Training course · AI Agents · Manufacturing

AI Agents for Manufacturing Teams

Agentic AI for business teams: understand AI agents, automate workflows safely and keep control with human-in-the-loop and governance.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“AI Agents for Manufacturing Teams” is designed for roles such as Production and plant managers, Shift leaders and supervisors and Manufacturing and process engineers and shows step by step how to use AI Agents productively, safely and transparently in Manufacturing – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

AI agents go a step beyond conventional chat assistants: they plan sub-tasks, use tools such as search, files or business applications and complete multi-step work largely on their own. Over two days you will learn how agents are built, how they differ from chatbots and traditional automation, and which tasks genuinely justify their use. Widely used platforms serve as practical examples, including Microsoft Copilot Studio, custom GPTs and Claude with projects and tool connections.

In the hands-on sessions you design agent workflows for tasks from your own area of work, from triaging requests through research and drafting to handing results over to business systems. You decide where a person reviews and approves, which permissions an agent receives and how errors are detected. A dedicated block covers governance, data protection and accountability, so that your agents not only work but remain controllable, traceable and defensible within your organisation.

Manufacturers face cost pressure, skills shortages, complex product variants and high expectations for on-time delivery. Generative AI adds a new layer to existing Industry 4.0 solutions: AI assistants make knowledge from manuals, fault logs and work instructions accessible, support shift handovers, summarise KPIs from MES and ERP exports and help with root cause analysis using methods such as 5 Whys or Ishikawa. AI agents and automation create shift reports, analyse machine breakdowns and prepare maintenance orders. Experienced staff in particular benefit when their knowledge is documented and made available to new colleagues. Adoption succeeds when it starts with concrete shop-floor problems, involves works councils and health and safety early and keeps production data secure.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Production and plant managers
  • Shift leaders and supervisors
  • Manufacturing and process engineers
  • Maintenance teams
  • Lean and operational excellence leads

Typical challenges we address

  • Capturing and passing on the know-how of experienced staff
  • Analysing breakdowns quickly and reducing downtime
  • Presenting KPIs such as OEE from various systems in an understandable way
  • Keeping work instructions current and clear across many variants

What you will be able to do

  • You can explain how AI agents are structured and clearly distinguish them from chatbots and classic automation.
  • You can select a suitable agent platform for your requirements using transparent criteria.
  • You can design an agent workflow for a real process in your area and build a working prototype.
  • You can define human-in-the-loop checkpoints, test cases and escalation rules.
  • Use AI for knowledge management, root cause analysis and shift reporting in production.
  • Analyse production KPIs with AI and derive improvement actions.
  • Take data security, co-determination and occupational safety into account in manufacturing AI projects.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 What makes an AI agent
  • Agent building blocks: language model, instructions, knowledge, tools and memory
  • How agents differ from chatbots, macros and classic workflow automation
  • Levels of autonomy: from suggestion-making assistants to agents that act independently
  • Realistically judging which tasks suit agents and which do not
Module 2 Platform overview: Copilot Studio, GPTs and Claude
  • Microsoft Copilot Studio: agents grounded in company data and connected to Microsoft 365
  • Custom GPTs: configuring instructions, knowledge files and actions
  • Claude with projects, knowledge bases and tool access via the Model Context Protocol
  • Selection criteria: data access, integrations, administration and licensing
Module 3 Designing and building agent workflows
  • Breaking tasks into steps and defining hand-offs between agent and human
  • Writing system instructions, examples and knowledge sources for consistent output
  • Connecting tools: search, documents, email, spreadsheets and business applications
  • Building a prototype agent for a real process from your own area
Module 4 Human-in-the-loop, quality and error handling
  • Setting approval steps, escalation rules and thresholds for human review
  • Test cases, evaluation criteria and spot checks for quality assurance
  • Common failure modes: wrong tool choice, endless loops and fabricated facts
  • Using structured user feedback to improve the agent over time

Day 2

Module 5 Governance, security and roll-out
  • Roles and responsibilities across business units, IT, data protection and works council
  • Least-privilege permissions, logging and protection against prompt injection
  • Positioning under the EU AI Act and GDPR: transparency, documentation and data flows
  • From pilot agent to production: operation, maintenance and measuring success
Module 6 Practice lab: Manufacturing
  • Shop-floor knowledge assistant
  • Root cause analysis
  • Shift reports and handovers
  • Work instructions
  • KPI analysis
  • Maintenance preparation
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Production data and engineering know-how are trade secrets and belong only in approved AI environments; in Germany, AI-based evaluation of employee performance or behaviour requires works council co-determination. AI components in safety-related machine functions fall under the EU Machinery Regulation and may be high-risk under the EU AI Act.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Shop-floor knowledge assistant

An AI assistant answers questions about machines, changeovers and fault patterns based on manuals, breakdown history and work instructions, always citing the source for verification.

Root cause analysis

AI structures breakdowns and quality issues using 5 Whys, Ishikawa or 8D, suggests possible causes from similar cases and helps document actions and responsibilities.

Shift reports and handovers

Notes, machine data and fault reports are turned into structured shift reports with output, breakdowns and open points, making handover to the next shift easier.

Work instructions

AI turns process descriptions, photos and expert interviews into illustrated, multilingual work instructions and checklists in plain language and keeps variants consistent.

KPI analysis

MES and ERP exports are analysed, OEE losses broken down by availability, performance and quality and anomalies explained clearly for shop-floor meetings.

Maintenance preparation

Automations collect fault reports; AI groups recurring failures, drafts maintenance orders and prioritises actions based on frequency and impact, before maintenance planning takes them over.

Prerequisites

You should already use an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Claude on a regular basis. No programming skills are required. You work in production, production planning or maintenance and know the processes at your plant.

Technical requirements

You will need a laptop with an up-to-date browser. Ideally you have access to at least one agent platform such as Copilot Studio, ChatGPT with GPTs or Claude; practice accounts can be provided if needed.

Data protection & compliance

Production data and engineering know-how are trade secrets and belong only in approved AI environments; in Germany, AI-based evaluation of employee performance or behaviour requires works council co-determination. AI components in safety-related machine functions fall under the EU Machinery Regulation and may be high-risk under the EU AI Act.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Wed, 25 November 2026 – Thu, 26 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 – Tue, 8 December 2026 Salzburg Request
  • Wed, 16 December 2026 – Thu, 17 December 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 13 January 2027 – Thu, 14 January 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 28 January 2027 – Fri, 29 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Tue, 2 February 2027 – Wed, 3 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

Do I need programming skills to build AI agents?

No. The platforms used on the course rely on visual interfaces, plain-language instructions and ready-made connectors. You learn to specify agents precisely from a business perspective, connect tools and test workflows. Where deeper technical integration would be needed, you will know which requirements to put to your IT team.

Which platform will we use during the course?

The course is vendor-neutral and uses Microsoft Copilot Studio, custom GPTs and Claude as examples. You build your prototype on the platform that is available or planned in your organisation. The principles of workflow design, control and governance you learn carry over to other agent solutions as well.

How do I stop an agent from acting without control?

Through deliberate design: agents receive only the minimum permissions they need, critical actions such as sending, booking or deleting require human approval, and every step is logged. In addition, you define test cases and escalation rules. These are exactly the control mechanisms you develop for your own use case during the course.

Do we need to connect AI to our machines?

Not necessarily. Many use cases, such as knowledge assistants, work instructions or root cause analysis, work with documents and MES or ERP exports. Connecting directly to machine data is a later step that requires IT and OT security. In the course we start with use cases you can implement quickly.

How do we gain acceptance from the workforce?

By making AI visibly ease work, for example through faster troubleshooting or simpler documentation, rather than being perceived as a monitoring tool. Involve employees and their representatives early, start with pilot areas and clearly define which data will not be used for performance evaluation.

How much does “AI Agents for Manufacturing Teams” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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