McKenzie Tank Lines Reduces Rollover Crashes with CER Service

• Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
• Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)
• Networks & Connectivity - Cellular

• Chemicals
• Oil & Gas
• Transportation

• Business Operation
• Logistics & Transportation
• Quality Assurance

• Driver Performance Monitoring
• Fleet Management
• Predictive Maintenance
• Remote Asset Management

• Data Science Services
• System Integration
• Training

McKenzie Tank Lines, a chemical and petroleum hauler, faced significant challenges with driver safety and accident-related costs. The company operates a fleet of about 400 tractors and 1,000 trailers, including specialized tank trailers for hazardous materials. Even minor accidents could have major financial impacts, with average accident liabilities of at least $10,000 and rollover accidents costing a minimum of $150,000. The company needed a solution to identify high-risk drivers and implement a proactive safety program to reduce accident-related losses and ensure safe product delivery. Inefficient across-the-board driver training and high accident-related costs were major challenges.

McKenzie Tank Lines is a family-owned chemical and petroleum hauler based in Tallahassee, Florida. The company operates a fleet of approximately 400 tractors and 1,000 trailers, including specialized tank trailers for transporting hazardous materials such as crude oil, refined petroleum products, propane, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and sodium hydroxide. McKenzie is largely self-insured with a $1 million deductible, meaning that a majority of accident-related losses directly impact their bottom line. The company is part of a smaller, specialized industry segment of hazmat haulers, where news travels fast, and a poor safety record could do lasting damage to their reputation. McKenzie is committed to improving driver safety to prevent accidents and ensure the safe delivery of sensitive products to their customers.

McKenzie Tank Lines implemented the Critical Event Reporting (CER) application in February 2009 to support proactive safety measures and reduce high-risk driving behaviors. The CER application continuously monitors fleet vehicles for critical safety-related events and provides near real-time alerts to safety and fleet managers. The system captures second-by-second sensor data, including driver/truck ID, time/date, position/location, and onboard vehicle sensor information. This data is wirelessly transmitted to a central, web-based location on the CER Portal, where it can be used to support various proactive fleet safety efforts. McKenzie uses CER data to monitor event activity per driver for stability control and hard braking events, allowing them to compare the percentage of events in a particular month to the same period the previous year. Drivers with more than three events in a month are tagged for supplemental safety training. The data has enabled McKenzie to develop targeted, proactive training programs focused on drivers with the riskiest behaviors, improving training efficiency and reducing accident-related losses.

• McKenzie Tank Lines experienced a 20% reduction in critical events since implementing the CER-based safety training program.
• The company went nine months rollover-free after implementing the CER application, compared to three rollover crashes in 2008.
• The CER application enabled McKenzie to identify high-risk drivers easily and focus training resources on the most problematic areas.

• 20% reduction in critical events.
• No rollover accidents during the first nine months after implementing the CER application.