One secure front door to a scattered tool landscape
A registry-driven gateway that turns a sprawl of disconnected internal systems into a single, governed home your team actually uses.
Your first hands-on build
First Build — working manufacturing AI, from the data you already have
Your first AI-native workflow, built from the data you already have.
Most plant technology asks you to commit to a year-long programme with a payback you can't see. First Build is the opposite: we pick one workflow, then rebuild it AI-native from records you already keep — shift logs, quality sheets, ERP exports. By the next morning, your team is running it. No new sensors, no wiring, no roadmap.
Fixed price
What you get
$5,000CAD
before tax
Fixed price · Fixed scope · One AI-native workflow
What you get
- A scoping call to lock scope & confirm your data is ready
- One complete, working, tested workflow
- Set up in your own account — your data stays yours
- Written documentation + 30 days of support
The anti-workshop
Not a kaizen event. Not a 5S workshop. Not a current-state map and a page of action items.
You don't leave with a plan to do the work —
you leave with a workflow already running.
Proof builds
Gateway / portal Custom app Market intelligence Agentic document gen Your first build
Real systems, already built
These are our own working builds — the range of what an AI-native workflow looks like when it's built, not slide-wared. Your First Build is private to your plant.
No client logos, no invented metrics — only systems we've actually shipped.
Flagship buildDedicated page →
Agentic Orchestration System
Our own multi-agent platform that plans, delegates, and executes work across the business — deterministic orchestration with humans above the loop. The flagship build the rest of this work stands on.
Explore the orchestration system →
A custom CRM app, shaped to the specific workflow
A bespoke operations app built around how the team actually works — pipeline, outreach, accountability, a live command center — instead of forcing the team into off-the-shelf software.
Market & technology intelligence, kept current
A technology-roadmapping workspace — grounded in MIT technology-roadmapping research — that turns scattered market and technology signals into a living capability roadmap, not a slide that's stale the day it's made.
Diagnose in plain language, generate the documents
ForgeShift Compass routes any manufacturing challenge — described in plain language — to the right lean practice and the gaps, then produces the fix as standards-grade templates through highly scaffolded agentic document generation.
Open Compass →Your workflow, reimagined
Tell us the problem in plain language. We confirm the scope, lock the price, and build the workflow — from the data you already have.
Book a First Build →The method
We don't automate a task. We rebuild the workflow around what AI can now do.
In most plants, your best people spend 30–50% of their day on transcription and chasing — logging, re-keying, hunting down documents, compiling the report. That isn't a task to speed up; it's a workflow to redesign. First Build rebuilds one of those workflows the AI-native way — AI does the reading, routing, and drafting; your operator or engineer keeps the judgment. And we don't just build it and leave: we set your team up to run and own it, so the capability stays in-house.
The one rule that keeps it honest
Built only from data you already have
Everything we build must come from data that already exists in extractable form — a spreadsheet, an ERP export, a CMMS query, or paper records we digitize on the day. Anything that needs new sensors, PLC integration, or a live pipeline is a custom engagement, not a First Build. We confirm your data is buildable before you book — so the day is pure build.
How it works
Scoped ahead. Built with you. Yours to run.
Your data is confirmed before we start — so the time goes into building the workflow together, learning how to work with AI, and exploring live as ideas surface.
01 — BEFORE
Scope
A 30–45 minute call to pick the one workflow and confirm your data is usable. Scope and price are locked before we start.
02 — THE SESSION
Build together
A hands-on working session: we build the workflow live while you learn to work with AI — with room to explore and adjust on the fly as ideas surface.
03 — ENABLEMENT
Run it yourself
Your team leaves able to run, tweak, and extend it — with a walkthrough and written documentation.
What's included
- A scoping call to pick the workflow and confirm your data is ready
- A hands-on build session — the workflow built live, with you
- Room to explore and adjust on the fly as ideas surface
- Your team enabled to run, tweak, and extend it themselves
- Written documentation of what was built and how it works
- 30 days of support after the session
What a First Build redefines
Pick one workflow. We rebuild it AI-native.
Not a bot bolted onto the old process — the workflow, reimagined around what AI can now do. Each is built from data you already keep. Old workflow in; an AI-native one out, by the next morning.
The retirement cliff
The answer lives in one expert's head — and walks out the door when they retire.
A living knowledge base your whole team can ask
Built from their setup sheets, SOPs, and work instructions.
Audit & quality
An IATF or ISO audit costs someone two weeks of digging for evidence.
Audit evidence assembled on demand
An assistant over your quality manual, records, and controlled documents.
Downtime & OEE
You know you lose hours every week — you just can't prove where.
A downtime classifier + self-writing shift report
From the shift and downtime logs you already keep.
Orders & expediting
Someone spends half their day chasing late orders by phone and email.
One live view that tells you what needs chasing
Consolidated from your ERP order and purchase-order exports.
Suppliers & spend
You can't tell which suppliers are actually costing you.
A supplier scorecard that surfaces problems early
PO-to-invoice reconciliation from your ERP exports.
Why a build, not a project
Small. Fixed. Finished. Yours to keep.
Most plant technology asks you to commit to a long project with a payback you can't see for a year. First Build is the opposite: a small, fixed, finished thing you can use this week. If it earns the next build, we keep going. If it doesn't, you still keep a working workflow.
Fixed price, fixed scope
No surprise invoices, no hourly meter. Scope and price are locked before any work starts.
You keep a working workflow
It's your first hands-on build — and your team leaves able to run it. Continue up the ladder or not; what we built together is yours.
Downstream of lean
Lean tells you where the waste is. First Build removes the clerical waste lean can't touch.
Why ForgeShift
Built and run — not just advised
First Build is delivered by an operator who built and ran Factory-of-the-Future systems across dozens of manufacturing plants — the credibility industrial buyers screen for before they engage. Principal-led, one point of contact, complete accountability.
- Transparent fixed price — published, not negotiated
- Risk-shaped for a skeptical owner — small, bounded, fast
- A door, not a dead end
Why now
22,500 / yr
Ontario manufacturing workers retiring through 2033 — one in four is already over 55. The knowledge cliff is here.
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters — Ontario Workforce Report, 2025
Grant's gone
CDAP's $15,000 technology grant closed in February 2024, nearly two years early. Owners now self-fund — a sub-threshold, card-able price fits.
Canada Digital Adoption Program — BDC / ISED
~12% on AI
Only about one in eight Canadian firms has adopted AI. The capability is here now — first movers, building from data they already have, set the pace.
Statistics Canada — AI adoption in Canadian firms, 2026
The window is open now.
First Build is the low-risk way through it — one workflow, proven, from data you already have.
Common questions
Questions owners ask
A fixed-price engagement that turns data you already have into one working AI-native workflow your team can use the next morning. It's scoped in advance, costs $5,000 CAD before tax, and requires no new sensors or factory-floor integration.
$5,000 CAD before tax for the engagement, with scope and price locked before the work starts. An on-site option is available on request; HST is recoverable for registered businesses.
No. A First Build is built only from data you already keep — spreadsheets, ERP or CMMS exports, or paper we digitize. Anything needing sensors or PLC/OT integration is a separate, larger engagement.
No. A workshop produces a plan and action items for your team to execute. A First Build produces a working workflow that's already doing the work by the next morning. Lean tells you where the waste is; First Build removes the clerical waste lean can't touch.
Whatever feeds the workflow you choose — shift/downtime logs, quality records, setup sheets, or ERP order exports. We confirm your data is usable on a scoping call before booking, so the session is pure build.
Owner-operated manufacturers (roughly $3M–$30M revenue) who want a fast, low-risk first hands-on build before committing to a larger programme.
A Claude subscription (Claude Pro, ~$20/month) in your own account. We set your workflow up inside it and configure privacy so your data isn't used to train any model. We handle setup; there's no technical work on your side.
The engagement
Ready to build something you'll use Monday?
Tell us the problem in plain language. We'll confirm the scope, and build the workflow with you — from the data you already have.
- Fixed $5,000 CAD price — locked before we start
- We verify your data is buildable before you book
- A reply within one business day
OR
Not sure where to start? Diagnose your operation free with ForgeShift Compass →
Book a First Build