A day for the electrical trade.The next decisive move.
On 11 July, we opened our new Cologne-Ehrenfeld office with practical ideas, honest conversations and people who are moving the electrical trade forward.
Founder Steven • AI in the trades- 11 July 2026
- One Saturday together
- Cologne-Ehrenfeld
- Opening at Alpenerstr. 16
- Electrical trade
- For owners, master electricians and decision-makers
- Practice & exchange
- Shaping digital work together
A new place for ideas, connection and progress
Hero Community Day marked the opening of our office at Alpenerstr. 16. For one day, the new space became a meeting point for the electrical trade.
Bridging hands-on trade experience and a digital future, the day focused on questions businesses face every day: How can processes become clearer? Where does AI help in practical terms? And how can inspection and documentation work better together?
The keynote motif, “Every move counts”, ran through the day. Progress rarely comes from one giant leap. It grows from good decisions, practical tools and open exchange with people who understand the same challenges.
“Every move counts.”
You remain the king. We build the queen.
“Every move counts” translated day-to-day business into a chess game: many roles work together, responsibility needs perspective – and AI only becomes useful when it understands the context of the business.
Open the full presentationExplore the full story, key ideas and practical examples.The king
Owners carry the responsibility. Every decision, signature and problem reaches them – even though the king is not the strongest piece on the board.
The missing queen
She sees the whole board, can make every move and protects the king. In the keynote, she represents AI grounded in the company's own context.
The board
ProtocolHero makes reports, quotes, forms, comments, appointments and contracts visible. Those recorded moves create the context from which a system can learn.
From tool to operating system
Understand
Recorded moves make the business visible as a complete system.
Recommend
With enough context, AI can prepare useful next steps.
Act
The vision: routine moves happen autonomously while people set the strategy.
“AI only gets good with context. Every recorded move feeds your queen.”
Hero Community Day in pictures
Talks, conversations, practical insights and a summer afternoon in Cologne-Ehrenfeld – the highlight video brings the day together.
It began with a question 75 years ago. Today, it is about your next move.
Three chapters connect the history of AI with everyday work in the trades – and show why context makes the difference.
- 01
How did AI come about?
From rule-based thinking to recognising patterns
In 1950, the Turing test asked: can machines think? Early programs and expert systems were followed by Deep Blue in 1997. Today, AI recognises patterns, generates language and acts.
1950
The Turing test
1997
Deep Blue · 200 million positions per second
Today
Recognise · generate · act
AI came of age on a chessboard.
- 02
What does AI have to do with the trades?
It starts where running a business gets complex
Decisions, signatures and problems all reach the owner – on top of the actual craft. Quotes, numbers, materials, people and schedules demand constant perspective.
Most of the time, the king simply plays the queen as well.
- Quotes·follow up consistently
- Numbers·keep them in view
- Daily work·materials · people · schedules
- 03
How is a business like a chessboard?
Context grows one move at a time
The board is the business and its own context. The pieces are the different roles across the team. Reports, quotes, forms, comments, appointments and contracts are visible moves from which AI can learn.
- Board
- business & context
- Pieces
- organisation · planning · delivery · responsibility
- Moves
- documented workflows & decisions
AI only gets good with context. Every recorded move feeds your queen.
Practical knowledge for day-to-day work
Four perspectives connected the day: better workflows, tangible AI, hands-on technology and peer exchange.
Digital processes
Structuring documentation and inspection workflows so information reaches the people who need it.
Practical AI
Tangible applications for everyday work – clear, realistic and grounded in real business tasks.
Hands-on demos
IDEAL Industries and Megger brought test technology, tools and practical perspectives into the conversation.
Peer exchange
Owners, master electricians and decision-makers shared experiences, questions and ideas during the sessions and beyond.
One day, many good conversations
Scenes from the sessions, practical demonstrations and the courtyard of our new office.
Thank you to everyone who shaped the day.
To our guests, partners and team: thank you for your knowledge, openness and genuine sense of community. If you'd like to join a future Hero Community Day or make sure you don't miss future announcements, send us a message.