How AI Empowers New Pet Food Plant Workers and Safeguards Institutional Knowledge

Training and keeping skilled workers is tough for pet food producers. When experienced operators retire, they take valuable knowledge with them. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) can help.

At the recent Petfood Forum 2025, experts like Matt Lueger from NorthWind and Bill Ward from Northslope Technologies shared how AI can tackle labor shortages and help transfer knowledge. They teamed up to create a system that learns from seasoned workers and assists new employees by pulling from a rich database of manuals and standard operating procedures.

Lueger pointed out that many pet food businesses struggle with labor shortages. “We frequently heard about a lack of skilled labor,” he said. “Long-time operators were retiring, taking key knowledge, and there was little skilled labor available in the market.”

To address this, NorthWind and Northslope aimed to build an AI assistant that captures years of expertise and makes it easily accessible to new staff. The idea is not to replace experienced workers but to augment their knowledge. For instance, if a veteran operator knows how to fix a specific alarm, the AI can learn that process and guide newer employees through it.

They chose Palantir as the backbone for their AI tools due to its strong reputation in data security, essential for sensitive operational information. Their AI application focuses on two main areas: offering a searchable knowledge base and providing tools to analyze root causes of issues.

For example, if an operator encounters a problem while starting a batch process, they can use the AI to identify the alarm and receive step-by-step solutions. In another situation, a new user could ask how to start an extruder and get clear, sequential instructions.

Lueger clarified when to use AI: “It’s meant for the three-month operator who isn’t sure where to find the right manual, not the 30-year veteran.” Ward added that aligning AI with actual needs is crucial. “You need to start with the problem you’re trying to solve,” he advised.

While currently focused on operations and maintenance, the platform can extend to areas like production scheduling and supply chain optimization. “Once you start solving one big problem,” Ward explained, “you can identify more areas needing improvement.”

As pet food manufacturers face tight labor markets and retiring experts, AI offers a promising solution to capture knowledge and improve workflows efficiently.

For further exploration, consider checking out recent industry reports and case studies that delve deeper into AI applications in manufacturing.

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