Case Study - Western Refinery Services - Big Opportunity Handled Successfully, Thanks to On-Board Truck Scales
For Western Refinery Services, Air-Weigh on-board scales ensured a major new customer relationship would succeed.
Solution Overview
CUSTOMER: Western Refinery Service
LINE OF BUSINESS: Specialty Contractor & hauling petroleum coke
LOCATION: Ferndale, Washington
IN BUSINESS SINCE: 1990
AIR-WEIGH ON-BOARD SCALE USER SINCE: 2011
The Situation
Western Refinery Services (WRS) has hauled petroleum coke and other dry bulk since 1990, and today runs 58 straight trucks along with 12 tractors and 20 trailers. The company first became an Air-Weigh on-board scale user in 2011.
But the scales were never more critical than in 2015, when the company was awarded a major new haul – and both timing and weight accuracy were critical in serving the customer successfully. Without scales at the loading point, a job that was being paid by the ton needed to get as close to the legal maximum weight as possible.
Western Refinery Services Case Study eBook
Learn how Air-Weigh On-Board Scales helped Western Refinery Services (WRS) ensure a major new customer relationship would succeed. View or download this case study as a free PDF eBook.
The Answer: Air-Weigh On-Board Scales
Western Refinery Services deployed Air-Weigh on-board truck scales to run 100 tons per day between Anacortes, Washington and Blaine, Washington. At 33 tons per load, that would require three runs each day.
These are among nine Air-Weigh on-board scales the company uses for its fleet.
The results:
- The Air-Weigh scales eliminated incidents of having to unload and reload the vehicle, which is critical because – with petroleum coke – a reload requires that the entire trailer be unloaded.
- The danger of going down to two runs in a given day because of a reload was completely eliminated, meaning WRS could consistently haul the 100 tons per day that the customer required.
- Loads are consistently maximized to ensure the highest possible revenue and the best performance for the customer.
WHAT THEY TOLD US ABOUT THE IMPACT OF AIR-WEIGH ON-BOARD SCALES
Quotes from Woody Woodward, Equipment Manager, Western Refinery Services
No More Returning to Reload:
“Before we had Air-Weigh scales, if you overloaded the trailer, you would have to unload the entire load before you reload, because the entire load then shifts to the rear of the trailer. That makes your axles overloaded and adds extreme pressure to the back door. But since we’ve been using the Air-Weigh scales, we haven’t had to mess with that.”
Accuracy:
“As long as our guys get them calibrated right, we see very high accuracy. We have our driver watching the scale, and they signal the operators when to stop loading from an overhead tower.”
Too Important to Guess:
“When we load for heavy haul, we’re often anywhere from 12 to 16 feet wide, and with most scales you can’t fit that size with the drive-on platforms. So as far as the weight of the truck, we guessed. We went simply by what the published weights were for what we were hauling. In the heavy-haul situation we probably skated for a long time, but we were on pins and needles all the time.”
Easing the Permit Process:
“In a heavy-haul situation, we have to have some idea of our weights so we can get the proper permits. The Air-Weigh scales have made it really efficient.”
Outstanding Service:
“I worked with them even prior to coming to this company, since the early 2000s. They’ve been a great company to deal with. I’ve been called on by sales guys on occasion to make sure we’ve got everything we need and everything’s working. And they’re great even working with our individual drivers.”
“I worked with them even prior to coming to this company, since the early 2000s. They’ve been a great company to deal with. I’ve been called on by sales guys on occasion to make sure we’ve got everything we need and everything’s working. And they’re great even working with our individual drivers.”
The Conclusion
Because Western Refinery Services has invested in Air-Weigh on-board truck scales, it has successfully maintained that major haul it won in 2015, and still hauls that 100 tons per day in three different runs between Anacortes and Blaine.
WRS can maximize the weight of each haul by monitoring the weight of the trailer in real time as it’s loaded. For that reason, it has continued to add Air-Weigh scales as the fleet has grown.
It has also eliminated the problem of its heavy-haul vehicles not fitting on the drive-on platforms of in-ground scales.
The ROI from the Air-Weigh scales is clear from the numbers, from the time saved and from the satisfied customers who are getting maximum value.
Western Refinery Services Case Study eBook
Learn how Air-Weigh On-Board Scales helped Western Refinery Services (WRS) ensure a major new customer relationship would succeed. View or download this case study as a free PDF eBook.