Case Study: Mega Trucking — OnPace Automation

Executive Summary

Mega Trucking partnered with OnPace Automation to replace a slow, manual, error-prone permit-ordering process with an automated, centralized system. Like most heavy-haul carriers, Mega Trucking had to order oversize/overweight (OS/OW) permits one at a time across a patchwork of state Department of Transportation websites — each with its own login, its own forms, and the same truck and insurance data typed in again and again. A full-time clerk did this all day, and the blanket permits they ordered had no single place to live, making expirations dangerously easy to miss.

OnPace Automation deployed a browser-automation tool inside a single dashboard. Company data is imported once and reused automatically, permits are ordered in a few clicks or in bulk, completed permits are sent straight to the right driver or dispatcher, and annual permits are tracked with expiration reminders. An AI layer reads each load's weight and dimensions, decides whether a permit is required, and queues it for one-click human-approved ordering. The result: a full-time clerk role eliminated (~$52,000/year), faster ordering, and — for the first time — complete visibility into permit spend per driver, per state, and per type.

The Problem: A Full-Time Job Clicking Through State Websites

Ordering permits was one of Mega Trucking's most repetitive and costly back-office tasks. Every OS/OW load required someone to log into the correct state's DOT portal, re-enter truck details, insurance information, and load dimensions, and click through each form manually — one permit, one website, at a time.

Key challenges included:

A full-time clerk at ~$25/hr, ~40 hrs/week dedicated almost entirely to ordering permits.
The same data entered over and over — truck specs and insurance details re-typed into every state portal.
No central system for blanket/annual permits. Because they were ordered across many different state sites, there was no single place to see what was active or when it expired.
Missed expirations were a constant risk — an expired blanket permit means fines, delays, and potential out-of-service events.
No visibility into spend. The company couldn't easily see how much was being spent on permits per driver, which they needed for accounting.
Manual permit-requirement checks. Someone had to judge, load by load, whether a permit was even needed based on size and weight.

The process worked, but it was slow, expensive, and completely dependent on one person manually operating dozens of external websites.

The Vision: One Dashboard for Every Permit

The goal was simple: order, route, track, and analyze every permit from a single system — without anyone logging into a state website by hand.

That meant a tool that could:

Store the company's truck and insurance data once and reuse it automatically.
Order permits — individually or in bulk — in just a few clicks.
Deliver completed permits directly to the right driver or dispatcher.
Track every annual and blanket permit in one place, with reminders before they expire.
Show exactly how much was being spent, and on whom.
Decide, using AI, whether a load actually needs a permit in the first place.

The Solution: A Browser-Automation Permit Engine

OnPace Automation built a production-grade browser-automation tool inside a centralized dashboard, purpose-built for how Mega Trucking actually operates.

The core capabilities:

Centralized data import. Truck details, insurance information, and other recurring inputs are imported into one database and reused automatically — no more re-typing into every portal.
Automated ordering across state portals. The tool navigates the correct state DOT website, fills in the required data, and submits the permit — turning a manual, multi-page process into a few clicks.
Bulk ordering. Instead of one permit at a time, Mega Trucking can queue and order many permits at once.
Automatic delivery. Once a permit is issued, the system sends it straight to the driver or dispatcher of choice.
Annual/blanket permit tracking. Every long-term permit lives in one dashboard, with automatic reminders before expiration — solving a problem the company previously had no way to manage.
Analytics. A dedicated tab breaks down permit volume and spend by driver, by state, and by permit type.
Accounting integration. Because spend is tracked per driver, the system automatically deducts each driver's permit costs from their pay — a core part of the driver-deductible accounting process that used to be manual.
AI permit-requirement detection. The system uses AI to extract a load's weight and dimensions, determine whether it needs an oversize/overweight permit, and queue that permit for ordering — with a human approving before anything is submitted.

How It Works

Every permit runs through the same fast, reliable path:

Set up once. Truck, insurance, and company data are imported into the central database and reused on every future order.
AI screens the load. The system extracts weight and dimensions, and determines whether an OS/OW permit is required.
Queue and approve. Required permits are queued for ordering; a human gives final approval before submission — keeping a person in the loop on every order.
Automated ordering. The tool logs into the right state portal(s), fills in the stored data, and submits — individually or in bulk.
Automatic delivery. The completed permit is routed to the chosen driver or dispatcher.
Ongoing tracking. The dashboard monitors status, annual-permit expirations, and per-driver spend, feeding directly into accounting.

What Makes This System Different

This isn't a single-website macro — it's a full permit operations platform.

Many state portals, one interface. Dozens of separate DOT websites are handled from a single dashboard.
Bulk ordering instead of one-at-a-time manual entry.
Blanket/annual permit lifecycle management with automatic expiration reminders — something the company simply couldn't do before.
Built-in accounting logic. Per-driver spend flows automatically into payroll deductions.
AI-driven permit detection with human-in-the-loop. The system decides whether a permit is needed, then waits for human approval before ordering.

Measurable Results

After deployment, Mega Trucking achieved:

A full-time permit-clerk role eliminated — roughly $52,000/year in labor previously spent at $25/hr, ~40 hrs/week.
Faster ordering through stored data and bulk submission.
Centralized tracking of every annual/blanket permit, with reminders that all but eliminate missed expirations.
Full visibility into permit spend by driver, state, and permit type.
Automated driver-deductible accounting, removing a recurring manual step.

Business Impact

What changed wasn't just speed — it was cost, compliance, and control.

Direct labor savings from eliminating the dedicated permit clerk.
Lower compliance risk. Tracking annual permits in one place means far fewer expired-permit surprises, which carry fines and out-of-service consequences.
Cleaner accounting. Per-driver spend is captured and deducted automatically, tightening the driver-deductible process.
Scalable capacity. More permits can be ordered without adding headcount.

Why This Matters

For a heavy-haul carrier, permitting sits directly in the path of revenue: no permit, no legal move. Doing it manually ties up a full-time employee, creates compliance exposure through missed renewals, and hides the spend data the business needs for accounting.

OnPace Automation turned that liability into infrastructure — a system that orders, delivers, tracks, and accounts for every permit with:

Consistency at scale
Human approval where it counts
Complete spend visibility

The Takeaway

This isn't a script that clicks one website. It's a production-grade permit operation — designed to remove a repetitive full-time job, close a compliance gap, and give Mega Trucking a single source of truth for every permit they order.

Mega Trucking didn't just speed up permitting. They eliminated a cost center and turned it into a dashboard.