The roots of the Koenig & Bauer Group date back to 1817, when the company was founded in Würzburg, Germany. Koenig & Bauer is the oldest printing press manufacturer in the world and offers the broadest product portfolio in its industry.
The company specializes in particular in developing and manufacturing technologically innovative, cost-effective printing systems and the associated peripheral equipment. High quality and flexibility in responding to market changes and customer requirements are the hallmarks of Koenig & Bauer.
Today, the company proudly calls itself the world market and technology leader in large-format sheetfed offset printing, as well as in banknote, security, metal decorating and newspaper printing.
The challenge
When it comes to customer troubleshooting, Koenig & Bauer was already able to resolve around 80% of faults directly through remote maintenance by phone. To improve this strong rate even further and support customers more efficiently with the remaining 20% of inquiries, Koenig & Bauer set out to find an innovative solution.
In the process, the company came across augmented reality technology and decided to use smart glasses so it could offer its customers even better and faster remote support.
The solution
Koenig & Bauer decided to adopt the RealWear HMT-1, as well as its ATEX version, the HMT-1Z1, as its remote support solution. The HMT-1Z1 is the only AR headset with ATEX Zone 1 certification, which allows it to be used in hazardous areas.
Some of Koenig & Bauer’s clients use solvent-based inks for printing jobs. These production environments emit explosive and highly flammable gases, which makes ATEX-certified equipment necessary. Conventional smart glasses and mobile devices are strictly prohibited in these areas.
Nevertheless, Koenig & Bauer wanted to offer its customers audio-visual support even under these difficult production conditions, and the RealWear HMT-1Z1 now makes this possible.
In addition, RealWear’s smart glasses are very rugged and can be operated hands-free using voice commands, making them ideal for Koenig & Bauer’s use case.
By using the RealWear HMT-1Z1, Koenig & Bauer can now help all of its customers even faster and more efficiently. This enables its remote maintenance specialists to support more customers in the same amount of time.
Want to discuss remote support in ATEX areas? Contact us.