Test AI on one real workflow — before you spend big
We help Northeast Ohio manufacturers pick one workflow, test AI on it safely with the people who do the work, and decide in 30 days whether to scale, change course, or stop.
Why we built this
You probably don't need an AI executive. You need a useful first test.
Big companies are hiring AI leadership fast — an IBM Institute for Business Value study with Oxford Economics (2,000 CEOs, 33 countries, spring 2026) found the share of organizations with a Chief AI Officer jumped from 26% to 76% in a single year. That doesn't mean a 50-person shop should copy them.
Most smaller manufacturers need something simpler: one workflow worth testing, clear data boundaries, the people who do the work involved from day one, and a straight answer about whether AI actually saves time.
That's what we do — and we do it in person. We walk your floor and sit with your estimator before recommending anything, because you can't diagnose a shop over Zoom.
The offer
The 30-Day AI Workflow Pilot
Pick one workflow, test it safely, and make the next decision with evidence instead of vendor promises.
We work onsite with your team to choose one workflow where AI may reduce drafting, searching, retyping, summarizing, or follow-up time — then run a controlled test with tools you approve and a small group of your people.
Workflows we typically start with
- RFQ and quote preparation
- Drafting or finding work instructions
- Quality documentation and summaries
- Customer service response drafts
- Maintenance and service manual search
- Purchasing and supplier communication
- Travelers, job routing paperwork, and ISO 9001 document control
- Turning meeting, shift, and production notes into usable records
We don't start with ERP integration. If integration is worth discussing, that comes after the pilot earns it.
What the pilot includes
- Onsite discovery session with leadership
- Interviews with 3–5 of the employees who do the work
- One selected workflow, with a measured current-state baseline
- A data and risk review before anything touches an AI tool
- A working prototype using tools you approve
- A live test with a small group of your people
- Training for everyone involved
- A measured result and a scale, change, or stop recommendation
- Identification of the person on your team best suited to own this day to day
- A 90-day plan for what comes next
$4,500 fixed — introductory pilot fee
We're offering this rate for our first three Northeast Ohio manufacturing pilots because Bill and Dylan do the work personally and use what we learn to tighten the process. No testimonial required. Nothing public without your written approval.
After these first three, we expect the standard pilot fee to be $6,500.
50% reserves your start date. Price assumes one Northeast Ohio location within driving distance of Cleveland, one selected workflow, and no production-system integration. Software subscriptions, custom integrations, and additional locations are quoted separately.
You get a working test your people actually ran — not a slide deck. If the pilot works, we scale it. If it doesn't, you stop with a documented answer instead of another unused subscription.
Ask about a pilotWhat we will not do
- Sell you software licenses — we're vendor-neutral and resell nothing
- Start by connecting AI to your ERP
- Upload confidential drawings, customer files, pricing, or employee data to any AI tool without written approval
- Recommend a chatbot because chatbots are popular
- Call a demo a result
- Recommend scaling unless the pilot shows a practical reason to continue
What we need from your team
- One owner or operations sponsor who can make decisions
- Access to 3–5 people who do the workflow today
- Sample documents, redacted if needed
- Willingness to measure the current process before testing AI
- Your IT staff or MSP involved before any sensitive data is used
What you have at the end — even if you stop
- A mapped current workflow and a baseline for how long the work takes now
- A tested prototype, or a documented reason not to build one
- Data and security notes from the review
- Feedback from the employees who tested it
- A scale, change, or stop recommendation and a 90-day next-step plan
If AI is not worth pursuing right now, we will say that in writing. That still counts as a successful pilot.
After the pilot
If it works, we help your team keep going
Ongoing part-time help choosing, testing, and managing AI workflows — for manufacturers that don't need, or can't justify, a full-time AI executive. (Sometimes called a fractional Head of AI or fractional Chief AI Officer.)
Roughly two to three days of our time per month, spent like this:
- A ranked list of the next workflows worth testing, kept current
- One active workflow implementation at a time
- One onsite day per month, plus a recurring leadership check-in
- Office hours for your employees
- Coordination with your MSP, IT staff, and software vendors
- Practical AI use policies and approval boundaries
- Hands-on coaching for the employee who owns each workflow
- Tool and vendor evaluation — so nobody sells you something you don't need
- A simple monthly report: what was tested, who's using it, time saved or not saved, issues found, next decision
$5,000/month — three-month minimum
We take at most two ongoing manufacturing clients at a time, so the work stays hands-on.
The person who should own AI probably already works for you
In many smaller manufacturers, the right AI lead isn't a new executive hire. It's often the person already trusted across departments who's already improving how work gets done. Every pilot includes identifying that person; the ongoing engagement develops them. By the end, your people know what was tested, what worked, what failed, and what to do next — without us.
A smaller first step
Not ready for a pilot? Start with a Readiness Visit.
$1,750 fixed — AI Readiness Visit
One onsite leadership session, a review of candidate workflows, a basic data-and-adoption check, and a short written brief: pilot now, prepare first, or don't bother yet. $1,000 credits toward a pilot booked within 30 days.
Who this is for
Northeast Ohio manufacturers and industrial businesses, roughly 10–200 employees, with at least one workflow that eats skilled people's time — and an owner or ops leader willing to let us talk to the people who actually do the work.
Who it isn't for
Companies looking for a big-bang AI transformation, a chatbot on the website, or someone to blame. If AI isn't a fit for your operation, we'll say so.
What we can prove today — and what we can't yet claim
We don't have published manufacturing AI case studies yet. We won't invent them, borrow someone else's, or dress up a demo as a result.
What we can show is that we build working software ourselves: A Smarter Day, the Northcoast AI Academy, compliance and grant software in development, and pro bono projects for Cleveland organizations. Those prove we can build and ship. Your pilot still has to prove itself in your shop, with your people, on your workflow.
Common questions
Are you replacing our IT provider?
No. We focus on workflow selection, testing, adoption, and results. We coordinate with your IT staff, MSP, and software vendors — and your security requirements come first.
Are you a software developer or systems integrator?
The pilot includes a working prototype, but large production integrations are scoped separately, with the right technical partners.
Why not just hire a full-time Head of AI?
Most small manufacturers don't yet have enough proven AI work to justify a senior full-time hire. A bounded pilot and part-time help is the responsible first step. When you're ready for a full-time person, we'll help you find them — probably inside your own building.
What about our data?
The data and risk review comes before any AI tool touches anything. We will not upload confidential drawings, customer files, pricing, employee information, or proprietary process data into any AI tool without your written approval — and where possible we test with sample or redacted data first.
What AI tools do you use?
The ones that fit the workflow. We're vendor-neutral and we don't resell software. If the honest answer is "none," we'll tell you.
Isn't ChatGPT enough? Why can't we do this ourselves?
Sometimes it is — and when that's the answer, we'll say so. What usually goes wrong with do-it-yourself AI isn't the tool, it's the workflow: nobody measures the before, nobody sets data boundaries, adoption never spreads past the one enthusiast, and six months later it's a forgotten subscription. The pilot exists to fix exactly that.
We're only 15 people. Are we too small?
If at least one workflow eats real hours of skilled people's time, you're big enough for a Readiness Visit — and that visit will tell you honestly whether a pilot is worth it. If you're not ready, we'll say so in writing and tell you what to fix first.
Where are you located?
Cleveland. We work onsite within driving distance across Northeast Ohio.
See if a pilot fits
Tell us a little about your operation — the most useful thing you can describe is the most repetitive task in your shop. Bill or Dylan will reply directly, usually the same business day. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you and point you somewhere better. Or just call (216) 999-5765.