The Role of Visualisation in Maintenance: Beyond Torque Settings
When it comes to maintenance, the topic is far too vast and diverse to cover globally, as different domains face unique challenges. For instance, a technician working on a precision water deposition machine might not see much in common with a team of rope-access technicians hanging off a North Sea oil platform. However, despite these differences, there are shared threads that unite these seemingly diverse scenarios.
One such commonality is operator and site safety, a fundamental requirement across all domains. But while safety is rarely overlooked, the question remains: Can it be done more efficiently while increasing effectiveness?
Predictive Maintenance, Scheduling for Maximum Uptime
One area that has seen significant innovation is the scheduling of maintenance and the use of predictive maintenance to maximise plant uptime. The challenge is balancing preventive maintenance schedules with the risk of unexpected breakdowns. In sectors where leasing capabilities—such as the power-by-the-hour model in aerospace—is preferred over owning products, predictive maintenance is especially crucial. The goal is to minimise downtime while ensuring equipment reliability.
Expertise and Configuration Variability
Another crucial factor is the role of expertise and experience in maintenance. While years of experience still count for something, they are not foolproof. Even technicians with extensive experience face new challenges due to the high variability in equipment configuration. In fact, even "off-the-shelf" machines often feature custom setups. As a result, even seasoned professionals may find themselves poring over vast documentation and complex wiring diagrams to troubleshoot issues, which is far from ideal.
While there’s no magic bullet to eliminate the complexity and risk in modern field operations, effective communication is key to any successful organisation. However, communication is influenced by many factors—regional differences, cultural norms, and even situational pressures, such as fatigue or time constraints.
The Role of Visualisation in Maintenance
This is where visualisation comes in. Its purpose is to reduce the cognitive load technicians face when trying to understand new information, especially in high-pressure environments. At Virtalis, we often refer to VR and XR as a superpower—allowing users to achieve understanding of complex scenarios within seconds, whether it's grasping a colleague’s problem or visualising a difficult task.
Virtual Reality (VR), or more broadly, Extended Reality (XR), allows technicians to immerse themselves in the appropriate context and situation, no matter how far removed it may be from their actual surroundings. This immersion saves valuable cognitive resources that would otherwise be spent deciphering complex diagrams or dense documentation. Although teams have traditionally overcome these hurdles, it has been a costly, error-prone, and time-consuming process.
Visualisation can be a game-changer, offering a shortcut through this process. However, for it to be truly effective, it must be integrated into a more structured communication approach.
Virtalis Reach: Streamlining Information Flow
At Virtalis, this is why we’ve focused on developing Virtalis Reach—a platform designed to optimise the entire information pipeline. Our goal is to reduce the effort required to produce and distribute visualisations, while removing barriers to accessing the information at the other end. This ensures that the information technicians receive is controlled, maintained, and relevant throughout the process.
Automated Service Bulletins and Immersive Planning
Service bulletins, for example, can be largely automated by pulling source data directly from the engineering group. Unnecessary or sensitive data is stripped out, and relevant service information is added. Field technicians can then access this information on handheld devices, interacting with it as needed. For larger or remote installations, immersive 3D environments provide up-to-date layout information, allowing teams to plan tasks in advance and run through operations virtually to avoid snags before going onsite.
The focus here isn’t just about rendering technology or high-quality graphics. Effective visualisation for maintenance depends on an organisation’s ability to deliver comprehension and understanding—responsively, flexibly, and routinely—to those on the front lines.
The Virtalis Reach Superpower, Information Flow and Security
The superpower we’ve been working to bottle in Virtalis Reach lies in its ability to deliver the right information in the right way. This is why we place such a premium on information flow, accessibility, and security—two factors that go hand in hand. The irony is that sharing information freely can only happen when you know it’s being done securely.
This approach is especially critical for maintenance operations, where remote teams and partner companies are often involved. Ensuring that those on the front lines have access to the information they need—while maintaining control over sensitive data—will be a key differentiator for service operations in the digital age.