Utilities Unlimited
Real-time data visibility (replaced 2-hour lag from previous system)
The foreman who hated the app won the first-ever SALUS Award. The Spanish translation feature is what turned him around.
Company profile
- Industry
- Specialty Trade — Underground Utilities
- Workforce
- Bilingual field crews, Mid-Atlantic utility projects
- Geography
- Mid-Atlantic, United States
- Challenge
- A two-hour data lag broke trust
Real-time
Data visibility (replaced 2-hour lag from previous system)
AI Spanish
Translation unlocked full participation from Spanish-speaking crews
SALUS Awards
Company created a new annual safety award category based on dashboard data
5 min
Field documentation that used to be a burden now takes five minutes
The foreman who won that award was not a fan of the app in the beginning. He didn’t like technology. What turned him around was the AI Spanish feature.
Utilities Unlimited is an underground utility contractor specializing in the construction, installation, and repair of water, sewer, and storm systems. Family-owned since 1988, they operate across the Mid-Atlantic region with crews that include a significant Spanish-speaking workforce.
Their field teams run daily inspections, toolbox talks, job site assessments, and contract-specific documentation across multiple active projects. The work is physical, the crews are diverse, and the margin for miscommunication is razor-thin when you’re working around live utilities underground.
Operational safety turns field work into usable proof.
A two-hour data lag broke trust
Two years ago, the relationship between the field and the office was broken. Not hostile — just disconnected. The field saw the platform as an obstacle, and the office saw the field as non-compliant. Both were wrong. The tools were the problem.
Two-hour delay on everything
If something happened on site, the office didn't know until the data synced. By then, the moment for action had passed and the credibility gap between field and office widened.
Rigid templates, no flexibility
Pre-built templates didn't match how Utilities Unlimited actually operated. Customizing forms meant waiting weeks for a vendor update. When the field pushed back, there was no way to respond fast enough.
Real-time data, instant customization, and AI Spanish translation
Real-time speed
When a form is submitted on site, the office sees it immediately. That alone eliminated the biggest excuse for non-participation. Workers can see their submissions reflected instantly. The office can act on information while it's still relevant. The gap between the field and the office collapsed.
Forms that fit the work
Utilities Unlimited builds and modifies forms in real time, on the dashboard, in front of the workers if needed — it's done in minutes, not days. Contract-specific sections can be added, made visible to specific crews, and disabled for everyone else. The forms fit the work, not the other way around. The field feels heard, sees changes happen in real time, and stopped believing the office wasn't listening.
AI Spanish translation
A Spanish-speaking foreman who was upset about the platform change, who didn't like technology, who pushed back on the transition — started completing forms in Spanish. The office received them in English. No translation step. No delay. No miscommunication. The barrier that had always existed between a multilingual field crew and an English-speaking back office disappeared overnight.
A Spanish-speaking foreman who pushed back on the transition started completing forms in Spanish. The office received them in English. No translation step. No delay. The barrier between a multilingual field crew and an English-speaking back office disappeared overnight.
Real-time data and full Spanish participation
Safety program effectiveness
- ✓AI Spanish translation eliminated language barrier — Spanish-speaking crews participate fully without miscommunication
- ✓Real-time data visibility replaced 2-hour lag — information trusted and acted on immediately
- ✓Collaborative culture shift — field crews actively call in with form improvement suggestions
- ✓Dashboard data enabled creation of SALUS Awards — quantified participation and safety performance
- ✓Most resistant foreman converted to biggest champion — proof that adoption follows good design
Productivity gains
- ✓Field documentation reduced from a burden to 5-minute reports
- ✓Real-time form customization — changes deployed in minutes, not days
- ✓Eliminated 2-hour data lag — office acts on information while it’s still relevant
- ✓QR codes enable instant form access — no logins, no folder navigation, no friction
The workflows behind the result
Each result traces back to a specific way field work was captured, routed, and made visible.
- 01digital forms
AI Spanish Translation
The foreman completes the form in Spanish. The office receives it in English. SALUS’s AI translation eliminated the language barrier that kept a Spanish-speaking workforce from participating fully. The foreman who won the SALUS Award didn’t change. The platform met him where he was.
Explore the feature
- 02reporting
Real-Time Data — Zero Lag
Utilities Unlimited’s previous system had a two-hour data lag. SALUS delivers real-time. When a form is submitted in the field, the office sees it immediately. That’s not an incremental improvement. That’s the difference between reacting and managing.
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- 03digital forms
Rapid Form Customization
When the field requested changes, SALUS rebuilt and redeployed forms in minutes — not days. That responsiveness is what converted skeptics into champions. Workers who felt ignored by the previous system now call in suggestions because they see changes happen in real time.
Explore the feature - 04qr workflows
QR-Code Operations
QR codes on equipment, at site access points, on meeting sign-in sheets. Workers scan instead of navigate. Five-minute forms replaced 45-minute processes. The barriers to participation were removed one by one until there were none left.
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More from Utilities Unlimited
We’ve become a lot more collaborative and on the same page, which was really big compared to two years ago. Everybody kind of had this idea that the office never does anything, they never listen to us. But now we’ve eliminated that problem and they feel heard and they see it in real time.
The best part so far has just been how customizable it is to our industry compared to a couple of these other programs. They have stuff that’s already kind of put in and it’s a little rigid, but what made it easier for everybody to get on board was how we can customize it quickly. We can sit here and see it in real time compared to a two-hour lag that we have with our current system. With SALUS, I don’t have to worry about that. That kind of gives it a little push to the guys of ‘you can do this at any time and there is no excuse anymore.’
The foreman who ended up winning that award was not a fan of the app in the beginning. He was upset that we were going to change our process. He didn’t like technology. And I think what got him turned around was the AI Spanish feature. He’s able to do things in Spanish and we’re able to still understand it here at the office. And just the ease of how we’ve been able to look for forms and submit and he doesn’t have to worry about connection. He’s actually been a fan. He’s very performative with his toolbox talks. I think he’s a really big testament to even if they’re not bought in, they’ll see it eventually of how beneficial this is to them and to the company.