Augmented reality: the 5 levels of industrial maintenance in companies

In the industrial environment, maintenance is an essential element for the proper functioning of the chain. It represents the whole of the actions of breakdown service, repair, adjustment, overhaul, improvement, control and checking of the company's equipment. The maintenance process is applied taking into account many constraints, including safety, the environment and quality.

There are 5 levels of maintenance, as defined by the French Standards Association (AFNOR), all of which must be mastered by the maintenance technicians. Each level of maintenance matches a degree of complexity and expertise, which anAugmented Reality solution such as Spectral TMS can support and optimize on a daily basis. Find out how!

Level 1 Maintenance

The first level of industrial maintenance matches actions that are often carried out on a preventive basis, following a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. Level 1 maintenance operations prevent breakdowns and failures in production processes thanks to the frequency with which they are carried out and limit the occurrence of any major problems. They are generally carried out by staff members who are not necessarily experts.

With the Spectral Augmented Reality TMS solution, we set up control scenarios in the form of rounds or factory tour to prevent any problems from occurring. This allows operators to carry out manipulations on machines that are easy to access and without safety problems. These operations are generally replacement or verification operations, such as changing a screw, a consumable or checking the level of clogging of a filter, for example.

Level 2 Maintenance

The second level of industrial maintenance groups together low-complexity preventive maintenance operations, but they can sometimes involve repairs carried out following a simple protocol. The operations are sometimes similar to those carried out for Level 1 maintenance and generally correspond to adjustments such as checking fuses or reclosing circuit breakers, for example.

For this level of maintenance, the Augmented Reality solution Spectral TMS allows you to create verification scenarios that will accompany the technician and guide him step by step, in real time. When the operator encounters an anomaly during his tour, he has the possibility to create an alert that will then be escalated to proceed with a troubleshooting intervention.

Level 3 Maintenance

Level 3 maintenance operations are preventive, more complex and can also be operations to identify and resolve failures on tools and components. They are still minor repairs even if they require some specific skills. Technicians perform these maintenance operations using instructions that are often listed in a manual or on a computer. This can cause a considerable loss of time because the information must constantly be sought elsewhere.

Digitalization of industrial processes is exploited by the Spectral TMS solution to allow technicians to perform their interventions and be guided instantly thanks to the Augmented Reality instructions that are superimposed on their operational field of vision. This allows them to have access to know-how on demand and to have their hands free to carry out their interventions easily.

Level 4 Maintenance

The fourth maintenance level corresponds to very complex operations. They require the intervention of technicians specialized in the field and require a certain amount of expertise. Level 4 maintenance can be either corrective or preventive, such as engine overhaul or supervision of measuring devices. The technicians who intervene are generally part of a team and are supervised by the head of the specialized unit. Level 4 maintenance operations are rare and their complexity requires a great deal of attention.

At Spectral TMS we can create scenarios for rare operations that require rigor to help operators during their interventions. The objective is to provide all the information necessary to carry out a quick and efficient intervention while trying to avoid errors.

Level 5 Maintenance

The fifth maintenance level corresponds to the most complex operations that require a high level of qualification. These are generally renovation, repair or construction operations that are entrusted to a specialised workshop, an external entity or even, in some cases, to the manufacturer. These are processes that are very similar to those used in manufacturing. Level 5 maintenance operations are rare, but they do require a certain rigor because they allow for the repair of breakdowns that can be very heavy and sometimes very costly to the company.

Spectral TMS can assist technicians in these operations by combining all the rigour and meticulousness necessary for the successful completion of the intervention, thanks to augmented reality.

At Spectral TMS We believe that certain levels of maintenance can sometimes be time-consuming and therefore costly to the company. In this sense, we are looking to digitize the processes by proposing a solution that will allow technicians to be guided step by step during their interventions, while having their hands free to optimize their efficiency. Thanks to Spectral TMS, technicians are able to carry out their interventions more quickly with all the necessary rigor and save companies time and money.

If you would like more information, please contact us at contact@spectraltms.com or make an videoconference appointment with one of our experts.