As technology continues to evolve, so do the industries that use it – and field service is no exception.
According to MarketsandMarkets, the global field service management market will grow from USD 3 billion in 2020 to USD 5.1 billion by 2025, with increasing demand mobility and real-time visibility solutions like AR accounting for much of that growth.
Since the COVID-19 crisis spread across the globe, the demand for a software solution that could help field-service agents work safely and productively from remote environments has grown immensely – but that’s not the only reason.
To find out more on the impact AR is having on the future of field-service and the enterprise, XR Today invited FieldBit VPO, Robert Kodweis, to share his insights and predictions for 2021 and beyond.
Faster, safer, and more efficient service
While FieldBit first found success in the oil and gas sector, delivering its AR knowledge platform to industry titans like BP and Emerson, the COVID-19 pandemic opened up a whole new world of opportunity for the company to grow.
According to Kodweis, “since the pandemic started, FieldBit has seen a huge increase in demand from many new types of businesses. From manufacturing to real estate management, everyone is looking for a software solution for front-line remote work.”
For obvious reasons, it pays for businesses to invest in collaborative AR technology that helps keep distributed workforces connected during times when movement, space, and physical contact are all heavily restricted. And this is especially true for field service workers on the front-line whose jobs require constant movement from one project site to the next.
As well as giving front-line workers real-time access to service manuals, important notes, and live-feed map directions to the project site, AR multi-knowledge platforms can also improve performance and cut the costs down at unprecedented levels.
Kodweis adds, “image that instead of having to fly specialists over from San Francisco to New York or the UK, you can now just use an AR platform to deliver expert-level fixes remotely.” As a result, organizations can distribute local, low-skill-level engineers or technicians to project sites with complex problems, and they’ll be able to resolve the issue the first time.
Organizations are also using AR as a powerful training tool to help speed up the learning process for new employees and enhance the abilities of experienced pros. With AR, field-service engineers and technicians can train “on-the-job” learning as they go by following step-by-step, on-demand instructional videos or live group training streams.
The Future of AR in Field-Service
As the AR for the field-service market continues to grow and more developers start to enter the space, we can expect to see even more innovation arriving soon.
Up until now, we’ve seen AR used in field service to improve remote resolution rates, enhance training and safety, drive down cost, and ensure the businesses always meet customer expectations, pandemic or no. But where does AR for field-service go from here?
For FieldBit, at least, Kodweis confirms the next innovation will occur in the area of “spatial” AR. Due for release at the end of December 2020, FieldBit’s spatial AR feature will allow users to create interactive “scenes” on their smartphones or other IoT devices. These scenes (which can be anything from a single piece of equipment to an entire room) allow users to add notes in real-time, check instructions, list hazard warnings, access product data, and share various other types of information.
The result will provide a seamless connection between organizational business leaders and field-service team members who can turn up to a site for the first time, alone without any prior information, and immediately get the job done.
Pushing forward, we expect to see spatial computing spread throughout the field service industry, and platforms like FieldBit and other AR devices will likely become as essential to front-line engineers and technicians as their toolboxes.
