What happens when Project Managers stop doing admin

4-7 hours reclaimed weekly across a data centre engineering team

Q1/Q2 2025

Industry: Data Centre Engineering

Key outcomes

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4–7 hours saved weekly per person weekly, measured across the project

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90% reduction in research time: 2-3 hours cut to 10-30 minutes

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43% said they could do more strategy thinking

"Tasks that once took hours now take minutes. I’m saving around four hours a week and expect that to grow as I build confidence with the tools."

Executive summary

Building Competitive Advantage with AI

A leading data centre engineering company, operating across multiple EMEA countries, chose to embed AI skills across its teams early rather than wait for competitors. Following a successful 2024 pilot, a programme was rolled out to project managers and engineering design teams.

The results were immediate: 4–7 hours reclaimed per person every week, research tasks cut by 90%, and a team of internal AI champions now carrying adoption into the rest of the business

The challenge

High-Value Engineers Buried in Admin

Project managers and design teams in the built environment handle complex, high-stakes projects. Yet too much of their week was consumed by:

Manual documentation and repetitive report writing
Time-intensive research and data gathering
Meeting notes and follow-ups that slowed delivery
Drafting communications for diverse stakeholders

Across a team, this meant the equivalent of several full-time roles lost to low-value tasks - time that could instead be spent on design, coordination, and strategy.

The approach

Customised AI Training for Project Managers

Rather than introducing new systems or disrupting existing workflows, the AI Institute delivered hands-on training tailored to specific project management and engineering design tasks.

Report Writing & communications – generative AI for drafting and quality verification built-in
Technical research – faster answers through AI-driven search and synthesis
Meeting documentation – automated transcription and action item extraction
Visual communication – AI-assisted diagram creation and presentation development

Training was practical and role-specific, applied to live work from day one, with peer learning across the group so the skills stuck.

The results

Measurable Gains from Day One

4–7 hours saved per person weekly,measured across the team
90% reduction in research time: 2–3 hours cut to 10–20 minutes
43% said they could do more strategic thinking, on top of productivity gains

Time Savings (validated through participant feedback analysis)

What Participants Said

On Time Savings

"Tasks that once took hours now take minutes. I’m saving around four hours a week and expect that to grow as I build confidence with the tools."

On Quality

"The AI training helps me check the quality of emails and reports quickly. Outputs are clearer, visuals more effective, and communications smoother."

On Team Culture

"The training encouraged us to experiment together. It created a positive, collaborative atmosphere and sparked knowledge sharing across the group."

On Strategic Impact

"AI is enabling our junior roles to cover more ground and giving senior staff more time for client and project strategy."

Looking Ahead

On the back of this project's success, the company has appointed the AI Institute as its trusted partner to develop and create customised AI training for additional cohorts. We're now designing programmes for further teams and departments, creating advanced modules for specialist engineering roles, and supporting the firm's internal network of AI champions — every tool introduced in the programme is still in daily use.
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Engineering and data centre teams that adopt AI early are gaining measurable competitive advantage. This case study shows that even without large system changes, practical AI training delivers immediate ROI and long-term benefits.

Your project managers are losing 4–7 hours a week on admin.

We'll build the training that gets it back.
Customised AI training based on your company workflows, tech stack and projects.
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📩 Book a discovery call to see how much time your engineering team could save. Brief report included. No obligation.

More case studies

156,600 hours saved annually

equal to 83 full-time staff or €4.98 million in value for a mid-sized engineering firm.

View Case Study

“Helps me with the work that drains me. Frees me to think outside the box and really use the power of AI.”

Director, Global Engineering Firm