Driving Efficiency: BarOle Trucking’s Success with Drivewyze PreClear

3 min read

“Before we got Drivewyze, we would see three or four of our trucks get pulled for visual inspections each month. And anytime you have to go through an inspection, it’s automatically an hour of down time. With Drivewyze, we don’t have that uncertainty anymore.”

Karol Smith

Safety Manager

BarOle Trucking is a for-hire intermodal carrier that hauls international freight on ocean-going containers in the Midwest from two rail yards in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Founded in 1984, BarOle is the largest intermodal carrier in the Twin Cities metro area. BarOle has 25 company vehicles, and 45 owner operators.

Challenge

Ordinarily, a good safety score would be something to celebrate. But for Minnesota State Police’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) Section, BarOle’s good safety score meant that the time officers spent looking at their trucks could have been time better spent on other trucks that deserved the attention. That’s why in 2014 CVE officials recommended that BarOle try Drivewyze’s weigh station bypass service.

Additionally, with unpredictable volumes of intermodal freight arriving from the West Coast ports by train in St. Paul, BarOle needed ways to remove inefficiencies in its trucking operation.

With a more efficient operation, BarOle trucks can meet the challenge of moving more freight without weigh station delays even when volumes can be so unpredictable.

Solution

“I was floored when Minnesota State Police CVE Section told us how Drivewyze could help us avoid going into their weigh stations over and over again.”

Karol Smith

Safety Manager

“I didn’t even think the State of Minnesota offered weigh station bypass. But when they explained it to me, I understood. Their inspectors knew the conditions of our trucks because we’d been through the stations multiple times a day. They knew we ran a consistently safe operation. So they didn’t want their inspectors looking at our trucks every day when there are so many others that need their scrutiny.”

BarOle Trucking activated the Drivewyze weigh station bypass service.

Initially starting with six company-owned trucks, now, 17 of 25 BarOle trucks are equipped with Drivewyze.

The trucks travel to and from Wisconsin, past three weigh stations on I-94 between St. Paul and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, multiple times each day.

Result

In the first 20 months after activating Drivewyze in July 2014, BarOle obtained substantial savings and operational efficiencies. With Drivewyze PreClear, BarOle Trucking:

  • Returned 330 hours of drive-time to the operation
  • Reduced wear and tear on truck engines and transmissions by not having to stop at weigh stations
  • Realized a savings of over $24,000 in operating costs
  • Increased the productivity of their out-of-state division trucks by up to four additional loads each month
  • Avoided an average of nearly 17 hours in weigh station delays each month

“The drivers who run our out-of-state division (intermodal) trucks love Drivewyze because it allows them to stay on the road making money. It’s easy for them to use because it’s loaded on their tablets and it works in the background. They don’t have to do anything except turn on their tablets. Plus, there’s no transponder for us to keep track of.”

“Drivewyze significantly reduces the chances that our trucks get sidelined for an inspection. Before we got Drivewyze, we would see three or four of our trucks get pulled for visual inspections each month. And anytime you have to go through an inspection, it’s automatically an hour of down time. With Drivewyze, we don’t have that uncertainty anymore.”

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