Specialty Chemical Supplier Reduces Environmental Risks with TankScan

Dubois Chemicals

Dubois is a leading single-source specialty chemical supplier to the manufacturing, food, beverage, paper, and water treatment industries. Dubois is known for reducing operating costs while promoting sustainable chemistry through a safe and efficient process.

Challenge
Dubois Chemicals is challenged with reducing the costs of its field operations while maintaining a safe and environmentally sound field operation to maintain a reliable workflow. Dispatching to the client’s chemical totes is likewise unreliable due to unpredictable sales forecasting. Like most chemical companies, Dubois had salespeople make routine trips to the chemical totes to check inventory levels. The major concerns are reducing unnecessary travel and expense, improving the reliability of the operation, and knowing usage patterns and current inventory at a remote customer site. Physically traveling to remote client sites can take more than an hour for each location. The risks of travel can increase throughout the winter and during cold weather conditions. If the operator is rushed, the system checks may be missed or overlooked, causing an unstable supply chain, unsanitary overflows, and loss of profits.

“Our clients want to know their inventory on a moment's notice. Having to physically travel to the tanks to check the inventory is a nuisance”, said Michael, Sales Director.

Solution
In 2022, Dubois Chemicals installed the TankScan TSR1000 Non-Contact Radar chemical tote monitoring system for specialty chemicals totes across several states. The remote monitoring system leverages the wireless cellular infrastructure and a cloud software application to reduce startup and setup costs associated with typical remote monitoring systems. The installation requires screwing the monitor into a 2” port on the top of the tote and plugging in the battery. The cloud application is set up remotely and offers unlimited users, historical trending, and email/text notifications.

The tote levels are viewed from a salesperson’s cell phone or from a PC at a remote office. The system is cost-effective due to its use of existing internet connectivity infrastructure, internet browser, email, text message, and cloud computing. The user is provided with accurate readings to devices he already owns, understands, and supports.

Results
Dubois Chemicals has seen numerous benefits from remote level monitoring including:
• Reduced labor associated with trips to the field locations
• Improved reliability of their field operations with remote tote level visibility
• Improved confidence and reduced environmental risk with automated notifications
• Improved safety by reducing travel in hazardous weather conditions
• Easy data access resulting in a decrease in time and stress to monitor inventories

“TankScan has helped us save time and has improved our account management process. Our clients are happy to see clear inventory trend lines which makes it predictable and easy to know when to place another order”, said Michael, Sales Director.

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