Aftermarket service providers face intense pressure from customers to maintain equipment performance and avoid downtime. One hour of downtime equals $1-5 million according to 33% of enterprises. This expense not only affects profits but causes imperfections to the manufacturing process. To avoid valuable downtime, companies need to employ a stable of competent service technicians, but high turnover rates and an aging workforce are presenting significant hurdles. AR is proving to be a vital answer for these challenges and is providing a step forward to the future of digital thinking in manufacturing. With more innovative AR solutions becoming available for service organizations, companies are seeing 4 big benefits:
Increased Productivity
First-time fix rates are an uphill battle for firms in large manufacturing. AR is improving first-time fix rates and is giving technicians more time to cover additional service calls. Organizations with higher-than-average turnover see a 14% lower first-time fix rate compared to firms with lower turnover. By doing this, the productivity of the work floor is managed effectively and allows all parts of the process to flow without hesitation.
Improved Knowledge Transfer
With 25% of the American workforce nearing retirement in 2020, a change is becoming necessary for instructions and guidance in the field. AR makes new technicians effective in the field almost immediately with over-the-shoulder guidance from remote experts and Animated step-by-step work instructions.
Reduced Service Costs
On average, organizations see technician turnover of 31.5%, 26.4% of which are contracted, meaning less consistency in service delivery, and more short-term labor that needs to be quickly on-boarded and trained. AR makes training easy and effective by eliminating the need for expensive printed manuals and reduces the heavy costs associated with service errors.
Significant Increases in Service Revenue
Total revenue contributes to 40-80% of profit and with almost 75% of manufacturing executives identifying service as a primary driver for future revenue, it needs to be taken into careful consideration. AR can help industrial organizations service products more effectively, increasing customer satisfaction, upsell opportunities, and service contract renewals.
Augmented reality is transforming an aging manufacturing workforce into a place of efficiency and high revenue earnings. 22% of top-performing firms have already implemented AR on some level and more than half are planning to employ it within the next year. With more of these innovative solutions becoming available for service organizations, firms need to take the unique opportunity to become leaders in the future of successful service manufacturing teams with augmented reality.
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