De Groot Installatiegroep is a family business founded in 1965. It is a full-service company that installs a wide range of systems that ensure comfort, safety, and functionality and are essential for a building to operate properly, such as HVAC, electrical systems, fire protection, and more.
The challenge
De Groot Installatiegroep has more than 20 locations throughout the Netherlands and specializes in high-end, complex installations for the utility sector. To carry out these projects, the company deploys a workforce of more than 300 engineers who travel to install and maintain these systems in the field.
To give its clients the best service, the company has to make sure that each installation job is assigned to an engineer who has the right skills and knowledge and is familiar with the installation. This frequently leads to high travel expenses, and clients sometimes face long wait times, since the qualified engineer may have to travel to the other end of the country to reach the installation site.
To optimize this process, the company planned to introduce smart glasses so that even engineers who are unfamiliar with a specific installation or lack the essential skills and knowledge can carry out the work with remote guidance through AR smart glasses. When choosing the right headset, an important requirement was that it would not interfere with the installation process and that engineers could control it hands-free.
The solution
After testing several devices, De Groot Installatiegroep chose the RealWear Navigator 500. The team liked how comfortable the headset is to wear. They were also impressed by the ability to operate it with voice commands. In addition, they liked that the display, positioned in front of one eye, provides a good visual aid without getting in the way of installation and maintenance tasks.
Now an engineer who may not be familiar with a specific installation process can still do the work while being guided remotely by an engineer who stays at the office. When an engineer without experience in a particular installation has to travel to a site for maintenance or repair, an engineer who knows the installation stays at the office. As the on-site engineer approaches the installation, they wear the RealWear Navigator 500 and use it to take photos and record video. This allows the more experienced engineer at the office to give the less experienced engineer real-time guidance during the installation process, all made possible by the combination of the RealWear Navigator 500 and the Remote Eye software.
This keeps travel costs to a minimum, because the experienced engineer no longer has to travel long distances to carry out a particular installation, but can instead send a colleague to do the job and guide him remotely using the RealWear Navigator 500. It also means shorter wait times for the clients receiving the installation.
Beyond its current successful use of the RealWear Navigator 500, De Groot Installatiegroep has ambitious plans for the future. The company is committed to continually exploring and improving its use of this innovative device, recognizing its potential to revolutionize its operations.
Its goal is to leverage the device’s capabilities to make the company more attractive through innovation and to improve the quality of service it provides to its customers. One possible future use of the device is to make instructions for various installation and maintenance procedures easier to access. This could streamline operations, reduce errors, and make service delivery more efficient.
The company is determined to explore new possibilities and make the most of this device’s potential to benefit both itself and its valued clients. It is eager to expand its use of the RealWear Navigator 500 and explore additional sources of business value.
"Incorporating the RealWear Navigator 500 into our installation process has made it more time- and cost-efficient without compromising the quality of our installation service. It lets us share knowledge efficiently across other parts of the company."
Mattijs Grummel, Manager Data & ICT at De Groot Installatiegroep
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