33,000 strong – and growing smarter every day
At KAEFER, over 33,000 employees worldwide work hard to deliver excellence every day. Around 90% of them are out in the field – on construction sites, in industrial plants or up scaffolds, while the remaining 10% are at their desks, working behind the scenes to support those operations. Their mission? To make the lives of their colleagues easier, work processes more efficient, and ultimately create greater value for our clients.
This collaboration between field and office is no coincidence. In fact, both locally and at the KAEFER Headquarters in Bremen, Germany, dedicated teams work daily to understand operational needs, local particularities and global challenges – all to ensure KAEFER’s business units are supported in the best possible way.
One such team is CO-DO, which stands for Corporate Operations – Digital Operations.
Where tech meets the toolbox: what CO-DO is all about
The name says it all. The small CO-DO team sitting in Bremen and Brazil is committed to bridging the gap between modern technology and operational reality.
They focus on identifying and applying cost-effective digital solutions that generate maximum value – both for colleagues on site and for our clients.
Their goal? To be a reliable partner for KAEFER’s global business units working hand-in-hand to find digital tools that fit the local context, solve real problems and drive operational excellence.
One team, many challenges
Every day at CO-DO begins with a short 15-minute stand-up meeting, focusing on daily goals, challenges and recent wins. This ritual keeps the team aligned, strengthens collaboration and ensures focus on results.
From there, the work is diverse and dynamic: close cooperation with local units to implement tech-driven projects, researching digital trends and testing new applications. Unsurprisingly, one recurring topic is Artificial Intelligence or short: AI.
AI at KAEFER: From buzzword to business driver
At KAEFER, AI is no longer just a trending topic – it has become an integral part of our corporate strategy. A dedicated AI Steering Committee, led by our COO and CFO along with the Corporate Heads of IT and Digital Operations, is pushing the topic forward with cross-functional project teams.
These teams – including CO-DO and Corporate IT – are currently running two flagship projects: the KAEFER AI Chatbot and the KAEFER AI Community.
Connecting minds: the AI Community & the KAEFER AI Chatbot
Within just a few months, the AI Community has grown to over 350 members from across KAEFER’s global network. It’s a space for AI enthusiasts and curious minds to share knowledge, exchange ideas and inspire one another.
At the same time, the KAEFER Chatbot now boasts over 450 users and offers a safe, internal environment to explore the power of AI in daily work life. Whether it’s summarising lengthy documents, translating training content, or supporting site operations, the bot is helping colleagues across KAEFER discover practical applications such as AI agents.
Real tools for real needs: how CO-DO evaluates AI projects
But how do we ensure these tools are not just trendy gimmicks, but genuinely useful?
That’s where CO-DO’s evaluation framework comes in. Every potential AI or digital use case is assessed with a standardised set of guiding questions – looking at things like business value, scalability and rollout potential.
Even a handful of thoughtful questions can reveal where real value lies – whether it’s time savings, efficiency gains or cost reductions. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about business value.
Collaboration is key: how CO-DO builds solutions that work
The KAEFER Chatbot was implemented jointly: while Corporate IT led the technical design and infrastructure, CO-DO ensured its operational relevance – creating presets and use cases that make daily work easier.
And this is just one example. More and more, CO-DO collaborates with departments across the company – from Health & Safety to Legal – to develop and to deploy AI solutions tailored to real challenges. (Remember our May K-WERT stories on AI in Health & Safety?)
Yet these collaborations are not always easy. Understanding each other’s needs across different fields requires dialogue, empathy and trust.
To support this, CO-DO focuses on the following success principles:
Empowering people to try AI
Another priority is building trust, literacy and enthusiasm for AI. By offering safe environments – like the internal chatbot – and practical training sessions, CO-DO helps employees overcome hesitation and start exploring the possibilities.
Some participants start off sceptical, only to walk away amazed after hands-on practice and real use cases.
Looking ahead: building a smarter future, together
AI is moving faster than anything we’ve seen in decades – and while it won’t replace scaffolding, insulation, surface protection or any other of the jobs we are performing on our customer sites, it will play an increasingly important role in how we work. From translating trainings in seconds to supporting complex data analysis, AI is already helping improve processes across KAEFER.
The work of the CO-DO team shows just how powerful technology can be when it’s paired with operational know-how and real-world needs. It’s not about chasing trends – it’s about finding the right tools, for the right people, at the right time.
By focusing on collaboration, curiosity and continuous improvement, KAEFER is well on its way to shaping a future where innovation truly works for everyone – on site, in the office, and everywhere in between. Interested in more? Stay tuned for the next article of this new AI K-WERT Stories Series.
Note: Written by humans – with a little help from GenAI. This article combines human understanding and intelligent digital tools to bring KAEFER stories to life.