North America’s largest polypropylene site now uses connected headsets for remote collaboration and troubleshooting

Houston, July 15, 2020 – Total S.A. today announces the world’s first commercial deployment of Microsoft Teams on RealWear in the energy industry at its La Porte Polypropylene plant, Texas. Clipped on to a hard hat, the device by RealWear runs voice-enabled Microsoft Teams and empowers plant workers to use both hands for complex work procedures while remotely communicating in real time with subject matter experts wherever they are in the world.

Connecting the industrial headset to Total’s technical and engineering experts enables operators at the La Porte site – the largest polypropylene plant in North America – to diagnose operation or maintenance issues and provide solutions in real time. The use of this technology speeds up and improves technical assistance to a site such as La Porte, which produces pellets used to manufacture critical healthcare products such as masks and gowns. It also enhances teams’ responsiveness in a safe manner in case of an unplanned event.

• “Connecting our field operators to Total’s experts and vendors, down the street or on the other side of the world, is particularly topical at a time when travelling is restricted,” says Eric Duchesne, Senior Vice President Manufacturing and Project Division, Total Refining and Chemicals. “But above all, the launch of Microsoft Teams on RealWear at Total’s La Porte site in Texas is another step in our industrial digital transformation. It makes Total’s operations safer and more efficient by executing better decisions faster. It also allows us to improve our operational excellence over the long run, and create the petrochemicals plant of tomorrow.”

• “With its high-resolution camera and noise cancellation, RealWear is able to put eyes on the job from anywhere in the world, saving travel costs while keeping everybody safely at a distance,” said Sanjay Jhawar, Co-founder and President, RealWear. “The ability for an expert to connect to the headset remotely, view the scene on live video, examine small details captured in still photos, and speak directly with the operator enables remote teams to assess the situation as it unfolds as though they were actually on the ground themselves.”

• “Total’s rapid deployment of Microsoft Teams on RealWear demonstrates the unlimited possibilities of remote collaboration with RealWear and Microsoft during this ‘new normal,’ said Mayank Verma, Global Director Firstline Device Product Marketing, Microsoft 365. “The solution is fully integrated, and has quickly become a compelling solution for our joint customers – many of whom require uptime and productivity even when logistical challenges seem insurmountable. Now for the first time at Total, experts can quickly share screens with the firstline, and the firstline can snap photos and share issues with knowledge workers no matter where they are. It’s possible to bring an entire plant back online, by making a single hands-free call.”

About Total

Total is a broad-energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major. www.total.com 

About RealWear

RealWear® is a knowledge transfer platform company providing in-situ information and in-the-field training with software and hardware to help people improve safety and increase productivity at work. The company’s flagship product, the HMT-1®, is the leading ruggedized head-mounted, wearable, Android-class tablet computer that frees a worker’s hands for dangerous jobs. With an ever-growing number of hands-free software solutions, enterprise customers gain instant knowledge with remote mentor, document navigation, industrial IoT visualization, video micro-training and digital workflow solutions. Global leaders in energy, manufacturing and automotive industries trust the HMT-1 and HMT-1Z1® to empower and connect their global workforce.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Total
Tricia Fuller
[email protected]
+1 (713) 483 5451  

RealWear
Aaron Cohen
[email protected]
+1 (415) 819 7791

Microsoft
Katie Fourcin
[email protected]
+1 (206) 369 5382