Utilizing Multiple Interaction Styles to Collect Installed Base Information Using Wearable and Mobile Devices

Excellent service is a key component of making industrial plants work without unexpected shutdowns and safety hazards to workers. Especially, up-to-date information regarding installed base is crucial to support the entire life cycle of systems and products as well as to provide tailored service offerings. However, the myriad and variety of industrial equipment and systems manufactured throughout various periods increase the effort related to the collection of corresponding installed base data. Moreover, organizational changes, such as corporate mergers or company take-overs can introduce additional complexities, such as intersecting serial numbers or the existence of heterogeneous identification plates. In addition, the time related to collecting installed base data is critical since it is often done during customer visits by well trained service engineers that have to focus on solving time-critical problems. Thus, the corresponding data is often processed slowly because of time consuming media conversion and paper work before and after the actual service work.