Dive Brief:
- Continuing on its push to add artificial intelligence throughout its business, London-based builder Balfour Beatty has invested 7.2 million pounds ($9.6 million) into tech giant Microsoft’s AI offering, Microsoft 365 Copilot, according to a July 31 news release.
- Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant embedded within Microsoft 365 applications will operate securely within Balfour Beatty’s compliant and confidential IT environment, which is distinct from publicly available tools, according to the news release.
- Alongside the investment, the company plans to develop AI agents to improve its quality, health and safety and assurance processes, with the first trial at an infrastructure project in Scotland, according to the news release. Balfour Beatty announced the AI development push in March 2024, during its full-year earnings call.
Dive Insight:
Balfour Beatty is running a pilot of the tech at the 185 million pound A9 project in Scotland, a road improvement job where the firm is upgrading a single-lane highway to two lanes, constructing four new bridges and delivering new side roads together with various junction upgrades.
The AI agent, which focuses on inspection and test plans, identifies common issues that include incorrect or outdated templates reaching technical experts. As a result, the agent enhances the consistency, efficiency and quality of ITPs, according to Balfour Beatty.
By automating the manual review process, which traditionally takes several hours and is repeated thousands of times across the company, the tool accelerates delivery and allows engineers to focus on high-value tasks such as design assurance and technical problem-solving, which ultimately boosts productivity, per the news release.
“This investment isn’t just about embracing technology,” said Jon Ozanne, Balfour Beatty’s chief information officer, in the news release. “It’s about ensuring our business remains at the forefront of competitiveness and cyber security.”
