Assess & plan
Work out what is worth building.
For a team deciding where AI fits, what it will cost, or whether existing tools can do the job.
Deliverable: a requirements brief, baseline assessment, options, and a recommended project scope.
Badlands Labs · Calgary, Canada
AI consulting and implementation
for your organization.
We are a Calgary-based team of independent AI specialists. We deliver scoped projects in on-premises AI, company knowledge, custom models, and employee training, working directly with your staff.
We work with partners across Canada in energy, clinical services, and biomedical research.
EnergyClinical servicesBiomedical research
Ways to engage us
Start with the work you need done.
Each engagement is scoped and quoted individually. Your proposal sets out professional fees, third-party costs, payment milestones, and any ongoing support.
Build & deploy
Complete a defined implementation.
For an organization ready to install a system, migrate knowledge, or develop a model for a specific task.
Deliverable: the agreed implementation, test results, operating documentation, and handover.
Advise & train
Give your team practical support.
For staff who need better AI workflows, lower usage costs, or specialist help alongside their existing IT team.
Deliverable: workshops, workflow improvements, employee guidance, and an agreed follow-up plan.
Services
Specialist work, with a clear deliverable.
Engage us for a defined piece of work or bring us into an existing project. We agree on the responsibilities, deliverables, and acceptance criteria before implementation begins.
On-premises AI deployment
For teams that need AI to run at their own site.
Run AI models on equipment at your office, clinic, lab, or operating site. We select and configure the hardware, install the models, and connect them to the tools your staff use.
Hardware options include AMD Ryzen AI workstations, NVIDIA DGX Spark, and ASUS Ascent GX10, selected for your workload.
What the work includes
- Hardware sizing and on-site setup
- Model serving, user access, and integrations
- Performance checks using your actual tasks
- Operating documentation and staff handover
Company knowledge systems
For teams spending too much time finding information.
Turn scattered documents, procedures, and research into a maintained internal wiki and searchable knowledge base. We migrate existing content, capture staff expertise, and connect AI answers to their source material.
What the work includes
- Document inventory, cleanup, and migration
- Internal wikis and AI-assisted search
- Expert knowledge captured in practical guides
- Source references, access rules, and update processes
AI cost reduction & employee training
For businesses paying more for AI than the work requires.
Find where AI spending goes and which workflows need improvement. We match models to tasks, cut repeated processing, and coach employees on when and how to use AI tools.
What the work includes
- Usage audit and cost per completed task
- Model selection, caching, and workflow improvements
- Workshops using your team's everyday work
- Standards for tool use, data handling, and output review
Custom models & edge deployment
For specialized tasks and devices with limited resources.
When an existing model and a well-built knowledge base cannot meet the task, we prepare data and train or fine-tune a model for it. We also adapt models to run on embedded systems and devices with limited memory, power, or connectivity.
What the work includes
- Task definition, training data, and evaluation sets
- Fine-tuning and task-specific model training
- Distillation into smaller models and quantization
- Integration and testing on the target device
The team
Based in Calgary.
Working with Canadian partners.
Badlands Labs brings together independent AI specialists for corporate projects. Based in Calgary, we work with energy, clinical, and biomedical research partners across Canada. Your engagement has a named project lead and an agreed set of responsibilities.
We work alongside your operations, IT, and subject-matter teams. We agree on access, data handling, ownership, and procurement requirements before the work starts, and document the system so your team can operate it after handover.
- Energy
- Technical documents, operating procedures, and field knowledge.
- Clinical services
- Administrative workflows, internal procedures, and staff reference material.
- Biomedical research
- Research literature, lab knowledge, and project documentation.
How we work
A defined process from brief to handover.
You know what is being delivered, who is responsible, and what needs approval at each stage.
01 / Enquiry & discovery
Understand the assignment.
We review your brief, confirm fit and availability, and arrange a scoping conversation. We identify stakeholders, constraints, and the outcome you need.
Record: project brief and open questions.
02 / Scope & agreement
Agree on the work.
The statement of work sets deliverables, exclusions, milestones, fees, client responsibilities, and acceptance criteria. Access starts after the required agreements are in place.
Approval: agreed scope and project owner.
03 / Delivery & review
Build against the brief.
We work in agreed milestones, share progress and issues, and demonstrate results against representative tasks. Changes to scope, fees, or timing require written agreement.
Review: demonstrations, test results, and decisions.
04 / Acceptance & handover
Leave a usable system.
Your project owner reviews the agreed criteria. We record outstanding items, transfer the deliverables, train the relevant staff, and confirm ongoing support arrangements.
Handover: runbook, training, and acceptance record.
A named lead on each sideYour project owner and our lead agree on the reporting cadence, decision process, and escalation contact at kickoff.
Access agreed before deliveryWe establish approved systems, data sources, and confidentiality requirements before accessing company material.
Documented scope changesNew requests are assessed for cost, timing, and dependencies before they become part of the assignment.
A planned exit and support arrangementOwnership, third-party licences, credentials, maintenance, and contractor access removal are covered in the scope and handover.
Before we start
Common questions.
Do we need to buy new hardware?
We assess your existing equipment first. If new hardware is needed, we size it for the models, number of users, and response times you require. The proposal separates equipment costs from setup and support.
Will our data leave our premises?
For a fully local deployment, we configure model inference and the knowledge system to run at your site. External tools, cloud models, and integrations can change that data flow. We document those connections and agree on what is allowed before deployment.
Does a company wiki require a custom model?
Usually, an existing model connected to a well-organized knowledge base is the starting point. Custom training is appropriate when testing shows that this cannot meet the task. We can also distil a model into a smaller one for a specific job or device.
How do you assess potential savings?
We measure the cost of completing representative tasks with your current setup, then test alternatives against the same quality requirements. A 95% or greater inference saving is a target for suitable workloads, not a promise for every project. Hardware, energy, maintenance, and setup also affect total cost.
How are projects priced and approved?
We scope the assignment before quoting. A defined implementation can use a fixed project fee; exploratory or advisory work can use an agreed time budget. The proposal states the fee basis, payment milestones, expenses, and exclusions. Work starts after the scope and commercial terms are agreed.
Project enquiries
Bring us the assignment.
Tell us what needs to change, the systems involved, and your target timing. A short brief is enough to start a scoping conversation.
info@badlandslabs.com
Prefer to email directly? Include your organization, the intended outcome, and any delivery constraints. We will review the fit and discuss the next step.
Badlands Labs
Calgary, Alberta, Canada