Every industrial organisation depends on a small number of experts who truly understand how things work. These are the technicians who can diagnose a problem by sound, the operators who know exactly how to coax a temperamental machine into compliance, the engineers who remember why a certain setting was chosen decades ago. When these experts retire or leave, they take irreplaceable knowledge with them.
AR work instructions offer a practical, scalable way to capture this expertise before it walks out the door—and make it accessible to every team member, on demand.
The hidden risk of knowledge loss
Knowledge loss is one of the most underestimated risks in industrial operations. Studies suggest that up to 70% of organisational knowledge is tacit—held in the heads of experienced employees rather than written down. When these employees leave, the consequences are real:
- Longer troubleshooting times as less experienced staff struggle to diagnose issues
- More errors and rework due to gaps in procedural knowledge
- Higher safety risk when critical steps are forgotten or misunderstood
- Slower onboarding for new hires who lack access to expert guidance
Traditional documentation methods—paper SOPs, video recordings, shadowing—capture only a fraction of what experts know. Much of their knowledge is contextual, situational and hard to express in words.
Why AR work instructions capture knowledge differently
AR work instructions fundamentally change how expert knowledge is captured and shared:
Capture in context
Instead of asking experts to describe what they do, AR work instructions let them demonstrate it—step by step, in the real work environment. The system records their actions, images, voice notes and annotations as they perform the task.
Structure automatically
AI-powered tools help structure captured content into clear, sequential steps. Gaps and inconsistencies are flagged, prompting experts to fill in missing details.
Enrich with tacit knowledge
Experts can add tips, warnings, best practices and reasoning—the "why" behind each step—that rarely makes it into traditional SOPs.
Make knowledge accessible
Once captured, AR work instructions are available to any operator, on any device, in multiple languages. Knowledge is no longer locked in one person's head.
A practical approach to capturing expert knowledge
Capturing corporate memory with AR work instructions does not require a massive project. Here is a practical roadmap:
1. Identify critical procedures
Work with operations, maintenance and quality teams to list the procedures where expert knowledge is most critical—and where knowledge loss would have the greatest impact.
2. Prioritise by risk and availability
Focus first on procedures performed by experts who are close to retirement, or where knowledge is concentrated in a single person. These are your highest-risk areas.
3. Capture with minimal disruption
Equip experts with AR devices (smart glasses, tablets or smartphones) and let them perform the task as they normally would. The system captures the execution in real time, without disrupting their workflow.
4. Validate and enrich
Review the captured content with the expert. Add clarifications, warnings and tips. Validate with other operators or trainers to ensure completeness.
5. Publish and train
Make the AR work instruction available in your digital library. Train teams on how to access and use it. Update as processes evolve.
Real-world example: preserving maintenance expertise
A chemical plant faced the retirement of its lead compressor technician—the only person who fully understood the complex seal replacement procedure. Previous attempts to document the process in paper SOPs had failed; the written instructions were incomplete and confusing to other technicians.
Using AR work instructions, the expert performed the seal replacement while wearing smart glasses. The system captured video, images and voice notes at each step. AI tools helped structure the content into a clear, step-by-step AR SOP.
The result: a comprehensive, visual guide available to every technician. Onboarding time for the procedure dropped by 40%, and errors during seal replacements were eliminated.
Who should lead knowledge capture initiatives?
Capturing corporate memory with AR work instructions is typically led by:
- Maintenance managers responsible for preserving technical expertise
- HR and L&D leaders focused on reducing knowledge loss risk
- Operations managers ensuring procedural consistency
- Quality managers documenting best practices for compliance
Getting started
If you want to protect your organisation's corporate memory with AR work instructions, start by identifying your highest-risk procedures and your most valuable experts. A focused pilot can demonstrate value quickly and build momentum for broader adoption.
Learn more about AR work instructions and SOPs to preserve corporate memory or contact ActARion to discuss your knowledge capture challenges.