NYSEARCH, a research and development association hired CraneMorley to develop a proof of concept for its natural gas utility members to investigate how the Microsoft HoloLens could be put to work to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of training.

Using Microsoft’s Guides cloud application and 3D graphics, the CraneMorley Team created a course for the entry level service technician to install the gas meter set assembly (MSA) like the one you probably have on the site of your home.  Working closely with member Southwest Gas subject matter experts, the team put together the course without the need for programming in record time.

The Guides course provided step by step instruction “head up – hands free,” that is the student while wearing the HoloLens could use tools in both hands and learn without using an instructor’s time to perfectly install and MSA.  This new training process reduced what previously took a day in the classroom to 44 minutes.  Extrapolating this productivity gain to other parts of curriculum, the PoC was declared a success and nine of NYSEARCH member companies have signed on for a version of the project to be customized to their needs and to complete a workshop on the use of HoloLens and Guides.