normal conditions.

 

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Want to know more?

FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium.  If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below. 

If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more. 

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In this final feature from our series of excerpts from an exclusive Field Service News white paper published in partnership with Help Lightning, that is exploring the practical questions surrounding Augmented Reality we see how Revolution Retail Systems achieved an incredible adoption rate in record time when rolling out AR... 

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So how have Revolution Retail Systems (Revolution) adopted Augmented Reality into their existing service workflow?

“We phone-fix 70% of our calls that come in through level one and then we move to level two before dispatch,” explained Barker.

“If a customer comes through to level one and that call is then progressed to level two, we send them a Help Lightning link to work with the customer to ensure they’re opening the appropriate access points, for example. It also allows us to see if we can identify any broken cables or anything like that. We can see if anything has happened to change the structure of the device, so we know exactly what is going on before dispatching an engineer. We can capture pictures, know what module requires attention, and attach that information to the case. Only then would will we dispatch a technician to replace the module."

Revolution are currently using Help Lightning as a standalone application within the Help Lightning server in terms of workflow. However, it is available as an integrated CRM app, the implementation of which is currently on the roadmap for Revolution. However, even in its standalone format, the tool’s adoption within the contact centres’ workflow has been hassle-free.

Similarly, from the customers’ side, the tool’s use is simple, which is critical for any new technology we expect our customers to adopt. In Revolution’s workflow, a link is simply sent to the customer via email, which can either open in a dedicated app or even in a standard browser.

Indeed, for Barker’s team, the adoption process was a smooth one, which is both testament to the ease of use of the solution and Barker’s own change management skills.

 

"Firstly we kept talking to the teams about it, explaining the ‘whys’ behind it. It is essential to have those daily conversations with the folks who are using it and those who are not...."

 

“The solution is very intuitive,” Barker explains, “so it wasn’t a complicated training session. In our learning management system, we built a computer-based learning module, rolled it out to the floor, and just let the team see it.  We trained everybody on it, and we then gave it a week or so to see what we were getting in terms of adoption.

“Initially, we weren’t seeing the interaction that we wanted, which can be expected with any new technology rollout, so we looked at how we could improve the adoption rate. We did this in several ways. Firstly we kept talking to the teams about it, explaining the ‘whys’ behind it. It is essential to have those daily conversations with the folks who are using it and those who are not.

“We then ran some incentive schemes. For example, we’d run a contest for a month based around utilizing the AR. We offered prizes and rewards for the team if they could prevent a dispatch. These incentives were designed to make the benefits of using the tool tangible for our team. We wanted to prove to them that they could do it and use it in their day to day workflow.

“Then once we’d shown them that they could leverage the tool, we then said, ‘OK, now you have to use it. Now it’s part of the process.”

Introducing the solution in a gentler way that reinforced the benefits allowed Revolution to formalize the process to the point where it is now a fundamental part of the triage process.

“Now it is part of our agents QA forms and their requirements are that they’re using the AR on a daily basis. We now pull the stats around AR usage and communicate those numbers regularly. Our agents are held to a metric and it is part of their employee scorecard,” Barker explains.

This two-tiered approach has achieved an impressive adoption rate, with the process taking just three months to go from roll out to becoming a cornerstone of their workflow.

Having done so, the value for Revolution in leveraging the power of AR has been not so much in developing dedicated new revenue streams but reinforcing their position as an industry leader, helping to both secure new business and strengthen existing relationships.

“We’ve leveraged our use of Help Lightning almost as a marketing tool,” explains Barker.

“When we have executive meetings with Walmart or Target and in fact, any of our significant customers, our CEO has done demos of Help Lightning with their executive team so that they see what the store’s interactions with our help desk are like. It’s a compelling demonstration, placing us on the cutting edge of technology and being able to demonstrate we are an industry leader and show that we’re investing in the latest tools to help our customers.

“That’s the value proposition for us. We didn’t change our billing model at all for our customers. When we integrated Help Lightning, we didn’t increase their cost. Because while we’re absorbing the cost of Help Lightning we’re also seeing the savings associated with it.”

 

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Clay Barker, Director of Service and Support, Revolution Retail Systems about their use of Augmented Reality within their field service operations.

During the discussion, Barker outlines how the tool has driven multiple benefits across their field service operation including improving customer satisfaction and increasing first-time fix rates as well as outlining how they achieved an effective roll-out which achieved excellent adoption rates in just three months of implementation.

Here, Barker reflects on the initial thoughts having seen the Help Lightning Augmented Reality tool and the potential he could see for its application within their field service operations.

 

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Want to know more?

FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium.  If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below. 

If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more. 

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In this fourth feature from our series of excerpts from an exclusive Field Service News white paper published in partnership with Help Lightning, that is exploring the practical questions surrounding Augmented Reality we look at how its introduction improves multiple facets of field service operations...

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Revolution Retail Systems have been using the Help Lightning Augmented Reality tool for almost two years, having had the opportunity to observe it being used and instantly seeing an array of opportunities.

As Clay Barker, Director of Service and Support, recalled on the Field Service News Digital Symposium, “we could see how we could use the tool in a number of ways, to improve customer and technician interactions as well as the ability of our internal staff and level two support to troubleshoot and diagnose, to make sure we send the right part, one time – the opportunity we saw was endless.”

When we look at the metrics that are often sat at the top of the list in terms of critical KPIs for field service organisations, we can instantly see how AR can be aligned in improving such metrics.

As is the case for many field service organisations, for Barker and Revolution Retail Systems, one of the most important of these metrics is the first-time-fix.

“The idea that we can’t get resolution on our first attempt is a challenge and if we can eliminate a dispatch, it’s an even larger benefit to the customer, because we’ve reduced the amount of downtime required to for resolution by using the AR effectively,” Barker explains. 

“I saw the opportunity that it was going to give my employees in communication with the customer. That is because what we’re asking the customer to do more often than not is look at the asset. We’re guiding them through this very technical, mechanical device, asking them to open access points, we’re asking them to turn knobs, we’re asking them to do lots of different things.

 

"As soon as I saw the tool, I listed off ten or fifteen ways in which that we could use the solution. It was so clear to me that that we could add value with this software..."

 

“We were trying to do that all via audio without a visual of what they could see and without being able to share visuals at our end that coudl guide them. 

“When I saw that we could take a pin and point to an access point and say slide this over to the left and show them exactly what we wanted them to do. The idea of how easy that made what we were trying to do from a communication standpoint, it was a no brainer for me.”

The team at Revolution Retail Systems did attempt some trials with video using apps like FaceTime, but while an improvement on audio-only calls, the functionality remained lacking the levels of interaction that sets AR apart as the obvious vehicle for remote service.

“At the end of the day, you can’t reach into it, you can’t point, you can’t take a screenshot, you can’t capture a picture off of it,” Barker explains.

“There are just so many other layers to how we use Help Lightning that has improved our business, outside of just customer experience. For example, the ability to capture pictures which allows more accurate invoicing. If the customer’s damaged the unit somehow, we can capture an image of it when we’re using Help Lightning; we can use that for support on our invoicing - there are hundreds of thousands of dollars that are spent on out of scope charges. Using the AR tools in this way provides us with the ability to invoice with more confidence with clear documentation and evidence.

“As soon as I saw the tool, I listed off ten or fifteen ways in which that we could use the solution. It was so clear to me that that we could add value with this software. There were savings, layered in savings over and over again on it – the ROI on it just was too easy!”

 

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