Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) solutions have been slowly making their way from research and development labs to the corporate mainstream. These products have the potential to make it simpler for energy companies to train and support their remote workers. While recent technical advances made that scenario more likely, the technology is still a few steps away from widespread deployment.
Energy companies support a great deal of sophisticated equipment, like transformers and Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, that move electricity from its source to its destination. Their remote crews spend a great deal of time in the field maintaining the equipment. The work can be challenging and complex because of the devices’ design and capabilities.
AR/VR has the potential to simplify the process. One area where they are strong is supplying remote technical assistance and workflow instructions. Currently, employees fumble through bulky paper manuals or search on laptops to find information when they encounter a problem. AR/VR offers them simpler, more immersive ways to troubleshoot.
AR/VR’s Many Benefits
In addition, these systems are being used to train mobile employees, and the early returns have been promising, according to ABI Research. AR/VR training requires less training time compared to traditional methods. Another plus is employees’ retention and recall are significantly higher than legacy solutions.
Furthermore, the tools offer employees flexibility. They can use the solutions whenever and wherever it is convenient for them. Users like the experience, so customer satisfaction with the content is high.
In addition, the training content can be customized and tailored to each utility’s specific needs. Once created, the content becomes infinitely repeatable. AR/VR training is often cheaper than traditional training. Because of the potential benefits, ABI Research expects the industrial AR/VR market to reach $60 billion in revenue in 2030.
Energy Companies Face New Challenges
However, energy companies face challenges in taking advantage of the technology. AR/VR is new, so few energy companies have expertise in it. They need help from third parties, vendors and their channel partners, to create the content.
These tools are new. Their ecosystems are immature and need to be developed, a process that takes time, money, and effort. These applications connect with others in the organization. As a result, they require complex, time consuming, often expensive integration work.
Energy companies face challenges in supporting mobile workforces. AR/VR solutions are emerging to help them address the problem. However, these solutions are immature, so energy companies should expect a few blips as they introduce it into their organization.