Do you work directly for a manufacturing company/relevant company? I wonder if this would be a better opportunity for an outside firm in a longer-term contract

Do you work directly for a manufacturing company/relevant company? I wonder if this would be a better opportunity for an outside firm in a longer-term contractual role, so that they both have some autonomy but also access to the data. At least that way they come away with field-knowledge but would obviously be restricted in terms of the proprietary data. I don't know how real-world unrealistic I am being, but for instance: - Pitch the potential project, including its mass of limitations, but also its end product / projects given x is possible, y is possible, z is possible, etc - Present a contract that allows for years, potentially, and enough running capital to hire a staff that can handle modeling the schema, collecting arranging the data, interviewing the experts and quantifying their understanding if necessary. I mean, if there's a perceived and expected value out of doing it, surely there could be some compromise like start with one sub-process and one type of machine and go from there? Do you imagine it should need to be holistic? Or, maybe design a new machine? For instance, at a major auto sub-manufacturer they are extremely critical and thorough with their quality controls. Currently, this is done 100% manually. Parts (pre- and post-assembly) every N parts or H hours are pulled off the line while the line runs, taken to the lab, welds tested, measurements tested against calibrations, and in some cases chemical tests made to ensure proper galvanization. That data could be entered initially and measurement data accumulate pretty rapidly. I'm sure that process could be replaced for the most part using the AI/ML.