Huey P Stockstill, LLC Enhances its Trucking Efficiency with FleetWatcher MMS

When Huey Stockstill Sr. created his construction company in the 1960s, he only had a few employees and one dump truck. However, due to the company’s success, it soon noticed significant growth, ultimately leading to more than 275 employees, three asphalt plants, seven ready mix plants, two aggregate mining operations, and a large fleet of construction equipment and trucks.

In response, the third-generation company, known today as Huey P Stockstill, LLC (HPS), knew it had to adapt. First off, its truck lineup was steadily increasing. Secondly, its customer base in South Mississippi and South Louisiana was rising exponentially as well. Therefore, it decided to utilize new technologies, including the FleetWatcher Materials Management Solution (MMS). Seeking to boost its trucks’ efficiency, HPS implemented a pilot project during the summer of 2019. The project was so successful that Jacob Hickman, asset manager, remembers it vividly to this day, despite his considerable involvement across all of the company’s assets over the last five years.

An “aha” moment
The maintenance overlay project called for 40,000 tons of asphalt across Mississippi’s 2-lane Highway 90 between Gulfport and Bay St. Louis. Since the highway is heavily traveled, the project was completed at night. HPS initially had tasked 10-16 trucks, figuring each truck could cycle the 15 miles from its Gulfport asphalt plant fairly easily. However, Hickman quickly realized that the project was over trucked.

By adding FleetWatcher MMS devices to some trucks, HPS discovered that it often had longer hold times than it should have. Despite making quick turns at the plant, trucks were waiting at the jobsite for up to 40 minutes to unload. Therefore, Hickman eventually pulled two trucks from the project and used them to haul other materials. “When we pulled the two trucks, each truck had an average of one to two loads more than it previously did. We greatly reduced the amount of wait time on the job while still achieving the same amount of tons on the project. The same job was accomplished with fewer trucks, an ‘aha’ moment for us,” he stressed. “Total time on the jobsite declined from about 1 hour to roughly 20 minutes.”

This increase in efficiency—via FleetWatcher MMS’s real-time truck tracking and data acquisition capabilities—was critical for HPS. First, the company was able to determine what quantity of trucks would offer maximum efficiency and operational profits for each particular job. Second, it increased its confidence for future tasks, including those that utilized multiple trucks for extremely large loads, which is vital for HPS.

Although the company offers asphalt paving, ready mix, mining and aggregate, and site development solutions, its primary scope of work is heavy highway projects, as it conducts many large asphalt contracts. Hence, it must have a more reliable method to determine how many trucks it needs, while striving to complete each large contract as cost effectively, efficiently, and timely as possible.

“Before FleetWatcher, we weren’t being efficient with trucks, but we really couldn’t say with confidence where the inefficiency was. Were we taking too long to load at the plant or too long at a certain job?” Hickman asked. “We didn’t have enough trucks for production, and we were having difficulty tracking our trucking cost. Also, we couldn’t calculate our productivity, and we were having difficulty estimating the right number of trucks for a job.”

As a result of FleetWatcher MMS, HPS is no longer “over trucked”. The data has been a critical tool to ensure both production is being met and trucks are being utilized efficiently so that the company can move as much material as possible with the fewest trucks. Gone are the days of limited production or arguments with field professionals over how many trucks are necessary for each job. Now HPS has the data it needs to utilize the exact amount of trucks that are required for every specific jobsite, resulting in efficiency increases.

The company has more flexibility than ever before as well. If HPS would like, it may use its additional trucks for other tasks on nearby jobsites, following suit with its pilot project. When necessary, it may also transport the additional trucks from one jobsite to another. In doing so, HPS can quickly acquire the same amount of trucks it previously had on a particular jobsite.

“By using those two extra trucks for other jobs, as we did during the pilot project, we earned money we wouldn’t have otherwise captured,” Hickman explained. “As an example, each extra truck we pulled from the pilot project can make $100 an hour for 10 hours each day. That quickly escalates to $20,000 per truck over the life of a 20-day project.”

And with the increasing volume of work available at the various HPS locations, there is no lack of opportunity.

If you can measure it, you can manage it
In turn, HPS uses FleetWatcher MMS on “every project” today, according to Hickman, giving critical, real-time information to field, trucking, and plant personnel. The software aids them by highlighting where the inefficiency is, whether a truck is spending too much time loading at the plant or is waiting too long for the paver. From there, the company can respond accordingly, as FleetWatcher MMS is on each of its trucks, nearly 65 in all. “If you can measure it, you can manage it. By measuring our trucking, we’ve become much more efficient and saved a significant amount of money,” Hickman said.

Presently, HPS conducts a majority of its hauling with its own trucks. However, this year it has begun to utilize third-party trucks at its Picayune, Mississippi headquarters, primarily due to HPS’s trucking efficiency (and ability to use its own trucks for other tasks it may not have in the past). Each of these trucks feature FleetWatcher MMS as well. Whether the trucks are company-owned or third-party-owned, their FleetWatcher MMS offerings are generally hardwired, resulting in greater visibility. Consequently, HPS can manage its truck calls, have a much more proactive approach over truck usage, and receive instant feedback, regarding exactly what’s occurring at each jobsite (and why).

Moreover, HPS can make informed decisions about its trucking activities, including costs, productivity, and timeliness. If the project calls for e-ticketing, FleetWatcher has that aspect covered as well.

“Inspectors can choose whether or not they want to use e-ticketing too, as it’s job-specific. Some want to use it, while others don’t,” Hickman added. “If inspectors want to see all of the tickets for a particular job, we will provide them access whenever they request it.”

While HPS does not use FleetWatcher to pay its drivers, the company does use it to verify. For example, if a project uses company-owned trucks and third-party vehicles, and HPS employees are reporting very different results than third-party trucks, Hickman will go back and investigate. HPS integrated FleetWatcher MMS with its scale ticketing system as well, leading to time savings and consistency, as everyone is using the same data to determine project results and productivity. “The magic for us is this integration with our scale ticketing system,” Hickman said. “Employees can see all tickets and grab any data they need from our software platform, Samsara, while doing so.”

Reflecting on the past, preparing for the future
While reflecting on FleetWatcher MMS’s impact on HPS so far, Hickman has especially noticed its influence on load times. “It gives us the data to push our load time back or move it up, as necessary,” he said. This is particularly critical as HPS encounters a variety of ever-changing, unpredictable factors, such as scheduling changes and traffic.

Of equal importance, FleetWatcher itself offers consistent customer service, in addition to its fleet tracking capabilities and fleet status data offerings—from fuel usages and hour meter readings to rates per mile and temperatures. “You get to call a person instead of just sending some random email. They’re good about getting back with you and helping you troubleshoot too,” Hickman emphasized.

Upon contemplating the past five years that HPS has utilized FleetWatcher MMS, Hickman believes its experience with the construction fleet management software provider has been very positive overall. “By looking at our trucking operations, we have really changed the whole way we’ve looked at our business. It has given us the tools we need to challenge ourselves to get better and see our errors. So, for that, we’re very thankful,” Hickman said.

Additionally, FleetWatcher MMS has increased HPS’s accountability, as it strives to continuously enhance its efficiency for the future, leading to more consistent service, less waste of time, and more cost savings, according to Hickman. “It helps us with accountability and lets us know where our primary focus should be. Where do we need to get better? Nobody has to blame someone or come up with opinions. Instead, what can we adjust?”

With assistance from FleetWatcher MMS, HPS continues to improve its operations and grow its business, while preparing for its fourth generation of ownership.