From mobile applications to new auto designs to hotel features – embracing software has become vital to business innovation and survival. What does that mean for mechanical industries like automotive and aviation, where the work is about nuts and bolts and assembling components?
It means a shift in thinking, if you want longevity. You may build trucks, planes, cars, medical equipment or car engines – but you have to think like a software company.
Resisting change is do or die
“I think the next five years is basically prime time to think about every business, every industry, every field and say, ‘Well, how can we reinvent it now knowing that software can basically play such an important role in everything?’” – Marc Andreessen, entrepreneur, investor.
Lots of companies think they don’t need software to do what they do – but that’s a dangerous mindset.
“Soon every company will service their customers using software … or their customers will leave,” says Geneca CEO and Co-Founder Joel Basgall.
Think he’s wrong? Then think about the way Uber has disrupted the taxi industry. At the core, there’s no difference between a New York yellow cab and an Uber, in terms of the basics: Each is readily available and gets you to your destination for a modest fee.
But on a cold or rainy night, Uber’s software makes a difference. Hitting a few buttons on your smartphone and having a car arrive at your location is obviously preferable to walking to a well-traveled corner and hoping an empty taxi happens your way. And once that ease is tested by users, it becomes preferential.
This will only happen more as the number of those “unconnected” to the web shrinks, as it is already:
Software lives in the palms of people’s hands now – making it an easy transition when applied on-the-job.
But how do you integrate software if you in fact build cars, airplanes, or medical equipment?
Smarter, Faster, Cheaper
One area where software offers huge benefits for mechanical industries is workplace training. Transitioning to simulation-based software like 3D Interactive Training makes sense for a few reasons:
- It is now the norm. Trainees of all ages have the expectation/understanding that the world has moved beyond printed training manuals and power points – they can learn in new ways, and they should be taught in new ways. This is especially true of Millennials – who were raised on the ability to buy, learn, capture and edit moments with a touch of their fingers, and are now the largest employee population in the U.S.
- It is more effective. Technology like 3D Interactive Simulation modules not only provides trainees with step-by-step processes of job-related tasks, they continually assess trainees’ understanding of material. This real-time evaluation is faster and more accurate than any written test, or live evaluation by a trainer in the field could be. And modules on an iPad can be reviewed any time trainees need a refresher – unlike training that relies on live equipment, which is always limited.
- It is less expensive. Equipment wear and tear due to overuse or misuse, production slow-downs from equipment relegated to training, and accidents/injuries resulting from training mistakes are all avoided with training software that simulates reality. That alone is worth the cost of upgrading your training.
Maybe the correct phrase is “Software is feeding the world“, feeding it with data, insights and scalability. As our world becomes more digital and accessible, training must be too. Not only does interactive technology make training more engaging, safer, and more profitable – it’s crucial to your organization’s continued relevancy. Who wants to work for or with an organization stuck in the past, stubbornly clinging to antiquated methodologies?
Nobody.
For more information about how 3D Interactive Training can change your organization’s future, reach out!
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