Field service has fundamentally changed. There is more emphasis on remote solve efforts inspired in part by previous pandemic travel restrictions. Experience continues to become an even more important field service measure of success. More than half of all field service organizations now see an equal weighting in importance between operationally focused KPIs and CSAT-focused KPIs.
Successfully meeting these challenges is not easy. It’s even more difficult when you consider an expanding field service talent gap. The Technology and Services Industry Association notes that “for the field services workforce, 40% of field service engineers in the US and Canada are over 50 years old and are gearing up for either a change in the type of work they do or for retirement.” When these experienced technicians leave, they take volumes of practical knowledge out of the door with them.
CareAR and ServiceNow empower field service teams with new resources that meet these challenges, exceed expectations AND realize bottom line efficiency and effectiveness benefits. CareAR, a Xerox company, is an augmented reality solution that allows remote experts to collaborate with field technicians via graphical guidance overlayed within a Smartphone or other Android or iOS field of view. A uniquely immersive experience is delivered as the field tech is contextually guided, thus overcoming a lack of experience or even focus if they are a contractor working with multiple vendors.
ServiceNow integration makes this augmented reality collaboration part of a standard workflow. In fact, integration benefits are resulting in process transformations that deliver results not previously possible! CareAR is effective at upskilling customer departments or technicians for diagnosis and direction. But in some cases, a truck roll cannot be avoided.
When a dispatch is required, snapshots and a video of a CareAR session can be automatically saved within a ServiceNow work order. A few of the benefits are:
- The right parts are more accurately identified due to visual confirmation
- Time to resolve improves by avoiding on-site “re-diagnostics”
- The field service tech can prepare by viewing the video prior to a visit
Snapshot and video can also be used for service verification and training. This is useful when the unexpected is revealed. “Show me vs. tell me” becomes even more powerful when augmented reality visibility uncovers the unanticipated. CareAR augmented reality awareness can even reveal how actions taken by a field technician might indicate that an updated service bulletin is urgently needed, or additional training needs to be done.
CareAR and ServiceNow integration make it easy to engage in an augmented reality session right from the start. Technicians can launch CareAR within a ServiceNow case, making it a simple one-click to reach the right remote expert for assistance. Field technician feedback can also be captured within ServiceNow. The result is an end-to-end workflow solution that upskills field technicians with reporting that highlights success and that can be shared throughout the organization.
Learn more at CareAR.com.
