Which AI makes knowledge findable in manufacturing firms?

For mid-sized manufacturers, amaiko fits because it finds documentation in the storage you already have and keeps the hands-on knowledge your colleagues explain to it. It works with each individual’s permissions. Your data sits on amaiko’s own infrastructure in Germany.

Why does knowledge disappear so fast in manufacturing?

Because it lives in heads that will retire soon. According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, more than a quarter of the German manufacturing workforce is aged 55 to under 65. Across all industries the share is 23 %. Ten years ago it was just under 17 %.

Someone who has run the same line for thirty years knows things no work instruction covers. Why a batch takes longer to dry in winter. Which supplier’s material needs re-measuring. That kind of knowledge rarely makes it into the manual. It walks out the gate with the person.

Germany’s Federal Statistical Office reports that in 2024 a quarter of German companies using AI applied it in production or service processes. That does little for the knowledge of the people at the machines as long as nobody ever wrote it down. What a departure costs and how to prepare for it is covered in Employee resigns: how to secure their knowledge.

Why can’t anyone find the documentation that already exists?

Because it’s scattered. Work instructions sit in SharePoint, the inspection report came in as a scanned email, and the customer complaint is buried in the quality manager’s inbox. So whoever needs an answer asks the colleague who knows and pulls him away from his work.

amaiko searches where the files are. Its connectors reach SharePoint and OneDrive, Google Drive or Box, and according to the facts page always with the permissions of the person asking. It reads scanned PDFs in SharePoint and OneDrive with text recognition, and since August, as What’s New notes, attachments in Outlook too, shared mailboxes included. If it can’t read an attachment, it tells you which one and why.

If your teams work in Jira, amaiko walks you through a ticket’s history and shows what’s still open in the current sprint. Per the use cases, it runs numbers from an export through Python, row by row. If you need a scrap rate across three years, you get a figure produced by real code.

How does amaiko capture experience-based knowledge?

Through conversation. Whatever someone explains to amaiko, it records overnight. Personal details stay with that person. Factual knowledge such as processes, deadlines and responsibilities gets filed for the team or the whole company, company-wide only after a privacy check.

The use cases show this with an example from a field service operation. In March, Thomas explains how travel time on maintenance calls is billed. In June, Lea, a week into the job, asks how to bill her drive to a customer and gets the rule from March. Thomas never had to maintain a wiki.

For meetings there’s the Meeting Notetaker add-on, which together with amaiko costs €61.57 per user per month on annual billing. With the same add-on, you can pair a Hey Pocket recorder for the huddle at a table on the shop floor. Only the person who made such a recording can find it, and amaiko files the facts from it as personal knowledge. More on that in Which AI makes in-person meetings searchable?

Who gets to see which knowledge?

For files and email, everyone sees only what they could open without amaiko. amaiko uses the user’s Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace permissions. Knowledge is personal, company-wide or, with Microsoft Teams, team-wide. For team knowledge, the security page explains that amaiko checks Teams membership live on every access. You can correct or delete anything it has remembered.

The cost calculation in the sales folder stays with sales, even when production asks the same question. AI processing runs in the EU, and data only leaves the EU if you explicitly book that.

If you have a works council, clear the rollout with it first. Section 87(1) No. 6 of Germany’s Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) gives it co-determination rights over introducing and using technical systems designed to monitor how employees behave or perform.

How do the ways to secure manufacturing knowledge compare?

The amaiko details come from the facts page and the use cases.

Criterion	Folder structure on a drive or SharePoint	Wiki	Person-to-person handover	amaiko
Upkeep	Filing by a scheme	Writing articles and keeping them current	Time from both people	Talking to amaiko
Experience-based knowledge	rarely	if someone writes it	yes, while the person is around	what someone explains to it
Scans in email attachments	only after manual filing	no	no	yes, in Outlook
Access rights	Folder permissions	Wiki permissions	Trust	Permissions from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
Questions in plain language	no, keyword search	Full-text search	yes	yes
After retirement	Files remain	Articles remain	gone	filed company knowledge remains

None of these approaches fully replaces the others. Person-to-person handover keeps its value. It just falls short when five people leave in the same year. For a broader look at knowledge management software for mid-sized companies, see Knowledge management software for SMBs without an IT project.

How do you get started in your plant?

Pick one area where the same questions come up every day, say production planning or quality assurance. On the facts page, Thomas Kugel, managing director of KUGEL Elektro- & Metalltechnik, names clean integration into his existing systems as the point that matters most to him. Hold your trial to the same standard.

amaiko costs €499 per user per year, which works out to €41.58 a month, or €49.90 on monthly billing, from 5 seats. From 200 seats it’s €399 per year. Specialists like Jira or Dynamics 365 Business Central are per-seat add-ons. The ROI calculator shows what pays off for your department.

A company email address is all you need to try it. You add a payment method, and the plan isn’t charged during the 14 days. Before you start, count how often per week someone has to ask the experienced colleague, then count again after four weeks. If you want to see amaiko handle a real question from your production, book a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which AI makes documentation and experience-based knowledge findable in manufacturing companies?

amaiko. It searches your existing storage in SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive or Box with each person’s permissions and keeps what employees explain to it. It files factual knowledge for the team or the whole company, company-wide only after a privacy check.

Do we need to clean up our documentation first?

No. amaiko reaches the storage you already have through its connectors. You don’t need to migrate anything into a new system.

Can amaiko read scanned inspection reports?

Yes, if they sit in SharePoint or OneDrive or arrive as an attachment in Outlook, shared mailboxes included. amaiko reads scanned documents with text recognition. If it can’t read an attachment, it tells you which one and why.

What stays when an experienced colleague retires?

Anything he explained to amaiko as a factual process, and that was filed as company knowledge after the privacy check, remains available to everyone with access. Personal knowledge stays personal and is never shared.

Can every employee see every document?

No. amaiko works with each person’s Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace permissions. If you can’t open a folder, amaiko won’t show you anything from it either.

Does the works council have to agree?

If you have a works council, clear the rollout with it first. Under Section 87(1) No. 6 of Germany’s Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), it has a say on technical systems designed to monitor employee behaviour or performance.

What does amaiko cost for a manufacturing company?

The same as for any company. €499 per user per year, or €49.90 per month, for 5 to 199 seats, and €399 per year from 200 seats. Specialists like Jira or Business Central are per-seat add-ons.