TGW Lifetime Services using Smart Glasses for the ultimate insight
It's a simple approach with a huge effect, making the solution finding process more precise, efficient and effective. And above all: faster. Smart Glasses make our on-site engineers unbeatable.
TGW's Lifetime Services experts attend to customers during the entire life cycle of material handling installations. They are the ones who are looking for possibilities to optimise the customers' installations every day. They not only modernise the systems at the customer sites, but also modernise their own processes. "Our On-Site Engineers are now using a new Augmented Reality tool which vastly optimises maintenance activities. They are equipped with a so-called Smart Glass - an intelligent glass - which they use to connect with the remote maintenance teams and communicate with them directly in real time," explains Christoph Knogler, Director Lifetime Services of TGW Logistics Group.
A somewhat different view
The advantages? Quite extensive. Because TGW's Services Engineers enter a whole new remote maintenance era. "The engineers put on the glasses and directly connect to the hotline teams. Supported by the back office experts, they are able to accelerate and simplify the processes. This development constitutes a massive ease both for the customers and our engineers," Christoph Knogler adds.
The principle is simple: four eyes sometimes see more than two. And if this happens synchronously, without delay and in best quality, the solution will be found after only a few mouse clicks. The hotline employees get a direct insight into the customer’s site and are able to see via the computer screen, how to proceed during the maintenance or troubleshooting work. Thanks to the planned connection to the TGW system landscape, the TGW CMMS system for instance, service engineers will have the possibility to have maintenance-relevant information displayed as required. They simply have to take a brief look at the respective system component to which a QR code is attached for that purpose. "This new maintenance approach is not only valuable for us. The benefits are obvious: our customers obtain an even better service and our service engineers get the perfect support, at the same time having both hands free to react immediately," the lifetime service expert is satisfied.
Eyes working as an archive
The service engineers are excited and happy with the new tool. James Kidson, Technical Support Engineer at TGW Limited in England: "These glasses establish the perfect connection between the office and the on-site colleagues. We increase our efficiency, our effectiveness and significantly reduce the response time. The colleagues in the office see exactly what we are seeing on site, and are able to react promptly. We no longer have to describe what the problem is, what it looks like, what we have in our hands, nor read error reports to them."
Besides, the smart glass works as an archive too. "The glass allows us to record or reconstruct certain procedures using a library or reference function so to speak in case the same problem shows up at a different site. One glass per site is enough since you are able to react in no time at all," says Christoph Knogler.
The goal is to offer the customers' maintenance personnel the chance to use this new technology as well as the TGW experts. The direct communication channel also provides better optimization for the customer contact. "The TGW hotline is an assistant who looks over the on-site engineers' shoulder – a backup which not only helps to solve problems, but also uses the technology of the future already today."
Take a closer look at our Smart Glasses Technology in our video and click on this link.
