AI Hackathon 2025 Recap – Pushing Innovation Forward

See how six Smartbridge teams tackled real-world business challenges using AI, automation, and modern platforms during our company-wide AI hackathon.

At Smartbridge, innovation isn’t just a buzzword—it’s part of our culture.

Each year, our entire company comes together for a 1.5-day hackathon designed to push the boundaries of what’s possible with technology. We split into cross-functional teams, tackle real-world business problems, and experiment with the latest tech—from AI agents and Microsoft Fabric to Salesforce Agentforce.

This year’s hackathon featured six powerful AI projects creating our first ever AI hackathon! Here’s a quick look at what our teams built:

1. AI-Driven Workforce & Equipment Optimization

This team tackled one of the most critical challenges in oilfield operations: underutilized equipment and labor. They built an AI solution that dynamically allocates the right people and assets to the right jobs, helping companies stay agile and profitable. A conversational AI assistant also provides real-time information which enables accuracy and speed of decision making.

  • Cut idle time by 25% through smarter scheduling
  • Improved ROI by 35% by maximizing equipment usage
  • Real-time conversational assistance boosted decision-making speed by 50%
  • Forecasting tools improved resource planning and readiness

2. Optimizing Oil and Gas Proposal and AFE Generation with Copilot

This team focused on transforming a traditionally manual and time-consuming process: creating proposals and AFEs (Authorizations for Expenditure). Using Microsoft Copilot, they built a secure, AI-powered solution that drastically speeds up document generation, reduces overhead, and enhances the strategic value of teams. The result is higher-quality proposals, faster delivery, and major cost savings.

  • Decrease proposal turnaround time by 90%, reducing delivery from two weeks to one day.
  • Shift 72 hours per proposal from administrative tasks to value-generating activities
  • Achieve $5M–$40M in indirect labor savings through automation and overhead cost reduction in proposal workflows.
  • Increase proposal precision and industry alignment, minimizing rework and strengthening client confidence.

  • Protect sensitive business data and ensure compliance through enterprise-grade security and governance.

Microsoft Data & AI Solutions Partner
Microsoft Digital & App Innovation Solutions Partner

3. AI Agents to Modernize Medical Device Quality Control for Audits and Training

In the regulated world of medical device manufacturing, audits and training can be a huge drain on resources. This team developed a conversational AI agent to support both areas. Whether answering auditor questions or guiding employees on SOPs in cleanrooms, the agent improves access to critical information while freeing up skilled staff for more valuable tasks.

  • Increase the Audit management efficiency by reducing the staff required in the backroom to support internal and external audits by 50%.
  • Free up the quality and technology teams who stand by to support the audit resulting in a 10% increase in production.
  • Quick and easy way to answer SOP questions improves the effectiveness of training employees. Reduces the employee errors in the manufacturing process by 25%.
  • Manage the compliance risks with more efficient internal audits using the Quality AI agent. Reduce the likelihood of audit findings by 20%.
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4. Enrich Accounts and Records with Key Information using Salesforce Agentforce

This team set out to improve the quality of CRM data by using Salesforce’s AI agent, Agentforce. The solution identifies missing or outdated information, then pulls in relevant business insights (even from unstructured sources) to automatically update account and contact records. With better data comes better decision-making—for sales, service, and beyond. With Agentforce, employees can also engage in insightful conversations with their Salesforce data.

  • Boosted data completeness and accuracy without manual effort
  • Delivered context-specific insights to help teams better engage clients
  • Reduced time spent on research and CRM upkeep

5. Asset Tracking with AI Agents and RPA Bots

A hybrid AI + RPA solution helped this team build a smarter asset tracking system. AI agents identified asset movement patterns, while bots updated systems in real time—reducing manual tracking and errors. A combination of Microsoft Copilot Studio, UiPath, and Microsoft Power Automate made this solution possible.

UiPath

Copilot Studio AI Agent

  • Interact with users
  • Connect to employee data to identify the assets
  • Generate QR code for shipping labels
  • Trigger Bots

RPA Features

  • Ability to be triggered by AI Agents
  • Sending emails
  • Monitor email responses and track the asset status

6. Equipment Preventative Maintenance Scheduler

Maintenance delays can be costly, but this team built a solution to prevent them. Using Microsoft Fabric, Copilot, and Azure OpenAI, they created a scheduling engine that uses equipment usage data and service records to recommend proactive maintenance plans. Optimized schedules are presented to the dispatch manager via chatbots and can be integrated into dispatch scheduling software This keeps operations running smoothly and extends asset lifespans.

  • By automating the scheduling process, dispatch managers can expedite the scheduling process between 80%-90% faster.

  • This solution enables proactive maintenance, reducing unplanned breakdown-related costs by up to 30% and increasing overall vehicle uptime.

  • By factoring in upcoming job schedules, our scheduler minimizes the need for cancelling jobs to perform maintenance, helping to maintain revenue targets and strengthen customer relationships.

These projects show the power of what a motivated, tech-savvy team can do in under two days. We sharpen our skills, stretch our creativity, and walk away with real, working prototypes that can inspire future client solutions.

Want help facilitating a hackathon like this at your organization? Or maybe even implementing one of our solutions above?
Contact Smartbridge to start a conversation.

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Keep Reading: AI in Industries: How AI is Creating Real Value in Oil & Gas, Life Sciences, and Food Service

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