Using artificial intelligence in an industrial enterprise requires careful planning

In an industrial enterprise, the adoption of artificial intelligence can determine sustainability and competitiveness, and in the long run, survival. Chatbots and systematized photo banks – AI, or artificial intelligence, has set society abuzz over the past few years. Using different AI solutions is fun and fast, not to mention the excitement of new technology.

“Sometimes companies are scared that artificial intelligence, we have nothing to do with it here, we are only a basic level company. In fact, every industrial company can successfully implement artificial intelligence or its prerequisite technologies,” explains Lauri Antalainen, digital and AI consulting consultant. Antalainen believes that even if a company is not yet ready to adopt artificial intelligence, it is possible to experiment with the prerequisite technologies and make your company’s work more efficient and profitable with them.

Why AI consulting at all? Evaluating the ability to deploy artificial intelligence provides a business with useful knowledge about its capabilities and limitations. There have been situations where a company has wanted to start using a certain type of artificial intelligence, but the existing infrastructure or digitalization has not allowed it. For example, the operation of even the simplest autonomous forklift requires detailed mapping of the premises and digitized work orders so that the AGV (automated guided vehicle) knows where to pick up the base and where to take it. The production floors must also be in good condition, wide enough and on the same level. It is these important assumptions that the AI advisor can point out in his assessment, so that the company can plan the introduction of, for example, AGVs in the future.

The assessment of the artificial intelligence readiness of an industrial company begins with a visit to the company’s production and interviewing the management. Since every industrial company is different, the consultant not only evaluates whether one or another technology can be theoretically implemented in the company, but also outlines the practical prerequisites and main activities needed for the introduction of artificial intelligence or other modern technologies. The expert also points out the possible benefits that a specific technology offers to the company. So far, AIRE has found an average of 5-10 technological solutions in each company, which the company could start using immediately or after meeting certain prerequisites.

Glimpse into the future An important prerequisite for the success of an AI solution, according to Antalainen, is its integration into the company’s daily activities. He gave an example of RPA (robotic process automation – software process automation), which automatically calculates the cost of materials when making a price quote, using the price calculation of economic software and asking the accounting department for the price of the material. The use of the software requires that the input given to the RPA solution is of high quality, which enables these queries to be made to the information systems. Often, solutions of this kind require general digitization of processes and certainly standardization. Such prerequisite requirements are also brought out by the experts during the assessment.

“The assessment also looks at the future. If certain AI solutions can be profitably applied in the company already, the successful use of certain solutions requires larger production volumes or instead creates prerequisites for an increase in production volumes and, for example, entering new market segments,” explained Antalainen.

Is there a risk that the introduction of artificial intelligence will require large investments from the industrial company and lead to layoffs? Counseling also provides an answer to this. In each project, the expert provides a preliminary assessment of the profitability, based on which the company can already calculate the approximate profitability of the project. AIRE has another service for a more accurate cost-effectiveness assessment: project-based assessment. AIRE has already given several of these assessments, Antalainen noted. In a project-based assessment, experts prepare a preliminary project plan and perform a more comprehensive cost-effectiveness analysis.

There is, of course, a risk that unskilled workers will lose their jobs due to artificial intelligence solutions. However, the main impact of most AI projects is to reduce or eliminate routine and repetitive activities. This allows employees to focus on more complex tasks. In general, such solutions allow to increase the company’s production volume and added value per employee, and to grow the company without significant additional recruitments.

Artificial intelligence will probably never disappear from our lives. On the contrary, in order for an unemployment company to be competitive, the use of artificial intelligence in process automation is unavoidable. As the old saying goes, measure nine times, cut once, and when it comes to implementing AI, an expert advisor can do the measuring.