Training course · Microsoft 365 Copilot · Manufacturing

Microsoft 365 Copilot for Manufacturing Teams

Use Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams productively, securely and in line with permissions.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects Microsoft 365 Copilot with the everyday processes of Manufacturing. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

Microsoft 365 Copilot brings AI right into the applications where your daily work happens: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. What sets it apart from publicly available chatbots is its grounding in your organisation's data via Microsoft Graph – Copilot can draw on the emails, meetings, chats and documents you already have access to. In this practical day you learn to use that connection deliberately: drafting content from existing files, summarising inboxes and long threads, following up on meetings and generating presentations from Word documents.

You also learn how the licensed Copilot differs from Copilot Chat, when web-grounded and when work-grounded answers make sense, and how to use both prebuilt and your own agents. A central topic is the permission model: Copilot only surfaces what you are allowed to see, so sharing settings in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams directly determine the quality and security of results. You leave with tested prompts for every Office application and a clear understanding of responsible use within your tenant.

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 use Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams for your recurring tasks.
  • You write prompts that draw on existing files, emails and meetings as context.
  • You distinguish between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat and choose the right mode.
  • You use prebuilt agents and create a simple agent of your own for your team.
  • 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

Module 1 Copilot fundamentals and Microsoft Graph
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat: capabilities and licensing
  • Grounding in organisational data through Microsoft Graph
  • Switching between web and work context and referencing specific files
  • Prompt structure with goal, context, source and expectations
Module 2 Word and PowerPoint
  • Drafting from existing documents, notes and emails
  • Rewriting, shortening, adjusting tone and summarising text
  • Generating presentations from Word documents or outlines
  • Refining slides, adding speaker notes and sharpening key messages
Module 3 Excel and data analysis
  • Querying tables, spotting trends and highlighting outliers
  • Getting suggestions for formulas, calculated columns and conditional formatting
  • Creating charts and pivot analyses from natural language
  • Sanity-checking results and ensuring data quality
Module 4 Outlook, Teams and agents
  • Summarising long email threads and drafting replies
  • Summarising Teams meetings and extracting action items and open questions
  • Using Copilot Pages and Notebooks for collaborative work
  • Using prebuilt agents and creating your own with Agent Builder
Module 5 Permissions, data protection and governance
  • The permission model: Copilot only shows what you can access
  • Identifying oversharing in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams
  • Sensitivity labels, data boundaries and GDPR considerations
  • Usage policies, team adoption and measuring impact
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

Confident everyday use of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams; no prior AI knowledge is required. You work in production, production planning or maintenance and know the processes at your plant.

Technical requirements

A laptop with access to Microsoft 365 via your work account; a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence is ideal for all exercises, while Copilot Chat covers part of the content.

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.

  • Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 8 December 2026 Bremen Request
  • Wed, 20 January 2027 Online Request
  • Wed, 3 February 2027 Salzburg Request
  • Thu, 11 February 2027 Online Request
  • Thu, 18 February 2027 Kaiserslautern Request

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat?

Copilot Chat is available to many work accounts without an additional licence and answers mainly from web content and uploaded files. The licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot also reaches your emails, meetings and documents through Microsoft Graph and is built directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

Can Copilot see my colleagues' confidential files?

Copilot respects existing permissions and only surfaces content you can already access yourself. Problems arise when files are shared too broadly – with the entire organisation, for instance. In the course you learn how to spot such oversharing and how to fix it properly together with your IT team.

Do I need prompting experience for this course?

No. We start with the fundamentals of good prompts and practise them directly in the Office applications. What matters is that you are comfortable using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams day to day. Everything else – from referencing files to working with agents – we build up step by step through realistic tasks.

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 “Microsoft 365 Copilot for Manufacturing Teams” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 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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