How Microsoft’s Copilot 365 AI Transformed Balfour Beatty

UK infrastructure contractor Balfour Beatty has deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot across its entire workforce to tackle a US$10bn annual issue: preventable errors in construction tasks.

With 27,000 employees, the company leverages Microsoft’s Gen AI assistant to cut down on rework, a cause of 40% of construction safety incidents.

The AI deployment includes major UK infrastructure projects such as the Sizewell C nuclear power station, Rolls-Royce non-fissile facilities, the Lower Thames Crossing and Net Zero Teesside.

Jon Ozanne, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Balfour Beatty, says on the business gains from reducing rework: “We know that rework has a cost – it takes time, it takes money and it carries health and safety implications by requiring our people to return to work at short notice.” 

Microsoft 365 Copilot integrates with Office applications to streamline tasks via natural language commands, functioning across Balfour Beatty's Microsoft infrastructure, including SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams.

For Balfour Beatty, this ensures quality processes are thoroughly integrated from project inception.

“This is about how we make sure we build things right the first time,” Jon says.

“It’s about how we can use technology to make sure that we’ve got the right test plans, inspections, and people in place before starting work.”

The role of Copilot in enhancing data access at Balfour Beatty

The AI assistant has demonstrated noticeable productivity gains throughout Balfour Beatty’s operations.

According to internal surveys from early adopters, 75% of users report that Copilot has enhanced their work, 77% spend less mental effort on routine tasks, 78% observe communication improvements and 66% would seek future positions where Copilot is available.

Microsoft 365 Copilot processes data across the company’s existing Microsoft ecosystem, including SharePoint, OneDrive and Exchange, facilitating instant access to historical project data that previously required manual searches through multiple systems.

“Finding information is now so much easier,” Jon says.

“Copilot has proven itself hugely effective in mining our suite of Microsoft software to find and unify our data.”

The impact is most apparent in client documentation requests.

“Sourcing information relating to historic jobs and presenting it to a customer wanting assurance that all due processes were followed and everything built correctly has been hugely time-consuming in the past, but very necessary,” Jon says.

Microsoft’s AI assistant now manages these requests rapidly.

Project teams have also noted improvements in meeting management. Martin McGough, project director, says: “Copilot has completely changed the way we run planning and problem-solving meetings. By handling the note-taking and action tracking, it frees everyone up to focus on discussions. It has saved hours of manual review.”

The future of AI in Balfour Beatty’s operations

Jon anticipates Microsoft will introduce task-specific AI agents within the next year for construction’s “middle office” functions such as estimation, planning, design and quality assurance management.

These would utilise Microsoft’s agent framework to transition from data presentation to autonomous action-taking based on project conditions.

“An AI tool might say ‘there’s been an unexpected event on-site and it’s changed the plan. Would you like me to reorder your equipment, or would you like me to change your actions moving forward?’” he explains.

Microsoft 365 Copilot also processes data streams to identify local employment opportunities and educational institutions that could benefit from project activity.

“AI is enabling us to aggregate and use data to understand how we can benefit the environment around us,” Jon says.

Balfour Beatty’s collaboration with Microsoft incorporates Power BI, Power Apps, Office365 and Azure. The deployment of Copilot builds upon this existing architecture rather than necessitating new systems integration.

Jon also notes personal productivity improvements thanks to Microsoft’s AI assistant. “For me personally, Copilot is transcribing meetings; it’s capturing my actions; it’s prompting and enabling me to be more productive,” he says.

“This isn’t about eliminating 100% of what people do – but it definitely gives them a launchpad to move forward from.

“Ultimately, this technology is going to expand on what we’ve already started. We’re going to put fewer humans in physical danger, reduce cost-of-delivery and minimise errors in construction.”