\u201cIn our industry, the stakes are high. If\u00a0one of our\u00a0machines\u00a0were\u00a0down for a day, the cost\u00a0for a chipmaker\u00a0could\u00a0run into the\u00a0millions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working under pressure\u00a0is something that\u00a0Michiel Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk\u00a0has grown used to since he started as the Director of Customer Support at ASML in February 2020. Within a month of starting at the\u00a0world\u2019s largest semiconductor\u00a0lithography\u00a0equipment\u00a0maker, the company\u2019s long-established way of working was turned\u00a0upside down\u00a0with the outbreak of COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, the company had\u00a0already\u00a0been investigating the potential of mixed reality\u00a0(MR)\u00a0technologies to optimize remote support to its customer base, which includes\u00a0all of\u00a0the world\u2019s top chipmakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur R&D team had been working on a long-term roadmap for mixed reality technologies\u00a0for some time,\u201d says Peter Peusens, Head of Customer Support for DUV Operations at ASML. \u201cSo\u00a0when\u00a0the COVID-19 outbreak\u00a0hit,\u00a0we\u00a0could quickly\u00a0form\u00a0a\u00a0cross-sector team to align on\u00a0potential\u00a0solutions, while we agreed with customers on a way to implement the solutions in\u00a0this\u00a0time of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an innovation leader in the chip industry, ASML is a company where\u00a0long-term planning and decisive company-wide action\u00a0has to\u00a0happen at the same time.\u00a0It\u00a0moved fast to start using HoloLens 2,\u00a0Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist\u00a0and Microsoft Teams\u00a0across its network. It has allowed them to continue to service their clients\u2019 machines\u00a0during the COVID-19 crisis\u00a0and it has\u00a0opened\u00a0the door to\u00a0a new\u00a0way of working for ASML\u00a0and the chip industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSemiconductor technology is all around us,\u201d says Sander\u00a0Hofman, Spokesperson\u00a0and Communications Manager at ASML. \u201cIt\u2019s in our computers, in our phones, in our streetlights and bank cards. And 80% of all the chips in the world are made on ASML machines.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the world\u2019s largest\u00a0machine maker for\u00a0semiconductor\u00a0lithography,\u00a0Dutch company\u00a0ASML employs almost 25,000 people globally,\u00a0with around 13,000 of its employees working from the company\u2019s headquarters in Veldhoven, Netherlands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like to talk about ourselves as the biggest tech company you\u2019ve never heard of,\u201d\u00a0says Hofman.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s\u00a0chip-making\u00a0machines are \u201cthe size of buses,\u201d according to Hofman\u00a0\u2013\u00a0complex machines\u00a0that\u00a0sit at the centre of their\u00a0customers\u2019\u00a0\u2018cleanrooms\u2019 \u2013 spaces designed to maintain extremely low levels of particulates that\u00a0can\u00a0interfere with the\u00a024\/7-production\u00a0of semiconductor chips.<\/p>\n
With some of the biggest names in tech as their clients, there are billions of dollars\u2019 worth of technology, expertise and intellectual property\u00a0built\u00a0around ASML\u2019s machines\u00a0globally.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, that has limited the tools ASML\u2019s engineers can use when visiting their clients\u2019 cleanrooms for the purposes of machine installation, maintenance or updates.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t just walk in\u00a0and out of\u00a0a cleanroom,\u201d\u00a0explains\u00a0Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk. \u201cIt is a complicated\u00a0process\u00a0just to enter the space.\u00a0So\u00a0when our engineers visit our clients\u2019 cleanrooms, they\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0able to\u00a0bring a phone or computer in with\u00a0them\u00a0because the companies we work with are extremely sensitive around their IP.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when\u00a0restrictions on travel\u00a0suddenly prevented ASML\u2019s engineers from\u00a0visiting\u00a0their customers\u2019 cleanrooms in-person, it was in everyone\u2019s interest to find a solution\u00a0that would\u00a0allow work on\u00a0ASML\u2019s\u00a0pivotal machines to continue remotely.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo\u00a0not allow\u00a0remote support\u00a0at that time\u00a0would\u00a0have\u00a0meant\u00a0days if not weeks of delay\u00a0and machine downtime, which of course would have meant lost revenue for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with many of their clients seeing an upsurge in demand for their\u00a0tech\u00a0products \u2013 containing chips\u00a0made on ASML\u2019s lithography systems\u00a0\u2013 as people were\u00a0forced to stay home across the world,\u00a0finding a solution became a\u00a0pressing\u00a0necessity.<\/p>\n
That solution was\u00a0HoloLens 2\u00a0\u2013 Microsoft\u2019s\u00a0latest\u00a0MR\u00a0headset.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re pretty used to\u00a0managing crises\u00a0at\u00a0ASML because\u00a0our customers want our technology as early as possible, often when it\u2019s still in development,\u201d says Peusens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work together to\u00a0mature the technology and that means\u00a0we know how to deal with difficult situations\u00a0as they arise: we set up crisis teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is exactly what ASML did\u00a0to bridge the gap\u00a0between\u00a0its\u00a0semiconductor\u00a0experts\u00a0and\u00a0its\u00a0customers\u2019 cleanrooms. \u201cBuilding on the exploratory R&D work that had been done in previous years, we\u00a0realised\u00a0that we could quickly implement a\u00a0mixed reality solution with\u00a0HoloLens 2\u00a0because of its integration with our other Microsoft services,\u201d Peusens explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo\u00a0we\u00a0established a Task Force\u00a0that communicated via\u00a0Remote Assist and\u00a0Microsoft Teams,\u00a0to test\u00a0the\u00a0MR\u00a0technology\u00a0in our own lab in the Netherlands.\u201d<\/p>\n
The test was successful,\u00a0allowing an engineer wearing a HoloLens 2 headset to enter ASML\u2019s cleanroom alone, while an expert\u00a0assisted\u00a0remotely using\u00a0Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist\u00a0and\u00a0Microsoft Teams. Together these applications gave the expert\u00a0real-time audio and visual contact with the engineer wearing the headset in the field\u00a0\u2013 enabling them to view objects in mixed reality and offer guidance and solutions when\u00a0needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cChipmakers\u2019 policies on\u00a0IP have meant it\u2019s been\u00a0difficult to convince\u00a0them\u00a0to adopt\u00a0mixed\u00a0reality technology\u00a0in the past,\u201d says\u00a0Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk.\u00a0\u201cSo, the key thing for us as a company\u00a0was\u00a0to demonstrate the value for them\u00a0to use\u00a0this technology\u00a0in this time of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
For\u00a0Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk,\u00a0there are\u00a0several\u00a0key benefits that make the case for the use of\u00a0mixed\u00a0reality\u00a0next to the regular services offered by\u00a0ASML\u2019s skilled\u00a0engineers in the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first and most important\u00a0benefit\u00a0is\u00a0that it can transport knowledge across the world in an instant,\u201d he says. \u201cIf a\u00a0field engineer\u00a0needs\u00a0over-the-shoulder support\u00a0from\u00a0an expert, MR is a powerful\u00a0bridging\u00a0solution.\u00a0Real-time instructions and verbal comments help to do things\u00a0right\u00a0first-time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second benefit has to do with speed and response time,\u201d adds\u00a0Haverkorn Van Rijsewijk.\u00a0\u201cUsually, if you go through a support escalation, it\u00a0can take\u00a024\u00a0to\u00a048 hours before the expert is actually\u00a0in the\u00a0customer\u2019s cleanroom on the other side of the world.\u00a0With\u00a0MR, we\u00a0are able to\u00a0respond much more quickly, effectively offering\u00a024\/7 service provision.\u00a0Lastly, it can also help to reduce travel hours and the associated costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
These\u00a0are benefits that ASML\u2019s customers are starting to experience themselves: the company\u00a0now has\u00a075\u00a0HoloLens 2\u00a0headsets deployed globally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current situation is not nice for anyone,\u201d says\u00a0Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk,\u00a0reflecting on the ongoing restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.\u00a0\u201cBut an unexpected outcome is that it has allowed ASML to make\u00a0fast\u00a0progress in the area of remote support. What was originally a three-year\u00a0roadmap\u00a0became\u00a0something that we could implement in just one month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feedback\u00a0from the engineers using HoloLens 2 has been positive and\u00a0Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk and\u00a0his team have established an ongoing\u00a0learning platform with lessons on how to best use the\u00a0MR\u00a0headsets\u00a0in customers\u2019 cleanrooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still\u00a0very much\u00a0at\u00a0the beginning\u00a0of our\u00a0MR journey,\u201d says\u00a0Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk.\u00a0\u201cWithout Microsoft\u2019s existing integration between services\u00a0and hardware, the rollout of a solution this quickly to such a wide variety of customers and users would have been impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow\u00a0we want to work with other players in the industry to define a standard that we can\u00a0all adopt,\u201d he explains.\u00a0\u201cIf we manage to\u00a0develop that\u00a0roadmap together, then I believe there’s huge potential for growth and impact in the industry\u00a0beyond the current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cIn our industry, the stakes are high. If\u00a0one of our\u00a0machines\u00a0were\u00a0down for a day, the cost\u00a0for a chipmaker\u00a0could\u00a0run into the\u00a0millions.\u201d Working under pressure\u00a0is something that\u00a0Michiel Haverkorn\u00a0Van Rijsewijk\u00a0has grown used to since he started as the Director of Customer Support at ASML in February 2020. Within a month of starting at the\u00a0world\u2019s largest semiconductor\u00a0lithography\u00a0equipment\u00a0maker, the company\u2019s long-established […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":665,"featured_media":363523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-361320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","specials-transform-en","verticalIndustries-manufacturing-en","stories-customer-employee-experience","stories-how-can-i-make-my-company-more-customer-focused-customer-employee-experience","businessPriorities-business-applications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361320"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":368789,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361320\/revisions\/368789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulse.microsoft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}