Ruth Kearney

Co-Founder & CEO

Ruth Kearney is CEO of Nightingale HQ, where she leads the mission to help manufacturers adopt AI and digital tools to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and strengthen competitiveness. With over 15 years’ experience in commercial strategy and innovation, she brings deep expertise in applying technology to solve real-world industrial challenges.

Before Nightingale HQ, Ruth built innovation and skills programs across Europe, including AI and data training initiatives for industry leaders. She has also supported research and manufacturing partnerships through technology transfer and European funding programs such as Horizon 2020 and the EIT networks.

Passionate about the future of manufacturing, Ruth focuses on equipping companies with practical digital solutions that deliver measurable impact on the factory floor.

Posts by Ruth Kearney

Accelerating digitalisation with UK electronics manufacturer Philtronics Limited

Accelerating digitalisation with electronics manufacturer Philtronics Limited

Midland Steel Manufacturing

Midland Steel is a market-leading reinforcing steel supplier in Ireland and the UK. They offer a diverse range of prefabricated rebar solutions. We completed a company-wide digital review looking at processes and technologies used across the business and delivered a comprehensive roadmap and action plan for implementation.

About Nightingale HQ

Nightingale HQ is a female-founder led startup focussed on transforming the metals industry with AI.

MAAS Case Study

MAAS are a leading Irish manufacturer of machined parts and components for an impressive range of customers including Apple, Stryker, Alcon, ESB, Abbott. A Digital Review with NHQ has helped them support future growth.

German research centre shares COVID-19 data globally

To support data sharing and knowledge dissemination, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research partnered with NHQ to create a global COVID-19 study platform.

TMD Technologies Manufacturing Case Study

TMD Technologies Limited (TMD) is among the world’s leading manufacturers of microwave tubes, high voltage power supplies, and transmitters for radar and communications applications. We helped them improve their back-office operations by deploying no code digital tools and delivering technical training.

Accelerating digitalisation in pallet manufacturing

CJS Group are the largest manufacturer of timber packaging and pallets in Ireland, with 350 staff across 10 locations. The company has a history of M&A activity, which has resulted in different operational approaches and systems from site to site, which has lead to a need to optimise through consolidation in order to scale further.

Data sharing platforms for Influenza and RSV

As part of the ongoing work on the causes and spread of respiratory disease, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Germany sought to build on the success of the open research platform collaborating on the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 (serohub.net). We rapidly scaled two additional open research platforms supporting greater collaboration on the seroprevalence of Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

Freight Logistics Green Mile Case Study

It’s widespread practice for freight carriers to provide a vehicle that is just ‘available’ and not consider its proximity to the collection point, or if there is a load available to fill its return journey leading to a waste of energy resources. Freight Logistics Solutions (FLS) have developed a Green Mile Carbon Saver Calculator using a transport matching algorithm that selects the closest carrier vehicle to the freight collection point (rather than the closest haulier depot) saving customers on cost and reducing carbon emissions.

Galetech Group Case Study

Galetech Group is a leading player in the renewable energy sector, offering a comprehensive set of solutions throughout the renewable energy lifecycle.

FAQ Chatbot helps business fly

Letterbox Lab uses chatbots to deal with unprecedented demand caused by the global pandemic.

Logistics firm liberates staff with data automation

After FLS Logistics realised how much time their staff spent on spreadsheets and data, they had to find an alternative. They wanted a data warehouse and our fast-track services were the perfect solution for them so that they could have near real-time visibility without increasing IT headcount. They freed up more than 50% of staff’s time from laborious data entry!

COVID Loan Tracker

We were featured in the Covid loan tracker as one of five small businesses helping companies to thrive during the pandemic.

Cardiff University

Steph Locke (BA 2008), a Cardiff University Philosophy graduate founded Nightingale HQ, a digital platform for Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption in 2018. Named with inspiration from Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale, Steph set out to make a positive impact on local businesses, aiding their AI Readiness and giving them the tools to grow, drive success and innovate.

The Irish Times

“Our aim is to help companies overcome the core blockers to successful AI adoption, and rather than doing this individually which would take forever, Steph developed a platform that any company can access to get up to speed,” says Kearney.

TechRound

Many SMEs like ourselves are having to look at new ways to do more by using automation tools to streamline and increase productivity. There are 5.8 million SMEs in the UK impacted by COVID and one of the major positives that the global pandemic has brought about is an accelerated level of digital transformation and automation to business. There is a much greater emphasis on adopting AI and automation tools to help them scale, innovate and become more agile.

Federation of Small Businesses

The Federations of Small Businesses ran a story on how Nightingale HQ are bringing automation and AI to SMEs across the UK.

Business News Wales

Nightingale HQ featured in Business News Wales after offering Free AI & Automation Software to businesses.

Forbes

Forbes featured us in a story, as one of five startups helping companies to survive and thrive beyond Covid-19.

Nightingale HQ joins forces with King’s College London

Nightingale HQ joins forces with AI faculty at King’s College London.

Best GreenTech Finalist at Wales Technology Award

We’re proud to be finalists in this year’s Wales Technology Awards in the Best GreenTech category, and to be part of a community of innovators from across Wales.

Highlights from UK Metals Expo 2025

Nightingale HQ team join the metals community at UK Metals Expo 2025. CEO Ruth Kearney shares her highlights.

CBAM Explained: The Financial Case for Cutting Scrap

The steel industry faces increasing pressure to decarbonise, with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) set to become a decisive factor by 2026. Scrap is no longer just a production inefficiency it directly increases reported emissions and carbon costs. For Finance and Sustainability Managers, reducing scrap is now central to meeting carbon targets and protecting margins.

Smart Cuts, Less Scrap: A 1D Cutting Stock Problem

In rebar manufacturing, scrap directly impacts profitability and sustainability, making efficient production essential. Mathematical optimisation, particularly the 1D Cutting Stock Problem, helps minimise waste by determining the most efficient way to cut raw steel bars into required lengths while reducing leftover material.

Welsh AI firm launches platform to cut waste and boost UK steel industry

Cardiff-based Nightingale HQ (NHQ), has launched GoSmarter.ai, an AI-powered platform designed to help steel manufacturers to reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and improve production efficiency.

GoSmarter.ai Launches Rebar Optimiser to Cut Steel Waste and Carbon Emissions

GoSmarter.ai is excited to announce the launch of the Rebar Optimiser, a smart new tool designed to help steel manufacturers and fabricators reduce waste and lower carbon emissions during the rebar cutting process.

Case Study: MillCert Reader saves 10 hours a month for busy Production teams

MillCert Reader is helping steel production teams save hours by automatically extracting key data from mill certificates and renaming documents in seconds

GoSmarter.ai offers free tools to minimise waste for the steel sector

Cardiff-based Nightingale HQ has launched a free suite of digital tools to help steel manufacturers boost efficiency, cut waste, and lower carbon emissions - GoSmarter.ai

Steel MillCert Reader launched

We’re excited to share that MillCert Reader is now live on GoSmarter.ai and it’s already making life easier for production teams.

Nightingale HQ delivers on scrap cutting trials with steel manufacturer

{Cardiff, December 2024} – As the steel industry continues to account for nearly one-third of global industrial CO₂ emissions, the imperative for innovative, sustainable production methods has never been greater. Nightingale HQ, a pioneering force in industrial AI, has developed GoSmarter: a cutting-edge, AI-powered toolkit that enables steel manufacturers to dramatically reduce material waste and carbon emissions.

Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference hightlights

It was great to contribute to the Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition Titanic Exhibition Centre last week. I was there to talk about our approach to greener software, to promote Strada and to network with the wider manufacturing community.

Wales tech scale-up collaborate with steel manufacturers to make production greener

Wales and Ireland-based technology business, Nightingale HQ (NHQ) has supported a major UK & EU consortium as it looks to make reinforcement steel manufacturing greener. The collaboration includes steel manufacturers Midland Steel and Bastal AS, Kuka Robotics, civil engineers OCSC and research partners VTT. The project is funded by EIT Manufacturing and Innovate UK.

South West Manufacturing Digitalisation Series

South West Manufacturing Digitalisation Series from RDI Hub in the South West of Ireland.

It's competition time with EIT BoostUp - Irish Edition

This week the NHQ team head to the IMR to attend EIT Manufacturing BoostUp competition.

NHQ embracing manufacturing conferences this summer!

Attending conferences has its opportunity-cost, but I usually find them productive and worthwhile. I’m no stranger to the National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference held in the RDS every year and find that there is a good networking opportunity with strong representation of both manufacturers and vendors from all over the world.

Manufacturing excellence with Astellas Ireland

Learning from manufacturing best practice with Astellas Ireland.

Nightingale HQ meets German manufacturers and tech founders

In an effort to increase visibility of UK technology start-ups the Welsh and UK governments participated in Start-up BW conference in Batten-Württemberg Germany this September.

Cardiff AI Company appoints new CEO as it expands operations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Nightingale HQ appoints Ruth Kearney as its new CEO.

Ruth Kearney joins Irish Digital Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Cluster (IDEAM)

New Year and new opportunities. I am delighted to be joining the Steering board of the Irish Digital Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing IDEAM Cluster and will be working with Jamie Meehan, PhD and Katrin Weittenhiller to grow the community and bring more opportunities to Irish manufacturers.

Change is hard but equipping your teams with the right tools makes it easier

As we see the back of 2021, another year of disruption and change, I reflect on organisational practices and share some thoughts on how to implement more effective change. Change is hard, so best to start with small doses of change.

Steph Locke elected to EU Steering Committee for AI

Accelerating the voice of SMEs across Europe and driving more inclusive AI policy.

Microsoft podcast - A bit of AI

Steph Locke talks A bit of AI with Microsoft cloud advocates Henk & Amy.

How AI can improve your logistics fast

Logistics businesses and logistics have a huge opportunity to unlock additional value in their business through the use of data and AI integration. Areas of improvement include streamlining operations, managing the supply chain, pricing dynamically, agile planning, and enhanced forecasting.

The Manufacturer MX awards

We are so excited for the reveal of The Manufacturer Top 100 2021 in Liverpool! We are proud to be supporting Helen Anderson of CPI TMD at the awards.

The State of AI and learning from Transformers

Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise report is an enlightening read. This edition focuses on becoming an ‘AI fueled’ organisation. The results come from a survey conducted on 2,875 executives from across the Americas, Europe and Asia. They separated companies into four groups based on their success with AI implementation and identified what was driving the success of the highest performers.

How you can turn an extra £100 per month IT spend into more than £4,000 of staff time savings monthly

Pressure to be more efficient has never been greater. The good news is there are so many helpful time-saving software as a service tools out there! We’ve made a list of some of the best.

What is a citizen developer?

Citizen developers are not developers by trade but still make useful tools and applications with no-code tools. The concept is relatively new and has gained momentum in the last few years. Citizen Development has the potential to be of great benefit to the manufacturing industry by empowering ordinary staff to improve the processes they work with every day. Their unique perspectives can be transformative in identifying key areas to work on and improve.

EIT Manufacturing - all you need to know

EIT Manufacturing is a consortium of over 60 leaders in the manufacturing industry from business, education, and research. We’ve just joined the organisation as one of their Scaleups so I’ve put together a quick explanation of who they are and what they do.

Cardiff-based AI startup is the first UK startup to join the largest European manufacturing ecosystem

Cardiff, August 23, 2021: Cardiff-based AI startup Nightingale HQ has become the first UK startup to join EIT Manufacturing, the largest European consortium of manufacturers.

Software-as-a-Service to help you digitise

Software as a Service or SaaS, as it’s more commonly known, makes digital easy. Find out how it can help to streamline your processes and run a more efficient business.

Europe's '2030 Digital Compass' and manufacturing

The 2030 Digital Compass aims to digitally transform Europe by the end of the decade. It aims to strengthen digital infrastructure and facilitate digital transformation of businesses and the public sector. At its core will be a framework that allows businesses and services to go digital in keeping with European values.

Europe’s Digital Strategy and Manufacturing

Data in manufacturing could have a net benefit of €1.5 trillion by 2027 so the European Digital Strategy needs to help realise that benefit. The strategy will help make common data spaces available and support cloud infrastructures to assist manufacturers.

Selected for Procter & Gamble Supplier Academy 2021

The Procter & Gamble Supplier Academy is a partnership between P&G and WEConnect International, providing training for majority women-owned businesses.

We’ve been shortlisted - Wales Start-Up Awards 2021

After a tough year with many highs and lows we are in the running for Innovative Start-up of the year and Valleys Start-Up of the Year. The awards will be taking place on September 9 at the Depot, Cardiff.

Funding for AI use cases and much more - AIPlan4EU

At Nightingale HQ we recently submitted our AI use-cases to the AIPlan4EU to potentially develop them further. Find out how you can get yours funded and all about the new European AI on Demand Platform.

Innovation funding with EIC Accelerator

Here at Nightingale HQ, we have put in for funding with the EIC Accelerator. In this article, we’ll tell you what the EIC Accelerator is and why it’s worth applying for.

European AI Act

The European Commission proposes new rules and actions aiming to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI).

How can Digital Innovation Hubs support SMEs to adopt AI?

A workshop on “AI-standardisation landscape & the role of Digital Innovation Hubs (DHIs)” discussed the role hubs can play in supporting the uptake of AI among SMEs and how they can help technology frontrunners.

Automation for invoice processing

Automation is key to driving digital experiences that help keep operations efficient and employees productive. Invoice processing is a key area where an automated solution can save time, money and increase productivity. If you deal with lots of suppliers, keep racking up late payment bills, or have to rectify incorrect payments, it's time to start using a tool that eliminates manual errors and simplifies your accounts payable process. Take back hours of time by automating the processing of invoices.

Highlighting the STEM stars of Wales

The skills and knowledge associated with STEM are the driving force of innovation in many businesses, which is what makes STEM so important to the Welsh economy. The inaugural Wales STEM Awards set out to recognise leading businesses making an impact on the Welsh economy and addressing the STEM diversity gap and skills shortage.

Nightingale HQ to present at Digital Manufacturing Week 2020

World-class manufacturers will take the virtual stage at the 2020 Digital Manufacturing Week happening from 9 - 12 November. The Originator of Industry 4.0 Henrik von Scheel and leaders from Cobra Beer, Dyson, Rolls Royce, Airbus, Autodesk will all share experiences of bouncing back in uncertain times. We have also been selected to present at the Made Smarter Emerging Technology Show taking place on Friday 13 November.

Your business and AI: 18 weeks of webinars

What do you do when a global pandemic hits and messes up your 2020 business plans? We decided to run 18 weeks of webinars. As our pipeline slowed we knew we weren’t the only ones having a hard time navigating Covid-19, so we decided to launch two webinar series, AIFightsBack and #GoSmarter. Since the webinars were a hit, we decided to compile recaps of all the content in one place for easy access, viewing and sharing.

Bigger, better sales with AI

Automation and Artificial Intelligence can support the sales team to make bigger, better sales. AI in sales and marketing can be particularly valuable. In this #GoSmarter webinar Steph Locke, CEO of Nightingale HQ takes a look at automation tools in a B2B context and how easy they are to adopt.

Automation: The fundamentals

GoSmarter is an AI-powered tools and training support toolkit to help businesses optimise digital operations, saving precious time and helping increase productivity.

7 reasons why SMEs need to automate and how

Going digital and using automation has never been more important to small businesses than it has been since COVID-19. Here's some stats you may not know...

Automation for SMEs: the new normal

SMEs are the backbone of our economy, but they have been worst hit by the pandemic. The lockdown has forced many of them to change how they operate and automation has played a key part. However, many small businesses are still apprehensive about taking the first steps and think that automation is only for bigger and scaling businesses. The GoSmarter automation toolbox has been developed to help SMEs kick start their automation journey, quickly and at a relatively low cost.

5.6million UK SMEs - listen up and automate!

This week on AIFightsBack, Steph Locke, CEO of Nightingale HQ, talked about the new GoSmarter automation toolbox, funded by Innovate UK and free for SMEs to use.

2020 - the year of Contact Tracing Apps

Guest contributor on our AIFightsBack webinar series was Dr. Iain Keaney, Data Scientist and Founder of Skellig.ai. Iain took on the world of contact tracing apps and discussed how both governments and companies are fighting the pandemic while mitigating the risk to personal privacy. He pointed to the adoption levels of different countries with China having the largest-scale adoption of contact tracing apps in the world and Iceland next at 40%.

Social distancing - data versus information

Guest contributor on AIFightsBack last week was CEO of Mockingbird Consulting Matthew Macdonald-Wallace. Matt shared how the impact of COVID has produced opportunities that have taken them beyond their current client base of farming and AgriTech to include commercial and industrial sectors. He gave examples of IoT solution applications in customer flows for retail, ordering systems for restaurants and preventive maintenance in farms.

The Jazz Ensemble of Data Science with Novartis

Everyone is an expert and each one is allowed to do their own part separately but when we come together the magic happens. The team lead, along with Math and Stats person, the Data Visualisation, Storytelling team and domain experts all work in unison. This according to Ashwini Mathur, Head of Data Science at the Novartis AI Innovation Hub in Dublin is essential to delivering great data science.

Why Trustworthy AI Matters with Clare Dillon

Guest contributor on AIFightsBack last week was Technologist Clare Dillon. She presented A Journey to Trustworthy AI from an economic, social, political, and cultural lens. This thought-provoking session demonstrated clearly why we all need to build trust in both building and buying AI solutions. It was backed up nicely with plenty of use cases and several major AI bloopers out there.

Artificial Intelligence for Marketers

Yesterday, we delivered the AI for Marketers webinar as part of our AIFightsBack series. Here, you will find the resources (slides, recording, information, and links) from the talk. As a sector, marketing is ripe for AI adoption due to the volume of data insights available. It's transforming how companies market their products and services to other businesses, streamlining processes at all levels of the sales funnel. Broadly speaking, AI can help to improve the customer journey and improve your ROI on campaigns. But how exactly?

No code. No data. No servers. How Marino Software became a ML company.

Marino Software are one of the longest standing software consultancies in Ireland with almost 20 years under their belt they have seen their fair share of ups and downs. As part of our AIFightsBack webinar series CEO Keith Davey talks candidly about how they have morphed into a machine learning company helping their clients deliver exceptional customer experience. They have a pretty impressive list of clients who are testament to this service and it includes telcos, banks and retailers. Both slides and the webinar are available below.

Teaming up with Irish Centre for Business Excellence Network (ICBE)

We are delighted to team up with Irish Centre for Business Excellence Network (ICBE) Advanced Productivity Skillnet to bring three webinars on AI in Manufacturing as part of the AIFightsBack series.

Nightingale HQ team up with ICBE

Nightingale HQ team up with Irish Centre for Business Excellence Network (ICBE) Advanced Productivity Skillnet to bring three webinars on AI in Manufacturing as part of the AIFightsBack series.

Announcement: AIFightsBack webinar series

It's been a very tough few weeks, and the world as we know it has changed forever. Our families, our communities, businesses and the global economy are all feeling the pressure of the COVID-19 virus. As with many other startups, we feel the impact of these volatile times and we plough on as much as we can. We remain hopeful that many great innovations came out of times of crisis; that is why we have created the AIFightsBack webinar series.

Data Summit India

Technation.io Company Whilst in India for DPS10, I got to discuss and explore my thoughts with the nifty Leila Etaati and Andy Leonard. They helped me understand that what I needed to do was something that would enable Locke Data and others to surface their knowledge and services around data science readiness to organisations around the world.

Rising Stars

Technation.io Company Nightingale HQ helps SMEs identify cases for artificial intelligence within their business and provides the tools and support required to help them to successfully adopt and deploy AI and specific AI projects.

Stem Awards Wales 2020

Stem Awards Wales 2020 Describe your business Nightingale HQ is a complete AI platform that helps businesses get AI-Ready by providing content, training, and ultimately, connections. We offer three products, AI Learn, AI Direct and AI Connect. Through AI learn, companies can get training to get their teams AI ready. Through AI direct, we can help businesses asses their potential and build an AI strategy. Finally AI connect helps connect organisations with the worlds best AI experts, taking the pain out of finding an AI specialist and providing one simple point of contact to manage all projects.

What does it mean to be AI-Ready?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have burst into the spotlight in recent years getting attention from businesses and all levels of society. Awareness of AI has drastically increased as people become more familiar with how the tech giants are using data to enhance their products and create better solutions. The market is opening up to more AI-infused products, and the public are regularly interacting with AI as it slips into their day-to-day lives through smartphones and virtual assistants.

FBS Small Business Awards 2020

FBS Small Business Awards 2020 Tell us briefly about you and your business Nightingale HQ is a platform for businesses to adopt AI. As the supply of data in all industries increases exponentially, we help businesses get AI-ready so that they can fully harness and utilise the data available to them to solve business problems. Nightingale HQ can help get your business the training and connections they need to start practising data science.

Why do you need business intelligence?

How quickly could you answer the question, "How's your business doing?" if it was asked right now? How detailed would your answer be, and how confident would you be in your answer? If you were utilising business intelligence, your answer would be fast, comprehensive and accurate.

What to watch for in the FinTech startup industry

If anyone has raced ahead with AI adoption, it’s the finance industry. The rise of AI goes hand in hand with the wave of FinTech services and applications that have surfaced in recent years. From automating the approval of loan applications and spotting fraud to personalised services and cryptocurrencies, these applications save time, reduce errors and ultimately save money. This makes them a lucrative investment for banks, who seem to be at the forefront of the AI revolution, showing other industries that making bold changes and engaging with these technologies is worthwhile.

Building a solid foundation in data science

Steph Locke on building a solid foundation in data science We spoke to Steph Locke about how much experience is needed to build a solid foundation in data science and how to future-proof your tech skills.

Garbage In, Garbage Out – The pitfalls of bad data

What is it? In advance of our upcoming Data Science Bootcamp, we are pleased to announce an open evening to explore the importance of data quality. Talent Garden faculty member, Steph Locke – data scientist and Microsoft AI MVP talks Garbage In, Garbage Out – The pitfalls of bad data.

NatWest Accelerator

Nightingale HQ joins the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Nightingale HQ started on the NatWest Accelerator this month as part of a continued programme of readiness, product development, and networking for Nightingale HQ.