Nightingale HQ & CTAG: AI for Metals Manufacturing

Caerphilly, Wales, 2026. Nightingale HQ and the Automotive Technology Centre of Galicia (CTAG) have completed a 12-month international research project. It puts Digital Twin (DT) technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered analytics to work in real manufacturing environments. Production managers using GoSmarter.ai tools are already saving up to one month of manual work per year. Optimisation trials show up to 50% reductions in production scrap.

The project is called Driving Sustainability in Manufacturing (DSM). It was funded through the Welsh Government’s VInnovate (Interregional Innovation) programme. It brought together Nightingale HQ, CTAG, and technology partner OVEUN: two organisations from Galicia, one from Wales.

The Pressure Manufacturers Are Under

The market is squeezing steel and metals manufacturers from every direction:

Energy costs that compress margins quarter after quarter
Skills shortages that stretch already lean teams
Sustainability targets that require hard evidence, not promises
Critical processes still running on paper, spreadsheets, and manual judgement

GoSmarter.ai was built for exactly this situation: the metals AI toolkit that cuts waste and automates compliance without replacing your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), ripping out your spreadsheets, or running a twelve-month implementation project. The platform works on top of the systems you already use, including email-based order intake, CSV stock exports, and ERP platforms like Dynamics, Epicor, or Sage. It surfaces real operational insights from the factory data you are already generating. Ruth Kearney and Steph Locke founded Nightingale HQ in 2018 to fix a specific problem. Nobody else was tackling the long-standing inefficiencies across the metals sector directly.

What CTAG Brings to the Table

CTAG is a national research centre in Spain. Its Manufacturing and Digital Transformation Division covers Smart Factories, Cybersecurity, and Quantum Computing. Its simulation facilities and specialist teams know automotive production from the inside out.

Combining CTAG’s simulation capability with Nightingale HQ’s data and AI expertise created something neither could have built alone. Galicia’s strong automotive manufacturing base, paired with Wales’s established strengths in digitalisation and technology, made this an unusually well-matched collaboration.

“VInnovate showed the real value of international collaboration. By combining CTAG’s advanced simulation facilities with Nightingale HQ’s data and AI capabilities, we were able to develop and test solutions that support more sustainable and efficient manufacturing processes.”
Dr. Angel Dacal, Head of Innovation and Impact in Manufacturing, CTAG

How the Digital Twin Works

Work centred on building a Digital Twin that simulates a real automotive manufacturing process. The system creates a near real-time representation of production, covering:

Simulation of energy consumption and emissions
Monitoring of production outputs
Evaluation and optimisation of operational strategies

The Nightingale HQ team analysed energy data extracted from robotic systems. They built a visualisation layer that surfaces insights from multiple analytical modules. That makes complex machine data readable and actionable for production teams.

What the Data Actually Shows

The solution ingests raw machine-activity data, cleans it automatically, and converts it into interactive analytics. Production teams get clear visibility into:

Machine activities: robotic operations, sanding, polishing
Energy usage patterns over time
Statistically detected anomalies: GoSmarter flags unusual spikes or drops before they become costly problems

Analysis started with a single machine dataset and expanded to multi-machine coverage. Cross-machine decision support is in development.

Explore the Digital Twin platform: ctagdt.gosmarter.ai

Watch the Project Overview

The video Driving Sustainability in Manufacturing — CTAG and Nightingale HQ project overview walks through the 12-month DSM project: how the Digital Twin was built, what the energy data reveals about robotic manufacturing processes, and the commercial outcomes for GoSmarter.ai.

What the Project Delivered for Nightingale HQ

The VInnovate project did more than prove a technical concept. It accelerated Nightingale HQ’s product development in ways a standard Research and Development (R&D) budget rarely allows.

Ruth Kearney, CEO at Nightingale HQ, said:

“The support gave us the time and resources to undertake the research needed to validate the technology in real factory environments and bring our first commercial product to market. It enabled us to test new ideas working on Digital Twin systems developed by our collaborators, where we get to learn from other experts and transfer valuable knowledge.”

The project enabled Nightingale HQ to:

Launch its first commercial GoSmarter.ai product and gain early market traction
Validate real-world use cases within metals and automotive manufacturing
Scope further innovations tailored to steel and metals manufacturers
Build lasting research partnerships with specialist institutions like CTAG, with deep expertise in automotive and industrial manufacturing

Steph Locke, Head of Product at Nightingale HQ, said:

“Wales’s success rests on its manufacturing base and, increasingly, on its growing tech startup community. The VInnovate programme enabled us to collaborate internationally and achieve more for manufacturing through technology. Beyond funding, the Welsh Government’s innovation advisors bring real, practical value to R&D-intensive businesses.”

Already Delivering on the Factory Floor

The Research and Development (R&D) work done during DSM feeds directly into the impact GoSmarter.ai is having on real factory floors today. GoSmarter.ai targets four outcomes that operations directors and finance directors both care about:

Mill Cert Processor — cert PDF to linked stock record in seconds

When a certificate PDF arrives, GoSmarter reads it, extracts the heat number, grade, spec, and quantity, and links that data to your live stock count automatically. Any cert that does not match the order spec is flagged immediately, before the material moves. That means non-conformances caught early, a full audit trail built automatically, and up to one month of manual processing time reclaimed per production manager per year. Once certs are digitised and linked, that data feeds straight into cutting plans and job scheduling.

Scrap reduction: Long product optimisation trials show 20–50% reductions in production scrap, depending on product mix. Service centres processing bar and structural steel see the highest gains.
On-Time In Full (OTIF) improvement: faster cert processing means material is confirmed to job spec before it is too late to source an alternative. Fewer last-minute substitutions means fewer missed delivery dates.
Decarbonisation: less scrap means less steel produced for the same output. Less scrap means lower emissions. That is a direct, measurable contribution to decarbonisation targets.

Nightingale HQ’s founders were recently on site in Port Talbot, delivering AI readiness training to the leadership team at Tata Steel UK. Tata Steel is investing in low-carbon steelmaking. GoSmarter is helping make that transition stick. Both strands of work align directly with the Welsh Government’s Innovation Strategy, particularly its economy and climate missions.

What Comes Next

VInnovate proved the concept. Now Nightingale HQ is using the Welsh Government’s SMART Flexible Innovation Support (SFIS) programme to fund the next phase of GoSmarter.ai product development. The focus: deeper automation, sharper waste tracking, and tools that help manufacturers meet sustainability targets with real operational data rather than estimates.

FAQs

What is the VInnovate programme?

VInnovate is a Welsh Government-funded interregional collaboration programme. It supports Welsh businesses to work with international research institutes and industry partners to accelerate Research and Development (R&D) and commercialisation. The programme provides funding and practical innovation support, connecting Welsh companies with expertise beyond their domestic market. VInnovate gave Nightingale HQ access to CTAG’s simulation facilities and manufacturing expertise in Spain. That accelerated GoSmarter.ai’s development substantially.

What is a Digital Twin in the context of manufacturing?

A Digital Twin (DT) is a virtual representation of a physical manufacturing process. It mirrors real-world operations in near real time. Production teams can simulate energy use, test operational strategies, and catch anomalies before they become costly. The CTAG and Nightingale HQ Digital Twin simulates an automotive manufacturing environment, including robotic activities and energy consumption patterns. Access the live platform at ctagdt.gosmarter.ai.

What was the Driving Sustainability in Manufacturing project?

Driving Sustainability in Manufacturing (DSM) was a 12-month international research project funded through the Welsh Government’s VInnovate programme. The consortium included Nightingale HQ from Wales, and CTAG and technology partner OVEUN from Galicia, Spain. The project focused on three things: developing Digital Twin technology, validating AI tools in live factory environments, and launching GoSmarter.ai’s first commercial product. All of it was aimed at cutting waste and emissions in manufacturing.

What is SFIS and what is Nightingale HQ building with it?

SMART Flexible Innovation Support (SFIS) is a Welsh Government programme that helps businesses accelerate product development with targeted R&D funding. Following VInnovate, Nightingale HQ is using SFIS to fund the next phase of GoSmarter.ai. That means deeper production automation, improved waste tracking, and sustainability reporting built specifically for metals manufacturers.

Nightingale HQ Partners With CTAG to Drive AI-Powered Sustainability in Manufacturing