Several Index AR Solutions leaders presented at the Human Performance (HP) Community of Practice virtual roundtable on May 20. Hosted by KnowledgeVine, a leading provider of HP improvement services, the session showcased how technology and science are coming together to optimize human performance using eBooks and mobile apps.

Augmented reality (AR) mobile apps and Index eBooks™ provide a powerful new way of teaching and engaging today’s workers. The technologies are the foundation of Apprentice Program solutions from Index that are helping major utilities address a variety of staffing and education challenges such as remote learning, the increase in skilled worker retirement and more.

Index AR Solutions CEO Dan Arczynski explained the company’s unique development approach, which emphasizes establishing the outline and a deep understanding of the client’s processes at an early stage.

“Our whole passion is to help workers become safer, more capable, more productive,” said Arczynski.

The development process continues with creating the multi-modal content – combining clear, concise written instructions with photos, videos and graphics. Once those items are carefully created they are poured into the Index eBook™ and supporting mobile application and delivered via tablet. The approach has proven quite successful in boosting human performance in demanding, task-driven operating environments.

“While the technology from Index is a great asset itself, it’s really about the learning and finding innovative ways to do learning,” said Dr. James Merlo, Vice President for Operational Excellence at KnowledgeVine. “It’s the application of that technology using the hard science of psychology and the implementation of human performance, which Index is embedding into their solutions.”

Using Technology and Development Approach to Make HPI Pervasive

The roundtable also included Sam Reno, Performance Improvement Program Manager at a major utility. Reno discussed the value of strategically placing HPI tools throughout workforce training eBooks that remind workers of important safety or procedural considerations at certain steps in a process. Under Reno’s direction, Index also worked closely with a utility’s HP champions to create an eBook that specifically focuses on the company’s forward-thinking HPI approach.

Index is helping the utility institutionalize HPI concepts in a very powerful way by collaborating with their own subject matter experts (SME) and workers in the field. For example, each time an instructional video is created for a new eBook, Index producers will prompt the utility’s SME to talk about how an HPI tool might apply to the task at hand. In this way, HPI tools are consistently embedded into the training construct early in the process.

Reno also noted how the Index eBook creation process and content producers can make highly technical topics have feeling and become emotionally relatable. The combined approach, according to Reno, is credited with helping to make HPI pervasive across the business in a highly effective manner.

For more information on how utilities are using Index eBooks™ and mobile apps to promote HP principles and reimaging workforce training, visit indexarsolutions.com/apprentice-programs.

To learn more about the HPI solutions and services offered by KnowledgeVine, or to join the HP Community of Practice for free, visit knowledgevine.com.