Who are the Connected Workers in industry?

There’s a lot of definitions and buzz words out there, but they basically all come down to the same. A deskless worker or frontline worker is anyone who is not primarily sitting behind a desk while working. You can think of a maintenance operator on an oil rig, a quality inspector on a production line, field worker who is on the road to fix customers problems on-site. Deskless workers are estimated make up 80% of the total workforce. 427 million of them working in the process or assembly industry (US and EU).

What are the challenges of the deskless workers?

Verified market research indicates that deskless workers often feel disconnected from the company they work for.

• – only 7% of them has a mobile company app
• – 60% are dissatisfied with the available technology : its too slow, outdated, too difficult to use while working in the field or on the shop floor
• – most of them do not even have a company mail address
• – they are under high pressure to solve a problem fast and efficient. Modern operational excellence demands are putting high pressure on technicians and operators in the field.

The reality is that most deskless workers still have to rely on paper manuals, excell sheets, explaining issues over the phone and hoping an experienced colleague is available to support and help them fixing an issue or following a complex manufacturing process.

How to transform ‘deskless workers’ into ‘connected workers’?

A Connected Worker Platform makes it possible to translate existing paper work manuals or standard operating procedures into digital work instructions without coding or time and money consuming development projects. Once the digital work instructions are published on the platform, the connected workers can execute their tasks on a mobile device such as a smart phone, a tablet or even smart glasses. The connected worker can add images, comments, video or other annotations, he can consult extra visual information, he is guided step-by-step through a certain work instruction. All execution details are automatically logged and can be analysed by asset performance management or to improve operational excellence.

This digital transformation process has numerous advantages:

• – your operators feel more connected and valued
• – increased process excellence and productivity
• – improved quality, because work is done the first time right
• – no more admin and paperwork, 100% compliance
• – instant, effortless work execution data storage is a gold mine for continuous improvement of workflows and manufacturing processes.

Watch this free webinar where Peter Verstraeten explains in detail how a Connected Worker Solution looks like and why it is a must to transform your company into a smart factory of the future.