Schoee wrote:
Exactly, totally agree. Which is why I cannot see a situation where I need a manual that is not available to me electronically.
Someone before mentioned about work in tight spaces, well in many aviation settings it is forbidden to NOT refer to the electronic manual as your memory from the last time you did the job will not have been updated with the latest amendment. So yes the technician has a computer next to him/her so they can read the steps.
Yeah, the networked tablet has revolutionized the service industry at almost every level. It's even beginning to convince doctors of its power and utility and efficiency... they hated them at first, and now they're hooked. All our records are accessible to them, and us. Most of their resources, including the venerable drug manual, the Physician's Desk Reference, are online. They can consult other doctor experts visually and review their videos and imaging results to learn how to treat patients here.
I just bought groceries from a store where an "online shopper" took my order over the Internet. Then she took a smartphone through the aisles, reading the order (sorted by aisle) loaded up my bags, and rolled the cart to my car. For $5 to avoid breathing virus laden air, I'll pay it! It isn't really faster because their new website is mediocre, but it will get better.
The pandemic has accelerated the use of technology to solve problems like that. Many are learning to be more independent and even more productive by working virtually. My wife is in our home office, doing her marketing services management job just as well as she would do it from her desk at the company office. All her meetings are virtual, and since the company is both here and in Sweden, they have to do a lot of work virtually anyway.
So when someone whines about a lack of a printed manual, I just cringe a little. We have so much more information at our fingertips now than at any point in history, if only we'll just remember to use it.
I just read an article from a newspaper in the early 1950s that basically predicted that we would be using smartphones now. He was laughed at back then, of course, because most people could not see beyond next week. Hell, Steve Jobs was laughed at in 2007 by all the CEOs of cell phone manufacturers. BILLIONS of iDevices later...
Never underestimate the folks in the back room plotting the Next Wave Technology Revolution. They will turn your world upside down before you realize it's happening. Paradigm shifts are real, and rapid.