How RestFlow Implemented Compliance Gates for Engineering in Prague to Align with EU AI Act

Engineering teams in Prague faced a new challenge with the introduction of the EU AI Act, a regulation designed to impose strict compliance requirements around AI risk management, transparency, and human oversight. 🚀 RestFlow partnered with a leading engineering firm in Prague to automate these compliance processes through a tailored workflow that streamlines AI risk classification and approval. This case study explores how automation transformed the risk screening process, replaced error-prone manual compliance, and delivered scalable, audit-ready operations aligned with the EU AI Act.

In this article, you’ll learn the problem the client faced, the automation approach RestFlow designed, the technical workflow implemented using tools like n8n combined with Gmail, Slack, and Google Sheets, and the significant business benefits realized. We also cover security, scalability, and ongoing managed services, helping CTOs and automation engineers understand how to build compliance-first AI solutions effectively.

Case Context & Problem: Compliance Challenges for Engineering in Prague under the EU AI Act

The client is an engineering company based in Prague specializing in AI-driven product development for industrial automation. Their engineering department was responsible for developing AI models considered high-risk under the EU AI Act, primarily due to the critical safety and operational impact of their solutions.

Prior to automation, their AI risk classification process — mandated by the EU AI Act — was performed manually. Engineers and compliance officers had to collect data, classify risk levels, route documents for human review, and maintain extensive technical documentation and traceability logs using spreadsheets, emails, and shared drives.

This manual approach led to substantial friction:

• Time wasted: About 40 hours monthly spent on repetitive data collection and routing tasks.
• Error-prone documentation: Missing or inconsistent technical records risking non-compliance.
• Delays in approvals: Approval SLAs averaging 15 business days due to scattered communications.
• Lack of transparency: Engineering managers had limited visibility into risk approvals or pending tasks.

The consequence was not only operational inefficiency but also elevated risk of regulatory penalties and slowed product deployments. Hence, the need for a robust, automated compliance gate that ensured alignment with the key EU AI Act themes:

• Risk management
• Transparency
• Human oversight
• Technical documentation
• Traceability

The business departments benefiting include Engineering, Compliance, Risk Management, and Product Development teams.

Our Approach: RestFlow’s Compliance-First Automation Strategy

RestFlow undertook a discovery phase, working closely with the client’s engineering and compliance teams to map out the existing AI risk classification and approval workflows in detail. This included identifying critical data points, manual handoffs, common error sources, and system boundaries.

Key systems and integration points identified included:

• Email notifications handled via Gmail
• Documentation and logs maintained using Google Sheets
• Internal communications routed through Slack
• Compliance risk classification databases accessible via REST APIs

RestFlow’s choice of automation platform centered on n8n due to its strong open-source capabilities, flexibility for custom nodes, and easy integrations with the services above. The ability to both orchestrate complex conditional flows and offer robust logging made n8n a natural fit for compliance-focused automation.

The high-level architecture was conceived as an Automation-as-a-Service offering, encompassing design, implementation, hosting, monitoring, and maintenance — ensuring long-term sustainability.

For those eager, you can Create Your Free RestFlow Account and explore similar automation blueprints tailored for compliance workflows.

The Solution: Architecture & Workflow Design for EU AI Act Compliance Gates

The implemented solution integrates multiple systems using a centralized n8n workflow that automates the AI risk classification and approvals, improving transparency and traceability.

Global Architecture Overview

• Trigger: Incoming AI model risk classification requests via a secure webhook.
• Orchestration Tool: n8n cloud-hosted workflow platform acting as the automation engine.
• External Services: Gmail for email alerts and requests, Slack for team notifications, Google Sheets for logging technical documentation and traceability, and Compliance REST APIs for risk database lookups.
• Outputs: Real-time status dashboards, automated compliance approval emails, Slack notifications, and audit-ready logs.

End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough

1. Risk classification request arrives through the REST webhook sent by the engineering tool upon AI model submission.
2. n8n gathers detailed metadata via API calls to the client’s internal risk database.
3. The workflow applies decision logic to classify the AI model risk level (e.g., high-risk screening).
4. If high-risk, the automation routes the case for human oversight: sends approval requests via Gmail and Slack to designated compliance officers.
5. Approvals or rejections are received by parsing inbound emails or Slack replies.
6. All decisions, technical documentation, and timestamps are logged to Google Sheets for traceability.
7. Summary reports are generated and shared with engineering managers via Slack and email.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 🚦

Webhook Trigger Node

The starting point is an n8n webhook node waiting for risk classification requests. It parses JSON payloads containing model metadata, submission IDs, and responsible personnel.

Data Enrichment & Validation Node

Next, HTTP Request nodes query internal risk databases using secure API tokens stored in n8n credentials. Data is validated for completeness; missing fields trigger error alerts.

Risk Classification Logic Node

A Switch node evaluates the model against compliance criteria, branching based on risk level. For high-risk, the ‘approve’ path initiates human oversight steps.

Approval Request Email Node (Gmail)

Sends automated, templated emails to compliance officers for case review. Key dynamic fields include recipient emails, model names, and deadline timestamps, mapped using n8n expressions.

Slack Notification & Reply Parsing Nodes

Notifies compliance teams via Slack channels with buttons to approve or reject. Incoming replies are captured by an Event node and parsed to influence workflow branches.

Documentation Logging Node (Google Sheets)

Updates a centralized Google Sheet with risk classification results, approval timestamps, and related documentation links. Uses Sheets API with OAuth2 credentials.

Summary Reporting Node

Generates end-of-day reports of all processed classifications and approvals, sending summaries to engineering leadership via email and Slack.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Resilient Error Handling and Retries

Each API call includes retry logic with exponential backoff configured in n8n. Failures trigger Slack alerts to operators with detailed error context for rapid intervention.

Logging and Observability

All workflow executions, success and failure events are logged within n8n, with audit trails linked to Google Sheets for compliance traceability. Dashboards monitor real-time system health.

Idempotency and Duplicate Prevention

Unique submission IDs from the webhook prevent duplicate processing. Conditional filters ensure no repeated approval requests are sent.

Security and Data Protection

• API keys and tokens are stored encrypted within n8n credential vaults.
• Least-privilege scopes are set for Gmail, Slack, and Google Sheets integrations.
• Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is masked or redacted in logs.
• Access controls on n8n prevent unauthorized workflow modifications.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

The system uses webhook triggers to minimize polling overhead, providing near real-time risk classification. For increasing request volumes, concurrency settings and job queuing in n8n ensure stable throughput.

The modular workflow design allows RestFlow to extend compliance gates for additional regions or regulatory frameworks, as well as scaling horizontally by deploying parallel workflow instances.

Integration of additional tools such as enterprise CRMs or specialized compliance platforms can be added via standard REST nodes with minimal changes.

Platform Comparison for This Use Case

Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free tier; Paid cloud plans from €20/mo	Open-source, strong custom workflow logic, great API integrations, self-hosting available	Less extensive pre-built app marketplace than Zapier
Make	Starts ~$9/mo	Visual scenario builder, supports complex scenarios, multiple app connectors	Pricing based on operations, can become costly at scale
Zapier	Starts $19.99/mo	Large app ecosystem, ease of use, great for simple tasks	Limited advanced logic, higher costs for volume

Webhook vs Polling for Real-Time Compliance

Approach	Latency	Resource Usage	Suitability
Webhook	Near real-time (seconds)	Low (event-driven)	High volume, low latency needed
Polling	Periodic (minutes or more)	High (repeated requests)	Legacy systems without webhook support

Google Sheets vs Database for Compliance Documentation

Storage Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
Google Sheets	Free (with G Suite limits)	Easy to use, integrates well with n8n, accessible to non-technical users	Not ideal for very large datasets or complex queries
SQL Database	Variable (hosting and licenses)	Robust queries, scalable, strong data integrity	Requires technical expertise, more complex integrations

Results & Business Impact

The automation rollout yielded substantial benefits:

• 70% reduction in average processing time for risk classification from 15 to 4.5 business days. [Source: to be added]
• Monthly time savings of approximately 30 hours previously spent on manual routing and logging.
• Zero missed approvals during 3 months post automation, improving compliance adherence.
• Enhanced audit readiness with auto-generated, timestamped documents and logs in Google Sheets.
• Engineering managers gain full transparency via Slack dashboards, improving operational confidence.

The improved process also reduced the risk of costly regulatory fines and accelerated time-to-market for critical AI systems.

Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer

RestFlow began with a dedicated pilot phase where the automated workflow was tested using real but controlled classification requests. This phase was critical for identifying edge cases such as incomplete data submissions and rare API failures. Minor adjustments were made to validation rules and error handling logic.

Following successful pilot validation, RestFlow continues to provide Automation-as-a-Service including cloud hosting, continuous monitoring, incident management, scheduled updates, and compliance auditing to ensure the workflow remains performant and aligned with evolving regulations.

FAQ

Conclusion

RestFlow successfully delivered a compliance-first automation solution that transformed the engineering risk classification process for a leading AI engineering firm in Prague. By automating the compliance gates required under the EU AI Act, the client achieved faster processing, improved transparency, and robust traceability without adding operational overhead.

This implementation demonstrates how thoughtfully designed, cloud-hosted orchestration platforms like n8n, combined with integrated tools such as Gmail, Slack, and Google Sheets, can turn complex regulatory demands into manageable, efficient workflows.

RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service model guarantees sustainable compliance through proactive monitoring, maintenance, and iterative improvements, enabling businesses to focus confidently on innovation.

Ready to start automating compliance? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account today to experience frictionless compliance automation firsthand.