Case Studies > Brooks-DeHart Furniture Xpress Enhances Fleet Efficiency with Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass Service

Brooks-DeHart Furniture Xpress Enhances Fleet Efficiency with Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass Service

Company Size

11-200

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass Service
Drivewyze PreClear
Electronic Logging Devices

Tech Stack

Geofencing
Electronic Logging Devices

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)

Applicable Industries

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Fleet Management
Vehicle Telematics

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Newton, North Carolina-based Brooks-DeHart Furniture Xpress is a specialized furniture carrier that operates a 100-truck fleet primarily in 15 states in the Southeast. The company operates from terminals in North Carolina, Tupelo, MS, and Jacksonville, FL. Brooks-DeHart hauls furniture from manufacturers and warehouses in North Carolina across the Southeast to stores and retailers in Florida. About 80 percent of the company’s trucks haul truckload and LTL freight long distances, crossing several state lines. The remaining 20 percent of the company’s fleet is used for local furniture pick-up and delivery, located primarily in North Carolina. Of the company’s trucks that haul truckload freight, nearly 70 percent travel each week into Florida. Brooks-DeHart specializes in delivery to the Sunshine State -- the vast majority of the furniture delivered there is on the back of its trucks.

The Challenge

For several years, Brooks-DeHart Furniture Xpress used a transponder-based weigh station bypass service to avoid weigh station delays. However, because so many of the company’s long-haul trucks travel to Florida, the ability to bypass the agriculture inspection sites was an important consideration in a weigh station bypass service. While transponder-based service offered Brooks-DeHart those much-needed bypasses, the administration process was complicated. So, even though Brooks-DeHart’s Florida-bound trucks haul only loads of furniture into the Sunshine State, many still had to stop at the agricultural inspection stations. Additionally, the company faced issues with transponders going missing, which were costly to replace. Conner was also unimpressed with the pace at which the transponder-based service added new locations.

The Solution

Shortly after the company switched from paper logs to electronic logging devices, Conner attended Omnitracs Outlook in Dallas in 2016, and learned about the Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass Service, provided by Drivewyze PreClear. Conner appreciated the way Drivewyze offers bypass service through geofencing and not transponders, which are easy to lose, expensive to replace, and a pain to keep track of. Drivers also appreciated the Heads-up Notifications they get within two miles of an active weigh station or inspection site. Additionally, drivers were able to receive bypasses at Florida Agricultural Inspection Stations without a lengthy or complicated application process. The implementation of the Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass Service allowed Brooks-DeHart to streamline their operations and reduce unnecessary stops at weigh stations.

Operational Impact

Because Drivewyze helps long-haul drivers avoid delays at agricultural inspection sites in Florida, they can travel further each day during their 11-hour duty period. The more miles they can drive the more money they can make. A moving driver is a happy driver.
The company builds its routes based on drivers being able to drive about 700 miles each day because a lot of their deliveries are drop and hook. Without Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass, they would have to reduce those routes to about 600 miles per day, resulting in fewer deliveries each week and less revenue.
The cumulative impact of weigh station delays can place drivers in congested urban areas during rush hour, magnifying their problems. Avoiding these delays helps drivers maintain a more efficient schedule.
The company can miss out on detention pay for shipments delivered to certain warehouses if they arrive late. With Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass, they can avoid unnecessary delays and increase the chances of receiving detention pay.
Local drivers also benefit from Omnitracs Weigh Station Bypass by avoiding unnecessary delays at weigh stations in North Carolina and new locations added on U.S. Interstate 77 in South Carolina.

Quantitative Benefit

Received 2,572 bypasses in the month of January 2017.
In the first month, Brooks-DeHart drivers received a weigh station bypass 71% of the time.
Avoided 73 hours of weigh station delays in one month.
Bypasses saved the company more than $11,237 in operating costs and increased productivity in one month.