← Back to AI Agent Scenarios

SCENARIO 05·R&D·Knowledge Q&A

The Same Standards Question Requires Another Document Search or Interruption to Senior Staff

When a specification question arises, R&D searches standards, customer specifications, and past issue records for an answer. If employees cannot find or understand the answer, they ask senior staff.

The person asking must wait for a reply, while the person answering is interrupted. Another employee may later ask the same question again. Troubleshooting has the same problem. Previous solutions often remain only in the employee's memory or are scattered across emails and meeting records, making them difficult for new employees to find.

At a glance

How it was done

  1. Search standards in the shared folder
  2. Ask senior staff if no answer is found
  3. Give a verbal answer without a source
  4. Use after engineer confirmation

Where it gets stuck

The person asking must wait for a reply, while the person answering is interrupted. Another employee may ask the same question again. The answer has no source, making it difficult to confirm whether it uses the latest version.

With an AI Agent

  1. Search standards in the shared folder
  2. Ask senior staff if no answer is found
  3. Give a verbal answer without a source
  4. Use after engineer confirmationHuman approval

The AI Agent searches standards, organizes answers, and cites sources. If it finds no supporting source, it says so directly. The responsible engineer still confirms any conclusion that affects design or quality decisions before it is used.

01

How it was done

  1. 01When a specification or quality issue arises, first search the shared folder for relevant standards
  2. 02If the answer cannot be found or understood, ask senior staff
  3. 03Senior staff search documents or answer from experience
  4. 04The answer is given verbally without a source, so the same question is asked again next time
R&D Section Standards Questions
Assembly - Mr. Lin
What torque should we use for an M10 grade 8.8 bolt threaded into steel?
09/21 09:12
Assembly - Mr. Lin
What torque should we use for an M8 grade 10.9 bolt threaded into an aluminum base?
09/21 10:30
Mechanical Engineering - Team Leader Huang
Use 70% for aluminum: 32 × 0.7, so 22.4 is fine
09/21 11:05
Maintenance - Mr. Chang
Can an M12 grade 10.9 bolt be reinstalled after removal?
09/22 08:47
Quality Assurance - Ms. Wang
How many hours of salt spray testing are required for zinc-nickel-plated parts?
09/22 14:20
Purchasing - Ms. Chen
Do spring washers require hydrogen embrittlement relief after plating? What is the procedure?
09/23 09:35
Quality Assurance - Ms. Wang
What was identified as the cause when zinc-nickel-plated parts previously developed a white surface?
09/23 16:02
Assembly - Mr. Lin
What torque should we use for an M8 SUS304 stainless steel bolt?
09/24 10:18
R&D - Engineer Wu
What torque should we use for an M14 grade 10.9 bolt threaded into steel?
09/24 15:40
Sales - Mr. Lee
Example Auto Parts wants to reduce the salt spray requirement for zinc-nickel-plated parts to 480 hours. Can we follow that request?
09/25 11:26
鎖附扭力規範_EX-ENG-STD-012_C.pdf1 / 1
Example Machinery Co., Ltd.
Bolt Tightening Torque Standard
No.
EX-ENG-STD-012 Revision C
Date
Effective 2026-07-01
Issuing Department
R&D Department, Mechanical Engineering Section
Replaces
Revision B (effective 2025-03-01), obsolete as of the effective date of Revision C
Section 2
Tightening torque for carbon steel bolts threaded into steel (N·m, tolerance ±10%)
ThreadGrade 8.8Grade 10.9
M61014
!M82535
M104969
M1285120
Notes and Revision Changes
ClauseContent
Section 2For thread sizes not listed, follow the project drawing. Do not interpolate or extrapolate values.
Section 3.1For carbon steel bolts threaded into aluminum holes, the tightening torque is 70% of the value in the table above
!Revision CThe value for M8 grade 10.9 was revised from 32 N·m to 35 N·m
Prepared byApproved byControlled Document
1 / 1
Illustration only. During one week, 9 questions were spread across two standards and several sections. One question was answered from memory using a value from an old revision, without citing a source. Some answers were not covered by the standards, while others should not have been decided by the person searching the documents.
02

With an AI Agent

  1. 01
    What it doesSearch the knowledge base for standards
    Standard appliedAnswer only from standards in the knowledge base and use the currently effective revision
    OutputThe relevant standards section for each question
  2. 02
    What it doesOrganize answers and cite sources
    Standard appliedFor each question, provide the document number, revision, and section or table. Show the calculation when required, such as applying 70% of the torque for aluminum.
    OutputAn answer table with the question, answer, and source
  3. 03
    What it doesReport when no supporting source is found
    Standard appliedFor questions not covered by the standards, respond directly that no supporting source was found and explain the limits of the standards. Do not answer from general engineering knowledge.
    OutputQuestions without supporting sources and explanations
  4. 04
    What it doesFlag questions that require an engineer's decision
    Standard appliedIf a question asks to change a standard requirement or relax a condition for a customer, only state what the standard requires and mark it as "Engineer confirmation required"
    OutputUse the conclusion only after engineer confirmation
Human approval
Step 4 remains with the responsible engineer. The AI Agent finds sources and organizes the answer, but an engineer must confirm any conclusion that affects a design change or quality decision before it is used.
Platform modules used
Knowledge base

For knowledge Q&A tasks, we recommend that every document include a version, date, and source, and that every answer cite the original location. The department must also assign someone to update documents and remove expired information. A large knowledge base does not guarantee success. Version control, validity periods, and maintenance processes determine whether answers can be trusted.

Screenshots show the Traditional Chinese interface.

01Add Standards to the Knowledge Base

EgentWrX knowledge base screen: The Bolt Tightening Torque Standard and Surface Treatment Standard have been uploaded. Both Wiki and vector formats show Ready. Other assets have been blurred.
  1. 1Add the Bolt Tightening Torque Standard and Surface Treatment Standard to the knowledge base.
  2. 2Start asking questions only after both documents show "Ready."

02Upload the Question List and Instructions

EgentWrX conversation screen: An employee uploads the R&D section's question list for the week. The instructions require answering each question from the two standards in the knowledge base, reporting when no supporting source is found, and leaving requests to relax standards for engineers to decide.
  1. 1Upload the employees' accumulated question list as an attachment.
  2. 2If no supporting source is found, state "No supporting source found" instead of answering from general engineering knowledge.
  3. 3For requests to relax a standard, only state what the standard requires and leave the decision to an engineer.

03Execution Process

EgentWrX execution screen: After reading the question list, the AI Agent searches the knowledge base for the Bolt Tightening Torque Standard. It then cites knowledge base content for each question and first confirms the currently effective revisions of both standards.
  1. 1Search the knowledge base for the Bolt Tightening Torque Standard.
  2. 2Cite the original standard text from the knowledge base for each question.
  3. 3First confirm the currently effective revisions of both standards.

04Answer Table

EgentWrX table view: An answer table for 9 questions shows the answer, source, and whether engineer confirmation is required. The aluminum torque answer includes the calculation. The two questions not covered by the standards are marked as having no supporting source.
  1. 1Show the aluminum torque calculation using the latest value of 35 N·m.
  2. 2Cite the document number, revision, and section.
  3. 3For the stainless steel bolt and M14 questions not covered by the standards, respond "No supporting source found."
  4. 4Mark the customer's request to relax the requirement as requiring engineer confirmation.
03

Numbers

Standards lookup saves an estimated 4 to 12 hours per month, and issue troubleshooting saves 0.5 to 1.5 hours per month

4–12hoursEstimated monthly savings from standards lookup
0.5–1.5hoursEstimated monthly savings from issue troubleshooting

Source: An unnamed automotive parts manufacturer advised by Intellicon Solutions

04

FAQ

Will the AI Agent make up an answer if the knowledge base does not contain one?
No. This process is designed to report that no supporting source was found when it cannot find the original source. It does not answer from the language model's general knowledge. In our client projects, fluent answers without sources are the most common cause of failure in knowledge Q&A.
How do you prevent searches from returning an old standard when both old and new versions exist?
Each document is labeled with its version and validity period when it is added to the knowledge base. The department owner removes expired versions. Keeping old and new standards together without validity periods is one of the most common problems in these tasks. Each answer also includes the version so employees can verify it.
Should we add all documents at once?
We do not recommend it. Adding a large batch of unorganized files to the knowledge base makes accurate answers more difficult. A more reliable approach is to start with the standards and issue records that employees ask about most often, organize their versions and sources, and then expand gradually.

Where to go next

30 minutes to map out which work to hand to AI first

Want every employee to have their own AI teammate?

A consultant will be in touch shortly.