Remote technology provides more than troubleshooting an equipment issue. General Mills, Minneapolis uses it as an educational tool and a lot more.

When the company recently held its flour school, a specialist at the Minneapolis technical center put on a headset and showed how to conduct analytical tests and other flour milling concepts via Microsoft Teams.

“People all over the world were able to watch her do that test,” said Karl Thorson, global food safety and sanitation manager, General Mills. “It makes it a lot more interesting to see a life experiment, test or analysis going on than just talking about the theory behind the test or looking at pictures on a PowerPoint presentation.”

For the past few years, Thorson has been demonstrating how remote technology can teach, advise and resolve issues by connecting employees with subject matter experts.

“I generally carry with me a laser pointer and a flashlight that can show people what I’m looking for,” Thorson explained. “We can chat. I can send you pictures and files and share SSOPs (sanitation standard operating procedures). It makes the interaction hands-free and very easy.”

Kristen Naeini, director of sales US, RealWear, said the headsets focus on “assisted reality” that prioritizes physical awareness over immersive digital experiences. Unlike virtual or augmented reality, assisted reality doesn’t replace the user’s world with a computer-generated environment or overlay digital information on the real world.

The headset comes with a monocular, moveable display below the eye level that can deliver information much like a phone or laptop by using voice-activated prompts.

Naeini said it allows users to maintain full situational awareness, making it safer than more immersive devices for certain tasks in an industrial environment. It can also provide real-time access to information by providing data without overlaying it on physical objects like in traditional augmented reality applications.

She added that the company’s second-generation headsets, the Navigator Series, are lighter and slimmer than the original ones and include upgraded battery, camera, display and storage capabilities.

RealWear collaborates with various technology companies to offer hands-free software, enhanced security and improve its camera capabilities.

Thorson said headsets have a short learning curve.

“I just hand it to people, and it’s pretty intuitive,” he said. “There are a few things to get used to such as navigating home or pushing one button to get you back to your home screen. It’s easy to learn how to use the voice-activation features.”

Overall, telepresence technology has come a long way, noted Justus Larson, vice president of operations, Franz Family Bakery, Portland, Ore.

“We encountered some challenges with these devices when we first tried them,” he recalled. “They were difficult to use and set up, had poor Wi-Fi connection, low-quality video and poor audio in loud settings. However, many of these issues have been resolved in recent years. The devices now have cellular options, noise cancellation, and more intuitive user interfaces. They also work with applications our teams are more familiar with like Microsoft Teams.”

Thorson pointed out headsets come with Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities and can provide an employee with a training video or a checklist for tasks such as taking apart a divider for cleaning.

He added the camera can zoom in on a piece of equipment to pinpoint a problem. A noise-canceling feature serves as personal protective equipment.

“I’ve gone into plants and stood next to the loudest equipment, and nobody can hear it,” he pointed out. “You can turn off the noise canceling so you can hear if something is wrong, if you wanted to.” 

From a food safety and sanitation perspective, he added, headsets can connect a plant employee with a microbiologist, an expert in physical hazards or vendors like chemical suppliers. They can also be used to provide employees with on-the-job training for audits and more.

“I recently sent a newer person to inspect a contract manufacturing facility with one of these headsets, and I told him, ‘I don’t think I need to come with you. I’m confident in your skills that you can get out there and evaluate this facility, but what we’re going to do is get the team to get on the call. So you go ahead and do the inspection and evaluation, and the rest of us can get on a call in the afternoon, and you give us the high points of your inspection,’ and that worked wonderfully.”

For bakers and snack makers, it’s all about using technology for every remote possibility.

This article is an excerpt from the September 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Remote Technology, click here.