With technology at the core of the business, Cahill Design began exploring AI opportunities after engaging with the Innovate UK BridgeAI team at Digital Construction Week 2024. Through expert guidance from an Independent Scientific Advisor, Hartree Centre learning programmes, and participation in BSI’s ISO 27001 training and the BridgeAI Standards Community, the team

Challenge

Cahill Design wanted to understand how AI could strengthen its competitive advantage and improve productivity, specifically with:

Automating technical reports

Consultants spend significant time producing reports containing repeated, standardised content. Cahill Design is exploring a bespoke AI model trained on historical report data to automatically generate and update these sections – freeing consultants to focus on complex design decisions and client advisory work.

Answering client FAQs

The team aims to develop an AI assistant capable of answering simple report related queries and triaging more complex questions to consultants. This would reduce time spent responding to simple, frequently asked questions while ensuring clients receive timely, accurate information.

Analysing Acoustic Data

Consultants currently spend a lot of time manually reviewing audio datasets to identify noise sources. An AI system could automatically process field data, distinguish typical vs. atypical noise, and support the generation of preliminary design recommendations – accelerating analysis and improving consistency.

Results and impact

Although full deployment is still ahead, Cahill Design has already realised benefits:

• A defined, coherent AI adoption strategy to achieve their objectives informed by specialist guidance.
• Improved digital readiness, supported by various training and modernised IT and digital systems.
• More robust information governance, strengthened through ISO 27001-aligned practices.
• Increased internal capability, as the team upskilled through BridgeAI resources.
• Greater organisational purpose and confidence.

BridgeAI support

Through BridgeAI, Cahill Design accessed:

• BSI’s expert training on ISO 27001 to strengthen information security foundations.
• 1:1 guidance from an Independent Scientific Advisor from the Turing Institute.
• Hartree Centre learning programmes.
• Various guidance and resources via the BridgeAI Standards Community.

This support has provided the structure and expertise needed to progress early stage ideas into viable development plans.

Lessons Learned and Future Plans

Cahill Design is now moving toward piloting and operationalising its AI models.

Our scientific advisor has been incredibly helpful. We now have the right expertise guiding our AI projects, supported by excellent training resources that are building capability across the team. There’s a real sense of purpose around AI—healthy scepticism has become inquisitive, progressive thinking.

– Mark Scaife, Head of Acoustics, Cahill Design Consultants