WORKSHOP INNOVATION OF THE YEAR RENAULT TRUCKS OPTIVIEW

THE ISSUE: COMPLEX FAULTS BLOCKING WORKSHOPS AND INCREASE CUSTOMER DOWNTIME

State-of-the-art diagnosis systems allow Renault Trucks’ highly trained technicians to identify and resolve the majority of faults swiftly.  When a Renault Trucks dealer is faced with a more complex or previously unseen fault, they call on the manufacturer’s technical team at Warwick HQ or the factory in Lyon for specialist advice and assistance. In the most challenging 5% of cases, a Regional Technical Response Manager is required to attend on site, with availability and travel time adding to vehicle downtime for the customer and bay-blocking in the dealer’s workshop.

THE SOLUTION: RENAULT TRUCKS OPTIVIEW

For Renault Truck, fast, accurate fault resolution is a priority to improve customer service. Service Market & Retail Development Director, Derek Leech and his team went out to market to investigate innovative ways to bring troubleshooting expertise into the dealer workshop more quickly. 

The chosen high tech solution, Optiview, uses RealWear HMT-1 headsets in conjunction with customised LibreStream Onsight Connect software.  The wearable Augmented Reality and voice command technology allows technicians to connect hands-free with Renault Trucks technical support for live assistance right when they need it to speed up diagnosis and repair.

Optiview has a completely hands-free voice-controlled user interface allowing technicians to operate the tools and equipment needed for the job, whilst maintaining full situational awareness and maximum productivity. It is designed to offer hands-on technicians the ability to access a virtual 7-inch tablet via a 1-inch screen that sits just below their line of sight.  

Through a two-way video camera, the technician livestreams what they’re seeing directly into the technical support manager’s remote computer; technician and support manager can engage in a real-time conversation, working together to resolve the fault. 

Additionally, to virtually assist the technician on the ground, the technical support manager can annotate images on the technician’s screen, or display key information such as wiring diagrams. 

The Optiview headsets are also able to capture images and videos, which are used to create a library of case studies and also to raise quality issues which can be shared quickly with the factory.  

Fully autonomous, connecting via a wifi network, the headsets can also be used off site, for example at a roadside breakdown via mobile hotspot link. 

THE INNOVATION: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMS WORKSHOP PRODUCTIVITY

Renault Trucks is using Optiview technology to transform the way we work to improve workshop productivity and efficiency.  Complex faults are resolved more quickly, workshop space is freed up and customer vehicles are back on the road more promptly.

OPTIVIEW IN ACTION

Since April 2019, Renault Trucks Optiview has been deployed at 15 dealer sites across the UK.  At Renault Trucks Chiltern, Workshop Manager Mick Walsh and his team value the instant access to specialist technical support that Optiview provides. 

“We only use Optiview when we need technical involvement from Renault Trucks UK.  Now if we’re stuck, we get immediate onsite support from Scott, our Regional Technical Support Manager, rather than having to wait up to two days in some cases before he could get to us.

A good example is a recent breakdown, a French-plated Range T experienced an electrical fault, and the driver was waiting in reception.  We were struggling to find a reason for the dashboard warning lights coming on.  Our technician, Bart, put on the Optiview headset and contacted Scott, who was able to bring up the right wiring diagrams on both his and Bart’s screen.  Scott talked Bart through the plugs, voltages and CAN lines to check in order.  Quickly identifying that a voltage was incorrect, he guided Bart to another plug, which when checked was full of water.  Without Optiview, the technician would have had to systematically check each plug until he discovered the issue.  This technology saved around an hour in the workshop and ensured that the driver was back on the road with minimal downtime. 

Mick is also using Optiview to report new technical problems encountered by the workshop.  In a recent example, a brand new vehicle experienced an oil leak in the filter housing core plug.  “We recorded the issue through the glasses by voice control, showing exactly where oil was leaking from, and sent the video to the factory in Lyon to raise and report an important quality issue. 

WEARER ACCEPTANCE

Although Optiview is still a relatively new addition to the Renault Trucks dealer workshops, technicians report that it is easy and intuitive to use, and comfortable to wear.  Colin Barnett who reported on Renault Trucks’ Optiview in Commercial Motor, 22 August 2019, also commented that the headset ‘felt surprisingly unintrusive, and the screen boom was soon moved into the optimum position. Despite its tiny screen, the image was perfectly legible and the headphones weren’t affected by background noise. The voice control is accurate, even with strong regional accents, and intuitive.’  He concludes, ‘In one way, the experience was quite unremarkable, in that it did what it’s intended to do without any effort.’

DRIVING THE FUTURE

The technology used in Optiview also offers future opportunities including remote warranty parts inspections, speeding up authorisation of warranty claims and payments. 

Derek Leech says: “The possibilities to transform the way we work with this technology are far-reaching, from hands-free inspections and voice activated report writing, to creating live step by step instructions. Optiview is already transforming our workshops: the future starts here.”