AI in manufacturing, from the quote to the shop floor

• Quotes from drawings and RFQs

  An RFQ arrives by email with a drawing attached. The estimator reads every callout (surface finish, threads, chamfers, weld symbols, the title block, notes and global tolerances) before pricing material, machine time and outside work.

• Quote to works order

  A won quote becomes a works order with its routing, material and paperwork. PSL Datatrack and JobBOSS² carry the quote into the order; in Katana, a new manufacturing order copies the product's BOM and operations.

• Traceability and audits

  Goods in brings supplier and mill certificates; dispatch brings delivery notes and certificates of conformity. PSL Datatrack links every transaction to a works order, so an auditor can follow a job's history. Food and drink producers keep supplier, customer, quantity, date and batch records.

• Machine time and OEE

  OEE combines three factors: availability, performance and quality. FourJaw calculates availability and quality in real time, tracking availability from the downtime reasons operators log. MachineMetrics reports OEE, downtime, and good and rejected parts by machine, shift, operator or job operation.

• Job-shop systems: PSL Datatrack, JobBOSS²

  PSL Datatrack, built for small and mid-sized manufacturers, covers quotations, works orders, goods received, non-conformance, gauge calibration and traceability; we found no public API documentation, so we would ask PSL. JobBOSS² turns quotes into orders; its public API serves cloud-hosted customers only.

• Cloud MRP: Katana, MRPeasy

  Katana's documented API covers manufacturing orders, BOM rows, batches, serial numbers, stock, and sales and purchase orders, and it sends webhooks. MRPeasy offers a REST API on its Unlimited plan; its support team does not help with API work.

• SAP Business One and Sage 200

  SAP Business One's Service Layer is a REST API (OData 3.0 and 4.0) over its data. Sage 200 Professional retired its Manufacturing module from the 2025 R2 release, so we would first check where your works orders now live.

• Machine monitoring: FourJaw, MachineMetrics

  FourJaw records machine activity and imports work orders by CSV or through an API. MachineMetrics' REST API, using an API key, returns OEE, downtime and part counts, and can create and update jobs and operations.

• RFQ to draft quote

  Reads RFQ emails and drawings, pulls out quantities, material, tolerances, threads and finishes, and drafts quote lines in your ERP or quoting system, each value linked to its place on the print. The estimator prices and approves every line.

• Quote to works order, without retyping

  When the customer's order arrives, the works order, routing and material go into your ERP through its API, shortages are flagged before the job is released, and job cards print or go to a tablet at the machine.

• Traceability and the certificate pack

  Links each supplier or mill certificate to its material batch, then to the works order, operations, inspection results and delivery note. At dispatch it drafts the certificate of conformity for your quality manager to check and sign.

• Machines next to the plan

  Works orders sent from your ERP to FourJaw or MachineMetrics, so the shop floor sees each machine's job, why it stopped and what runs next. OEE by machine and by job; by operator only after a DPIA and telling your team.

• Compliance register

  PUWER inspections, LEV tests, gauge calibration and, for machine builders, technical files and declarations of conformity in one register: due dates, reminders, evidence attached, who signed, and records kept for as long as the regulations require.

• Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008

  For machine builders: a declaration of conformity, and a technical file kept for at least 10 years from manufacture, or from the last unit in a series. Great Britain recognises CE marking indefinitely; from 20 January 2027, SI 2026/867 bases that route on the EU Machinery Regulation, not the Directive.

• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulations 5 and 6

  Where machinery has a maintenance log, it is kept up to date. Equipment liable to dangerous deterioration is inspected at suitable intervals and after exceptional circumstances, and each result is recorded and kept until the next one is recorded.

• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, regulations 9, 10 and Schedule 4

  Local exhaust ventilation is thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, or every 6 months for powered dry grinding or polishing of metal over 12 hours a week, with records kept for 5 years. Exposure monitoring records are kept for 40 years where they represent identifiable employees' personal exposures, and 5 years otherwise.

• General Food Law: assimilated Regulation (EC) No 178/2002

  For food and drink producers: one step back, one step forward. Records identify suppliers, customers, products, quantities, dates and batch or lot codes where available, and are provided promptly on request. Scotland has its own guidance.

• UK GDPR and the ICO's guidance on monitoring workers

  Reporting machine data by operator is monitoring workers. The ICO says a DPIA must come before monitoring likely to cause high risk, such as performance management, and workers must be told first. The guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act.

• AI automation
• Bespoke software development
• Business automation and integrations

Other industries: Logistics and haulage, Construction, Retailers.

Sources

Every rule, date and figure on this page comes from the sources below, checked on 31 October 2026. Rules change: check anything that matters with the source or your adviser.