Artificial intelligence is moving quickly from something electrical contractors are talking about to something they are actively putting to work inside their businesses.
Recently, Dynaimix AI CEO and Co-Founder Chris Carr had the opportunity to spend time in Detroit with SMC NECA, meeting with key executives and thought leaders representing approximately five to six Detroit-area electrical contracting companies for a hands-on session focused on “The Intelligent Use of AI for Electrical Contractors.”
The sessions took place in conjunction with NTI, the National Training Institute, during its annual training week, bringing together professionals from across the electrical industry for education, training, and collaboration.
Chris also had the opportunity to work with members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). This added an important perspective to the experience by connecting conversations about the future of artificial intelligence with the skilled professionals doing the work every day in the field.
Unlike a traditional keynote, these sessions provided an opportunity to bring electrical contracting leaders and industry professionals together, roll up their sleeves, and explore what AI implementation can actually look like across the industry.
After the working session, the group continued the conversations over food and a Detroit Tigers game.
Moving From Talking About AI to Using AI
One of the biggest challenges organizations face with artificial intelligence right now isn’t awareness. Most executives already know AI is going to have a significant impact on their organizations.
The bigger question is:
What do we actually do with it?
That’s what made these sessions so valuable.
Rather than simply talking about where artificial intelligence is headed, Chris focused on how electrical contractors can begin applying it to the work their companies are doing today.
That means looking at the real tasks happening throughout an electrical contracting organization and asking where AI can improve communication, reduce administrative work, accelerate workflows, organize information, and give employees more time to focus on higher-value responsibilities.
Learning From the People Doing the Work
One of the most valuable aspects of the experience was the opportunity to connect AI education with the people working throughout the electrical industry.
Working alongside members of the IBEW provided Chris with the chance to hear directly from skilled electrical professionals about the work they perform, the challenges they encounter, and the processes they rely on every day.
These conversations are critical when discussing the future of AI.
The best applications of artificial intelligence aren’t developed by simply looking at technology and asking what it can do. They come from understanding the people, processes, challenges, and opportunities that exist inside an industry.
The professionals working in the field bring a perspective that executives, technology companies, and consultants cannot replicate on their own.
Combining that boots-on-the-ground knowledge with the perspectives of electrical contracting executives creates a much clearer picture of where AI can provide meaningful value.
Hands-On AI for Electrical Contractors
The electrical contracting industry presents an enormous number of opportunities for AI.
Project managers, estimators, safety professionals, executives, administrators, sales teams, field leaders, and skilled tradespeople all interact with tremendous amounts of information every day.
Emails need to be written. Meetings need to be summarized. Documents need to be reviewed. RFIs need to be created. Project information needs to be located. Reports need to be generated. Customers and employees need answers.
AI can help accelerate many of these processes.
During the hands-on sessions, Chris helped participants understand how AI can fit into existing workflows while also identifying opportunities that go beyond basic productivity.
Substitutionary AI vs. Transformational AI
One of the concepts Chris frequently emphasizes is the difference between Substitutionary AI and Transformational AI.
Substitutionary AI helps organizations perform work they’re already doing—but faster.
If an employee spends 30 minutes drafting a document and AI helps complete it in five minutes, that’s valuable. Multiply those savings across hundreds of tasks and dozens or hundreds of employees, and the opportunity becomes significant.
But Transformational AI is where things become even more interesting.
Transformational AI allows organizations to develop capabilities and workflows that weren’t realistically possible before.
That’s where electrical contractors can begin thinking about custom AI systems, intelligent knowledge bases, autonomous AI agents, AI Vision, Natural Language Processing, and other technologies designed around the unique information and processes inside their businesses.
AI Strategy Starts With People
Technology alone isn’t an AI strategy.
One of the most important things electrical contractors can do right now is create AI literacy throughout their organizations.
That education cannot stop at the executive level.
Executives need to understand AI. Project managers need to understand it. Safety teams need to understand it. Administrators need to understand it. And the people closest to the actual work need a voice in determining where these technologies can provide value.
When the people closest to the work understand what’s possible with AI, they can begin identifying opportunities leadership or technology teams may never see on their own.
That is how AI adoption begins to scale.
Building the Future of the Electrical Industry Together
The collaboration between SMC NECA, NTI, the IBEW, electrical contractors, and industry professionals demonstrated something important about the Future of Work.
AI adoption shouldn’t happen in a vacuum.
It requires conversations between executives making strategic decisions, managers overseeing projects, and the skilled professionals performing the work every day.
After the working sessions, some of those conversations continued in a much more relaxed environment at a Detroit Tigers game, where the group had an opportunity to spend time together, enjoy some food, and continue exchanging ideas.
Those conversations matter.
The Future of Work isn’t just about technology. It’s about bringing people together, learning from one another, and determining how technology can make organizations—and the people inside them—more effective.
This philosophy is central to what Dynaimix calls Team Human.
The goal of artificial intelligence should not simply be to replace human effort. It should be to eliminate repetitive work and give talented people more time for leadership, craftsmanship, creativity, relationships, collaboration, strategic thinking, and problem-solving.
Key Takeaways for Electrical Contractors
- Start With Education: Build AI literacy throughout the organization, from executives and project managers to the professionals working closest to the job.
- Listen to the Field: The people doing the work every day can identify AI opportunities that may not be visible from the executive level.
- Identify Real Workflows: Examine actual daily tasks and determine where AI can save time, improve communication, or produce better outcomes.
- Measure the Value: Identify measurable improvements in productivity, communication, efficiency, and employee capacity.
- Think Beyond ChatGPT: Public AI tools are only the beginning. Custom AI, AI agents, AI Vision, RAG, and other technologies can create entirely new capabilities.
- Create AI Governance: Establish standards and an AI Council to guide responsible adoption across the organization.
- Keep People Central: AI should amplify the capabilities of talented people rather than remove the human expertise that makes the electrical industry work.
Thank You to SMC NECA, NTI, and the IBEW
Dynaimix AI would like to thank SMC NECA, NTI, the IBEW, and all of the electrical contracting executives, thought leaders, trainers, and industry professionals who spent time with Chris in Detroit.
The opportunity to work with both industry leadership and the professionals doing the work every day provided an important perspective on where artificial intelligence can have the greatest impact.
As AI continues to evolve, some of the best ideas won’t come exclusively from technology companies or executive boardrooms.
They will come from listening to the people who understand the work.
That’s what Team Human is all about.
