Case Study: Data-Driven Dominance in the UCO Game

How Grease Guardian Cycle Cut Dispatch Time by 75% and Built a Competitive Advantage with HazTrack 

About Grease Guardian Cycle

Grease Guardian Cycle (GGC) manages almost 1,000 used cooking oil (UCO) tanks across South Florida and Georgia. 

Problem

Prior to deploying tank level sensors, scheduling and routing decisions often relied on driver estimates, historical pickup data, fixed schedules, and/or frequent customer call-ins. This approach led to: 

• unnecessary service visits 

• empty pickups 

• time-consuming practices 

“Before sensors, scheduling was 100% based on estimated data.” 

Previously, they would analyze historical pickup volumes from their routing software to manually estimate oil volumes in each tank before scheduling a route. This approach created several operational challenges. 

“[our routing software] never took into account the real variables like theft, seasonal changes, or customers dumping somewhere else.”  

“If the numbers were way off from what we expected, we would have to send someone out to investigate what was happening at that account.” Chandler said.  “A lot of the time it turned into a process that required time, resources, and people.” 

As they continued to grow, this lack of visibility made it increasingly difficult to scale operations efficiently. They needed a more reliable way to understand what was happening at each tank. 

Solution: HazTrack 

After deploying HazTrack’s sensors across his tank network, Chandler gained real-time visibility into tank levels and activity. Dispatch planning time dropped significantly, empty pickup events were eliminated, and theft events could be detected and addressed immediately. 

“Without HazTrack, I would have to go back to doing it the old way... and all these things that HazTrack solves would pretty much go away overnight.”  

“We would be missing shipping times, and we’d have more call-ins. We’d be overpaying for our oil, and we would not be fighting theft as well.” 

The Results By the Numbers 

Routing Optimization

“Now that I know which tanks have oil, I can be extremely proactive and dynamic with routing.”

The shift to real-time data visibility enabled them to build routes around tanks that were ready for service. 

“The confidence in the volume we’re going to collect on a route has increased substantially,” said Chandler.  

“We used to have empty pickups where the truck would show up and there was no oil... Now our no-loads are at zero”.  

These “no load” pickups were very costly and inefficient; every time a truck showed up at a location with little-or-no oil, GGC paid for gas, driver time, and vehicle expenses with no return. 

Emergency Call-out Elimination and Efficiency

One of the most immediate impacts of tank monitoring was a significant reduction in dispatch planning time. 

With real-time tank data, routes are now built based on actual conditions rather than estimates, eliminating manual analysis and guesswork. 

Improved visibility has also eliminated emergency call-ins. 

“Before sensors we were getting five to ten call-ins a week... now the amount is zero.” 

Beyond scheduling improvements, real-time monitoring provides full transparency into tank activity, allowing GGC to quickly identify issues such as improper dumping, low production, or service discrepancies. 

Theft

Tank monitoring also provided greater visibility into potential theft events.  

“Without sensor data we would just see an empty tank and have no idea if it was slow production, off-dumping, or theft.” 

Sensors monitoring their tank activity enables GGC to identify and act quickly on unusual collection events.  

“Now because we can pinpoint theft, we can address it very quickly.” Chandler says. “Instead of thieves stealing our oil for weeks before we notice, we can identify it right away.”  

Customer Acquisition & Retention

“Sensors have become a selling point for us. When customers see that we monitor their tanks, they trust us more.”   

“We used to wait 30 to 90 days to understand a new account. Now, within a few days, we know if oil is flowing and can fully onboard them in a week.”

“At some point everybody in this industry will be using sensors. If you’re not on sensors, you’re going to lose out."

While some operators initially focus on the cost of sensors, Eric believes the greater cost lies in operating without visibility.  

“People look at the cost of sensors, and it scares them, but they’re already spending that money on theft, lost efficiency, and lost business.” Chandler explains, “It’s more expensive not to have sensors.”  

For Grease Guardian Cycle, real-time tank monitoring has transformed how the company manages routing, dispatch, and customer relationships. By replacing estimates with real data, they operate more efficiently, respond to issues faster, and scale their business with confidence.