The challenge of accurate measurement

At Pro Bark Industries, accuracy in measuring outbound material is critical. With such a high volume of material leaving the yard annually, precise volume measurements are critical to ensure accuracy.

“We normally don’t scan in, because it’s not as important to for us to count the yardage as it comes in because it gets sorted out into different products,” Rory explains. “For us, it’s really important outbound to know what the yardages are,”

Before implementing Loadscan, Pro Bark relied on a manual process for measuring material volume. Loader operators would estimate the amount of material by counting the number of loader bucket scoops and multiplying by the known yardage of the bucket, typically 12 cubic yards. However, this system was far from perfect.

“You’re kind of guesstimating; the loader operators basically just count buckets. They know the yardage of the machine bucket and then they go from there. But it’s definitely not ideal to do it that way because there’s quite a bit of guesswork that that goes into that way of doing it,” Rory admits.

This process was prone to errors. Depending on how the material was scooped or how consistent the loader operator was, the volume could vary – sometimes significantly.

“A loader bucket is built to a certain amount of cubic yards. We usually run 12-yard buckets but, depending on how you dig into a pile or whatever happens if you shake out too much or you don’t shake out enough, you might you might be at 10 yards or you might be at 15 yards,” Rory explains.

Over time, this led to inconsistencies in volume and, ultimately, could affect both customer satisfaction and inventory management.

Real-time monitoring for better control

One of the most valuable aspects of Loadscan for Pro Bark has been its real-time monitoring capabilities. Rory now has the ability to keep track of the volume of every load that leaves the yard, from his office.

“It’s nice because being able to have the [MyScanner] cloud app that’s on the computer, I can see every load that comes in, and I can keep up with it as the day progresses,” he explains.

“For example, if I notice that there’s something off with the loader operator loading trucks, and if he’s loading light or heavy, then I can make that phone call and let them know to lighten up or to put more on,” Rory says.

“Also, if you have multiple scanners, you can — on your computer in your office — remotely look into your scanners. So it’s just really convenient to use… and it’s also very accurate.”

This enables him to catch any discrepancies as soon as they occur.

This has helped Pro Bark dial in their volumes for each load and fine-tune the process to ensure that they are consistently hitting their targets.

“I think we’ve really been able to get our average yardage on every load. We’ve really been able to dial that in to get it to where we want it to be, so we’re not giving away too much and we’re not shorting people,” Rory continues.

This precision has been critical to maintaining both Pro Bark’s profitability and satisfaction for its customers.

Preventing overloads and underloads

The LVS system has been instrumental in preventing both overloads and underloads. By providing precise volume data, Loadscan ensures that each truck is filled with the correct amount of material, reducing the risk of delivering too much or too little. Rory notes that accurately measuring loads is particularly important for ensuring fairness in customer transactions:

“You obviously don’t want to short people…or give it away for free either,” he says.

In the past, the manual system meant that occasional inconsistencies could lead to situations where material was lost, or customers weren’t receiving the volume they paid for.

“It adds up at the end of the season, for sure,” Rory points out.

Since the installation of the Loadscan LVS, those discrepancies have been virtually eliminated.

Scalability and industry reputation

Although Pro Bark is still relatively new to using Loadscan, Rory is already seeing the benefits in terms of operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. The system has integrated seamlessly into their day-to-day operations, and they are starting to gather useful data that will inform their long-term planning.

“At the end of the year, we’ll take a hard look at the numbers,” says Rory. “It’s also a great way to make sure that you’re matching the hard numbers to what your projections are.

“If you’re purchasing material, and if that’s getting scanned in, then you want to make sure that you’re not getting shorted and that everything’s adding up, so it’s a good way to failsafe your operations as far as taking in material and then sending it out, so it’s a good way to double check things.

The benefits of Loadscan in handling material variability

Another challenge Pro Bark faces is the variation in material moisture content, which can affect the weight of certain products. Materials like soil can be particularly finicky, as excess moisture can result in varying weights, which is where Loadscan’s LVS provides a clear advantage by measuring volume rather than weight, which eliminates the complications that arise from varying moisture content.

The accuracy of Loadscan’s volume measurements, unaffected by moisture content, has made it an ideal solution for Pro Bark’s operations.

Collaborative industry environment

Pro Bark’s relationships with larger local companies in the bark, mulch and compost industries have also been strengthened by the use of the Loadscan LVS. As Rory explains, many of the other industry players, have a strong history with Loadscan, and rely on the system to track their material volumes.

Loadscan’s reputation in the industry, built on success stories around the reliability and accuracy of the Loadscan system, helped influence Pro Bark’s decision to invest in the technology.

“It was a word-of-mouth situation,” Rory says. “The bigger players have several of them at all their locations and, knowing how much these other companies rely on them and use them and don’t have any issues with it.”

This has created an open, collaborative environment where companies can share knowledge, resources and even customers.

“We tend to play nice with everyone because some companies offer products that we don’t offer,” he explains. “Rather than tell a customer ‘we don’t sell that, sorry I can’t help you’, it’s way more beneficial to make a call and say ‘hey, we have a customer that’s looking for this. We’re just going to resell it to them’, and they’re fine with that.”

A valuable investment for Pro Bark Industries

Rory believes that Loadscan has had a transformative effect on Pro Bark Industries. By providing precise, real-time volume measurements, Loadscan has eliminated the guesswork that previously led to inconsistencies in outbound shipments. The system has not only improved operational efficiency but also provided Pro Bark with the tools to maintain strong relationships with their customers and ensure that each load is accurate.

As Rory sums up, “For something that’s as sophisticated as it is, it’s really user-friendly. There’s no contact. It’s really easy to set up and use as far as the setup goes and how you adjust it.

“It’s just been a big help, for sure.”

On large-scale site development projects, accuracy isn’t optional – it’s essential. For Alan Payne, project lead at The Kearney Companies, based in Riverview, Florida, the difference between guessing and knowing has had a major financial and operational impact. After nearly four decades with the company, Alan has seen plenty of industry change, but few innovations have delivered as much value as Loadscan’s Load Volume Scanner (LVS) system.

A growing need for volume accuracy

Founded by Wes Kearney in 1956 with just a single bulldozer, The Kearney Companies has grown into one of West Central Florida’s leading site development contractors, employing more than 400 people and handling a wide range of subdivision, apartment complex, and commercial developments. With every project, a major part of the operation comes down to one thing: dirt—buying it, selling it, moving it, and measuring it.

Historically, fill material has been purchased by the cubic yard, but without a reliable volumetric measurement system in place, Alan recalls the company being routinely shortchanged.

“Before we were getting ripped off so bad; we were paying for 18 yards, which is just a guess,” he explains. “And we discovered through trial and error, when loads looked light, by levelling them and measuring the truck body to see the volume, we were getting between 12 and 15 yards.” “We figured there had to be a better solution than that because we were getting ripped off big time.”

The turning point came with the introduction of Loadscan’s LVS-3TMM Load Volume Scanners, which provide a precise volumetric measurement of every truckload through its LiDAR laser-based scanners. “So, we found that the Loadscan was what we’re looking for,” Alan says. “We had seen them around and we knew of them and what they did.”

Today, Kearney Companies operates three of these trailer-mounted units across various jobs sites, dirt pits and other locations.

Fair pay and confidence in every load

The LVS system has changed the game by shifting pay-for-load guesswork into data-driven accuracy, which can then be used to avoid difficult conversations with pit owners or other suppliers.

“The critical thing is we’re now paying for what we get, averaging about 16.5 yards per truck, which is pretty close to the legal weight for most trucks,” Alan says.

This clarity in measurement has also eliminated long-standing disputes with suppliers. With ticket-based systems, disputes over truck volumes were common and often difficult to resolve. But with Loadscan, the data is irrefutable.

“Any dispute would be with a supplier of the material, but now there’s no dispute with them because we’re paying them for exactly what we’re getting. “If they don’t have their own volumetric scanner, we have an agreement in place that we’ll send the vendor a report the next morning for the day before, of all the loads that we hauled from their location,” Alan says. “The vendor checks the number of load tickets they provided to our trucks for that day against the number of loads we received on the dump end. “If a load or two didn’t get scanned, we’ll tell them what the average is for the day, and they’ll bill us those extra loads at the daily average.”

The scanner also gets used internally on jobs where material is being moved within a job site. In these cases, it’s not about verifying deliveries, it’s about checking the performance of Kearney’s own loader operators.

“We’ll set the scanner up when we’re moving material on site with dump trucks, just to make sure that our loader operators are loading a full 18 yards”, he says.

“Weight doesn’t matter on a job site with dump trucks, and we want to make sure that our loader operators are loading correctly, so we’ll just have the scanner on site where we’re monitoring our own loader operators.”

Massive return on investment

The financial impact of adopting Loadscan has been undeniable. Alan estimates each scanner has scanned an average of 500,000yd³, and he points out that if the company had continued paying for 18yd³ per load (instead of the measured 16.5yd³), they’d have overpaid by around 50,000yd³ per scanner. “At five dollars per yard, that’s a $250,000 difference,” he says. “So, each scanner has paid for itself at least three times over.”

But the return isn’t just financial — it’s operational. The scanners allow Kearney to optimise haul schedules, eliminate unnecessary loads, and streamline project billing. What once involved levelling truck loads manually or performing rough measurements is now handled automatically, consistently, and accurately.

Strong service and seamless integration

Alan describes the LVS system as straightforward, reliable and simple to use. “We’ve had no real issues but, when we’ve needed support, the local dealer here in Florida has been fantastic.”

He also notes that even Loadscan’s New Zealand-based support team is responsive, despite the time difference. “Even if we have to reach out overseas to New Zealand, their response has been almost immediate.”

Building trust with clients and suppliers

One of the most significant outcomes of adopting LVS technology has been the increased trust and collaboration between The Kearney Companies and its suppliers, and even with its clients. In several cases, project owners have opted to use Kearney’s scan data to validate the quantity of material delivered and placed, knowing it reflects true volumes, not ticket-based estimates.

“One of the interesting things that’s happened, is that some of our clients will now ask us to bill them for the fill material and placement off our daily Load Scanner volumes, because they know that they were not getting what they were paying for before,” Alan says.
“We’ve done jobs where we’ll put the Load Scanner on site, and we’ll give our client a report every day of how many yards were hauled in there, and they will pay us for the material and the placing off that Loadscan quantity.”

Practical, versatile, and proven

The flexibility of the Loadscan system means it’s used in a variety of ways across Kearney’s operations—from verifying third-party deliveries to auditing internal performance. In one example, Alan describes how Kearney’s in-house mulch production, made from chipped trees, is also measured with LVS before resale to manufacturers.

Whether buying, selling, or simply moving material, the scanner ensures that everyone knows exactly what’s in the truck. “It’s not a guessing game anymore,” he says. “You pay for what you get and, if you’re on the selling side, you can show your customer that they’re getting what they’ve paid for.”

A smarter way to do business

Alan says the adoption of Loadscan’s Load Volume Scanners has not only considerably reduced waste and improved billing accuracy, it has fundamentally changed the way The Kearney Companies thinks about material movement. “Before Loadscan, it was always a guessing game,” Alan says. “Now, we’re not guessing. We’re managing. We’re measuring. And we’re making better decisions every day because of it.”

With three scanners in operation and over 1.5 million cubic yards measured to date, The Kearney Companies has no intention of going back to the old ways of doing things. And with results like these, it’s easy to see why.