Insights
Articles for managing directors, heads of engineering and quality leaders in manufacturing SMEs. Short insights, in-depth guides and costed use cases.
Product management and innovation
The founder’s gut built the company but no longer scales at ten products and several markets. Why technical depth is not product leadership.
AI and automation
Five AI applications around enquiries and quotes in machinery manufacturing, with hours, setup costs and payback for a reference company of 100 staff.
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FORGESeries6 min read
AI and automation
Five AI applications for order processing and purchasing in machinery manufacturing, costed: hours, setup, payback, and where automation does not pay.
FORGESeries5 min read
AI and automation
Operating manuals, specifications, standards checks, translation, knowledge search: five AI applications for technical documentation at machine makers, costed.
FORGESeries6 min read
AI and automation
Pre-qualifying service requests, finding spare parts, reports from notes, securing fault knowledge: four AI applications for machinery service, costed.
FORGESeries4 min read
AI and automation
8D reports, complaint clustering, audit preparation and inspection instructions with AI: four applications for machinery makers, costed.
FORGESeries4 min read
AI and automation
Shift handover logs, work instructions, downtime analysis and lessons learned: four AI applications for machinery makers, with setup costs and payback.
FORGESeries4 min read
AI and automation
Management reporting automation, job adverts with initial screening, onboarding support: three AI applications, costed, and where the EU AI Act sets limits.
FORGESeries4 min read
AI and automation
A falling margin looks like a cost problem and is usually a process problem. Why treating symptoms treats the wrong thing, and what a real diagnosis delivers.
AI and automation
Juniors deliver in hours what used to take days, but where do they still learn to judge results? Why AI raises the floor and endangers the ceiling.
FORGEInsight2 min read
Leadership, organisation and change
The best design engineer retires in four months, with 33 years of knowledge in his head. How to reduce your bus factor and capture expertise in weeks.
AI and automation
Three training courses changed nothing. One hour on his own projects turned a sceptical 30-year veteran into the fastest AI user in the room. How it works.
FORGEInsight2 min read
AI and automation
A documented kill switch, a drifting AI quoting system and a year of losses. Why AI governance fails on culture, not on paperwork, and how to test yours.
FORGEInsight2 min read
Leadership, organisation and change
A key developer quit over a delayed raise, and the correct process cost 20 times the increase. Why slow HR processes lose key people, and what helps.
R&D organisation and performance
Metrics show how R&D work runs, KPIs show whether it reaches the goal. The difference explained, with examples for engineering teams.
R&D organisation and performance
Most unsuccessful R&D projects fail for the same reasons: unclear requirements, weak management, too few resources, unrealistic timelines. How to fix each.
R&D organisation and performance
Seven R&D performance metrics for automotive and machinery, with benchmark values: time to market, first pass yield, R&D intensity and more.
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Free guides
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