In the Know: AR Boosts Knowledge Management
/Gone are the days of old-school SOP binders—bulky, hard to update, and never where you need them when you need them.
Over the last decade (or two for the early adopters), knowledge management has moved to a digital initiative.
Now, we’re in the process of another big leap—using augmented reality (AR) to capture and access expert knowledge.
In a recent feature, Forbes profiled Taqtile and its knowledge management platform, Manifest.
Manifest lets experts document their knowledge digitally and then allows technicians in the field to access that knowledge whenever and wherever it’s needed.
Taqtile was one of seven original members of Microsoft’s HoloLens Agency Readiness Program, which was folded into the expanded Mixed Reality Partner Program. Schou explains, The wearables offer “a ubiquitous level of digital understanding and action embedded in safety glasses,” said Dirck Schou, Taqtile CEO and cofounder.
Taqtile’s AR technology is being used in both the public and private sectors. The Forbes article explains, “Its biggest customer category is the defense industry. For example, Manifest delivers maintenance and repair expertise from Navy veterans in Pearl Harbor and from Washington state shipyards to sailors in Guam. Military users can follow step-by-step procedures overlaid upon defense apparatuses to correct equipment failures, ensure configuration control, increase operational availability, and improve readiness.”
In the private sector, Manifest is deployed to help with 5G cell tower maintenance, wastewater treatment training, power line and utility visualization, and more.
Hard to Hire
One company using Manifest is PBC Linear, a machine bearing manufacturer with one of the largest machine shops in Northern Illinois, employing about 120 machinists. But the decrease in high school vocational programs and a move away from apprenticeships have led to a large talent gap for qualified machinists and tool and die makers.
With the AR knowledge management system, PBC Linear has made training faster and more efficient. The knowledge capture process for a typical task with 30 or 40 steps takes about six hours, at which point it can be used to train a new employee.
PBC Linear has cut training time for new hires and also uses the allure of AR tech to attract employees. New operators and machinists find it sexy to work with AR, and they stay in the job for longer.
The Future
Many enterprises are using AR for knowledge management, training, and field service. And research shows that adoption is only continuing to expand, both in the number of enterprises adopting the tech as well as the depth of adoption within enterprises.
Now you know. Consider this knowledge managed.
