Furniture manufacturer uses AI to manage business compliance

A Wigan bespoke furniture and kitchen manufacturer has used a six-week AI accelerator to build his own technology to help manage the growing burden of business compliance.

Alan Coleman runs family-owned Homestyle Kitchens and like many business owners, had been hearing more about artificial intelligence but wanted to understand what it could practically do for an established SME like his.

One challenge was managing the growing volume of compliance requirements and documentation across areas including health and safety and GDPR.

Alan joined the University of Salford’s BUILD AI programme with the idea of bringing that information together in one place and, over the six weeks, developed a working AI prototype tailored to the needs of the business.

The experience demonstrated how an established manufacturing SME could build its own technology to solve every day operational challenges, while giving Alan the confidence to explore where else AI could support the business.

Alan said: “The biggest thing I’ve taken away from the programme isn’t just the system I’ve built, it’s the confidence that comes from knowing I can build practical tools that make a genuine difference to the business.”

Across the 12 participants, the programme has already helped take four products to launch or near-launch, put six working prototypes into testing and accelerated two existing technology ventures.

BUILD AI (Business Uplift, Innovation and Lean Development through Artificial Intelligence) was developed by the University of Salford’s Centre for Sustainable Innovation (CSI) and delivered in collaboration with NoCodeLab.ai.

The programme combines hands-on AI development with commercialisation support and mentoring, helping participants rapidly build and test their ideas while exploring how they could become viable products and businesses.

Dr Ann Mulhaney, Associate Professor for Change Management at the University of Salford’s Centre for Sustainable Innovation, said: “When we created BUILD AI, we wanted to open up AI development to people with brilliant ideas, but who might never have thought of themselves as tech builders.

“These entrepreneurs know their businesses, their industries and the problems they want to solve inside out. What they haven’t always had are the technical skills or resources to turn that knowledge into a product. We wanted to change that.

“In just six weeks they’ve built working products, tested ideas with real customers, launched new solutions and taken businesses forward at incredible speed.

“That’s what excites me about AI. Put these tools into the hands of talented, ambitious people, give them the right support and confidence, and it’s amazing what they can build.”

Participants are now taking their innovations into the next stage, from customer testing and product refinement to commercial launch, investment and further development.

Sara Simeone, founder of NoCodeLab.ai, said: “One of the most exciting things about AI-assisted development is the speed at which entrepreneurs can now experiment.

“They can build something, put it in front of users, learn what works and what doesn’t, and improve it without spending months and huge amounts of money getting to that point.

“BUILD AI gave participants the space to do that alongside other founders, mentors and experts who could challenge their thinking and share their experience.

“That combination of rapid experimentation and a supportive community has helped people make huge strides in a very short space of time.”

For further information: www.salford.ac.uk