The COVID-19 pandemic is changing every part of the way we live, play and work. In the business world, companies are working hard to define their new business practices.
Imagine all the ways people move about in a large company. The pandemic affects the way companies:
- Receive outside visitors
- Manage employees working at home or in-office
- Send reps travelling to client sites
- Provide technical assistance to partners and clients
COVID-19 presents a challenge.
Some companies need only a small tweak to the way they work, while others require a radical rethink of their entire operation.
For the most innovative companies, the new world is an opportunity to embrace technology and blaze new trails with innovative business practices. That perspective is already part of Lavergne’s culture — our company is an innovative leader of recycling technology.
We’re embracing the pandemic environment as another exciting opportunity to take a leadership role and redefine the way our industry works.
Virtual Reality (VR) Brings Partners Closer
Lavergne is successfully adding Virtual Reality (VR) to our technology tool box. For a global company with locations in North America, Caribbean and Asia, VR adds a new location — your home, office or mobile device, wherever you happen to find yourself!
Lavergne’s Virtual Reality project was already underway when COVID hit the scene. As a global company, we had business requirements that demanded international communication, often with a visual component.
As our business grew, we routinely faced:
- Molders and clients on opposite sides of the world needing immediate technical support
- A night shift employee needing to consult an engineer
- A client with a last-minute cancellation unable to attend the facility tour
Lavergne moved quickly to use VR for exciting communications outreach. It was an opportunity to connect with clients, partners and employees.
There are a long list of benefits, from team-building, training, instantaneous repairs and virtual plant tours.
Virtual Guided Tours of Lavergne Facilities
We now offer Virtual Reality tours of our facilities. Lavergne’s plant tours come through two unique options.
The first way is travelling through our facilities using a camera to live stream our guided tour of our facilities and our plastic transforming technologies.
The second way involves using cameras installed at strategic locations throughout Lavergne’s facility. The cameras can be moved with software and joystick. Does that sound like a video game? In many ways, that’s exactly what it’s like!
Leveraging VR for Collaboration
Companies with global locations tend to spend millions of dollars each year on travel. How will this practice change in a COVID-19 environment? Will there be plant tours? Will there be client visits? Many companies are struggling with these questions right now.
Lavergne is jumping on this opportunity to leverage VR technology for greater collaboration. We’re leveraging VR technology to make those visits seamless and in real-time, just like everyone is together in the room.
We’re talking about everything from one-on-one meetings to large conferences. The technology facilitates:
- One-on-one video discussions for troubleshooting and technical support
- Installation assistance — helping teams install machinery by “walking them through” the steps
- Large conference calls with everyone communications together while seeing only one person’s camera
Of course, these connections are made across the globe, but pointing out the machine functions just like you’re in the same room.
Internal Improvements
VR technology also makes us a better team. How many of us have worked for global enterprises where a once-per-year conference suffices to make us a global team? Without day-to-day contact, those working relationships lack a lot of the communication, trust, nuance and support that a successful team needs.
Our VR technology now facilitates:
- Live global training sessions
- Real-time support for night shift workers when engineering or plant managers are not present
- Collaboration and bringing different perspectives into decision making
It is a great step forward for creating a unified, focused team in locations across the globe.
Leading for the Future
Bringing these features to life takes real know-how. We’re working hard on different technical solutions to facilitate these effective communications. Our technical solutions include:
- Live HD calls even on low bandwidth
- Remote camera management include zoom-in, take a photo, flashlight
- Powerful video solutions
This is the future of the globalized, interconnected world.
Contact Lavergne to see our VR technology in action!
