In 2020 Sodexo piloted 11 pairs of smart glasses using Advanced Mobile Applications' Xperteye AR software across sites as part of a mining contract in Western Australia.

With the glasses city-based workers could see through the eyes of on-site field workers, giving them real time insight into how the assets are performing.

Sodexo determined using Xperteye created productivity savings equivalent to one return flight and up to 13 hours of labour.

It also helped improve safety and compliance by allowing subject matter experts to provide remote risk management, audits and inspections while building on-site health, safety and environmental capability through technical support and training.

Removing the need to travel between sites also reduces the risk of vehicle incidents.

Sodexo CEO energy and resources Asia Pacific Darren Hedley said with staff positioned in remote sites across the country, collaboration was a central part of day-to-day operations.

"By using innovative technology such as AMA's Experteye assisted reality solution we're able to optimise our communication with remote workers, keep our people safe, and build a more productive workplace.

"Beyond its current application, we've recognised the technology's potential to support many of our 100 service lines in the future."

The AMA technology was first applied to the medical sector to allow better remote collaboration for surgeons and medical practitioners. It has been deployed in more than 100 countries in a variety of sectors.

Since Sodexo and AMA first teamed up in 2018, Sodexo has increasingly integrated the solution into its operations, expanding beyond the Energy and Resources segment to applications in health care and on-site services.

Sodexo has 37 pairs of smart glasses running on Xperteye in use across its operations. It aims to deploy one pair across each of its sites in the future.

AMA vice-president sales & marketing Thomas Waendendries said the pandemic had required everyone to rethink how they did business and find different ways to collaborate.

"Assisted reality has made a significant impact on how a variety of industries are able to conduct business," he said.

"Sodexo's unique application of our solution speaks to how AR is enabling companies to be innovative and creative in their approach."