With more than 26.000 employees worldwide, TÜV SÜD is one of the leading providers of Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC). The company is continually improving its services for its clients by the development and implementation of innovative technologies. The deployment of a smart service platform at TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH Baden-Württemberg, a wholly owned subsidiary of the TÜV SÜD Group will help to ensure the greatest possible security, increase the efficiency of business operations, and meet the internal sustainability goals.
A smart service platform is a comprehensive solution that focuses on enhancing service processes for an installed base of machinery and equipment. It integrates multiple key functionalities such as technical expert support through Augmented Reality (AR) visual assistance calls, self-services such as step-by-step guides for standard operating procedures (SOP), accumulation of products relevant knowledge in automated documentation, and efficient management of at customer sites installed base of machines. After detailed market research, TÜV SÜD Energietechnik made its choice in favor of the oculavis smart service platform as the one that best suited the company’s goals of efficiently organizing and managing inspection services.
The oculavis’ platform includes several modules that substantially improve the daily work routines in services processes along the whole life cycle of equipment and facilities – from installation to operation and disassembly. The modules can be implemented for both external and internal use cases such as training and onboarding. For example, young employees have the opportunity to gain practical experience while TÜV SÜD experts look over their shoulders and support them in inspecting safety-relevant objects.
Real-time communication with AR functionalities opens up many possible applications. “Our clients are located all over the world. We had always to find an available expert in the specific region in order to have the travel costs under control. The new solution makes cumbersome preparation of international travel documents and long-distance flights redundant. Thanks to visual assistance calls in HD quality, our audit and certification experts can address clients’ inquiries in a much more flexible manner. We can use our personnel capacities more efficiently, saving both time and costs”, tells Christoph Gatzen, Head of ETL/ETS Division at TÜV SÜD Energietechnik.
AR visual assistance offers much more functionality than common consumer apps. Users can add comments, make screenshots, and record videos, which will be available in a specific service case after the call is already finished. Support during system installation, audit, product conformity assessment, equipment maintenance and repair – are just a few examples of remote use cases for the module in the day-to-day operation of TÜV SÜD Energietechnik.
Using digital work instructions of the smart service platform is necessary when it is important to ensure carrying out of a process through certain sequential actions, e. g. during the dismantling of safety-relevant equipment and assemblies. Digital work instructions make it possible to outline complex technical procedures in a step-by-step manner. The software will not allow proceeding to the next step until the previous one hasn’t been completed and properly documented. Step-by-step guides also come in handy for supporting young talents during their onboarding phase as well as ensuring consistent quality of work among experienced employees.
The use of the AR-powered visual assistance module in combination with the case management module opens up new possibilities for external service processes. So, e. g. during the audit for the supply of components at the factory there is often a need for two auditors to work together – one directly at the inspection site and the other specialized auditor remotely – which is fully supported by the smart service platform.
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik’s business model is based on individual contracts for remote services. In this way, the TIC company ensures that specific customer requirements are always optimally met, whether to find and assign the right auditor at the customer’s location or to introduce the technical requirements and organizational processes. From the company’s point of view, this approach leads to greater customer satisfaction and stronger customer loyalty.
Despite the many advantages that the implemented solution has introduced into industrial services processes, the company is still facing technical challenges. Although 5G is already a standard in mobile networks and 6G is in development, comprehensive network coverage remains to be a hurdle to overcome and to ensure that digital solutions can be used at all.
For many German companies compliance with the GDPR is essential – where the data will be stored and whether all privacy protection rights will be respected. If these questions don’t get clear answers, companies refrain from digital collaboration and stick to traditional processes. In comparison, TÜV SÜD Energietechnik has experienced that international customers, e.g. from Asia, are more open to new collaboration forms and embrace digital tools to a far greater extent.
With the oculavis platform, TÜV SÜD Energietechnik meets the expectations of both groups. The smart service platform provides high-performance cloud infrastructures that meet the highest data security and compliance requirements. oculavis is ISO 27001 certified and adheres to a structured and functional Information Security Management System (ISMS) to effectively protect information, data, and business processes since 2020.
Moreover, as a subject of highest priority data security and privacy protection are being continuously improved. So, the latest release of the software makes it possible to pixelate the faces of the shop floor personnel who accidentally got into the field of view during the visual assistance session to anonymize their identity.
Since digital apps and devices have become an essential part of the daily work routines many have already realized that it is way more practical to work with digital forms of product and approval documents, specifications, audit reports, and all other kinds of documentation instead of storing their bulky paper versions. “Supporting our customers to move forward will help them to increase work efficiency and also save many resources. This will help to turn our planet into a better place”, explains Christoph Gatzen.
It is planned that in 2024 the collaboration with oculavis will be extended to include the integration of TÜV SÜD document templates into the smart service platform. This initiative aims to integrate inspection instructions and protocols for the automated or guided execution of inspections with AR support. And it doesn’t matter whether the inspection is carried out using a mobile phone, laptop or even smart glasses with or without remote support from experts. For the inspection body (according to ISO IEC 17020:2012) of TÜV SÜD Energietechnik that carries out independent conformity assessments worldwide the essential goal is to consistently document inspections, ensuring that they can be recreated at any point and yield consistent outcomes each time.
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH Baden-Württemberg is a wholly owned subsidiary of the TÜV SÜD Group. The company provides neutral and independent technical services such as assessment and testing services, mainly in the field of energy generation and decarbonization. As a service provider, the company supports and shapes technological progress ensuring optimal safety and efficient operation.
