Rick Heilshorn

MAD-Ai

Rick Heilshorn is founder and CEO of MAD-Ai, which provides purpose-built AI quality workflows to automotive and aerospace manufacturers. He has more than 20 years of experience in automotive manufacturing, including 12 years in quality in OEM, supplier, and consulting roles. He holds a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, an MBA, and a master’s degree in engineering.

Tue, 09/15/2026 - 12:03
AI May Be Making Your Quality Problem Worse General-purpose AI does not eliminate human variation. It can amplify it and make weak reasoning harder to see
Tue, 09/15/2026 - 12:03
Manufacturing has a people problem, but not in the way we usually talk about it. We talk about the skilled-labor shortage. We talk about retirements. We talk about doing more with fewer people. Usually those are treated as separate problems. They…