Remote assistance means an expert helps a technician, colleague or customer from a distance, via a phone, tablet or smart glasses. The expert can diagnose a fault before the visit, so the right technician arrives with the right parts. It also helps experienced colleagues back up new technicians, lets you talk a customer through a simple check, and keeps sessions as knowledge. In IFS Cloud, the feature is called Remote Assistance and is built into IFS Cloud Web and the mobile work order apps.
Where do companies use remote assistance?
For diagnosis before the visit, backing up and onboarding technicians, customer self-help and keeping knowledge.
With augmented reality (AR), markings appear over the live image. Merged reality blends two live video streams, so the expert can point with their own hand inside the technician’s view.
1. More effective machine maintenance with mixed reality
Manufacturers depend on machines that run day and night. IoT sensors generate raw machine data, which you can collect with a service such as Azure IoT Hub and display in mixed reality (MR). With a HoloLens, operators then see how much power flows, how many products pass through and which parts show wear, without opening the machine. No remote expert is involved; the glasses show machine data.
Microsoft stopped making HoloLens 2 in December 2024; security updates run until the end of December 2027. Our article on IoT and digital twins explains when sensors add value.
2. Working side by side remotely
A technician supports a colleague in another location through an interactive session, for example on the engine of a speedboat or lorry. In IFS Cloud, the expert can point at the image, share photos and documents, zoom in and annotate during the call. Junior technicians learn from experienced colleagues this way.
3. Faster onboarding
Onboarding takes time and money. With remote assistance, new technicians can work on their own sooner, because an experienced colleague is one click away. IFS compares it to having a second technician on site with them.
4. More first-time fixes through remote diagnosis
A first-time fix means the fault is resolved on the first visit. That saves a second journey, and the customer is helped sooner. With remote assistance, an expert diagnoses the problem before anyone sets off, for example a fault in a boiler or router. You then send the right technician with the right parts.
IFS customer Alfa Laval went from pilot to full roll-out within six weeks in 2020, for around 150 employees. Read how Alfa Laval supports its technicians with remote assistance. Our article on reducing maintenance costs with EAM and FSM explains how to measure first-time fix.
5. Self-service through remote assistance
Some faults a customer can fix in a few minutes with a little guidance. They click a link and share what they see, and the technician guides them step by step. According to IFS, the customer does not need to download an app. Only ask for actions that are safe without technical training, such as reading a display.
6. Medical prescription checks with AR glasses
In healthcare, AR glasses show care instructions and scan medicines, so someone can check the dose remotely.
7. More personal customer service
With an AR headset, a customer service agent virtually joins your customer and sees straight away what they mean.
8. Improved quality control
With AR, specialists follow every stage of production without being on the shop floor, and spot problems earlier.
9. Education and training
A teacher or experienced professional coaches a student or production worker in real time, with instructions in AR or MR glasses. According to IFS, you can also archive sessions as searchable knowledge, so an experienced colleague’s explanation is not lost.
10. Visualise construction projects
In construction, architects and designers use AR to follow progress on site without always being there.
When is remote assistance the right choice?
It fits where knowledge has to travel and someone is already on site. It does not fit where the work itself needs skilled hands, tools or a qualification on site.
A video call needs a connection. The IFS Cloud mobile work order also works offline; live video does not. So test the signal in basements and plant rooms. Our article on service staff productivity explains how the mobile work order changes a technician’s day.
Start with the technician’s phone or tablet, because Remote Assistance runs in the IFS work order apps on it. Smart glasses keep the hands free, but privacy rules mean they need extra agreements with the customer.
Safety comes first. According to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), equipment and products used in explosive atmospheres must meet the safety requirements of ATEX directive 114. That includes the technician’s phone or glasses. The technician on site makes the safety call.
You do not always need a full Remote Assistance set-up either. For a small, simple service process, a phone call and a photo in the work order app may be enough.
How do you link a session to the work order?
By starting the call from the work order and recording the outcome on the task. If the technician calls from Work Details, Task Steps or Object Details, the task number and object ID go with the call. In IFS Cloud Web, the expert sees that link on the incoming call.
Each call also gets a call log with the video recording and the files shared during the call. That log sits in Remote Assistance itself, under My Calls and Call Log. You can add photos and videos to it afterwards, but not documents.
So agree that the technician records the diagnosis and the fix on the task. The next technician working on that asset can then see what happened.
Is a technician allowed to film customer sites and people?
Only with a legal basis under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the people on camera must know what happens to the footage. Once someone is recognisable, the images are personal data. According to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP), a recognisable build or posture can be enough.
The AP says a recording light on smart glasses is not enough to inform people. Tell them in advance who is watching, and give them the chance to stay out of view. The AP also calls on employers to ban smart glasses in the workplace where possible, to protect trade secrets and privacy.
The AP also advises organisations to ban smart glasses in their house rules where necessary, naming hospitals, courts and religious buildings. So agree with your customer beforehand what the technician may film.
According to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), professional use of smart glasses falls under the GDPR, and the user is then a data controller. Record who in your organisation carries that responsibility.
Also decide whether you need the recordings in the call log and who may view them. The GDPR sets no fixed retention period. The AP says you set it yourself, as short as the purpose allows, and record the period with your reasoning.
Ask IFS or your partner, too, where Remote Assistance recordings are stored and for how long. Set that against your own retention period. Do not let technicians fall back on their own apps. Footage on a technician’s own phone falls outside your retention period and the call log.
How do you start with remote assistance?
With the one situation where knowledge travels most often, such as a specialist driving for hours to make a short diagnosis.
You decide who acts as an expert and which technicians may call them. First, your administrator registers and configures Remote Assistance Enterprise in IFS Cloud. Then they set up technicians and experts as active Remote Assistance users, one by one.
Check, too, whether Remote Assistance is in your IFS licence and how many experts you need. Record a baseline first, such as specialists’ journeys and repeat visits.
As an IFS Specialized Partner, Eqeep implements IFS Field Service Management. We agree with your team which use case comes first and how you measure progress. Start with an analysis.
Questions about remote assistance
Does IFS still offer remote assistance?
Yes. In IFS Cloud, the feature is called Remote Assistance. It is built into IFS Cloud Web and the IFS Service MWO and IFS Maintenance MWO apps, for staff set up as Remote Assistance users. The technology was originally developed by Help Lightning.
Does a customer need an app to share their view?
No. According to IFS, a customer can join a session from their own smartphone without downloading an app.
Does remote assistance work without an internet connection?
No, a video call needs a connection. The IFS Cloud mobile work order does work online and offline, although some features are online only.
Discuss your IFS question
Tell us where you stand with IFS. After one conversation you will have a clear next step. Mention which faults currently cost a specialist a journey. Discuss your IFS question
