When pandemic hit companies and groups had to react quickly to the changing times.
The Serbia based, Hemofarm pharmaceuticals, used Microsoft’s AR Hololens to improve communication, Engineering and Maintenance with great success during the pandemic. Following the companies own trend of being at the forefront of new technology.
The integration of AR was immediately effective, during the first wave. AR provided solutions for machine maintenance. Where the norm of attaining repairs from abroad was not possible.
But by using the Hololens 2 technology, fixes and guides could be found online. Following maintenance schemes and getting instructions from an expert interlocutor.
Quick solutions like this gave hope to the Senior Associate in the Quality Assurance Mirjana Stojčevski who implanted the idea at Hemofarm: “I‘m exceptionally thrilled that we have made a step into the future with HoloLens”.
With a strong business relationship with Microsoft. Hemofarm has been working with STADA IT Solutions (SITS) and their Microsoft Infrastructure Team Coordinator: Bojan Milićević.
A strong relation between the companies allowed Hemofarm to get sent early Hololens hardware for testing purposes. Following Hemofarm’s trend of remain ahead of the pack.
How Does This Work in Practice?
The Microsoft Hololens technology works in tandem with their Windows OS and Office software. In practice this allows for members of Hemofarm to bring up important documents and files in AR space. Even allowing for the use of Micrsoft Teams, with a high degree of customisation.
Hemofarm seem to be more than thrilled with the results of the first Hololens trials. This success is only mirrored by similar AR success stories, in automotive or construction solutions.
Considering Hemofarm’s partner, SITS solutions, are responsible for “providing support to all SAP and Microsoft projects in the entire STADA Group worldwide.” Meaning that from this proven successful integration into a pharmaceutical enterprise. There could very well be an interest in supporting other pharmaceutical firms across the globe.
The Future:
This presents a vibrant future for the relationship between pharmaceutical workplaces and AR workflows. As compared to other sectors where pharmaceutical do not usually level of focus to AR; when compared to the automotive industry for example.
Hemofarm’s Nataša Živković, noted that while the Hololens presents “new opportunities”, “it is not very likely that it will become a standard mode of work in the next ten years or so.”
While there is confidence in the Hololens and it use at Hemofarm, it is fair to understand the time it would take to fully implement AR systems for such a complex work environment.
The trials at Hemofarm and the outreach presented by SITS solutions could allow for similar trials to take place with pharmaceutical groups globally. With further research and development being put towards long term integration.
With more and more AR solutions being found across businesses no matter the sector. It’ll be interesting to see where an AR solution will pop up next.
