A Practical Guide to AI in Manufacturing
Let’s be honest.AI has been hyped, rebranded, and repackaged so many times, it’s hard to know what’s real anymore, especially if you’re running a mid-sized manufacturing business. You’ve likely sat through at least one presentation filled with buzzwords and big promises, only to walk away thinking: “Nice in theory. But how would that work here?”What you need is a practical guide to AI in manufacturing—something built for the real world, where time, people, and resources are limited. The truth?AI can deliver real, measurable benefits for manufacturers like you, without million-pound budgets, moonshot visions, or a team of PhDs. You just need to start small, stay focused, and pick the right problems to solve. This is your practical, no-nonsense guide to doing just that. First things first—what is AI in manufacturing? Forget the jargon. AI is pattern recognition at scale. It takes in data, learns what ‘normal’ looks like, and helps you act when things start to drift. On the factory floor, that might mean spotting early warning signs before a machine fails, improving how you schedule production, or making better sense of energy usage during peak times. And the interest is rising fast. According to the 2024 State of Smart Manufacturing report by Rockwell Automation,
