Provisional patent application filed with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office covers a system and method for AI-augmented
enterprise transformation
CLEVELAND, Ohio - [Nov 12 2026] - IPE Services today announced that its Integrated Process Excellence℠ framework is now patent pending. Founder and CEO John Cachat filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the USPTO issued its official filing receipt.
The application, titled "Integrated process excellence: a system and method for AI-augmented enterprise transformation," covers the IPE process deployment framework that IPE Services delivers to organizations across manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceutical, steel, and other sectors. The USPTO also granted a foreign filing license on April 15, 2026, clearing the way for international protection.
IPE is a six-step process deployment framework: Create a Positive Environment, Define the Process, Document the Process, Communicate the Process, Measure and Control the Process, and Continuous Improvement. The six steps form a self-reinforcing cycle that applies at every level, from a single department to a plant, an enterprise, or a full supply chain.
At the core of IPE is the KIV-KPV-KOV causal data
architecture, which links Key Input Variables, Key Process Variables, and Key
Output Variables. This structure gives both employees and AI models a clear,
causal picture of how work gets done and how outcomes are produced. IPE
Services supports the framework with 81 sector-specific IPE Packs, which serve
as ready-to-deploy process intelligence libraries.
IPE is a direct evolution of Integrated Process Management
(IPM), the discipline Roger Slater developed in the 1990s and documented in his
1996 foundational work. Cachat has modernized that proven foundation for the AI
era, positioning IPE as the operating structure organizations need before AI
can deliver reliable results.
Founder Statement
"Most organizations are trying to bolt AI onto processes that were never clearly defined in the first place," said John Cachat, Founder and CEO of IPE Services. "Integrated Process Excellence℠ gives companies the process structure and causal data that both people and AI models need to perform. Reaching patent-pending status is an important milestone in protecting that work and bringing it to more organizations around the world."
The filing reflects more than 30 years of Cachat's
operational excellence experience across aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical,
and manufacturing industries.
About IPE Services
IPE Services helps organizations prepare their operations
for the AI era through the Integrated Process Excellence℠ (IPE) process
deployment framework. IPE combines a six-step deployment cycle, the KIV-KPV-KOV
causal data architecture, and a library of 81 sector-specific IPE Packs to
define, document, control, and continuously improve how work gets done. IPE
Services is based in Cleveland, Ohio.
About John Cachat
John Cachat is the Founder and CEO of IPE Services and the
creator of the Integrated Process Excellence℠ framework. He previously founded
IQS Inc., a global enterprise eQMS software company. Cachat chaired the ASQ
Quality 4.0 Content Management Committee and is a long-standing ASQ Quality 4.0
leader. He holds a BSIE from Kettering University and an MSIE from Texas A&M,
and is the author of a nine-book Amazon series on IPE and process excellence
for the AI era. His books are available on his Amazon author page.
Media Contact
John Cachat, Founder and CEO IPE Services
johncachat@ipe.services
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