About Us
The Team Behind the Machine
We build smarter tools because clunky, burdensome admin has no place in modern manufacturing.
No more corporate fluff. Two founders, a hands-on team, and an international board with decades in steel, safety-critical compliance and software security. Together, we fix the broken workflows that steal time from the people actually making things.
2018
Founded in Caerphilly, Wales
8
Industry awards and counting
Global
Strong in the UK and Ireland, expanding into India, the Netherlands and the US
100%
Female co-founded
Our Mission
Stop manufacturers wasting time on busy work.
We build tools that handle the boring stuff, so metals manufacturers can focus on production, not paperwork.
No BS tools: If it doesn't help you ship metal, we don't build it.
Human + machine: Robots are good at data; you're good at strategy. We keep it that way.
Efficiency is cash: Waste isn't just bad for the planet. It burns a hole in your pocket, so we fix it.
We’re named after Florence Nightingale, one of the world’s first data scientists. Read the full story of Nightingale HQ →
Our Story
Built by people sick of watching manufacturers get left behind.
We consulted for the likes of Google and Novartis, but the real problems were sitting in workshops still running on paper and hope. So we stopped consulting on it and started fixing it.
2018 — Founded in frustration
Steph Locke and Ruth Kearney started Nightingale HQ because “corporate innovation” moved too slowly for the manufacturers who needed help now, not after a multi-year consulting engagement.
2020 — Built and connected
During the coronavirus pandemic, we ran the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Fights Back webinar series. It delivered 16 weeks of practical insight into manufacturing challenges. We also partnered with Helmholtz, the German National Centre for Infection Control. Together, we built a global data-sharing platform for coronavirus research.
2018–2025 — Lessons applied
Those years gave us a ground-level understanding of manufacturing’s day-to-day pain points. That’s still what drives GoSmarter: co-developed with metals manufacturers, built to add real value quickly.
2025 — Recognised for it
GoSmarter won Best Greentech Application at the Wales Technology Awards, plus innovation awards from Innovate UK, The Vanguard Initiative, and EIT Manufacturing.
2026 — Backed and going international
We closed our angel round and added £200,000 of Welsh Government innovation funding. Gourav Tandon, Wendy Owen and Tony Woods joined our board. Through Source Code Control, GoSmarter now has local support in India.
Recognition
Award-winning innovation
Independent recognition for building AI that actually works on the shop floor.
Innovation Awardee
Innovate UK
VInnovate Awardee
The Vanguard Initiative
Manufacturing Innovation Awardee
EIT Manufacturing
Manufacturing Education Awardee
EIT Manufacturing
The People
Meet the founders
Two women who got tired of watching good manufacturers get buried in admin, and decided to fix it.
Ruth Kearney
As CEO of Nightingale HQ, Ruth is driving commercial growth, team expansion, and strategic partnerships with metals manufacturers across the globe.
Steph Locke
Former Microsoft Data & AI MVP award winner, Steph gave up her award in order to work directly with Microsoft as an AI Solutions Architect Manager.
Governance
An international board that knows the stakes
Our board has run a steel fabricator across Ireland, the UK, Europe and Scandinavia. It has kept nuclear, defence and aerospace programmes compliant. It has also built a technology business in India. It holds us to the standard your customers hold you to.
Tony Woods
Founder and Chief Executive of Midland Steel. Tony built a family rebar firm into an international business across Ireland, the UK, the US and Scandinavia. He was GoSmarter’s first Mill Cert Manager customer.
Wendy Owen
Safety and compliance expert with 35+ years of international advisory work in nuclear, defence, rail, aerospace and automotive. Fellow of the Safety and Reliability Society and the Women’s Engineering Society.
Gourav Tandon
India Country Head at Source Code Control and an investor in Nightingale HQ. Gourav built a technology consultancy across India and specialises in software supply chain security.
How to Access GoSmarter
GoSmarter is available as a secure web application at app.gosmarter.ai. Sign in to access your automation tools, workflows, and insights.
Open GoSmarter AppCommon Questions
Who is behind GoSmarter?
Where is GoSmarter based?
Who sits on the Nightingale HQ board?
Does GoSmarter sell outside the UK?
Is Nightingale HQ the same company as GoSmarter?
Is GoSmarter hiring?
How is GoSmarter different from other manufacturing software?
Go Deeper
- GoSmarter by Nightingale HQ — the founders, the origin of our name, and how the two brands relate
- What is GoSmarter? — the full product explainer
- Case study: Midland Steel — how a real metals manufacturer uses GoSmarter
- Careers at GoSmarter — open roles and how we work
Build traceability in. From day one.
Every cert linked to stock at goods-in. Every heat number tracked to despatch. Every audit trail built automatically. Not assembled in a rush the week before an inspection.