Case Study: Strata

At Strata, AI success is 80% people, 20% technology

How the engineering firm is embedding AI across operations, while keeping human judgement at the centre.

• 18% reduction in planning durations
• 10–20 days earlier identification of critical risks
• 20% improvement in engineer utilisation
• 80 projects per month across Europe, feeding Strata Nucleus
• 33% year-on-year growth as a business context stat
• 12-month AI engineer placement through CeADAR, later made permanent

Construction projects are notoriously hard to predict, with delays and risks emerging with little warning. At Strata, AI now helps flag many of those risks up to 20 days before they’d otherwise surface. But the real work in getting there, says Operations Director Melissa Sheridan, was never really about the technology.

Strata is a specialist engineering firm providing project controls and digital construction services for complex projects across healthcare, infrastructure, transport, energy and data centres.

Founded in 2016, it has grown to more than 70 people across Ireland, the UK, Sweden and Brazil, with work that spans everything from rail projects to data centres.

From admin to agents

Strata’s AI journey moved in stages, starting with off-the-shelf tools to improve productivity and cut down on admin. 

“Half our team works in Copilot, the other half in Claude, for everything from creating content to finding documents,” says Sheridan. “Then we developed internal AI agents to give people instant access to business knowledge.”

“Only after that did we begin using AI and machine learning to analyse historical project data to identify patterns and risks and improve planning.”

A key turning point came through CeADAR, an Enterprise Ireland and IDA-funded technology centre that helps Irish businesses build AI into their operations. Strata secured a 12-month Work Ready Graduate Training Programme placement through the centre, bringing an AI engineer onto the team in 2025. When the placement ended in early 2026, Strata made the role permanent.

Built on its own data

That groundwork fed into Strata Nucleus, a proprietary platform built to make sense of project data at scale. “We’re working on about 80 projects a month across Europe,” Sheridan says. “We bring all of that data back into one place and apply machine learning to it, to help inform future projects.”

The results so far show planning durations cut by up to 18%, critical risks flagged 10 to 20 days earlier and engineer utilisation up by around 20%. Strata has also built AI-enabled automation into its 4D visualisation platform, speeding up the construction animations it creates for clients.

It’s the kind of process-focused innovation Enterprise Ireland supports through programmes such as Digital Process Innovation, helping businesses bring in digital technologies to improve how work gets done.

The 80/20 rule

For all the platforms, certifications and AI now running through Strata’s operations and service delivery, Sheridan is clear about where the real work happens.

“The biggest lesson has been that successful AI projects are far less about the technology than most people think,” she says. “Our experience is that AI success is 20% technology and 80% people. Leadership, communication, change management and clear business objectives determine whether AI delivers value.”

That extends to how Strata’s engineers use the tools day-to-day. “AI should support human expertise, not replace it,” she says. “The professionals who create the most value are the ones who challenge AI-generated analysis, apply their own judgement and know when the technology is wrong.”

Her advice to other businesses starting their AI journey reflects the same thinking. “Start with the business problem, not the technology,” she says. “Identify a process where AI can create measurable value, begin with a focused pilot and learn quickly. Invest as much in leadership and change management as you do in the technology itself.”

For Strata, the next stage goes beyond running more pilots. It is about moving what already works into everyday practice, embedding AI into decision-making while keeping human judgement at the centre.

Ready to move AI from pilot to practice? Speak to your Enterprise Ireland Client Advisor about supports to help you strengthen capability, improve processes and scale digital innovation.

Explore AI supports

Embed AI into business processes

Use Digital Process Innovation to support larger digital transformation and process improvement projects.

Access AI and technical expertise

Connect with CeADAR, Technology Centres or European Digital Innovation Hubs to explore specialist AI, data and innovation support.

Build the skills to scale

Explore supports such as Spotlight on Skills, Training Funding Support or Key Manager Support to strengthen the people and capability behind AI adoption.