AI assistant for manufacturers: where to start

A manufacturing system has many departments and many screens, and most questions on the shop floor and in the office are "how do I". That is the safest place for an assistant to start: the answers come from the system's own help guide, and no business data leaves.

Step 1: how-to answers from your own guide

The assistant picks the right section of the help guide for the question, from the departments the person works in, and answers from it with a link to the screen. Questions like:

• How do I raise a purchase request?
• How do I send a packing list for approval before dispatch?
• How do I assign test certificates to units?
• Where do I change my password?

Unrelated questions ("write me a poem") should get a fixed reply that never reaches a writing model. Each person gets a daily question limit set per department.

Step 2: live data, when the owner decides

Stock on hand, items below minimum, purchase orders not received, an order's value and payments, approvals waiting. These need a decision first: in a design where the rows are worded by a writing model, the rows of each answer are sent to the AI provider. The owner should approve that by name, and each look-up should follow the same department limits as the screens. The data safety guide sets out what to ask.

How Ember AI does it

Ember AI is the assistant in a boiler manufacturer's system, open to staff. How-to answers are live; the live-data look-ups are built and switched off until the client records its approval. Job-card and work-in-progress questions are not built yet. On the boiler demo, with a sample company, live data is on: anyone can ask it two questions. Every question it handles is listed below.

How to check a vendor's

Ask ten how-to questions from your own process and follow the answers: do the steps work? Then run the vendor test. For the system itself, see the ERP guide for small manufacturers.

What Ember AI answers

Status is Ember AI's, the assistant in a boiler manufacturer, used by staff, each about their own departments. Try it on the public demo: two questions, including live data from the sample company.

How do I raise a purchase request?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The steps from the system's help guide for the person's own department, with a link to the screen.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“how do i rais a purchse reqest”

How do I send a packing list for approval before dispatch?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The dispatch guide's approval-before-dispatch section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“where is pakcing list aproval”

How do I assign test certificates to units?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The quality guide's section on assigning certificates to units.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“how to add test certifcate”

Where do I change my password?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The general section on profile and password, open to every department.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

How do I convert a quotation into a sale order?

Sales · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The sales guide's section, with a link to the screen.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“how to creat quotaton for custmer”

How do I receive material that came today?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The stores guide's inward section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“how to recieve material in stors”

How do I create a job card?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The production guide's job card section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

How do I release the BOM?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The engineering guide's BOM release section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“how to relese the bom”

How do I reconcile the bank statement?

Accounts · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The accounts guide's bank section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“how do i reconsile bank statment”

How do I mark attendance for workers?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The HR guide's attendance section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Also asked as

“hw to mark attendence”

How do I log a service visit?

Plant and stores · How to do something in the system · Answered today

What should answer it

The installation guide's service visit section.

Check it against

Follow the steps; they work.

Write me a poem.

Plant and stores · Should be refused · Answered today

What a good assistant does

A fixed reply saying what it can help with; the question never reaches a writing model.

Check it against

The reply is the same every time.

How much of a material do we have in stock?

Plant and stores · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

Stock on hand from the stores records.

Check it against

The stores screen for the material.

Also asked as

“stock of gaskets” · “stok of [material]”

Which items are below their minimum?

Plant and stores · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

Items whose stock is under the minimum set for them.

Check it against

The reorder list on the stores screen.

Also asked as

“what do we need to reorder”

Which purchase orders haven't been received?

Plant and stores · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

Purchase orders with material not yet received.

Check it against

The purchase orders screen filtered to pending.

Also asked as

“Which purchase orders are late this week?” · “list POs waiting for delivery”

What is an order worth and how much has been paid?

Accounts · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

The order's value and the payments recorded against it, for those whose department may see money.

Check it against

The order's page.

Also asked as

“what is pending on [order]”

What approvals are waiting for me?

Owner · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

Inward and pre-dispatch approvals waiting for this person.

Check it against

The approvals screen.

Also asked as

“any packing lists waiting for my approval” · “how many inward reviews are pending”

What are my open tasks?

Plant and stores · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

Open tasks for this person or their department.

Check it against

Home → tasks.

Also asked as

“what is pending for my department today”

Is a project delayed?

Owner · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

The project's stage and dates against plan.

Check it against

The project's page.

Also asked as

“how far along is [project]”

Which customers owe us the most?

Accounts · A figure or a list from your records · Built, switched off at the client

What should answer it

Outstanding by customer, for those whose department may see money.

Check it against

The receivables screen.

Also asked as

“who has not paid us yet” · “hw much does [customer] ow us”

Which job cards are behind schedule?

Owner · A figure or a list from your records · Not yet built by Ahrom Labs

What should answer it

Job cards past their planned date, by work centre.

Check it against

The shop floor's job cards.