Building an AI Knowledge Platform for Industrial Decision-Making

Industrial environments generate large volumes of data across systems of record, production logs, and operational records. While this data is abundant, it is fragmented, difficult to interpret, and often underutilized in day-to-day decision-making. Data Mentor enables users to explore and reason over complex data through conversational and query-driven interfaces, similar to consumer discovery experiences.

Client

Delta Bravo

Type

Visual identity

Year

2025

Process

Designing Data Mentor required aligning data architecture, AI systems, and user workflows into a unified decision-support platform.

The challenge was not simply surfacing information, but enabling users to reason over complex, multi-source data in a way that was both intuitive and trustworthy.

Data Architecture & Knowledge Modeling

I defined a unified data model that integrates:

  • real-time SCADA telemetry
  • lab and compliance data
  • historical operational records
  • external signals (e.g. weather, environmental conditions)

To support reasoning across these sources, we introduced a knowledge graph layer that captures relationships between assets, processes, and outcomes, enabling more contextual and explainable insights.

Retrieval & Reasoning Systems

I designed retrieval pipelines that combine:

  • structured queries over time-series and relational data
  • semantic retrieval over unstructured documents
  • graph-based context expansion

These systems allowed the platform to generate responses that were not only relevant, but grounded in both current system state and historical patterns.

Agent Design & Orchestration

To operationalize insights, I led the development of domain-specific AI agents that:

  • interpret user queries
  • retrieve relevant data across systems
  • generate recommendations or explanations
  • optionally trigger downstream workflows

Each agent operates within scoped contexts, with controlled access to tools and data to ensure reliability and governance.

Evaluation, Trust, and Compliance

Given the regulated nature of the domain, we implemented:

  • human-in-the-loop validation workflows
  • auditability of model outputs and data sources
  • evaluation frameworks measuring accuracy, consistency, and explainability

This ensured that outputs could be trusted in operational and compliance-sensitive environments.

Platform Abstractions & Scalability

To support multiple use cases and industries, I helped define reusable platform primitives, including:

  • modular retrieval pipelines
  • configurable agent frameworks
  • standardized data ingestion and transformation layers

This enabled rapid deployment across different domains without rebuilding core infrastructure.

Outcome

Data Mentor enabled organizations to move from reactive data analysis to proactive, AI-assisted decision-making.

By unifying data, modeling relationships, and delivering insights through a conversational interface, the platform significantly reduced the effort required to understand and act on complex system behavior.

Measurable Impact

  • Launched from concept to $300K+ ARR within 8 months as part of a broader AI platform portfolio
  • Secured $3M NSF Phase II funding and catalyzed $1.5M in state-backed expansion
  • Adopted by enterprise and industrial partners including BMW, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, and Fitesa
  • Reduced time-to-insight for operational and compliance questions, improving responsiveness and decision quality

Product Outcomes

  • Established a scalable AI platform architecture supporting multiple applications (Data Mentor, Aquaspec, PermitPro)
  • Enabled integration of heterogeneous data sources into a unified reasoning system
  • Created a foundation for predictive modeling, automated recommendations, and future autonomous workflows

Strategic Learnings

  • Data quality and structure are the limiting factors in AI system performance, not model capability
  • Knowledge graphs and relational context significantly improve explainability and trust
  • Enterprise AI products require explicit governance, auditability, and human oversight
  • The most valuable AI systems reduce interpretation effort, not just surface information

Other work

Want to create something awesome? Drop me an email.

→ john.inniger@icloud.com