I Spy with My Little Eye

Despite the glitz and glitter, I admit, I’m not always quick to jump aboard the latest technology trends. When iPhones first came out, I preferred my Blackberry. I didn’t convert for a few years, but now, I can’t imagine life without my iPhone because it makes my life so much simpler. I was also stubborn to jump on the e-reader train. But, now, I take my Kindle practically everywhere. There are still some things I just don’t see a need for, such as the latest Apple Watch or the 4K Ultra HD TVs — much to my husband’s dismay as he has been trying unsuccessfully to convince me we need to replace our perfectly good living room TV for months.

I also had Google Glass on my list until this past week. What changed? A story ran in The NEWS this past week about an enterprising contracting company using smart glasses in the field as a way to enable growth despite the growing technician shortage. Lee Co. of Franklin, Tennessee, recently outfitted each of its commercial field technicians with a pair of smart glasses they can now use to make video calls to the office for support and record videos for customers. (It’s seriously cool. Click here to watch their YouTube video.)

“When we’re sitting here looking at ways we can grow or expand, you have to have people to be more efficient or use technologies to close that gap,” said Steve Scott, vice president of facilities solutions at Lee Co., in the article. “That was the driver for me, to try to really take the responsibility of continuing to create a sustainable business that continues to offer our employees a place to work so that we don’t just become dated, and we can’t perform this because people aren’t available.”

Using cutting-edge technology, such as smart glasses, is a great way for a company to recruit some of those younger techs coming out of trade schools. It’s also an excellent training tool — as some of the less experience technicians can call into the office when they have a question or concern on the job site — and the person on the other end has direct video feed to what the technician is looking at. In what ways are you leveraging technology to grow your company? Send me an email at nicolekrawcke@achrnews.com.