Customer Case Study

Ruttura & Sons: 108 Years of Concrete, Now Built on a Better System

How a 108-year-old union concrete contractor traded jobsite binders and paycheck-stuffed toolbox talks for a single platform, and gave every foreman an hour back, every day.

~1 hr/day
Saved per foreman on paperwork
Minutes
To pull compliance & audit reports
2 weeks
From pilot to company-wide adoption
PJ Ruttura on a Ruttura & Sons jobsite with crew in PPE
Company Ruttura & Sons
Industry Commercial concrete contractor (union)
Founded 108 years in business
Workforce ~250 employees; 4–60 workers per jobsite
Coverage NYC five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester County
Specialty Commercial concrete structures and site work

108 years of safety, ran on paper

For most of its 108-year history, Ruttura & Sons ran safety on paper. Every jobsite had a physical binder, tabbed by document type: pre-task plans, pre-shift meetings, timesheets, GC-required forms. Toolbox talks were tucked into foremen's paychecks each week, and someone in the office spent every Friday tracking which ones came back signed.

The hidden cost wasn't paper. It was time, certifications quietly slipping out of date, and the constant low-grade pressure of audit-day scrambles.

Our Safety Director was spending at least three hours a week just chasing paperwork. Our foremen were wasting an hour a day filling out forms.
PJ Ruttura Safety Director, Ruttura & Sons

The breaking point came on a job where the GC required Ruttura to use a different platform, one PJ describes as "nearly unusable." Ruttura needed a system built for how concrete crews actually work.

A partner, not a vendor

Ruttura first saw SkillSignal in action while working for Hunter Roberts on the Queens Court parking garage project. The fit was immediate, but what closed the deal wasn't a feature list. It was the relationship.

We wanted a company we could get on the ground early with, and feel like we were partners with, not just a number in the system.
PJ Ruttura Safety Director, Ruttura & Sons

Two capabilities mattered most: certification tracking and document reporting. Both had been daily pain points. Both were now a few taps away.

One project to every jobsite in two weeks

Ruttura started with one project. A month later, SkillSignal was live on every jobsite. Full adoption took about two weeks.

It wasn't friction-free. Some workers initially assumed the app was a tracking tool. The unlock was language: SkillSignal's multilingual UX (14 languages) reached half of Ruttura's workforce in their first language. "It made integration much easier," PJ says.

Within two weeks, foremen, safety leadership, and crews were on the same system, on the same page.

An hour a day back, and audits that pull in minutes

Foremen got their day back

Roughly an hour a day per foreman, every day, no longer disappears into forms.

Compliance is instant

Reports that used to require digging through binders now pull in minutes. When DOB inspectors arrive on site, Ruttura hands over digital concrete safety manager logs, and they've been accepted every time.

Certification tracking actually catches things

SkillSignal has flagged expired SST cards, and even expired driver's licenses, before they became compliance issues at the gate.

The business is noticing

Ruttura's insurance carrier has welcomed the consistent platform usage. Several GCs have moved to SkillSignal themselves after seeing it run on Ruttura's sites.

"It has definitely helped us stand out from the rest of the subcontractors that are still paper chasing," PJ says.

Morale followed

"Productivity has increased. The foremen are happier when they don't need to do endless paperwork."

"SkillSignal paid for itself in the first week. We got an hour a day back for every foreman. If another contractor asked me, I'd tell them to absolutely make the jump. It's worth every penny."
PJ Ruttura, Safety Director, Ruttura & Sons

Standard issue on every project

Ruttura is keeping SkillSignal on every project going forward, and pushing for tighter integration with the GCs and subcontractors who are now also adopting the platform.

For a 108-year-old concrete company, the legacy isn't paper anymore. It's the work itself.

Want to give your team an hour a day back?

See SkillSignal on your jobsite. Book a demo and we'll show you how.

Request a Demo