VIRTUAL CAPABILITIES CHANGE PRACTICES
FOR PROCESSING OPERATIONS Brian Van Valkenburg, Senior Manger Field Services and Training, Swagelok Company
Virtual site visits and training courses bring remote expertise to plants.
C
onnecting distant teams to solve local site issues at facilities has always presented logistical challenges. How can the team provide timely remote feedback? How soon can a full team of experts be onsite to address the issue? The same challenges have faced facilities as they collaborate with external suppliers providing services that have commonly required onsite visits. As virtual technology has become more advanced, companies are starting to leverage these capabilities to allow their teams to connect from different locations more effectively. Whether companies need field engineering surveys or proper training for their personnel, virtual technology is allowing them to accomplish these goals with lower
26 This issue is sponsored by — Schneider Electric — www. www.se.com/au
costs and fewer scheduling conflicts. Not surprisingly, virtual site visits and training programs are becoming essential tools in helping facilities run more efficiently and effectively.
Virtual field engineering visits Before virtual technology became popular, field engineering visits to plants required a significant amount of time and expense. A group of field engineers would visit a site to evaluate various systems and equipment and provide multiple perspectives on their operation. Bringing multiple engineers to the facility not only resulted in significant travel expenses but also disruptions to the normal work of a facility. During a virtual visit, only one field engineer is required to be onsite. Equipped with an augmented reality (AR) collaboration headset, that engineer can connect with other engineers around the world. This team of multiple engineers can then conduct a thorough evaluation of
