Real AI Outputs by Lunch

Nightingale HQ recently delivered a hands-on AI workshop for 24 employees at Philtronics Limited, a Wales-based contract electronics manufacturer. Representatives from every department attended, giving the business a shared understanding of how AI can support operational improvement, productivity, and future growth. Rather than focusing on theory, the workshop centred on real business challenges. By the end of the day, teams had already applied AI to practical tasks. The workshop combined practical AI training with strategic planning, helping employees and management move from experimentation to action in a single day.

Morning Session: Practical AI Training with Steph Locke

The morning session was led by Steph Locke, Co-founder and Head of Product at Nightingale HQ. Steph introduced participants to prompt engineering and practical ways to use AI in day-to-day work. She also shared a simple framework for understanding different levels of AI adoption, from AI acting as an advisor, through assistant and agent roles, to more autonomous forms of automation.

Participants got hands-on with practical exercies to apply AI to their own areas and workflows, they solved business challenges including;

• Improving RFQ turnaround times
• Strengthening Master Order Book management and cashflow visibility
• Enhancing production planning and stores efficiency
• Streamlining documentation and compliance processes
• Accelerating the creation of HR onboarding and training materials
• Eliminating manual searches by enabling instant lookup of component drawings and part numbers
• Reducing administrative workload and improving access to business-critical information
• Increasing efficiency across day-to-day operations through practical AI applications

The focus was on achieving useful outcomes quickly. Teams were encouraged to experiment, refine prompts, and identify opportunities where AI could remove repetitive work and free employees to focus on higher-value activities.

Afternoon Session: Building an AI Strategy with Florence

The afternoon session shifted focus from operational improvement to strategic planning. Led by Ruth Kearney, CEO of Nightingale HQ, Philtronics’ management team used Florence, Nightingale HQ’s new AI Strategy Agent, to identify where AI could create measurable business value and prioritise future initiatives. Rather than producing a lengthy strategy document, the session focused on identifying practical opportunities and creating a roadmap that could support ongoing digitalisation efforts.

This approach helped connect frontline learning from the morning session with leadership decision-making, ensuring that ideas generated during training could be translated into actionable business priorities.

Philtronics CEO Reflects on the Day

Simon Pritchard, CEO of Philtronics, highlighted the practical impact of the workshop:

“Today we ran a practical AI workshop with Steph Locke and Ruth Kearney from Nightingale HQ Ltd for 24 people across Philtronics. The team focused on real challenges — RFQs, documentation, Master Order Book, production planning, build notes, stores efficiency, and HR onboarding. The core question: ‘How can AI help you right now?’ The highlight was watching teams create useful outputs in just 30 minutes. Don’t be afraid to fail and that the biggest gains came when people experimented boldly and learned from imperfect first attempts. Confidence grows quickly once you treat failure as part of the process.”

His feedback reflected one of the key themes of the day: AI delivers the greatest value when it is applied to existing operational challenges rather than treated as a standalone technology initiative.

Continuing a Digitalisation Journey

This workshop was not Philtronics’ first step into digital transformation. Nightingale HQ has worked with the company for several years, supporting process improvement and digitalisation initiatives as the business has grown. The AI workshop represented the next stage in that journey, helping the organisation explore how emerging technologies can complement existing systems and processes while building confidence across the wider team.

Supporting AI Adoption in Manufacturing

The same practical approach has also been used with larger manufacturers, including Tata Steel UK. At Tata Steel, Nightingale HQ delivered AI readiness and capability building programmes across leadership and operational teams, helping employees understand how AI can support business objectives while developing the confidence to use new tools responsibly.

Whether working with a major steel producer or a growing Welsh electronics manufacturer, the approach remains consistent:

• Start with real business problems
• Give people practical experience with AI tools
• Build confidence through hands-on learning
• Connect operational improvements with strategic priorities

Backed by the Welsh Government Flexible Skills Programme AI Pilot

These AI programmes were supported through the Welsh Government Flexible Skills Programme AI Pilot, helping businesses access practical AI training and identify opportunities for productivity improvement.

By combining skills development with real-world application, programmes like this help organisations move beyond pilots and to driving measurable value from AI across their operations. For manufacturers considering AI adoption, the lesson from Philtronics is simple: start with the challenges your teams face every day, give people the tools and training to experiment, and focus on practical outcomes that deliver value quickly.

If you want to run something similar with your own team, get in touch with Nightingale HQ.