The production of the future: How AI-based knowledge systems are revolutionizing the shop floor

An article by Eric Brabänder, CPO, Empolis

While other areas of the company have long since benefited from digitalization, analogue reality still prevails on the store floor in many places. Paper-based checklists, manual documentation and outdated terminals characterize the everyday lives of workers and production employees. Yet the manufacturing industry is under immense pressure: a shortage of skilled workers, increasing complexity, volatile supply chains and high efficiency pressure demand innovative answers.

The solution? Artificial intelligence (AI) as a smart knowledge assistant. AI-based knowledge management systems such as Empolis Industrial Knowledge bring the necessary digital tools directly to the point of action - into production.

An active comparison with current trend studies and predictions by leading technology and market research company Gartner shows the potential.

Contents

• Shopfloor 4.0: Connected workers need intelligent knowledge
  • From operator to decision-maker: empowerment through adaptive systems
  • Low-threshold automation: low-code for the store floor
• Future trends: Edge, sustainability and personalized products
  • Edge computing and knowledge systems: Data processing directly in production
  • Smart sustainability: O2-based business as a competitive advantage
• Conclusion: Those who digitalize today will produce more intelligently - and more sustainably - tomorrow
• How Empolis supports Industrial Knowledge:

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Shopfloor 4.0: Connected workers need intelligent knowledge

According to Gartner analyses, around 80 percent of digital employees will use multimodal interfaces with Generative AI by 2028. This development not only affects office workplaces, but increasingly also production.

The "connected worker" - networked with machines, IT systems and colleagues - needs access to relevant knowledge in real time: The right recommendation for action at the right time on every device. Traditional systems can hardly achieve this. Modern AI-based solutions, on the other hand, continuously analyze the context, task and environment and provide workers with exactly the information they need via voice assistance, augmented devices, wearables or mobile devices.

From operator to decision-maker: empowerment through adaptive systems

An intelligent knowledge management system does not act as a static database, but as an adaptive assistant. It "knows" the respective worker and their role, learns their tasks and reacts contextually with appropriate authorizations. In this context, Gartner speaks of "adaptive experience" and "embedded intelligence". This transforms the worker from an executor to a decision-maker, from a recipient of orders to a co-creator.

Low-threshold automation: low-code for the store floor

According to Gartner, 30 percent of all business roles will require low-code or no-code skills by 2028. This offers enormous potential, especially on the store floor: instead of waiting for expensive special developments, production managers, shift supervisors or workers can create simple automation and checklists themselves, e.g. for recording test data, error messages or shift handovers. With dynamic checklist tools and decision trees, even complex tasks can be managed and digitized quickly and easily in teams.

Future trends: edge, sustainability and personalized products

Gartner also predicts far-reaching changes in manufacturing by 2030, with customers increasingly taking on the role of Chief Product Officer: they want tailor-made, individualized products, often in low-digit batch sizes, and are willing to pay more for them. At the same time, AI processes and digital engineering platforms are creating completely new possibilities for individualization and simulation.

The role of employees is also changing: Thanks to AI, augmented reality and virtual assistance systems, the training period for new employees is being drastically reduced - from months to weeks. Experiential knowledge is preserved, safeguarded and passed on via digital twins, training systems with individualized content and AI-supported knowledge management systems.

Edge computing and knowledge systems: Data processing directly in production

Over 30 percent of manufacturing companies are already using edge technologies, and this figure is set to rise to 65 percent by 2028. Intelligence is moving to where it is needed - directly to the machine. Machine statuses, material flows and quality parameters are analyzed in real time in order to optimize processes and avoid downtime. This makes it all the more important to correlate these parameters with existing knowledge and known problem-solving processes. Linking knowledge and machine data is essential because this is the only way to turn abstract information into concrete, actionable decisions.

One example of this is Factory-X - a research project as part of the Manufacturing-X lighthouse project of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). Factory-X shows how intelligent knowledge management can make production processes more efficient, more flexible and more fail-safe. The focus is on the idea of "autonomous operation-as-a-service", in which machines run safely even without on-site personnel - supported by remote access, AI and centrally available recommendations for action.

As a project partner, Empolis is providing an AI-supported knowledge platform that combines empirical knowledge with current machine data in order to rectify faults more quickly and support data-based decisions. This shows how data, expertise and digital services in networked production can lead to a measurable competitive advantage.

Smart sustainability: O2-based business as a competitive advantage

Sustainability is moving from a cost factor to a purchasing criterion. 75% of Gen Z are willing to pay more for sustainable products. Gartner expects over 20% of manufacturers to use CO2-based materials by 2030. Relevant data, materials and supply chains must be made digitally transparent and evaluated with the help of AI. This is the only way for companies to make informed decisions about CO2-optimized production methods.

Conclusion: those who digitalize today will produce more intelligently - and more sustainably - tomorrow

AI-supported knowledge work on the store floor is not a vision of the future, but is being accelerated by trends such as the connected worker, edge, sustainability and personalization. Companies that act now will secure a decisive advantage: through greater efficiency, lower error rates, more satisfied employees and resilient, future-proof production systems.

How Empolis supports Industrial Knowledge:

• In the Connected Worker area, Empolis provides relevant knowledge in a context-appropriate and multimodal way.
• For adaptive systems, Empolis offers an open knowledge management platform with embedded artificial intelligence to actively support knowledge-intensive decision-making processes.
• In the context of low-code/no-code, Empolis enables simple process automation without prior IT knowledge through intelligent checklists and easy-to-model AI-based decision trees combined with knowledge models from the knowledge graph.
• In terms of edge computing, Empolis can be connected to IoT data sources for evaluation and direct knowledge provision.
• When it comes to personalization and PLM, Empolis supports smart knowledge access to translate customer-specific requirements into quotations, projects and production processes using intelligent AI-based quotation assistants.

Sources:

Gartner: Predicts 2025: What Manufacturing CIOs Need to Be Aware of by 2030, 13 March 2025, ID G00821420 - by Scot Kim, Sudip Pattanayak, Alexander Hoeppe, Mike Ramsey

Gartner: Predicts 2025: Empowering Workers With Intelligent Applications, 15 January 2025, ID G00821614 - by Lacy Lei, Tori Paulman, Christopher Trueman, Nitish Tyagi, Will Grant, Helen Poitevin