Introduction

A very important aspect of power plants is maintaining their efficiency. Every day many employees take care of the continuity of electricity production. To make these processes characterized by even greater efficiency, new technical solutions are being reached for. With our company's solution, Tauron decided to use augmented reality (AR) technology.

The goal of the project was to provide operators with a modern tool that would allow them to replace large quantities of paper - manuals, technical drawings, schematics - with their digital, standardized edition. 

Expectations

The proposed solution was primarily intended to provide greater ergonomics for operators (avoiding moving around installations with a large amount of paper materials) as well as to ensure standardization of the activities performed by providing well-arranged materials that provide comprehensive knowledge. Additionally, in the reality of COVID-19, remote communication, necessary for communication between service technicians, proved to be an important need.

Solution

In order to meet the above expectations, a dedicated solution for AR glasses was decided upon. As stated in Tauron's press release: 

"AR glasses allow additional information (e.g. instructions, schematics, images, holograms or videos) to be superimposed on a view of a worker's actual surroundings, while giving them the ability to interact with it. In addition, the worker can access selected technical documentation directly at the analyzed device.

The ability to collaborate remotely and utilise expertise at a distance is particularly important in the current epidemic situation. Restrictions and preventive measures introduced across the country have reduced the mobility of workers and reduced the availability of a wide range of skilled professionals, including those from abroad. Innovative techniques, such as augmented reality (AR) technology, allow for active and real care of installations and technical equipment, despite the restrictions and limitations in place.

- AR technology in TAURON Wytwarzanie will contribute to the improvement of the employees' efficiency, optimise their operations and make better use of their knowledge and competences. It will also increase the ergonomics of the performed works (e.g. by obtaining the effect of free hands), improve their quality and safety - the latter through assistance, i.e. the virtual presence on site of a person with greater knowledge and experience - says Wojciech Przepadło, Vice President of the Management Board of TAURON Wytwarzanie.

Augmented reality will help bridge the skills gap and, applied to training and didactics, will ensure intergenerational knowledge sharing."

Benefits

The solution developed gave Tauron the following benefits:

1. Improving employee efficiency.
2. Standardization of flow and better use of competencies. 
3. Improving ergonomics and safety at work.
4. Bridging the competency gap.
5. Reduce failure time

‍