HeyApps - Knowledge management for the metal industry
The knowledge management solution for the blue-collar sector
North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the strongest industrial regions in Europe and is characterized by a high proportion of jobs in the blue-collar sector, particularly in production and skilled trades. However, SMEs are facing growing challenges: The growing shortage of skilled workers, increased career changes, retirements and regional structural change are increasingly jeopardizing the competitiveness and future viability of many companies. The loss of experienced specialists, whose practical knowledge and many years of experience have often not been systematically secured to date, is particularly critical. This is where the HeyApps research project comes in with its knowledge management solution.
Challenges for SMEs
The idea for HeyApps arose from research work at Aachen University of Applied Sciences, which showed that small and medium-sized production and craft enterprises need low-threshold, practical knowledge management solutions. Many companies do not have suitable tools to capture practical knowledge directly at the workplace in an efficient, media- and AI-supported and data protection-compliant manner. Existing systems mostly focus on office workstations and are therefore unsuitable for workshops, halls and production environments. bluvero GmbH (formerly HeyApps) is closing this gap by using the HeyApps platform to capture knowledge where it is created and process it into easy-to-understand, interactive learning units using artificial intelligence.
A holistic technological approach
HeyApps' project focuses primarily on national companies that face the specific challenges of data protection, securing skilled workers and process digitalization and provides a tailor-made solution for the German blue-collar sector. Specialists in the blue collar sector are given new opportunities to secure their practical knowledge easily and efficiently. Using bodycams, smartphones or messenger services, experience and work processes can be recorded at the touch of a button. Supported by artificial intelligence, this content is automatically structured and processed into a digital image of the respective workplace. This combination of low-threshold recording, intelligent AI-supported processing and workplace-related presentation makes an important contribution to the digital transformation of the world of work. At the same time, it supports the modernization of industrial learning and qualification processes and sustainably strengthens the competitiveness of the industrial sector.
Setting the course for industrial and craft businesses in Europe
The permanent digital recording, storage and targeted transfer of specialist knowledge from local and regional companies can sustainably relieve companies, optimize work processes and shorten training times. On this basis, a nationwide scalable system can be created that can be used in numerous industrial and trade sectors. With this project, bluvero GmbH is addressing key EU objectives such as the digital transformation, the qualification of skilled workers and the strengthening of the labor market. In addition, the application in SMEs is an example of how European funding programs enable innovation in NRW.
Outlook: From prototype to market launch
HeyApps has already developed a prototype in 2025, which has been tested as part of pilot projects in NRW - so HeyApps is currently in the validation phase. 2026 will see the expansion of AI processing, the introduction of new functions such as feedback systems, API connections and certificates, scaling to other sectors and regions and the expansion of international research and transfer collaborations. A market-ready full version is planned for 2027, as well as the expansion to EU market segments, the establishment of a partner ecosystem and comprehensive support and implementation structures.
