The Rise Of VR And AR Technology In Plant Maintenance

Plant maintenance just got techie! The rise of VR and AR technology is finally here!

According to a study, one-third of manufacturers are expected to shortly start incorporating some level of VR or AR into their operations. It is also expected that the total U.S. spending on technology for manufacturing will reach $150 billion by 2020. Around another third, however, still, regard this technology as “not ready for prime time”. The doubters think that such extensive levels of investment should qualify some sort of turning point and those that decide to take this turn now could enjoy significant advantages.

There are already four primary areas where AR & VR is already showing transformative impacts. This includes plant maintenance, development and design, training and safety, and data management and access.

Plant Maintenance Has Entered The Twenty-First Century

As already mentioned, innovators have been working on upgrading essentials linked to maintenance and cleaning, replacing outdated processes with effectiveness and efficiency.

Innovation is about to make a quantum leap. One of these examples includes AR-enabled glasses that equip workers to hear and see step-by-step instructions for fixing machinery, without having to stop and go through an instruction manual or find it hard to follow or interpret directions. This has resulted in increased accuracy, speed, comprehensive maintenance productivity, and more importantly reduced downtime. This is probably why 20% of manufacturers mention that maintenance is among their most important, early applications for this latest tech.

The Big Trend in Product Development and Design

One of the better-known manufacturing applications of AR & VR technology has to do with a “pre-manufacturing” use, in both the product development and design phase. 39% of the companies that were surveyed stated that they have started to take a more virtual approach when it comes to new product developments. This is because it allows businesses to work more quickly through different design iterations, decreasing the requirement for “physical models”. It also allows for collaborative input directly from customers, before any “real” (and costly) production or prototyping begins.

Once it does start, this latest technology will also start to improve assembly, especially when it comes to complicated processes. Taking the example of smartglasses, workers are able to monitor a complex assembly, confirm the correct assembly sequence, and make real-time adjustments (often without downtime), all while automatically downloading and tracking assembly information directly into a management database.

Taking Skills and Safety Training To New Levels in Plant Maintenance

Around 28% of manufacturers are using AR & VR to enhance training and safety. This could be as straightforward as updating a hardhat for a smart hat, attaching sensors to protective headgear that monitor external conditions (around him or her), and the physical well-being of the worker. Or it could change things around completely such as the use of digital avatars that represent factory workers for testing how a change on the factory floor might be used for reducing physical strain on employees or minimizing wasted motion during an assembly process.

As more companies have started looking at retraining their workforces so that an increasingly technology-driven workplace can be managed effectively, VR headsets can support, or in certain cases even replace human instructors, which will allow businesses to thoroughly and efficiently train new workers, or update the existing employees on those system upgrades that seem endless. This type of technology will allow trainees to obtain “hands-on” experience without having to even touch the equipment, which frees up “real” equipment to remain in use, which further reduces downtime.

Manufacturing Data

Manufacturing data can only be an asset when it is current, accessible, and accurate. Fortunately, the increasing use of AR and VR will assist in improving all three of these factors. 20% of the manufacturers that have already employed AR and VR such as Aircada Pro for data-related benefits and this percentage is predicted to grow quickly. The Aircada app is available here if you wish to see more.

Accuracy will improve by constant interactions of workers with data that they need. For example, an AR Maintenance Module that is incorrectly instructing an employee in a particular process will be subjected to an observation of real-life humans, that are able to employ “non-artificial” intelligence which involves the common sense to note, see, and report that it may have looked great in “algorithmic theory” but does not work out “in practice”.

Since this reporting is made in real-time, using an AR interface, a change can quickly be made, avoiding the replication of these issues and making sure the data remains current. As both VR headsets and wearable AR glass devices can connect to an entire data ecosystem, workers are now able to instantly access any information they require for maintenance, repairs, training, and to report and correct an issue in real-time.

It Is Time

If you form a part of the manufacturers that are still thinking that VR and AR technologies are more suitable for a shopping mall than on a shop floor, it may be time to consider how these trends in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality can ensure your company remains competitive, or even a way to rise above your competition.