VDC Research recently analyzed the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the RealWear HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 headsets. In addition to evaluating RealWear s total cost of ownership, this report also examines the following:
Determining the best fit mobile solution for the worker and their environment
Effectiveness of a hands-free, voice-controlled interface
Hidden costs of mobile solutions and the costs of device failures
If your organization is on its way through its digital transformation journey, you know how overwhelming it can be to find a technology partner. Especially one that understands the industrial sector or frontline work. It can be a lot of work to create a cost-benefit analysis of all the available devices that can improve the safety and efficiency of your frontline workers.
Here s a sneak peak at what VDC learned and how RealWear HMT headsets can help your organization save more than $12,000 per device over five years!
The RealWear HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 Keeps Workers Safe and Informed
There s a level of risk in the industrial sector or frontline work. These can range from working in or near heavy machinery, biohazards, exposed environments, or explosive atmospheres.
Aligning the worker, workflow and environment with the best-fit mobile solution is a critical, yet often overlooked, step in equipping mobile workers with digital solutions, says David Krebs, VDC Executive Vice President.
Workers don't get an immersive 3D experience or information-dense content when they use the HMT devices. Instead, they get information that can be quickly consumed. This reduces the risk of distracting the user from their surroundings.
According to VDC s research, the leading mobile device selection criteria for frontline mobile workers include:
User friendliness
Reliability
Integrated communication
Collaboration
Data-capture features (such as video, barcode scanning, image capture, etc.)
While organizations have equipped frontline workers with smartphones, tablets and laptops, these devices can impede productivity. This is particularly true for workers that use both hands to do their jobs.
The RealWear HMT devices are designed to work with frontline workflows. According to VDC, head-mounted devices have a lot of value. Hands-free devices boost productivity by keeping the device secure and employees safe.
Previously we used smartphones to take pictures and video calls. Using the RealWear device offers many benefits and makes these processes a lot easier. There is no true competition to RealWear, no strong comparison.
Honeywell s General Manager of Digital Transformation/Workforce Competency
The RealWear Headsets Are Rugged
There s no doubt that industrial or manufacturing worksites can be rough. That's why industrial devices need to be able to be durable.
Consumer tech while having the necessary functionality aren t designed for rugged environments. They'll just fail in these conditions. VDC found that each percentage point increase in device failure results in a 5% increase in the solution s total cost of ownership.
RealWear devices are built to withstand the tough conditions of the industrial and manufacturing sectors. In the more than 35,000 units shipped in the past three years, fewer than 1% have failed.
Specifications for the HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1 address all of the critical drop, dust and water exposure and temperature environmental specifications, says Kreb. In addition, critical to target use cases is the battery performance (including hot-swappable batteries on the HMT-1), display performance in ambient light conditions and the audio quality for seamless voice recognition in noisy environments.
Other smart glasses got really hot on the employee s head, the quality was poor, and it was difficult to login to the software. [They] looked and felt like normal glasses that were flimsy, [and] wouldn t last long in a workshop. The RealWear [headset] looked and felt the most rugged and robust. This proved accurate once we deployed devices in the field.
Renault Group
RealWear s Total Cost of Ownership
VDC s analysis of RealWear s TCO evaluates the following:
Upfront acquisition costs
Deployment costs
Ongoing support costs
Impact on productivity due to device failures
The greatest factor affecting the TCO of mobile solutions supporting frontline workers? It's the disruption caused when a device fails or is not working properly. In fact, the report states that post-deployment support costs and productivity loss due to poorly performing solutions far exceed the initial adoption cost of mobile solutions.
When considering RealWear s extremely low failure rate relative to rugged handheld computers and non-rugged smartphones when supporting enterprise mobility workflows, says Kreb. The HMT-1 offers an extremely attractive and competitive TCO.
The total cost of ownership of RealWear is 44% less than a rugged handheld device and 70% less than a common smartphone over a five-year period. That s a cost savings of more than $12,000 per device over five years!
