# James Lohan Consulting Engineers

> Case study: how James Lohan Consulting Engineers worked with AppAdvisor on its digital systems.

Canonical: https://appadvisor.ie/case-studies/james-lohan-consulting-engineers/
Last updated: 2026-06-15

Case Study

Half the cost. Twice the cover.

How a Roscommon engineering firm modernised everything from inbound calls to post-site reporting.

AppAdvisor
•
Roscommon
•
2026

The Client
From two people to twelve, in seven years

Sector
Consulting Engineering
Civil and structural design across the West of Ireland. Site inspections, planning documentation, structural reports.

Growth
Two to twelve
Reputation-led expansion since 2018. Almost entirely repeat business and word of mouth.

Stack
Microsoft 365 first
Team works in Revit and 3D models daily. Files held in OneDrive. Accounting in QuickBooks.

The pain
The phone never stopped
An outsourced call centre helped 2 days a week. The rest of the time, calls pulled engineers off site and admin off other work.

01
The challenge

What we found

Calls were going straight to engineers during site visits, design work, and team meetings. Every ring was an interruption.

The shift
Two ways to handle a call

Before
Patchy cover

Outsourced call centre, only 2 days a week
Rest of the week, calls hit whoever picked up
Admin pulled off work to answer the phone
Caller details lost between inboxes and notebooks

After
AI on the line

AI receptionist answers every call, 24/7
Over 50% cheaper once admin time is factored in
Admin and engineers freed from phone duty
Every call logged, daily digest each morning

02
The build

Architecture
The flow of a single call

inbound call
→ Dedicated business line new number, routed to the agent
→ AI receptionist picks up, captures the detail
↓
→ Lead dashboard every call logged with context
→ Daily digest summary lands in the team's inbox
→ Callback booked added to the diary, ready to go

The stack
Built on tools they could use from day one

AI Voice Receptionist
AI Note-Taker
Workflow Automation
ChatGPT for Business
Bespoke ERP
Connected Accounting
SharePoint Restructure

Each tool earns its place by removing one specific bottleneck. The AI receptionist handles inbound calls. The note-taker captures site visit detail. ChatGPT for Business drafts post-site reports, structural assessments, and routine client emails. Workflow automation glues it all together.

03
The results

The outcome
50%+
Half the cost of the call centre on its own. On top of that, an admin team member got back 70% of their week previously spent on phones. And the cover went 24/7.

From the engagement

"Reporting and incoming calls together accounted for the team's biggest time loss. Fix those, and the firm runs differently."

AppAdvisor x JLCE Discovery, 2026

Two ways to work smarter.

Through Digital For Business: free consultancy, plus up to €5,000 back on a €10,000 project. Or work with us privately.

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