FIRST LESSON: UNDERSTAND WHAT MOVES THE P & L
If an AI project does not produce more good output, reduce scrap and rework, improve labor productivity, strengthen margin, or improve cash flow, question why you are doing it. Efficiency that never becomes more units shipped or less cash tied up is not progress.
Before investing time or money, every initiative should answer four questions: What P & L line does this move? By how much? Who owns that number? On what date do we stop if it is not working?
AI does not create new EBITDA levers. It helps leaders pull existing ones earlier and with better visibility. Start there, not with a software demo.
SECOND LESSON: BUILD A CULTURE OF AI AI is a people strategy first. No owner, no result.
AI IS A PEOPLE
STRATEGY FIRST. NO OWNER, NO RESULT.
Culture means building a weekly review rhythm into the meetings you already hold: program reviews, MRB meetings, or Monday production huddles. Give one executive ownership of the number and permission to say,“ This is not moving the P & L, so we stop.”
It also means teaching AI assistants to say“ I don’ t know” rather than guess about quality, specifications, or promise dates.
Manufacturers must also keep proprietary drawings, customer data, and controlled information within proper boundaries, including ITAR, CMMC, and prime-specific requirements. That does not mean you cannot start. Keep sensitive files where they belong and never put controlled data into tools that cannot protect it.
Get teams using AI early enough to build skills and judgment. Internal capabilities enable the plant to adapt as AI evolves. Buying a single product limits you to what it can do today.
WHERE TO FOCUS: THE FOUR OPERATING LEVERS Once the P & L question and ownership are clear, choose the lever most likely to move the needle:
1 2 3 4
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FLOW:
What is late to the prime, and where does work wait?
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LABOR:
Where do hours fail to create shipped value, and who holds critical know-how?
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QUALITY:
Where is money and capacity lost to bad work on highstakes parts?
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DECISIONS:
What should we promise or hold when the customer is a prime, and the part is not interchangeable?
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One lever. One money question. One to three files. One weekly owner. One hard stop date. Three disconnected AI pilots often leave a plant stuck. The better move is smaller and clearer.
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER ISSUE NO. 53 45