From the cockpit to the factory floor: safety-critical methods for lower-risk AI adoption

On 12–13 October 2026, the 22nd INSME Annual Meeting brought together SMEs, innovation agencies and policymakers in Heraklion, Crete, with Enterprise Greece and INSME. Emmanouil (Manolis) Lidakis, CEO of SkyDynamics, spoke on the panel "The New Frontier: AI, Robotics and Automation as Drivers of SME Competitiveness."

At the panel, SkyDynamics proposed applying methods from safety-critical industries to new-technology and AI adoption in industrial manufacturing and other business processes, for SMEs as well as large companies. Four pipelines are at the core:

1. Assurance pipeline. Requirements, verification, validation and traceability for AI models, data and outputs, so results are reviewable and auditable.
2. Risk pipeline. Hazard identification, risk assessment and defined operating limits before anything goes live.
3. Change pipeline. Phased rollouts with checkpoints and rollback plans that keep cost and disruption under control.
4. Training pipeline. Competency-based training, so staff can use AI tools well and recognise when to challenge them.

Together they form a robust implementation plan that is hard to get wrong. It means a little more effort at the start in exchange for faster, lower-risk adoption of AI down the road.

At SkyDynamics, we apply this mindset every day in our software for aviation training, including our EBT/CBTA solutions and our TMS. Learn more at https://skydynamics.aero, or meet Manolis Lidakis and the team at EATS 2026, Booth 316, in Estoril (Cascais), 3–5 November.

Photo: Enterprise Greece

Event information

• Event: 22nd INSME Annual Meeting
• Dates: 12 to 13 October 2026
• Place: Heraklion, Crete
• Panel: The New Frontier: AI, Robotics and Automation as Drivers of SME Competitiveness