Scope AR, an enterprise-grade augmented reality solution provider, today announced a partnership with ServiceMax Inc., a leader in asset-centric field service management, that will provide a large-scale visual knowledge base for industrial workers in the field.

With this partnership, users will now have access to detailed AR work instructions and real-time knowledge needed to do work and accurately complete work orders via Scope AR’s WorkLink platform. In addition to visual work instructions, field workers will also be able to initiate live, remote assistance calls, and enterprise businesses can also capture and scale up expert knowledge through the creation of instruction catalogs.

Augmented reality operates by displaying 3D objects and other visual information overlaid on top of what a user can see, usually through a headset or glasses. This can be used to provide extra information related to the space or object a user is looking at. For example, it can be used to tag a specific piece of machinery to identify it as the one having the problem or provide a visible path for mapping.

“Augmented reality is uniquely positioned to help close the growing skills gap in field service across industries,” said Dave Gosch, vice president of sales and solutions at Scope AR, “It can deliver on-demand knowledge transfer and empower workers to become experts at any given task with very little training time.”

With Scope AR, users can use their AR glasses to bring up virtual instruction books, videos and other resources while in the field, using ServiceMax’s catalog. In addition, the platform can go a step further by giving users the ability to remotely bring an expert into their point-of-view so they can see what the technician sees and even add markers and 3D writing to the worker’s field of view.

Enterprise information technology teams can also gain insights from both platforms, Scope AR and ServiceMax, by receiving data in a comprehensive overview of how fieldwork was completed. Additionally, using ServiceMax’s platform, enterprise organizations will be able to create their own work instruction catalogs to build a knowledge repository.

This is especially useful because whenever a technician in the field uses the knowledge base or makes a remote call for assistance from an expert, the interaction is recorded. If enough workers have an issue with a particular part of their work, the knowledge base can be used to identify areas where extra instructions for quick reference could be added to the platform or training.

The result is that enterprise users will have the ability to provide commonly needed resources to technicians more easily making knowledge more accessible. That could lead to greater efficiency in the field when a problem can be resolved with a simple reference or short training video and can help field workers better decide when to call in remote assistance for a problem.

“Visual work instructions that leverage AR provide the ultimate form of knowledge transfer to both novice and expert front-line workers alike, helping them perform the job faster,” said Joseph Kenny, vice president of global customer transformation at ServiceMax. “With the integration of all systems that affect this experience — from field service management and learning and development to competency management, team communications and now AR work instructions — organizations are finally able to achieve optimized service and skills management.”

Scope AR’s integration with ServiceMax starts today and the two companies have a description of how the Field Service Management platform operates available to read online today.

Image: Scope AR