Musslewhite

Musslewhite Cut Costs with a Durable and Easy to Install Solution from SkyBitz

Situation

With thousands of frac tanks and trailers populating the vast oil fields of Texas and New Mexico, keeping track of each asset was a real challenge for Paul Musslewhite Trucking Company. These assets can easily get lost in oil country. Plus, the equipment must endure harsh conditions both on the road and at the drilling sites or well pads. Musslewhite™ needed a solution to better manage the frac units in the field without using costly physical labor.


Based in Levelland, Texas, Musslewhite provides trucking services to the oil field communities of Texas and New Mexico, as well as serving other industries in the Southwest. In particular, the company offers tank and trailer rental services, where oil industry clients can acquire frac tanks that hold fluids used in oil fields for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).


As Musslewhite’s business continued to grow, it deployed more tanks and trailers into the field, meaning more assets to manage. Inefficient tracking and the cost of physically locating assets became a rising concern.

Problem.

Frac tanks are dropped in remote locations and move regularly, so documentation of these assets is critical. Inaccurate recording can affect operations and profitability. It’s expensive when a tank or trailer gets “lost” in the paperwork flow—and these slips can occur frequently. The company’s manual method of tracking each unit was rudimentary, inefficient and lacked real-time location intelligence. There were simply too many opportunities for human error.


For instance, if a paperwork mistake resulted in a “missing” frac tank or trailer, someone from Musslewhite was dispatched to find the unit. The cost to locate a missing asset costs about $2 per mile for labor and transportation, so a 50-mile round-trip to locate just one unit can cost $100. With thousands of units in the field, Musslewhite could no longer afford to use their existing system of spread sheets and physical inspection.


Musslewhite needed an asset tracking system that could reduce physical inspection of units, would provide visibility in real-time and was durable enough to withstand harsh conditions without needing a power source. Musslewhite wanted to reduce the labor and transportation costs associated with sending its people out into the field to find their equipment.

Solution.

Musslewhite was looking for a simple, efficient and accurate way to keep tabs on their assets. SkyBitz was able to provide a robust solution to address their needs. Musslewhite began using SkyBitz satellite-based asset management solutions in 2007. Gaining visibility of each frac tank and trailer was the most important need for Musslewhite. With SkyBitz Global Locating System (GLS) mobile terminals, each asset can be located and monitored as frequently as needed. SkyBitz GLS operates on two-way satellite networks which allows Musslewhite to monitor even the most remote locations from their desktop.


Installing the SkyBitz mobile terminals took only 15 to 30 minutes on average and needed very little maintenance. These mobile terminals are built to withstand extreme climates and can run on AA batteries for years.


“We were looking for durability, reliability and cost,” Richard Ellis, President, Paul Musslewhite Trucking says. “Because our equipment is spread out in vast and often remote locations that can be difficult to reach, we needed a solution that could withstand harsh outdoor elements. Also, we needed long battery life because the assets rarely return to a terminal, making a battery change costly to go into the field to perform.”


Musslewhite also found the SkyBitz solution became a reliable billing source. Now they know where each client’s frac units are located at all times. This provides valuable information for Musslewhite and translated into providing better customer service. With the SkyBitz GLS technology solution, there are no “missing-in-action” assets—the company can maximize the utilization of its fleet and better manage each asset. Musslewhite has met its goal to save time and money through using SkyBitz solutions.


Musslewhite has incorporated SkyBitz solutions into its fleet of 1,200 frac tanks to date with plans to add 500 or more units in the next several months. The data provided from SkyBitz allows Musslewhite to accurately track assets for service personnel so the maintenance department can handle license renewal directly rather than involving the operations department. Additionally, Musslewhite will continue using SkyBitz for uncoupled tanks and trailers as it grows the business and implements SkyBitz mobile terminals on more of its assets.


For Musslewhite, the savings of implementing SkyBitz satellite devices have added up through more accurate billing and maintenance costs. “As fuel prices have climbed, so too have the costs of manually locating lost units,” said Ellis. “With SkyBitz, we have been able to cut costs in terms of fuel, personnel and lost time. We also use the data to provide a reliable source for billing purposes, to locate assets for service personnel and to insure that the fleet is intact with no missing assets. This maximizes the utilization of the fleet and decreases the cost of managing our assets.”

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