From Forbes.com. Read the full article here.
AI And Skilled Trades: Just‑In‑Time Education
Another company utilizing AI to support skilled trades and tackle knowledge gaps through just‑in‑time education is XOi. JP Cahalan, Senior Process Engineer, explained how XOi has been aggregating extensive datasets on equipment deployed in the field. Historically, one of the significant challenges in skilled trades education has been the absence of such datasets and the difficulty technicians encounter in locating the information they require when they need it–not surprising in a world dominated by paper, pencil, and PDFs.
XOi’s approach is to have contractors get a picture of the data plate on the hardware. Their system pulls knowledge of make and model from the plate, along with other relevant information like maintenance history, to shape the repair activity, including providing additional instructions as needed. The system guides the technician through a standard set of questions about their observations, the work completed, and any other details that may be important in a field report. This information flows back to the office, where generative AI can create the billing summary and field report.
Cahalan discusses the implications for training. “It used to be that tech had to be trained on specific equipment, and if they encountered something different, they would need to figure it out or give up. With these data sets and the knowledge that can be gained, the approach can adapt dynamically.”
The system can discern what the equipment and the technician are like, determining the training and support the technician will need to address the likely challenges at hand. As one technician said, “Your tool allows me to understand my blind spots.”
AI also enables an effortless transition from labor‑intensive written descriptions to video with narration. This simplification helps document current actions to inform future needs. Similar to Interplay, the integration of video and AI facilitates efficient process capture and evaluation.
