Vitens is a Dutch drinking water company that produces and supplies drinking water to 5.6 million customers. To take advantage of new opportunities in the market and solve challenges, Vitens looks at the impact of the very latest technologies on its organisation.

Recently, Vitens started exploring how augmented and mixed reality can be used to improve the work of a technician. Four important pillars emerged as the starting point for the process: safety improvements, decisiveness, time savings and remote assistance for engineers. To begin the process, Vitens turned to long-term partners, Accenture and Avanade – a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft – for their expertise in delivering innovative solutions using Microsoft technology.

The collaboration began with designing and building a field service solution using Microsoft HoloLens. Avanade started with a workshop to introduce Vitens engineers to the HoloLens and its possibilities. During this workshop, the engineers were able to share their own ideas and user needs. These ideas were included in an interactive design made by Avanade Digital Innovation Studios. Eventually, a prototype was created to provide a realistic picture of how the application would ultimately work.

When the engineers were allowed to try the prototype, they immediately saw the ideas they presented at the start of the process. The HoloLens solution makes the work of engineers safer and allows them to make decisions faster based on the information they see in front of them. The solution also saves time because information is provided quickly and appropriately. Remote assistance can also be requested.

By looking at an average day of a technician and the work, the solution meets the needs of the end user. This has built up the enthusiasm needed at Vitens to guarantee the acceptance of this technology.