Microsoft Product Marketing Director for Frontline Shares Why Hybrid Work Model is the New Way Forward
by Mayank Verma and Megan McDonagh
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the manufacturing industry scramble to make major historic operational changes. In a matter of weeks, frontline work was both reimagined and transformed across the world to accommodate travel restrictions and social distancing requirements. Today, most industrial organizations have hit their stride with a mostly remote, highly productive frontline workforce
But now that a post-pandemic era is being realized, what’s the new normal? According to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, more than 80% of managers say they expect more flexible work-from-home policies post-pandemic. And it’s clear that organizations — even industrial ones — can thrive with workers working from home.
Here we examine the key reasons why the hybrid work model in the industrial industry will — and should — continue long after pandemic ends.
1. The hybrid model simplifies frontline collaboration
Large facility or installation projects require stakeholder validations for final approvals. Before the pandemic, it’s common practice for dozens of senior engineers, project managers and technicians from all over the world to gather on a single site to sign off on their part of the validation testing.
These are costly logistical feats.
A hybrid model that supports remote collaboration reduces the necessity for large gatherings (and the logistics that surround them). The same experts who would need to spend hours or days traveling for just a few hours of work can simply tour the facilities virtually with a click of a button.
That’s how Honeywell did it with RealWear and Microsoft Teams.
“When the COVID-19 crisis struck, we still had customers who needed us to run our tests on schedule,” says Hank Wrenn, Vice President and General Manager of Americas Projects and Automation Solutions at Honeywell Process Solutions. “We switched over to Microsoft Teams and started using RealWear head-mounted computers, which allowed us to get everyone connected and continue our work.”
Honeywell customers are enjoying the benefits of these streamlined tests. Without the need to wait for traveling experts to arrive, they’re able to start production sooner.