What is a Connected Worker?
Enterprise and cloud-based software-as-a-service solutions have helped deskbound workers become more productive, data-driven and efficient than ever over the last two decades. Frontline, deskless workers have been largely forgotten in this digital revolution, forced to perform tasks the same way they always have: with low-tech, paper-based workflows.
A connected worker solution bridges that gap, giving field technicians and warehouse workers a direct link to centralized data mechanisms like ERPs and EAM systems. This is about more than just issuing these workers a smartphone. Connected worker solutions enable collaboration, information sharing, data capture and augmented reality training to empower the frontline worker to accomplish more better, faster and safer.
Overcoming Operational Challenges
Today’s industrial organizations are under constant pressure to do more with less. Profit margin pressures and efficiency demands present ever-increasing new challenges, from attracting and retaining talent to ensuring effective safety programs to achieving increasing levels of operational excellence.
A connected worker initiative can be the answer. By leveraging both technology and a commitment to organizational change management, organizations can create an agile workforce that responds with increased collaboration, real-time data capture and rapid training to respond quickly to changing circumstances and business priorities.
How It Works
Creating a connected workforce encompasses advanced technologies such as augmented reality, barcode scanning, voice-to-text recognition and software that is intuitive enough to ensure workers remain engaged and have a high level of adoption.
A connected worker can quickly onboard and receive in-context training information through mobile work instructions that walk him or her through the specific steps of a task. They have ready access to work orders, critical operational information and the location of equipment. They’re able to quickly raise notifications when they see a safety hazard or identify equipment that needs additional maintenance, collaborating with distant colleagues to develop corrective actions.