Electrolux is rolling out augmented reality technology across 16 factories in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as digital transformation both drives productivity and makes for a better workplace. Using this technology for remote maintenance speeds up the maintenance process and keeps production lines rolling.
In the era of Industry 4.0, the focus is on bridging the gap between digital and physical worlds. Augmented and virtual reality is just one of the digital tools that can help us optimize and enhance productivity, especially when it comes to design or maintenance in our manufacturing processes.
When something goes wrong in a factory, things need to be fixed, fast, without waiting for a technician to visit. With Tempestive Reamplia – a mobile application that uses augmented reality to help in-field technicians – assistance is just a push of a button away.
By wearing a pair of smart glasses or using a tablet, an onsite technician can collaborate in real-time with an expert engineer based at a different location.
The smart glasses or tablet films what the onsite technician is seeing and beams these pictures to the engineer’s computer. The engineer can then guide the technician to troubleshoot the problem as well as share graphic instructions, images and technical documentation.
“Digitization is changing fast our working environment in operations and is starting to add value and competitive advantages for the company. Using this technology means the onsite technician can work hands-free and the problem can be identified quickly and easily, without misunderstanding. It cuts costs and travelling, saves time and reduces the failure rate and gets equipment faster back to work,” says Carsten Franke, SVP Industrial Operations, Major Appliances EMEA.
The solution will be rolled out across 16 of Electrolux’s factories in the EMEA region.