BACKGROUND

AR-based smart field management solution allows SAP and LLVISION to support clients through their digital journey. By implementing SAP AR FSM, SAP and LLVISION are able to:

· Save 45% of the cost for clients

· Increase the efficiency of trouble-fixing by 6 times

· Increase the speed of response by 24 times

· Greatly Improve user experience

· Collect data in real-time and allow the IT system to be more flexible

· Enable experts to acquire a first-person perspective of the working field, provide guidance remotely for onsite workers, and save the cost of experts' traveling expense

· Access and use the general information of enterprise services

· Reduce operating costs by improving service delivery efficiency and optimizing the operating resources

· Solve problems quickly by predicting the need for maintenance, sharing quotations, plans, and processes in real-time

What is AR-based smart field management solution ?

Optimisation and Fusion for SAP FSM Key Business Process

My Role

I joined the team at LLVISION in August 2020 as a UX/UI designer. Besides working on company's mainline applications, I had the honour to collaborate with the head of product, a product manager and the development team to launch the standard operation app for Southern Airline.

Who is China Southern Airline?

China Southern Airlines, founded in 1988, is one of the largest and most prestigious airlines in China. Headquartered in Guangzhou, it boasts an extensive domestic and international network, connecting passengers to over 200 destinations across more than 40 countries and regions.

Working Process

Define the goal

About LLVISION

LLVISION is a leading B2B technology company specializing in augmented reality (AR) solutions. They offer advanced AR glasses, developed and manufactured in-house by their dedicated hardware team, along with a custom-built platform designed to seamlessly integrate with their AR devices.

SAP AR FSM System Architecture

China Southern Airlines faces a significant issue with the high cost of routine aircraft inspections. However, these inspections are essential for the airline’s reputation and passenger safety, and their frequency cannot be reduced or compromised.

Field research

The Product Manager and I conducted a field research visit to China Southern Airlines' headquarters in Guangzhou. Our objectives were to define the essential functionalities required for our mobile software and to design the optimal user flow, ensuring the highest level of operational efficiency.

We retained two key functions from the existing system: remote collaboration and AR work cards. The remote collaboration function allows workers to call experts for real-time troubleshooting when they encounter issues that cannot be resolved on-site. The AR work cards are used to conduct aircraft inspections.

User flow

For the two main functions—AR work cards and remote collaboration within the mobile app—AR glasses are not engaged during the initial stages before users begin AR inspections or remote collaboration. In this context, utilizing a user flow diagram is the most effective method to visualize these actions.(For AR work cards, purple is for mobile, blue is for AR interfaces).

Information Architecture

For the administration platform, information architecture is crucial for designing a backstage platform because it provides a structured approach to organising and presenting information, which enhances usability, efficiency, and scalability. From field research and several meetings with the product manager and the head of product, we decided to have three main feature on the admin platform, which is AR work cards, Work card history, and Statistical analysis. The detailed feature we decided to have as shown below.

Prototyping & Usability testing

After defining the desired features of the project through user flow and information architecture, and validating these with the development team, we have developed prototypes for usability testing. This testing encompassed app functionality on mobile phones and interface evaluation on AR glasses, with a primary focus on usability. We ensured that the user experience was effective, verifying that font sizes, instructions, icons, and text content were clear and user-friendly.

The shipped solution

Business problem

A standard inspection application designed for workers to use in conjunction with AR glasses when performing standard inspections on aircraft. The AR glasses allow for hands-free operation, ensuring that the status of each part is checked without errors, thereby improving inspection efficiency.

Design includes: UI/UX Design for the mobile app, AR interfaces, Web(admin) interfaces.

Painpoints and insights

After executing the field research, we came back to Beijing, and summarised：

Inefficiencies in Manual Inspections: Currently, workers must consult blueprints and step-by-step diagrams during inspections, which is time-consuming due to the complexity and number of aircraft components.

Proposed Solution: Deploy LLVISION AR glasses to enable workers to access augmented reality blueprints and step-by-step instructions hands-free, thereby enhancing inspection efficiency.

On-Site Supervision Requirements: Routine inspections necessitate constant on-site supervision, leading to significant manpower expenditure.

Proposed Solution: Implement a backend management system to centralize and streamline inspection data, reducing the need for on-site supervision and optimizing resource allocation.

High Costs and Delays for Expert Assistance: Engaging experts for urgent issues involves high costs and potential delays, particularly if experts are not locally available.

Proposed Solution: Integrate remote collaboration capabilities into AR glasses, allowing workers to receive real-time guidance from experts and resolve issues more swiftly and cost-effectively.

After conducting extensive testing and thorough research on the aircraft, I have identified a solution, as detailed below. Due to confidentiality agreements, I am unable to showcase the full details of this project. However, I can provide a few High-fidelity pages for AR work card function on administration platform and mobile app.

Results

This project required a minimum of four months dedicated to design, presenting significant challenges but also yielding great satisfaction. Throughout this period, I expanded my knowledge of aircraft systems. The final deliverable was presented to Southern Airlines, who expressed their satisfaction with the outcome. After one year of implementation, we were pleased to learn that the solution resulted in a 45% reduction in costs associated with aircraft inspection procedures.

After delivering the project, we continued to engage with the Southern Airlines team. The product manager and I actively maintained and updated the solution based on their feedback. We also conducted follow-up calls to collect additional feedback and insights.