In the aftermarket industry, manuals play a significant role in most of the aftermarket services. This includes maintenance, diagnostics, fixing, replacing, and even assembling. Most manuals contain pictures, steps, and instructions that help the technician effectively conduct the service. The integration of AI in electronic manuals has been a complete game changer for the aftermarket industry.
With the use of AI, aftermarket management has become more systematic, organized, and less complicated. The industry has embraced every new change that came with the growth of technology. OEMs and dealers function today in a more closely-knit network.
To keep up with the ever-evolving industry and overcome hurdles, companies are coming up with innovative software solutions for a sustainable future. In this blog, let us understand how electronic service manuals will impact the industry.
The Evolution from Paper to Electronic Manuals
Let us understand the challenges of the industry to better comprehend the need for an efficient method. The ultimate transition from paper-based manuals to digital manuals has revolutionized the aftermarket.
Paper-Based Service Manuals: History
Paper-based manuals have been the primary source of information for technicians across all industries. These manuals include instructions, procedures, diagrams, etc. that work as guidelines. Each product has a different manual, depending on the make and model of the product. These manuals are generally produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Paper manuals are stored in the service centers and arranged systematically. These manuals are the authentic source of information that the technician has to refer to for any kind of information. Although these manuals served their purpose accurately, they had multiple drawbacks.
Over the years, different products have gone through different changes and updates; each update can change the functions and methods of repair and diagnostics. This created the challenge of updating manuals with every new design, addition, or update to the product.
What Were the Challenges Faced by Traditional Methods?
New models and products came to the market every day; this posed several challenges for the dealers and OEMs to communicate. Every minute update or change had to be brought in with a new manual. Here are some of the reasons why switching to electronic manuals seemed necessary.
Accessibility
In busy repair shops, it would be physically impossible for technicians to be able to locate a piece of information or part in time. This restricted the technicians in terms of providing the service on time while locating the right manual.
Along with this, the manuals had to be kept in the right condition. Often, due to wear and tear, the manuals would become severely damaged or would become a hindrance in the repair process.
No Real-Time Updates
For any change or market trend, the OEMs had to get their paper manuals updated, which was yet another hassle. This involved the risk of errors and misinformation since the correct information could not be updated frequently. The new updates or products needed to be printed separately and added in bullets, which were often hard to read or find.
Storage Constraints
More products meant more service manuals and updates. It also meant a shortage of space to store the different manuals for different products and variants of variants. This made it tedious to arrange and manage a mammoth collection of manuals, which involved loads of time that was considered a waste by OEMs and dealers.
Environmental Impact
Manufacturing and distributing manuals with each update was greatly affecting the environment. Many resources, such as paper, ink, electricity, and labor, go into its making.
Later on, these manuals have to be transported to various dealers, further adding to the carbon emission. With the need to switch over to sustainable measures continuing to increase, it dawned on the industry in the aftermarket that it was now time for the sector to switch over to sustainable alternatives.
How Did the Switch From Paper to Electronic Manuals Pay Off?
Coming-of electronic manuals brought in considerable changes in the aftermarket industry. From paper to digital, the transition became the solution to many of the challenges that were being faced at that time. This is where the electronic service manuals first came into existence. Here is how they helped improve the aftermarket industry and help create better customer-service relations.
Better Accessibility
With the manuals becoming digital, technicians could now access the manuals from any device: smartphones, tablets, desktops, etc. The manuals also had unique search features that allowed the technicians to locate the exact part where the required information was located without having to go through the whole document. All this could be done from their workstations.
Real-Time Updates
Updates and edits become a cakewalk! OEMs could update all dealers and distributors about a revision or change in the product with a notification through the interactive service manuals. Real-time updates and amendments help reduce risk and minimize errors.
Storage Efficiency
Digital formats were far more convenient to store than printed manuals, as they didn't require any physical space. It severely reduced the chaos of maintaining a physical library and arranging it for ease of access.
Interactive Capabilities
Electronic system manuals were not just digital versions of the same manuals but were far more interactive. It included diagrams, video tutorials, and even a 3D demonstration for accurate identification. These interactive capabilities made their manuals an efficient way of learning for inexperienced technicians.
What Is the Future of Repair?
The repair industry has been constantly transitioning to keep up with the fast-paced technical advancements. The industry is also adapting to new processes that have promised better service, safer products, and a reliable future. Integrating AI in electronic manuals has been another revolutionizing development that brings in the ability to offer predictive maintenance and diagnostics.
It does not end there; AI has the potential to analyze large amounts of data and predict failures before they even take place. This proactive ability of AI has successfully minimized unexpected failures, saved costs, and avoided dangerous accidents before they took place. The introduction of the Internet of Things into the repair industry has been another breakthrough.
Through IoT, it enables the device or the product to share real-time data about its performance and condition. This helps in predicting if a repair or service is needed for the product. All this can be done remotely and can be managed on time without any unexpected errors.
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The repair industry has seen far more growth in terms of the integration of modern technology and continues to become better and better every day. Such close involvement with technology has helped numerous companies predict potential losses and get better at creating error-free versions.
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