Today, the company is run by Edwin’s grandson, Greg Hunter. Offering more than 1,000 products, Hunter Industries continues to manufacture rotor sprinklers, as well as spray sprinklers, valves, irrigation controllers and weather sensors. The company holds more than 250 patents and 40 trademarks, and it conducts business in 125 countries. 

Hunter Industries operates assembly plants in San Marcos, as well as Tijuana, Mexico. It also maintains offices in China. In 2016, the Center for Executive Excellence, a leadership development organization, recognized Hunter Industries as one of 12 companies that has excelled in promoting a successful business culture.

Hunter Industries uses AI-based software to help train its workforce. Photo courtesy Hunter Industries

With so many different products to make, changeover time was becoming an issue, particularly in the injection molding and extrusion departments. To solve the problem, Hunter Industries implemented Augmentir, a connected worker software platform from Augmentir Inc.

Augmentir combines enterprise augmented reality with artificial intelligence and machine learning to intelligently close skills gaps so that frontline workers can perform their jobs with higher quality and increased productivity. The software helps guide and support frontline workers in a wide range of industrial use cases, from manufacturing teams on the shop floor to service and repair teams in the field.

The Augmentir connected worker platform is designed to help manufacturing and service teams improve operations, close skills gaps, capture tribal knowledge, and drive continuous improvement efforts. The software combines generative and agentic AI with skills management, digital workflow, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. The software closes the loop between training and work execution, delivering the data and in-line insights necessary for continuous improvement.

The platform provides tools to help teams author and publish digital work instructions and workflows. It also provides an industrial remote assistance and collaboration system to support remote expert guidance scenarios. In addition, the platform delivers AI-based organization-wide insights and recommendations that focus on improving the quality and productivity of frontline workers.

For example, with Augmentir, manufacturers can digitize and manage skills tracking and training programs and connect them with their frontline operations. Augmentir’s skills management platform allows managers to quickly visualize skills data, identify skill gaps, set up and optimize training programs, and efficiently create and manage training programs with a drag-and-drop editor.

As workers learn skills and procedures, managers can track onboarding programs and quickly assess workforce readiness at the team or individual level. A digital skills matrix helps to visualize completion of team training by procedure, by team, or by individual. At the same time, a skills mapping function enables managers to intelligently assign work to qualified staff.

The software also enables managers to identify opportunities for improvement in processes and the workforce. The software’s “True Productivity” feature ranks the largest opportunities across all processes so managers can focus continuous improvement teams where they can achieve the highest return on investment. The “True Performance” feature determines the proficiency and performance of every worker at every task, enabling personalized workforce development investments.

“With Augmentir, I can see if the training our team is working on is being effective with real-time worker insights,” says Yunior Murillo, operations training manager at Hunter Industries.

Using Augmentir “connected worker” software, Hunter Industries has reduced scrap and prevented unplanned downtime. Photo courtesy Hunter Industries

Using Augmentir, Hunter Industries was able to:

• Digitize and standardize work instructions for manufacturing, changeover and quality assurance procedures.
• Create and deploy work instructions at a faster rate.
• Accelerate onboarding and provide on-the-job instant training for technicians.
• Gather instant feedback from technicians as they perform tasks.
• Reduce scrap and prevent unplanned downtime and quality issues in manufacturing.
• Provide remote guidance tools for technicians, allowing them to virtually connect with subject matter experts to help resolve manufacturing or maintenance issues.

Since implementing the software, changeover times have decreased.

“The use of Augmentir within our manufacturing operation highlights our commitment to our people and innovation in the workplace,” says Murillo. “Augmentir’s platform allows our technicians to perform at their best while improving efficiency across our manufacturing departments. Additionally, the operational insights provided by Augmentir’s AI allow us to focus our training efforts on individuals that need them most and intelligently guide our technicians in their day-to-day activities.”

Hunter plans to expand its use of Augmentir across its operation and into its maintenance group.

“We are excited to work with Hunter and bring an innovative connected worker technology to its manufacturing operation,” adds Russ Fadel, CEO and co-founder of Augmentir. “Our AI-based connected worker platform helps industrial companies to intelligently close skills gaps so that the entire workforce can perform at its peak.”

For more information on connected worker software, visit www.augmentir.com.

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