IMTS Highlights (Part 4): Remote Service
Ira Busman 10.19.2018
This blog post is Part 4 in our series sharing key headlines observed by Okuma's executive leadership at IMTS 2018.
For many years, experts in our industry have been working to collect data from machine tools and create value out of this resource. In my opinion, IMTS 2018 represented a significant step in this direction by providing commercially-available machine monitoring products (such as Okuma's Connect Plan) that give users efficiency and operational information consolidated into a single display. Data from this system enables users to improve operations and achieve higher levels of efficiency. This was a huge headline at this year's show: machine monitoring has now moved from concept into reality.
The Next Big Thing
Another area that's related to machine monitoring, in that it requires connectivity and cloud computing to implement, is remote service. This is the next big thing for our industry. To make this happen we'll harness the power of Augmented Reality (AR), and Okuma showed how this works with a hands-on demo in our booth. Attendees were given AR glasses to wear (such as those shown in the photo above), and then we hid a small token somewhere in the booth. The customer was then sent to search around our booth while Okuma Service personnel gave them verbal instructions to find the token. What we were demonstrating here is remote service in a nutshell. This is the next piece to machine monitoring - adding the capability to help technicians in the field troubleshoot through a remote platform.
Augmented Reality in Machine Shops
The day is coming when customers will have Augmented Reality enabled in their shops. If a service issue arises that they can't resolve on their own, they can put on their AR glasses and have a remote troubleshooting session with their distributor technician. If needed, a support center technician from Okuma can join the session. Through the AR glasses everyone is virtually seeing the same visuals, from remote locations. Collectively we can direct the customer/technician regarding what to check, what to look for, and how they can solve their service issue.
Skills Gap Solution
Remote service capabilities will bring huge benefits to machine tool users. This delivers an advantage in solving the skills gap dilemma because we can put novice technicians in the field, knowing they have the expertise of seasoned professionals to back them up. Shops also become less dependent on the skill levels of their operators, knowing that remote backup can easily and quickly be set up via remote sessions.
Speedier Service
The other major advantage is speed and efficiency for service calls. When an Okuma distributor has a customer who is many miles away, if that customer owns a pair of glasses, the customer could be showing the distributor what’s going on with their machine tool and potentially avoid a warranty service call, thus saving time, travel and expense. Altogether, remote service will deliver on something that most shops are very interested in: speedier service offerings. As internet and bandwidth capabilities continue to grow, the remote service process will continue to be enhanced and become a reality, just as machine monitoring has come into its own today.
If you missed our AR demo at IMTS please join us at Okuma's Winter Showcase, November 28-29, 2018 in Charlotte, NC.
Ira Busman is Vice President of Customer Service, Okuma America Corporation.
IMTS Highlights (Part 1): Embracing Opportunity
