Transportation & Logistics
Texas Fueling Services reduces spills by 111% with Samsara
With Samsara Connected Training, Texas Fueling Services delivers effective, standardized training to drivers in the field, improving safety, accountability, and compliance.
Meet Texas Fueling Services
325 DRIVERS
7 OFFICES NATIONWIDE
48 STATES SERVED
The Challenge
Formal classroom-based training was expensive and inefficient
Texas Fueling Services (TFS) is one of the largest petroleum distribution companies in North America. TFS delivers fuels and lubricants to commercial and industrial customers nationwide, and assists government agencies in fueling operations during natural disasters. The company also offers specialized support for the oil and gas sector, with a focus on the oil-producing regions of Texas.
The company's operations involve inherently dangerous tasks, such as hooking up and transferring fuel, making extractions, and inspecting automated fueling systems. Given this, TFS prioritizes high-quality training for their drivers, but the methods they were using were falling short. "We tried to get everyone into a formal classroom, but it was expensive and time-consuming," said Erik Smith, Corporate HSE/DOT Director. "We also had drivers watch videos on a manager's computer and take a quiz, which required a lot of paper-based record keeping and was inefficient."
TFS also lacked training materials for certain equipment, such as bucket trucks, which have specific OSHA training requirements. To scale effectively and meet regulatory and customer demands, TFS needed a solution that could deliver continuous, standardized training that was easy to track.
If I can give my team a tool like Samsara that puts them one step ahead of everybody else and keeps them safe, it's well worth it to me and our organization.
ERIK SMITH
Corporate HSE/DOT Director
Solution
An advanced platform to enable peer-to-peer training
TFS was using Samsara AI Dash Cams and Vehicle Gateways, and eagerly adopted Samsara's Connected Training solution. "When Samsara rolled out Connected Training, I knew it was going to be a great tool because it would give us the ability to create short training videos that would have a lot of impact," said Smith. "We were able to create a targeted training strategy that’s ideal for drivers and employees in the field."
Part of that strategy includes creating short, five-minute training videos and quizzes that drivers can complete away from the depot or office. Creating custom content is easy to do, with managers or experienced employees recording videos on their mobile devices. This makes training videos easy to share with colleagues and scale across their team. Moreover, if a driver makes a mistake- for example, a fuel spill—they are required to create a video demonstrating the correct procedure, which is then used for broader training. "We find that peer-to-peer training carries more weight, and Samsara gives us an easy way to create and deliver that," Smith said.
Samsara's AI Course Builder also enables Smith and his team to quickly create detailed, specific trainings to improve compliance. "I found information on OSHA regulations for bucket trucks, and I was able to upload them into the AI Course Builder," said Smith. "The tool used AI to create a training course for the trucks in only a few minutes, and includes key information our drivers need to operate safely and stay compliant."
Results
Significantly lower fuel spills with better tracking and accountability
With Samsara, TFS has seen dramatic improvements in safety and accountability across their operations. After implementing Connected Training, the company has reduced fuel spills by 111% over three years, and has seen a decrease in spill volume of over 400%. "Spills used to be 1,000 to 3,000 gallons, but our biggest spill is 50 gallons because a hailstorm broke a sight glass, not because a driver didn't do what they were required to do," said Smith. "We never want to have incidents, but if they happen, we'd much rather have a minor one."
In addition, TFS now has the ability to easily document, and track completed training, an important tool that helps keep managers and drivers accountable. It was also a major benefit during a recent audit with a customer. "I opened up Samsara and provided the training record that showed how many people were assigned and completed the job," said Smith. "It cut down the audit process from days to just a few hours."