Auto-dispatching logistics systems and related methods

Abstract

A system can comprise one or more servers configured to determine a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled product orders at least by making a first hauler determination. The first hauler determination can comprise whether to assign one of a plurality of drivers of at least one of one or more haulers to the scheduled product order. When the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more auto-dispatching haulers, the server(s) can determine which of the drivers of the hauler(s) are eligible to deliver product of the scheduled product order to a delivery site based at least in part on, for each of the drivers, a remaining shift time for the driver and a load completion time for the driver.

Description

AUTO-DISPATCHING LOGISTICS SYSTEMS AND RELATED METHODSFIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to logistics systems and, more particularly but without limitation, hydraulic fracturing logistics systems.BACKGROUND

[0002] At a delivery site, product may be stored in storage containers and dispensed therefrom when needed at the delivery site. Over time, additional product may need to supplied to the delivery site to satisfy ongoing demand for the product. The inventors have recognized that this can be challenging, and particularly so in hydraulic fracturing.

[0003] In hydraulic fracturing, a well is drilled to a hydrocarbon-bearing formation underground and the formation is fractured by injecting a fracturing fluid. The fractures increase the permeability of the formation to facilitate the flow of hydrocarbons from the formation into the well. To keep the fractures open, a slurry comprising proppant is injected into the well, where the proppant can enter the fractures to prevent closure thereof while still allowing hydrocarbons to flow from the formation into the well. The proppant used in this process is typically stored in proppant storage containers at the wellsite, such as silos, and is dispensed therefrom when needed. These operations can require a significant amount of proppant — which can amount to hundreds or thousands of tons of proppant — that can be dispensed at a relatively high rate (e.g., tens of tons of proppant per hour) over a sustained period of time. As the inventors have recognized, the requirements for so much proppant can raise challenges.

[0004] With such a high demand for proppant, operators often need to coordinate a significant amount of proppant deliveries from one or more proppant suppliers to the wellsite to meet proppant demand as proppant stored in the proppant storage containers is depleted. But operators may not always be able to reliably scheduled proppant orders in an efficientmanner. For example, an operator may fail to proactively order proppant and allow proppant inventory at the wellsite to reach a point at which there is a risk of non-production time (where the fracturing process must cease due to a lack of needed proppant), especially if there is an unexpected cancellation of an ordered load (e.g., because of a diversion of the same to another wellsite). Furthermore, an operator may not be able to reliably coordinate the large number of proppant loads in a way that allows the loads to arrive and offload at the wellsite in an efficient manner. For example, the inventors have recognized that it may be inefficient for multiple trucks to arrive at the wellsite at the same time. This may, in addition to causing congestion at the wellsite that may have limited space to accommodate multiple trucks, inefficiently require trucks to wait for a significant amount of time to offload their proppant while another truck completes offloading into one of the storage containers. Operators may be unable to consistently order proppant at times that yield such staggering without delaying orders to a point that increases the risk of non-production time.

[0005] The inventors have also recognized challenges with scheduling deliveries of product, especially in hydraulic fracturing. For example, the drivers (e.g., of trucks) that may be needed to haul ordered proppant from a proppant supplier to a wellsite can face constraints on their ability to haul a load. Drivers may only be able to be on-duty for a certain period of time due to regulatory and / or contractual constraints, and there is a risk that a driver assigned to haul a load may not be able to complete the job — including a return to a base station — before the end of their shift. Additionally, there can be a large number of drivers at different locations, and it can be difficult to determine which of the drivers — in view of their location — can deliver a given load of proppant within a required delivery window, let alone which of the drivers would be the most efficient choice for making the delivery.SUMMARY

[0006] There is accordingly a need for systems and methods that can facilitate efficient, timely delivery of product (e.g., proppant) to a delivery site (e.g., a wellsite). Systems and methods disclosed herein can address this need. In particular, some systems can comprise one or more servers configured to, for each of a plurality of delivery sites, receive delivery site data (e.g., wellsite data) that includes product inventory data and product use data. The product inventory data — which can be proppant inventory data — can comprise an amount of product stored at the delivery site, such as the amount of proppant stored at the wellsite. And the product use data — which can be hydraulic fracturing data — can comprise a product use schedule (e.g., a fracturing schedule) that includes when and how much product (e.g., proppant) is used at the delivery site (e.g., for hydraulic fracturing at the wellsite). The delivery site data can thus reflect, in view of the amount product that is at the delivery site and the expected use thereof, how much additional product will need to be delivered to the delivery site. The server(s) can be configured to determine a product ordering scheduled (e.g., a proppant ordering scheduled) based at least in part on the delivery site data and, for each of one or more product suppliers, a calculated time to delivering and an amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site. The calculated time to delivering can include at least a time to drive a load of product from the product supplier to the delivery site, and thus can be used to indicate when a load of product should be ordered to reach and offload at the delivery site at a desired time (e.g., when there is not another truck offloading). The amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier can indicate whether there will be room for the load and how much product the load will provide for the delivery site, thereby allowing server(s) to determine the appropriate number of loads to schedule to meet the demands of the delivery site. From this information, the product ordering scheduled that the server(s) can determine can include when and from which of the product supplier(s) to order product,providing a data-driven schedule that can better facilitate product ordering at times that yield efficient and timely product deliveries.

[0007] Additionally, for some systems, the server(s) can be configured to determine a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled product orders (e.g., scheduled proppant orders) at least by making a first hauler determination that comprises whether to assign one of a plurality of drivers of at least one of one or more haulers to the scheduled product order. The hauler(s) can include one or more auto-dispatching haulers, and when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), the server(s) can determine the eligibility of each of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to deliver product (e.g., proppant) of the scheduled product order to the delivery site (e.g., wellsite). This eligibility determination can be based at least in part on a remaining shift time for the driver and a load completion time for the driver. The load completion time can include, for example, a load duration time that comprises a time for the driver to drive to the product supplier and a time for the driver to obtain the product of the scheduled product order from the product supplier, drive from the product supplier to the delivery site, and offload the product of the scheduled product order, and optionally can further include a time for the driver to drive from the delivery site to a base location of the driver. If the load completion time exceeds the remaining shift time, the driver may not be eligible to deliver the product of the scheduled product order to the delivery site. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the eligibility determination can include determining whether the load duration time exceeds a calculated maximum load duration time, which can comprise, for example, an average time to drive to the product supplier and the time for the driver to obtain the product of the scheduled product order from the product supplier, drive from the product supplier to the delivery site, and offload the product of the scheduled product order. If the load duration time exceeds the calculated maximum load duration time (e.g., which can indicate that the driver assessed would be slower-than-average for finishing offloading and / or may increase the risk of non-production time), the driver may be determined to be ineligible. The eligibility determination of this autodispatching approach can facilitate the quick and reliable assignment of drivers that can complete delivery of the product of the scheduled product orders they are assigned to before their shifts end and that can be efficient choices — in terms of best utilizing their available time — for delivering the scheduled product orders. This can be particularly important for hydraulic fracturing, where a large number of deliveries may need to be scheduled in a relatively short period of time.

[0008] Some of the present systems comprise a hydraulic fracturing logistics system, and some of the present methods comprise a method of facilitating hydraulic fracturing logistics. Some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems comprise one or more servers. The server(s), in some embodiments, are configured to, for each of a plurality of wellsites, receive wellsite data. Some methods comprise receiving, for each of a plurality of wellsites, wellsite data. The wellsite data, in some embodiments, includes proppant inventory data comprising an amount of proppant stored at the wellsite. In some embodiments, the wellsite data comprises hydraulic fracturing data comprising a fracturing schedule that includes when and how much proppant is used for hydraulic fracturing at the wellsite. The wellsite data, in some embodiments, further includes storage container data comprising an amount of the proppant storage container(s) at the wellsite and a capacity of each of the proppant storage container(s) at the wellsite. In some embodiments, the amount of proppant stored at the wellsite includes an amount of proppant contained in the proppant storage container(s) at the wellsite. The proppant inventory data comprising the amount of proppant contained in the proppant storage container(s) at the wellsite, in some of such embodiments, includes data from one or more sensors of each of the proppant storage container(s) that are configured to measure the amount of proppant contained in the proppant storage container.

[0009] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured, for each of the wellsites, to determine a proppant ordering schedule for the wellsite based at least in part on the wellsite data and, for each of one or more proppant suppliers, a calculated time to delivering and an amount of proppant of a load drivable from the proppant supplier to the wellsite. Some methods comprise determining a proppant ordering schedule for the wellsite based at least in part on the wellsite data and, for each of one or more proppant suppliers, a calculated time to delivering and an amount of proppant of a load drivable from the proppant supplier to the wellsite. The calculated time to delivering, in some embodiments, includes at least a time to drive a load of proppant from the proppant supplier to the wellsite. In some embodiments, the calculated time to delivering further includes, for each of the proppant suppliers, a time to drive to the proppant supplier, a time to wait at the proppant supplier, a time to load proppant at the proppant supplier, and a time to wait at the wellsite before offloading. In some embodiments, the time to drive to the proppant supplier is an average time to drive to the proppant supplier.

[0010] In some embodiments, the proppant ordering schedule includes when and from which of the proppant supplier(s) to order proppant. The when and from which of the proppant supplier(s) to order proppant, in some embodiments, comprises a sequence of scheduled proppant orders.

[0011] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, for each of the wellsites for which the one or more proppant suppliers comprise a plurality of proppant suppliers, the server(s) are configured to determine the proppant ordering schedule in one of one or more allocations modes. The allocation mode(s), in some embodiments, include a total percentage mode, a daily percentage mode, and / or a daily quantity mode. In some embodiments, in the total percentage mode, the server(s) are configured to determine the proppant ordering schedule further based at least in part on a target total order allocation percentage of each of the proppant suppliers.In some embodiments, in the total percentage mode, the server(s) are configured to determine each of the scheduled proppant orders that are after a first one of the scheduled proppant orders of the sequence at least by determining a prior amount of proppant of the one or more scheduled proppant orders that are prior to the scheduled proppant order that the server(s) are determining and, for each of the proppant suppliers, a total proppant allocation percentage that is a percentage of the prior amount of proppant that is allocated to the proppant supplier and a total allocation difference that is a difference between the target total allocation percentage and the total proppant allocation percentage of the proppant supplier. In some embodiments, in the daily percentage mode, the server(s) are configured to determine the proppant ordering schedule further based at least in part on a target daily order allocation percentage of each of the proppant suppliers. In some embodiments, in the daily percentage mode, for each day, the server(s) are configured to determine each of the scheduled proppant orders for the day that are after a first one of the scheduled proppant orders for the day at least by determining a prior amount of proppant of the one or more scheduled proppant orders for the day that are prior to the scheduled proppant order that the server(s) are determining and, for each of the proppant suppliers, a daily proppant allocation percentage that is a percentage of the prior amount of proppant that is allocated to the proppant supplier and for the day and a daily allocation difference that is a difference between the target daily allocation percentage and the daily allocation percentage of the proppant supplier. In some embodiments, in the daily quantity mode, the server(s) are configured to determine the proppant ordering schedule further based at least in part on a priority order of the proppant suppliers and a maximum customer daily limit of proppant purchasable from each of the proppant suppliers.

[0012] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured to determine each of the scheduled proppant orders further at least by determining which one or more of the proppant storage container(s) that the scheduled proppant order is for. Theserver(s), in some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, are configured such that in the total percentage mode, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s) that are after the first scheduled proppant order of the sequence, the server(s) determine that the scheduled proppant order is from the proppant supplier having the largest total allocation difference when the total proppant allocation percentage of the proppant supplier is less than the target total allocation percentage of the proppant supplier and the amount of proppant of a load drivable from the proppant supplier to the wellsite is less than or equal to a calculated remaining space in the proppant storage container(s) that the scheduled proppant order is for. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that in the total percentage mode, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s) that are after the first scheduled proppant order of the sequence, the server(s) do not determine that the scheduled proppant order is from the proppant supplier having the largest total allocation difference when the amount of proppant of a load drivable from the proppant supplier to the wellsite is greater than the calculated remaining space in the proppant storage container(s) that the scheduled proppant order is for. The server(s), in some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, are configured such that in the daily percentage mode, for each day, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s) for the day that are after a first one of the scheduled proppant orders for the day, the server(s) determine that the scheduled proppant order is from the proppant supplier having the largest daily allocation difference when the daily proppant allocation percentage of the proppant supplier is less than the target daily allocation percentage of the proppant supplier and the amount of proppant of a load drivable from the proppant supplier to the wellsite is less than or equal to a calculated remaining space in the proppant storage container(s) that the scheduled proppant order is for. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that in the daily percentage mode, for each day, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s) for the day that are after a first one of the scheduled proppant orders for the day, the server(s) do notdetermine that the scheduled proppant order is from the proppant supplier having the largest daily allocation difference when the amount of proppant of a load drivable from the proppant supplier to the wellsite is greater than the calculated remaining space in the proppant storage container(s) that the scheduled proppant order is for.

[0013] In some methods, for at least one of the wellsites, the one or more proppant suppliers comprise a plurality of proppant suppliers. In some of such methods, determining the proppant ordering schedule is further based at least in part on a target total order allocation percentage of each of the proppant suppliers, a daily total order allocation percentage of each of the proppant suppliers, or a priority order of the proppant suppliers and a maximum customer daily limit of proppant purchasable from each of the proppant suppliers. In some of such methods, determining the proppant ordering schedule comprises determining each of the scheduled proppant orders that are after a first one of the scheduled proppant orders of the sequence at least by determining a prior amount of proppant of the one or more scheduled proppant orders that are prior to the scheduled proppant order that is being determined and, for each of the proppant suppliers, a total proppant allocation percentage that is a percentage of the prior amount of proppant that is allocated to the proppant supplier and a total allocation difference that is a difference between the target total allocation percentage and the total proppant allocation percentage of the proppant supplier. In some methods, determining the proppant ordering schedule comprises, for each day, determining each of the scheduled proppant orders for the day that are after a first one of the scheduled proppant orders for the day at least by determining a prior amount of proppant of the one or more scheduled proppant orders for the day that are prior to the scheduled proppant order that is being determined and, for each of the proppant suppliers, a daily proppant allocation percentage that is a percentage of the prior amount of proppant that is allocated to the proppant supplier and for the day and a dailyallocation difference that is a difference between the target daily allocation percentage and the daily proppant allocation percentage of the proppant supplier.

[0014] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, for each of the wellsites that includes proppant storage container(s), the server(s) are configured to determine a status of each of the proppant storage container(s), the determination of the status including whether the proppant storage container is being filled with proppant, is dispensing proppant for fracturing, or is idle. In some embodiments, the proppant ordering schedule is further based at least in part on the status of each of the proppant storage container(s). In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured to determine a filling mode of the wellsite, wherein the server(s) are configured such that when the server(s) determine that the wellsite is in a first filling mode, the server(s) determine the proppant ordering schedule such that, for each of the proppant storage container(s), proppant scheduled to be ordered for the proppant storage container is not scheduled to be unloaded at the wellsite while the proppant storage container is dispensing proppant for fracturing, and the server(s) are configured such that when the server(s) determine that the wellsite is in a second filling mode, the server(s) determine the proppant ordering schedule such that, for each of the proppant storage container(s), proppant scheduled to be ordered for the proppant storage container is permitted to be scheduled to be unloaded at the wellsite while the proppant storage container is dispensing proppant for fracturing. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that when the server(s) determine that the wellsite is in the first filling mode, the server(s) determine each of the scheduled proppant orders at least by determining which single one of the proppant storage container(s) that the scheduled proppant order is for. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that when the server(s) determine that the wellsite is in the first filling mode and, for each of the scheduled proppant orders, when the server(s) determine whether the scheduled proppant order is for one of the proppant storagecontainer(s) that is dispensing proppant for fracturing, the server(s) calculate a time for proppant contained in the proppant storage container to be emptied from the proppant storage container. The server(s), in some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, are configured to determine the proppant ordering schedule such that, when the one or more proppant storage containers comprises multiple proppant storage containers, for each of the scheduled proppant orders the server(s) determine whether the scheduled proppant order is for one of the proppant storage containers that is being filled with proppant before determining whether the scheduled proppant order is for one of the proppant storage containers that is idle. The server(s), in some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, are configured to determine the proppant ordering schedule such that, when the one or more proppant storage containers comprises multiple proppant storage containers, for each of the scheduled proppant orders the server(s) determine that the scheduled proppant order is for one of the proppant storage containers that is idle and contains a first amount of proppant before each of the proppant storage containers that is idle and contains a second amount of proppant that is less than the first amount. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured to determine whether each of the proppant storage container(s) is dispensing proppant for fracturing based at least in part on the data from the sensor(s) of each of the proppant storage container(s).

[0015] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured to transmit each of the scheduled proppant orders to an electronic device of a hauler at a time specified by the scheduled proppant order. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, for each of the scheduled proppant orders, a portable electronic device of a truck driver is configured to receive the scheduled proppant order when the hauler accepts the scheduled proppant order. The portable electronic device of the truck driver, in some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, is configured to display a code indicative of at least an amount of proppant of the scheduled proppant order. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s)are configured to transmit the proppant ordering schedule to an electronic device that is configured to display the proppant ordering schedule.

[0016] The server(s), in some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, are configured to determine a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled proppant orders at least by making a first hauler determination. Some methods comprise determining a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled proppant orders at least by making a first hauler determination. In some embodiments, the first hauler determination comprises whether to assign one of a plurality of drivers of at least one of one or more haulers to the scheduled proppant order. The first hauler determination, in some embodiments, comprises whether to assign one of the drivers of a single one of the hauler(s) to the scheduled proppant order. Each of the scheduled proppant order(s), in some embodiments, is from a proppant supplier and for a wellsite. The one or more haulers, in some embodiments, include one or more autodispatching haulers. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), the server(s) make the first hauler determination at least by determining which of the drivers of the autodispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are eligible to deliver proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite. In some methods, for at least one of the scheduled proppant order(s), the first hauler determination is made at least by determining which of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are eligible to deliver proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite. In some embodiments, determining which of the driver(s) of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are eligible to deliver proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite is based at least in part on, for each of the drivers, a remaining shift time for the driver and a load completion time for the driver that includes a load duration time. The load duration time, in some embodiments,comprises a time for the driver to drive to the proppant supplier and a time for the driver to obtain the proppant of the scheduled proppant order from the proppant supplier, drive from the proppant supplier to the wellsite, and offload the proppant of the scheduled proppant order. In some embodiments, for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), the driver has a base location and the load completion time for the driver further comprises a time for the driver to drive from the wellsite to the base location.

[0017] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination, when making the first hauler determination the server(s) determine whether the driver is eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite based at least in part on whether the remaining shift time for the driver is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver. In some methods, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s) for which the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination, when making the first hauler determination determining whether the driver is eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite is based at least in part on whether the remaining shift time for the driver is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver. In some embodiments, it is determined that the driver is eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite when the remaining shift time for the driver is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver and the load duration time for the driver is less than or equal to a calculated maximum load duration time. In some embodiments, the calculated maximum load duration comprises the average time to drive to the proppant supplier and the time for the driver to obtain the proppant of the scheduled proppant order from the proppant supplier, drivefrom the proppant supplier to the wellsite, and offload the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

[0018] In some embodiments, when multiple ones of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are each determined to be eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite, the first hauler determination further comprises determining which one of the eligible drivers to request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order based at least in part on, for each of the eligible drivers, a difference between the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver. In some of such embodiments, the eligible driver having the lowest difference between the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver is requested to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order. In some embodiments, when the one or more scheduled proppant orders comprise a plurality of time-grouped scheduled proppant orders that are scheduled to be ordered within a window of time and the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination for each of the time-grouped scheduled proppant orders are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the time-grouped scheduled proppant orders for which multiples ones of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are each determined to be eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite, determining which one of the eligible drivers of the autodispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order is further based at least in part on, for each of the drivers of the autodispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination of the other of the time-grouped scheduled proppant orders, the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver.

[0019] In some embodiments, the one or more haulers comprise one or more priority haulers. Each of the priority hauler(s), in some embodiments, is one of the auto-dispatchinghauler(s). The one or more haulers, in some embodiments, comprise two or more direct-offer haulers. At least one of the direct-offer haulers, in some embodiments, is one of the priority hauler(s). In some embodiments, at least one of the direct-offer haulers is not one of the autodispatching hauler(s). In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured to determine, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), which one or more of the haulers are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, in a first mode, the server(s) are configured to determine that one or more of the priority hauler(s) are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, in a second mode, the server(s) are configured to determine which one or more of the direct-offer haulers are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination based at least in part on a target hauler allocation percentage of each of the direct-offer haulers. In some of such hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when in the first mode and determining not to assign any of the drivers of priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order, the server(s) determine the driver assignment further at least by making a second hauler determination, the second hauler determination comprising whether to assign one of the drivers of at least one of the direct-offer haulers that are not the priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination.

[0020] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when in the first mode and determining not to assign any of the drivers of the direct-offer hauler(s) of the second hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order, the server(s) determine the driver assignment further at least by making one or more pooled hauler determinations. In some embodiments, each of the pooled hauler determination(s) comprises making a request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to a pool of two or more of the haulers that include the direct-offer haulers anddetermining whether one of the drivers of the haulers of the pool agreed to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when in the second mode and determining not to assign any of the drivers of the direct-offer hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order, the server(s) determine the driver assignment further at least by making one or more of the pooled hauler determination(s). The one or more pooled hauler determinations, in some embodiments, include a first pooled hauler determination, wherein the haulers of the first pooled hauler determination consist of the direct- offer haulers. The one or more pooled hauler determinations, in some embodiments, include a second pooled hauler determination, wherein the haulers of the second pooled hauler determination include one or more of the haulers that are not the auto-dispatching hauler(s) and are not the direct-offer haulers. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, when in the first mode, the server(s) determine not to assign any of the drivers of the direct-offer hauler(s) of the second hauler determination when an offer expiration time has passed after making a request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the direct-offer hauler(s) of the second hauler determination, and when in the second mode, the server(s) determine not to assign any of the drivers of the direct-offer hauler(s) of the first hauler determination when an offer expiration time has passed after making a request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the direct-offer hauler(s) of the first hauler determination.

[0021] In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, for each of the drivers of the autodispatching hauler(s), the server(s) are configured to receive location data regarding a position of the driver from a portable electronic device of the driver. In some hydraulic fracturing logistics systems, the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), the server(s) determine whether to assign one of drivers of the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order based at least in part on, for each of oneor more of the drivers requested to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order, acceptance data from a portable electronic device of the driver, the acceptance data comprising whether the driver agreed to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

[0022] The term “coupled” is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.

[0023] The terms “comprise” and any form thereof such as “comprises” and “comprising,” “have” and any form thereof such as “has” and “having,” and “include” and any form thereof such as “includes” and “including” are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a product or system that “comprises,” “has,” or “includes” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements but is not limited to possessing only those elements. Likewise, a method that “comprises,” “has,” or “includes” one or more steps possesses those one or more steps but is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps.

[0024] Any embodiment of any of the products, systems, and methods can consist of or consist essentially of — rather than comprise / have / include — any of the described steps, elements, and / or features. Thus, in any of the claims, the term “consisting of’ or “consisting essentially of’ can be substituted for any of the open-ended linking verbs recited above in order to change the scope of a given claim from what it would otherwise be using the open-ended linking verb.

[0025] Further, a device or system that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but it can also be configured in other ways than those specifically described.

[0026] The feature or features of one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, even though not described or illustrated, unless expressly prohibited by this disclosure or the nature of the embodiments.

[0027] Some details associated with the embodiments described above and others are described below.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The following drawings illustrate by way of example and not limitation. For the sake of brevity and clarity, every feature of a given structure is not always labeled in every figure in which that structure appears. Identical reference numbers do not necessarily indicate an identical structure. Rather, the same reference number may be used to indicate a similar feature or a feature with similar functionality, as may non-identical reference numbers.

[0029] FIG. 1 is a schematic of one of the present logistics systems that can comprise one or more servers that are in communication with one or more devices and are configured to determine an ordering schedule and a driver assignment for each of one or more orders.

[0030] FIGs. 2A-2C illustrates steps that the server(s) of FIG. 1 can execute to determine the ordering schedule, where the server(s) execute the steps in FIG. 2B in a first filling mode and the server(s) execute the steps in FIG. 2C in a second filling mode.

[0031] FIGs. 3A is a schematic of proppant storage containers at a wellsite and illustrate the container sequencing when determining the ordering schedule.

[0032] FIG. 3B is a graph illustrating the projected inventory of proppant in the proppant storage containers of FIG. 3A based on scheduled proppant orders and the fracking schedule.

[0033] FIG. 3C illustrates a calculated time to delivering used when determining an ordering schedule.

[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates a display of ordered loads and scheduled proppant orders for a wellsite.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a front view of an electronic device of a driver while the electronic device displays a code indicative of at least an amount of proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

[0036] FIG. 6 illustrates steps that the server(s) of FIG. 1 can execute to determine a driver assignment for each of one or more orders.

[0037] FIG. 7A is a schematic illustrating routes for drivers to obtain proppant from a proppant supplier, transport proppant to a wellsite, and return to a base station from the wellsite.

[0038] FIG. 7B illustrates a load duration time for a driver.

[0039] FIG. 7C is a table illustrating parameters assessed when determining driver eligibility for an auto-dispatch determination.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Referring to FIG. 1, shown is an embodiment 10 of the present logistics systems. Logistics system 10 can comprise one or more servers 14 configured to determine an ordering schedule for a product and a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled orders. Preferably, logistics system 10 is a hydraulic fracturing logistics system, with server(s) 14 being configured to determine, for each of a plurality of wellsites, a proppant ordering schedule for the wellsite and a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled proppant orders. As discussed in further detail below, this can facilitate timely proppant delivery to the wellsites, which can be critical for hydraulic fracturing operations in which a significant amount of proppant is typically delivered to a wellsite in a relatively short time span — often amounting to significantly more material delivered in a given time period, compared to the delivery of other products — to avoid non-production time. While system 10 can be particularly beneficial for facilitating proppant delivery, in other embodiments the system can be configured to determine an ordering schedule for a different product, such as another bulk material (e.g., grain, coal, cement, woodchips, and / or the like), fuel (e.g., gasoline, diesel, propane, kerosene, and / or the like), and / or the like.

[0041] Server(s) 14 can be configured to determine — and some of the present methods comprise determining — the ordering schedule (e.g., the proppant ordering schedule) for eachof the delivery sites (e.g., wellsites) using information that reflects the amount of product (e.g., proppant) stored at the delivery site, the projected use of the product, load size, and the time it takes to deliver the product to the delivery site from each of one or more product suppliers (e.g., proppant suppliers). In this manner, server(s) 14 can determine an ordering schedule that can include when and from which of the product supplier(s) to order product — which can comprise a sequence of scheduled product orders (e.g., proppant orders) — to satisfy product demand at the delivery site.

[0042] To obtain such information, server(s) 14 can be in communication with one or more devices (e.g., 18-38), such as via one or more networks. First, server(s) 14 can be configured to receive — and some of the present methods comprise receiving — for each of the delivery sites (e.g., wellsites), delivery site data (e.g., wellsite data) that includes product inventory data (e.g., proppant inventory data) comprising an amount of the product (e.g., proppant) stored at the delivery site. For example, the delivery site can comprise one or more storage containers (e.g., proppant storage containers) that each have one or more sensors 18 configured to measure the amount of the product contained in the storage container, and the product inventory data can include data from the sensor(s) of each of the storage container(s). Sensor(s) 18 can thus provide information to server(s) 14 regarding the amount of the product stored in the storage container(s) at the delivery site. Additionally or alternatively, the product inventory data can comprise an input from one or more electronic devices 22 and / or 26 like a desktop computer or a portable electronic device (e.g., a laptop, a mobile phone, a tablet, and / or the like). For example, a supervisor can use electronic device 22 and / or a coordinator at the delivery site can use electronic device 26 to input product inventory and / or adjust the product inventory measured by sensor(s) 18 (e.g., if there is a discrepancy).

[0043] To provide information regarding how the product inventory at each of the delivery sites compares to the storage at the delivery site, the delivery site data can further includestorage container data comprising an amount of the product storage container(s) at the delivery site and a capacity of each of the product storage container(s). For example, the supervisor can input how many product storage containers are at the delivery site and the capacity of each using electronic device 22, which can transmit that information to server(s) 14. This can allow server(s) 14 to make a container-by-container assessment of the extent to which the container has space remaining to accommodate more product (e.g., proppant) from a scheduled order, which can facilitate the determination of the ordering schedule. And server(s) 14 can be configured to receive, for each of one or more product suppliers (e.g., proppant suppliers, which can each be a proppant plant), data regarding an amount of product (e.g., proppant) of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site (e.g., wellsite). For example, each of the product supplier(s) for the delivery site may require a certain amount of product per load to be purchased. The supervisor can input this limit for each of the product supplier(s) (e.g., which may or may not have different limits) using electronic device 22, which can transmit that limit to server(s) 14 such that the server(s) have the data regarding the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site to make the ordering schedule determination. As explained in further detail below, this data can allow server(s) 14 to, for example, determine whether the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site exceeds the remaining space in one of the storage container(s) to facilitate the determination of an appropriate ordering schedule.

[0044] For each of the delivery sites, the delivery site data can also include product use data (e.g., hydraulic fracturing data) comprising a use schedule (e.g., a fracturing schedule) that includes when and how much of the product (e.g., proppant) is used (e.g., for hydraulic fracturing at the wellsite). For example, the supervisor can input the use schedule using electronic device 22 (e.g., when setting up a job at the delivery site), and electronic device 22 can transmit that input (which can be part of the product use data) to server(s) 14 such that theserver(s) have that information to determine the ordering schedule. The coordinator at the delivery site can also make an input using electronic device 26 to update the use schedule (e.g., if there is a change thereto); the product use data can comprise the input from electronic device 26 to maintain an up-to-date use schedule. In addition to such manual input(s), the product use data can comprise data from sensor(s) 18 to allow server(s) 14 to automatically update the use schedule based on actual product usage. For example, when sensor(s) 18 of the storage container(s) indicate that the amount of product in the storage container(s) begins to decrease (e.g., the decrease in the amount of the product is above a threshold rate and / or for more than a threshold timeframe), server(s) 14 can determine that a period of product usage (e.g., a hydraulic fracturing stage) has begun, and when the sensor(s) of the storage container(s) indicate that the amount of product in the storage container(s) is no longer decreasing (e.g., the change in the amount of product is below a threshold rate, optionally for more than a threshold timeframe), the server(s) can determine that the period of product usage (e.g., the hydraulic fracturing stage) has ended. If the determined beginning and / or end of the period of product usage is different than what was scheduled, server(s) 14 can update the use schedule accordingly. For example, when server(s) 14 determine that the period of product usage begins at a different time than specified in the use schedule, the server(s) can update the use schedule to shift the end time of the period of product usage — and the beginning and end times of any subsequent period(s) of product usage (e.g., hydraulic fracturing stage(s)) — by the difference between the determined and specified beginning times of the period of product usage. Likewise, when server(s) 14 determine that the period of product usage ends at a different time than specified in the use schedule, the server(s) can update the use schedule to shift the beginning and end times of any subsequent period(s) of product usage by the difference between the determined and specified end times of the period of product usage. In this manner, the scheduled durations of period(s) of product usage and the durations of scheduled break(s)therebetween can be maintained even when actual beginning and end times change. This can facilitate maintenance of an accurate use schedule for the ordering- schedule determination.

[0045] The delivery site data (e.g., wellsite data) and the amount of product (e.g., proppant) of a load drivable from each of the product supplier(s) (e.g., proppant supplier(s)) to the delivery site (e.g., wellsite) can reflect when additional product is needed to satisfy demand for the product and which (if any) product supplier(s) can provide a load that can be accommodated at the delivery site. Server(s) 14 can thus determine the ordering scheduled for the delivery site based at least in part on the delivery site data and, for each of the product supplier(s), the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site. To determine when to order product to allow the product to reach the delivery site at a desired time (e.g., to meet a desired inventory level for product demand), server(s) 14 can also calculate, for each of the product supplier(s), a time to delivering that can include at least a time to drive a load of the product from the product supplier to the delivery site. Scheduling order placement to occur before the desired delivery time by the calculated time to delivering can facilitate timely delivery of a load of the product. Server(s) 14 can thus determine the ordering schedule further based at least in part on the calculated time to delivering. As described in further detail below, server(s) 14 can calculate the time to delivering based at least in part on, for example, an input that a supervisor makes into electronic device 22, data collected from one or more electronic devices 30 of at least one hauler, and / or data collected from one or more electronic devices 34 of at least one driver, which can reflect the amount of time it can take for a driver to deliver a load of the product to the delivery site from the product supplier.

[0046] Referring to FIGs. 2A-2C, shown is a process 42 server(s) 14 can execute — and that can be part of some of the present methods — to determine the ordering scheduled based at least in part on the delivery site data (e.g., wellsite data) and, for each of one or more product suppliers (e.g., proppant suppliers), an amount of product (e.g., proppant) of a load drivablefrom the product supplier to the delivery site (e.g., wellsite) and the calculated time to delivering.

[0047] At some delivery sites (e.g., wellsites), operators may wish to preclude filling of a storage container while the product (e.g., proppant) is being dispensed therefrom, while at others operators may wish to allow a storage container to be filled while the product is being dispensed. As shown in FIG. 2A, to address this, in some embodiments process 42 can include a step 46 in which server(s) 14 can be configured to determine — and some methods comprise determining — a filling mode of the delivery site. The filling mode can be part of the delivery site data and can be, for example, an input that the supervisor makes into electronic device 22 and that is transmitted to server(s) 14. If at step 50 server(s) 14 determine that the delivery site is in a first filling mode, at block 54 (FIG. 2B) the ordering schedule can be determined such that, for each of the storage container(s), product scheduled to be ordered for the storage container is not scheduled to be unloaded at the delivery site while the storage container is dispensing the product (e.g., proppant for fracturing). If at step 50 server(s) 14 determine that the delivery site is in a second filling mode, at block 58 (FIG. 2C) the ordering schedule can be determined such that, for each of the storage container(s) product scheduled to be ordered for the storage container is permitted to be scheduled to be unloaded at the delivery while the proppant storage container is dispensing the product.

[0048] The steps of block 54 (e.g., for the first filling mode) and the steps of block 58 (e.g., for the second filling mode) can be performed for each of one or more types of the product. For example, at a wellsite, hydraulic fracturing may employ multiple types of proppant, such as proppant having different mesh sizes, and server(s) 14 can execute the steps of block 54 (e.g., if the wellsite is in the first filling mode) or the steps of block 58 (e.g., if the wellsite is in the second filling mode) for each of the types of proppant to determine a proppant ordering schedule with scheduled orders for all types of proppant needed.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 2B, when the delivery site is in the first filling mode, at step 62 server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether the inventory of the product type exceeds demand for the product type over an assessment period. As noted above, server(s) 14 can make this determination based at least in part on the delivery site data, which can include product inventory data regarding the amount of the product stored at the delivery site and product use data that comprises a schedule that includes when and how much product is used. If the inventory does not exceed demand, server(s) 14 can continue on to determine one or more product orders for the ordering schedule to meet that demand. For example, for hydraulic fracturing, if the hydraulic fracturing schedule indicates that the amount of a type of proppant that will be needed to fulfill the needs of scheduled fracturing stage(s) in the assessment period exceeds the amount of the type of proppant stored at the wellsite, server(s) 14 can proceed to schedule one or more proppant orders for the type of proppant. The assessment period can be over the entirety of the use schedule or only a portion thereof. As an illustration, for hydraulic fracturing, the assessment period can be a non-production time threshold that, for example, the supervisor can input into electronic device 22 and can be transmitted to server(s) 14. Non-production time can be the amount of time for the type of the proppant stored at the wellsite to be used for hydraulic fracturing (e.g., based on the hydraulic fracturing schedule), after which none of the type of proppant will remain to continue fracturing. The non-production time threshold can thus be set such that server(s) 14 schedule proppant orders to meet proppant demand for a minimum time period, thereby facilitating maintenance of adequate proppant inventory to mitigate the risk of running out of proppant.

[0050] As noted above, in some embodiments, the delivery site can include one or more (e.g., a plurality of) storage containers. Server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — each of the scheduled product orders of the ordering schedule at least by determining which one or more (e.g., which single one) of the storage container(s) that thescheduled proppant order is for. To do so, for each of the product type(s), at step 66 server(s)14 can iterate through each of the storage container(s) for the product type and determine whether to schedule one or more product orders for the storage container under assessment by performing the subsequent steps for the storage container.

[0051] When there are multiple storage containers, the order in which they are considered can be important to facilitate efficient maintenance of product inventory at the delivery site. The order in which the storage containers are considered can be determined based at least in part on the amount of product in each of the storage containers and a status of each of the storage containers, which server(s) 14 can determine (e.g., from sensor(s) 18). For example, server(s) 14 can determine if the storage container is being filled with product (e.g., if sensor(s) 18 of the storage container indicate that the amount of product in the container is increasing), is dispensing product (e.g., proppant for fracturing) (e.g., if the sensor(s) of the storage container indicate that the amount of product in the container is decreasing), or is idle (e.g., if the sensor(s) of the storage container indicate that the amount of product in the container is not changing). Priority can be given to the storage container(s) that are being filled with product; that is, server(s) 14 can determine whether to schedule one or more product orders for each of the storage container(s) that are being filled with the product type (if any) before determining whether to schedule one or more product orders for each other of the storage container(s) that are for storing the product type. This can facilitate completion of filling operations, which can be particularly important in the first filling mode where storage containers cannot dispense product while being filled and completion of the filling operation for the storage container can accordingly render it available for use (e.g., for fracturing).

[0052] Next in priority can be the storage container(s) that are idle and in which there is space remaining for product; that is, server(s) 14 can determine whether to schedule one or more product orders for each of the storage container(s) that are idle and are partially filledwith the product type (if any) before determining whether to schedule one or more product orders for any storage container that is dispensing the product type and before determining whether to schedule one or more product orders for any storage container that is idle and full with the product type. And, if there are multiple storage containers that are idle and partially filled with the product type, priority can be given to the storage containers storing more product, e.g., such that for each of such storage containers, server(s) 14 can determine whether to schedule one or more product orders for the storage container before determining whether to schedule one or more product orders for any other of such storage containers that are storing less product than the storage container. With such ordering, the storage containers that need product and can be filled in the least amount of time can be filled before others, allowing efficient maintenance of as-full-as-possible storage containers that are ready to dispense product.

[0053] After idle-and-partially-full storage container(s), the assessment can be performed for the storage container(s) that are dispensing product; that is, server(s) 14 can determine whether to schedule one or more product orders for each of the storage container(s) that are dispensing the product type (if any) before determining whether to schedule one or more product orders for any storage container that is idle and full with the product type. Storage container(s) that are dispensing may have less of an immediate need for additional product (especially in the first filling mode), rendering the order scheduling for the dispensing storage container(s) less of a priority.

[0054] Finally, server(s) 14 can determine whether to schedule one or more product orders for each of the storage container(s) that are idle and full, which may not have an immediate need for product but may require further product after currently-stored product is dispensed therefrom.

[0055] An illustration of the order in which the storage containers can be considered is inFIG. 3A, which illustrates six proppant storage containers 106a- 106f at a wellsite, the status of each of the proppant storage containers, the order in which the proppant storage containers are considered for order scheduling (“Load Priority”), and the order in which proppant is dispensed from the proppant storage containers for fracturing (“Fracking Order”). As shown, first proppant storage container 106a is being filled with proppant and thus can be the first proppant storage container for which server(s) 14 determine whether to schedule one or more proppant orders. Fifth and sixth proppant storage containers 106e and 106f are each idle and partially filled, with the fifth proppant storage container storing more proppant than the sixth proppant storage container; as such, server(s) 14 can determine whether to schedule one or more proppant orders for the fifth proppant storage container after making that determination for the first proppant storage container, and can then do the same for the sixth proppant storage container. Second proppant storage container 106b is dispensing proppant for fracturing and server(s) 14 can accordingly determine whether to schedule one or more proppant orders for the second proppant storage container after making that determination for the sixth proppant storage container. Third and fourth proppant storage containers 106c and 106d are each idle and full and can thus be the last proppant storage containers for which server(s) 14 determine whether to schedule one or more proppant orders. This filling can allow successive dispensing from proppant storage containers that have been filled, with proppant first being dispensed from second proppant storage container 106b, then from third and fourth proppant storage containers 106c and 106d that are full, then from first proppant storage container 106a that is the first proppant storage container that is scheduled to be refilled, then from fifth proppant storage container 106e that is the second proppant storage container that is scheduled to be refilled, and finally from sixth proppant storage container 106f that is the third proppant storage container that is scheduled to be refilled. Allowing successive dispensing from proppantstorage containers that have been filled can facilitate the fracturing process by, for example, maximizing the amount of proppant that is stored in dispensing storage containers and thereby minimizing the number of times an operator must switch between proppant storage containers (if at all) to meet the proppant needs of a given fracturing stage.

[0056] Turning back to FIG. 2B, when the delivery site is in the first filling mode, for the storage container being considered, at step 70 server(s) 14 can take different approaches to determining scheduled order(s) for the storage container depending on its status. If server(s) 14 determine that the storage container is being filled with product or is idle, the storage container is currently a candidate for receiving product (e.g., because it is not a dispensing storage container) and the server(s) can thus proceed to step 74 where the server(s) can determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether a calculated remaining space in the storage container is enough for a load of the product type. Server(s) 14 can calculate the remaining space in the storage container from, for example, (1) the product inventory data that can reflect the amount of product that is contained in the storage container and (2) the storage container data that can reflect the capacity of the storage container, with the calculated remaining space being the difference between the capacity and the amount of product in the storage container. To determine if the calculated remaining space is enough for a load of the product type, server(s) 14 can rely on the input regarding the amount of proppant of a load drivable from each of the proppant supplier(s) to the wellsite; if the amount for at least one of the proppant supplier(s) (e.g., the minimum amount of a load) is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space, the server(s) can determine that there is enough space for a load. Otherwise, server(s) 14 can determine that there is not enough space for a load.

[0057] If it is determined that the calculated remaining space in the storage container is enough for a load of product, server(s) 14 can calculate — and some methods comprise calculating — an amount of the product type needed for the storage container for use at thedelivery site (e.g., for hydraulic fracturing). This calculation can be based at least in part on the calculated remaining space in the storage container (and thus on the product inventory data and the storage container data), the product inventory data, the product use data that can indicate how much of the product type is to be used at the delivery site (e.g., for hydraulic fracturing) in the assessment period, the amount of the product type of any order(s) scheduled (but not yet ordered) for any previously-considered storage container(s) in the storagecontainer iteration, and the amount of the product type of any ordered load(s) for the delivery site. To do so, at step 78 the calculated remaining space in the storage container, the product inventory data, and the product use data can be used for an initial determination of the amount of the product type needed for the storage container. The initially-determined amount of product needed for the storage container can be the difference between the amount of the product type that is to be used at the delivery site in the assessment period and the amount of the product type stored at the delivery site, unless that difference exceeds the calculated remaining space in the storage container, in which case the initially-determined amount of the product type needed for the storage container can be the calculated remaining space in the storage container (e.g., to return it to full). Then, at step 82 the initially-determined amount of the product type needed for the storage container can be adjusted to account for any of the product type that has already been ordered or scheduled to be ordered. For example, if the initially-determined amount of the product type needed for the storage container was not limited to the calculated remaining space in the storage container, the amount of the product type of any order(s) scheduled for any previously-considered storage container(s) and the amount of the product type of any ordered load(s) for the delivery site can be subtracted from the initially-determined amount of the product type needed for the storage container, yielding an amount of the product type needed for the storage container that accounts for these other loads that are ordered or scheduled to be ordered. If the initially-determined amount of theproduct type needed for the storage container was limited to the calculated remaining space in the storage container, the amount of product type needed for the storage container can still be the calculated remaining space in the storage container, unless the amount of the product type that is to be used at the delivery site in the assessment period minus the amount of product type stored at the delivery site, the amount of the product type of any order(s) scheduled for any previously-considered storage container(s), and the amount of the product type of any ordered load(s) for the delivery site is less than the calculated remaining space in the storage container, in which case that difference can be the amount of the product type needed for the storage container.

[0058] With that calculation, at step 86 server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether the amount of the product type needed for the storage container both exceeds zero and the amount of a load drivable from each of the product supplier(s) (e.g., exceeds at least the smallest drivable load of those available from the product supplier(s)). If it does not exceed zero, then the amount of the product type contained in the storage container and any amount of the product type ordered or scheduled to be ordered can already satisfy the needs for the product type in the assessment period, rendering further scheduled orders unnecessary. And if it does not exceed the amount of a load drivable from each of the product supplier(s), any load provided from one of the product supplier(s) would provide more of the product type than needed for that storage container, indicating that another storage container should be considered and / or more time should elapse to schedule an order to meet remaining demand. Thus, if the determination at step 86 is no, the process can return to step 66 to consider the next storage container, if any remain for consideration. However, if the determination at step 86 is yes, one or more product orders should be scheduled for the proppant container.

[0059] If at step 70 server(s) 14 determine that the storage container is dispensing or at step74 the server(s) determine that a filling / idle storage container does not currently have space for a load, the server(s) can nevertheless determine whether one or more product orders should be scheduled for the storage container in the future when the storage container is eligible to be filled. To do so for such a storage container, at step 90 server(s) 14 can calculate — and some methods comprise calculating — a depletion time that can be based at least in part on the amount of product in the storage container and the use schedule. For example, if the storage container is dispensing, server(s) 14 can determine the amount of time before the storage container stops dispensing, such as by determining how long it will take for the amount of product in the storage container to be dispensed according to the use schedule. And if the storage container is filling or idle but does not have space for a load, server(s) 14 can determine the amount of time before the storage container begins to dispense, which can be based at least in part on a predicted dispensing order of the storage containers, the amount of product in the storage container(s) that precede the storage container in the predicted dispensing order, and the use schedule (which can reflect how much time it will take for the product in the preceding storage container(s) to be used up). As reflected in the example in FIG. 3A, the predicted dispensing order can begin with the storage container currently dispensing, followed by the storage container(s) that follow the dispensing storage container in “Load Priority” (the order in which the proppant storage containers are considered for order scheduling) in order of ascending Load Priority, and then followed by the storage container(s) that are before the dispensing storage container in Load Priority in order of ascending Load Priority. Server(s) 14 can take the sum of the amount of time before the storage container begins to dispense and the amount of time before the storage container stops that dispensing (e.g., based at least in part on the use schedule and amount of the product in the storage container) to calculate the time to depletion. In either case, if more product is still required at the calculated time at which the storage container ispredicted to stop dispensing, one or more product orders should be scheduled for the storage container.

[0060] If one or more product orders should be scheduled for the storage container, at step 94 server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — a supplier allocation for the product order(s). When there are multiple product suppliers for a delivery site, at least one of the product suppliers may require a minimum percentage of product to be purchased from the product supplier and / or may place a limit on the amount of product purchasable from the product supplier. Server(s) 14 can determine the product ordering schedule in a manner that facilitates adherence to a proper allocation between the product suppliers and any purchase limits, and can do so in one of one or one or more allocations modes. Server(s) 14 can do so (and some of the present methods comprise doing so) while, at step 98, generating a sequence of one or more scheduled orders for the storage container.

[0061] The allocation mode(s) can include a total percentage mode (e.g., for when allocations should be based on cumulative product deliveries) and / or a daily percentage mode (e.g., for when allocations should be based on the product deliveries within a given day). When in one of these modes, server(s) 14 can be configured to determine the product ordering schedule further based at least in part on a target total order allocation percentage (for the total percentage mode) or target daily order allocation percentage (for the daily percentage mode) of each of the product suppliers. These target allocation percentages can be, for example, input into electronic device 22 (e.g., by the supervisor, when configuring the job) and transmitted to server(s) 14 therefrom, and can indicate the desired percentage of product that should be purchased from each of the product suppliers. To facilitate adherence to the target allocation percentages, server(s) 14 can be configured such that, for each of the scheduled orders in the sequence, the server(s) determine that the scheduled order is from the product supplier whoseallocation is furthest behind its target allocation, subject to the storage container’s ability to accommodate the amount of product of a load drivable from that product supplier.

[0062] For example, in the total percentage mode, if the scheduled product order that server(s) 14 are determining is the first scheduled product order in the sequence, the server(s) can determine that the scheduled product order is from one of the product supplier(s) for which the amount of product of a load drivable to the delivery site is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space in the storage container and has, among such product supplier(s), the highest target total order allocation percentage (or if multiple ones of such product supplier(s) have the highest target total order allocation percentage, any of those product suppliers). For each of the scheduled product orders of the sequence that are after the first scheduled product order, server(s) 14 can determine a prior amount of product of the scheduled product order(s) that are prior to the scheduled product order that the server(s) are determining and, for each of the product suppliers, a total product allocation percentage (e.g., a total proppant allocation percentage) that is a percentage of the prior amount of product that is allocated to the product supplier. This calculation can reflect what percentage of the product will have been allocated to each product supplier at the time that the scheduled product order should be ordered. From this, server(s) 14 can determine, for each of the product suppliers, a total allocation difference that is a difference between the product supplier’s target total allocation percentage and total product allocation percentage, which can indicate the extent to which the product supplier’s allocation will trail behind its allocation target (if at all) at the time that the scheduled product order should be ordered. Server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order under assessment is from the product supplier having the largest total allocation difference when that product supplier’s total product allocation percentage is less than its target total allocation percentage and the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space in the storage container thatthe scheduled product order is for. If the storage container being assessed does not have enough space for the load from the product supplier having the largest total allocation difference (e.g., because the amount of product of a load drivable from that product supplier to the delivery site is greater than the calculated remaining space in the storage container), server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order is from another one of the product supplier(s) for which the amount of product of a load drivable to the delivery site is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space in the storage container and, among such product supplier(s), has the largest total allocation difference that is positive (e.g., because the total product allocation percentage is less than the target total allocation percentage). If none of the product supplier(s) whose load can fit in the storage container have a positive total allocation difference, server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order under assessment is from, of those product supplier(s), the one whose total allocation difference is closest to zero.

[0063] Likewise, in the daily percentage mode, for each day, if the scheduled product order that server(s) 14 are determining is the first scheduled product order in the sequence for the day, the server(s) can determine that the scheduled product order is from one of the product supplier(s) for which the amount of product of a load drivable to the delivery site is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space in the storage container and has, among such product supplier(s), the highest target daily order allocation percentage (or if multiple ones of such product supplier(s) have the highest target daily order allocation percentage, any of those product suppliers). For each of the scheduled product orders of the sequence for the day that are after the first scheduled product order for the day, server(s) 14 can determine a prior amount of product of the scheduled product order(s) for the day that are prior to the scheduled product order that the server(s) are determining and, for each of the product suppliers, a daily product allocation percentage (e.g., a daily proppant allocation percentage) that is a percentage of the prior amount of product that is allocated to the product supplier and for the day. Thiscalculation can reflect what percentage of the product will have been allocated to each product supplier for the day at the time that the scheduled product order should be ordered. From this, server(s) 14 can determine, for each of the product suppliers, a daily allocation difference that is a difference between the product supplier’s target daily allocation percentage and daily product allocation percentage, which can indicate the extent to which the product supplier’s daily allocation will trail behind its daily allocation target (if at all) at the time that the scheduled product order should be ordered. Server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order under assessment is from the product supplier having the largest daily allocation difference when that product supplier’ s daily product allocation percentage is less than its target daily allocation percentage and the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space in the storage container that the scheduled product order is for. If the storage container being assessed does not have enough space for the load from the product supplier having the largest daily allocation difference (e.g., because the amount of product of a load drivable from that product supplier to the delivery site is greater than the calculated remaining space in the storage container), server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order is from another one of the product supplier(s) for which the amount of product of a load drivable to the delivery site is less than or equal to the calculated remaining space in the storage container and, among such product supplier(s), has the largest daily allocation difference that is positive (e.g., because the daily product allocation percentage is less than the target daily allocation percentage). If none of the product supplier(s) whose load can fit in the storage container have a positive daily allocation difference, server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order under assessment is from, of those product supplier(s), the one whose daily allocation difference is closest to zero.

[0064] The allocation mode(s) can also include a daily quantity mode in which server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — the product ordering schedulefurther based at least in part on a priority order of the product suppliers and a maximum customer daily limit of product purchasable from each of the product suppliers. This can allow prioritization of purchases from preferred product suppliers subject to the purchase limits thereof, such as when the operator of the delivery site can purchase product from certain product suppliers at a lower price than it can from others and thus would like to prioritize purchases from the lower-cost suppliers. The priority order of the product suppliers — which, for example, the supervisor can input into electronic device 22 and can be transmitted to server(s) 14 therefrom — can be the order in which the product suppliers should be assigned to scheduled orders, subject to the daily limits thereof and space in the storage container. For example, for each of the scheduled product orders after the first scheduled product order for the day, server(s) 14 can determine, for each of the product suppliers, a prior amount of product of the scheduled product order(s) for the day that are from the product supplier and are prior to the scheduled product order that the server(s) are determining (if any). If that prior amount of product plus the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site exceeds the maximum customer daily limit of the product supplier, the product supplier may not be eligible to be assigned to the scheduled product order being determined. And if the amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the delivery site exceeds the calculated remaining space in the storage container, the product supplier likewise may not be eligible to be assigned to the scheduled product order being determined. Server(s) 14 can determine that the scheduled product order is from, among the product supplier(s) eligible to be assigned to the scheduled product order, the product supplier that is highest ranked in the priority order. Thus, when determining scheduled loads for a storage container, server(s) 14 can schedule loads in the sequence to be from the product supplier ranked first in the priority order until an additional load would not fit in the storage container and / or would cause the daily cumulative product purchased for the delivery site from the product supplier to exceed the dailylimit, after which the server(s) can do the same for the product supplier ranked second in priority order, and so on. In some embodiments, at least one of the product suppliers can toggle the enforceability of its maximum customer daily limit for the delivery site, where when the limit is not enforced the product supplier can still be eligible to be assigned to a scheduled order even when the prior amount of product scheduled to be ordered for the delivery site from the product supplier for the day exceeds the daily limit. If the product supplier toggles the daily limit to be enforceable and the daily limit is exceeded, the product supplier may no longer be assignable to a scheduled product order being determined during the day unless the daily limit is again toggled to not be enforced. This can allow a product supplier to enable unrestricted purchases for at least a period of time (e.g., when the product supplier has sufficient inventory to support such purchases) but limit purchases later when, for example, the product supplier’s inventory is low.

[0065] When generating the sequence of scheduled product orders at step 98 — optionally in a way that meets the above-described product supplier allocation criteria — server(s) 14 can determine scheduled product order(s) for the storage container until the remaining needed container inventory is satisfied (subject to space in the storage container). Thus, when determining each of the scheduled product order(s) of the sequence that are for the storage container, server(s) 14 can update the calculated needed container inventory by, after determining the scheduled product order, reducing the needed inventory by the amount of product of the scheduled product order that the server(s) just determined. From this, server(s) 14 can predict the extent to which the scheduled product order(s) that they have determined will meet the needs of the storage container; if after determining a scheduled product order the storage container still has space and needs at least one additional product order (e.g., if the amount of product of a load drivable from the delivery site is less than or equal to the needed inventory), the server(s) can proceed to determine another scheduled product order for thestorage container that, in the sequence of orders, follows the scheduled product order that the server(s) just determined.

[0066] The scheduled product orders of the sequence are preferably staggered such that only one arrives at the delivery site per offloading point at the delivery site at a time (e.g., if there is only one offloading point for a product type, preferably only one product order for the product type arrives at a time, but if there are multiple offloading points at the delivery site for the product type, multiple product orders for the product type — one for each offloading point — can be efficiently accommodated at once); this can be especially beneficial with hydraulic fracturing, where more deliveries than offloading points arriving at the same time can be disruptive at a space-constrained wellsite where large amounts of proppant should be loaded into a proppant storage container in a relatively short amount of time. And the scheduled product orders are also preferably timed such that the product type for the storage container arrives at the delivery site at a rate that is at least equal to a rate at which the product type is used in a time period in which the product orders are being scheduled (e.g., as reflected by the use schedule), which can facilitate the maintenance or increase of product inventory. As an illustration, for hydraulic fracturing, if the proppant fracturing schedule indicates that 100 tons of proppant will be dispensed per hour and the amount of proppant of a load drivable from each of the proppant supplier(s) to the wellsite is 25 tons, then server(s) 14 can time the scheduled proppant orders such that at least four orders arrive at the wellsite per hour (e.g., at least one every 15 minutes) during a hydraulic fracturing stage.

[0067] This can most preferably be achieved by spacing sequential scheduled product orders (or sets of scheduled product orders, if there are multiple offloading points) as close as possible while still maintaining the desired staggering and, if the storage container is one not immediately eligible to be filled, adequate delay to account for the time to depletion. At theoutset, the timing of the first scheduled order (or first set of scheduled orders) for the storage container can depend on the storage container’s status. For example:1. if the storage container is the first storage container under assessment and is immediately eligible to receive product (e.g., because its status is filling or idle and, at step 74, server(s) 14 determined that it has space for a load), the first scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) for the storage container can be scheduled to be ordered immediately;2. if the storage container is not the first storage container under assessment but is still immediately eligible to receive product, the first scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) for the storage container can be scheduled to be ordered at a time such that offloading of the first scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) at the delivery site begins when offloading of the preceding scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) (that is for another storage container) ends or shortly thereafter (e.g., within 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, or 5 minutes of the end of offloading); and3. if the storage container is not immediately eligible to receive product (e.g., because its status is dispensing or, at step 74, server(s) 14 determined that it did not have space for a load), the first scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) for the storage container can be scheduled to be ordered after the time to depletion (as determined at step 90) has passed, unless there is a preceding scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) for another storage container that is scheduled to be ordered after the time to depletion has passed, in which case the first scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) for the storage container can be scheduled to be ordered at a time such that offloading of the first scheduled product order (orset of scheduled product orders) begins when offloading of the preceding scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) ends or shortly thereafter (e.g., within 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, or 5 minutes of the end of offloading).Each of any scheduled product order(s) (or set(s) of scheduled product orders) for the storage container that are after the first scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) for the storage container can be scheduled to be ordered at a time such that offloading of the scheduled product order at the delivery site begins when offloading of the preceding scheduled product order (or set of scheduled product orders) ends or shortly thereafter (e.g., within 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, or 5 minutes of the end of offloading). With such timing, the scheduled product orders (or sets of scheduled product orders) can facilitate fast filling of storage containers at the delivery site while mitigating wait time, as a truck delivering a load after another truck delivered a preceding load may only have to wait a nominal amount of time before beginning to offload its load, which can reduce congestion at the delivery site and make efficient use of driver time.

[0068] When the scheduled orders for the storage container are determined, at step 102 server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether the storage container is the last storage container under consideration. If not, the process can be repeated for the next storage container in the order of consideration beginning at step 66. If the storage container is the last storage container, the determination of the product ordering schedule — which at that point can comprise a sequence of scheduled product orders that includes one or more scheduled product orders for at least one of the storage container(s) at the delivery site — can end for the product type under assessment and the process can be repeated for any other product types. When there are multiple product types, the schedules for each of the product types can be determined independent of one another (e.g., such that orders for different producttypes may or may not overlap in timing, depending on the demands at the delivery site).Preferably, the schedules for different product types can allow orders for the different product types to arrive at the delivery site at the same time when there are multiple offloading points at the delivery site that can accommodate simultaneous arrival of those orders.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 2C, substantially the same process can be followed in the second filling mode, except that in the second filling mode — where a storage container can be filled regardless of whether it is filling, idle, or dispensing — the process need not include a step of calculating a depletion time. In the second filling mode, a storage container that is dispensing can be immediately eligible to receive product and the scheduled order(s) for such a storage container can be determined as such (e.g., without a delay accounting for depletion time). And if, at step 74, server(s) 14 determine that a storage container does not have space for another load, the server(s) need not schedule any scheduled product orders for the storage container and can move on to the next storage container, if any.

[0070] The determination of the product ordering schedule can be repeated at fixed intervals and / or upon the occurrence of one or more update-triggering events. This can, for example, allow further scheduled product orders to be determined when product is still required at the delivery site after at least some of the scheduled product orders of an earlier-determined product ordering schedule have been ordered (e.g., because the amount of product storable in the storage containers is less than the remaining needed inventory). And it can also allow for the determination of a revised product ordering schedule should circumstances underlying a prior determination of the product ordering schedule change. For example, if there is a change in the use schedule or one or more ordered loads for the delivery site were canceled (e.g., to be diverted to another delivery site), the subsequent generation of the product scheduling order can yield a sequence of scheduled product orders that accounts for these changes.

[0071] Referring to FIG. 3B, illustrated is how the above-described process can facilitate the delivery of adequate proppant for hydraulic fracturing to mitigate the risk of non-production time. Shown are sets 110a- 1 lOe of scheduled orders 114 at a wellsite having proppant storage containers 106a- 106f as described in FIG. 3A, the scheduled orders being determined in accordance with the rules of the first filling mode. As noted above, in this illustration the proppant container Load Priority is (1) first proppant storage container 106a, (2) fifth proppant storage container 106e, (3) sixth proppant storage container 106f, (4) second proppant storage container 106b, (5) third proppant storage container 106c, and (6) fourth proppant storage container 106d. Thus, as shown, first set 110a of scheduled proppant orders 114 for first proppant storage container 106a can be first in the sequence, followed by fifth set I lOe of scheduled proppant orders for fifth proppant storage container 106e, followed by sixth set 1 lOf of scheduled proppant orders for sixth proppant storage container 106f, followed by second set 110b of scheduled proppant orders for second proppant storage container 106b, followed by third set 110c of scheduled proppant orders for third storage container 106c, and ending with fourth set 1 lOd of scheduled proppant orders for fourth storage container 106d. Because first, fifth, and sixth proppant storage containers 106a, 106e, and 106f have space for loads of proppant and are filling or idle, they are immediately eligible to be filled with proppant. Thus, the first scheduled proppant order 114 for first proppant storage container 106a can be scheduled to be ordered immediately, and the remaining scheduled proppant orders of first, fifth, and sixth sets 110a, I lOe, and I lOf can each be scheduled to be ordered at a time such that, accounting for the below-described time to delivering, the scheduled proppant order reaches the wellsite when offloading of the preceding scheduled proppant order begins, is in progress, or ends. As reflected by line 122 that represents projected proppant inventory with the scheduled proppant orders compared to line 126 that represents projected proppant inventory without scheduled proppant orders, this scheduling can provide a steady increase inproppant inventory despite the simultaneous use of proppant according to hydraulic fracturing schedule 118.

[0072] Next, second proppant storage container 106b is dispensing proppant for hydraulic fracturing and thus is not immediately eligible to receive additional loads of proppant. Accordingly, server(s) 14 can calculate a time to second proppant storage container 106b’ s depletion based on the inventory contained therein and hydraulic fracturing schedule 118, which can indicate that the second proppant storage container will be emptied at point 112b. Because the preceding scheduled proppant order 114 — the last proppant order of sixth set 1 lOf for sixth proppant storage container 106f — is scheduled to be ordered after point 112b, server(s) 14 can schedule the first scheduled proppant order of set 110b at a time such that the first scheduled proppant order arrives at the wellsite when offloading of the last scheduled proppant order of the sixth set begins, is in progress, or ends, with each subsequent scheduled product order for second proppant storage container 106b having the same staggering to again continue the steady increase in proppant inventory at the wellsite.

[0073] Finally, third and fourth proppant storage containers 106c and 106d are each full and thus not immediately eligible to receive proppant at the time of the assessment. Server(s) 14 can thus calculate the time to depletion for each, which can indicate that third proppant storage container 106c will be empty at point 112c and that fourth proppant storage container 106d will be empty at point 112d. Because the emptying point 112c for third storage container 106c can come after the preceding scheduled proppant order 114 — the last scheduled proppant order of second set 110b that is for second proppant container 106b — server(s) 14 can schedule the first scheduled proppant order for third proppant storage container 106c to be ordered at point 112c, with each of the remaining scheduled proppant orders that are for the third proppant storage container being scheduled to be ordered at a time such that the scheduled proppant order reaches the wellsite when offloading of the preceding scheduled proppant order begins,is in progress, or ends. And because the emptying point 112d for fourth storage container 106d can come after the preceding scheduled proppant order 114 — the last scheduled proppant order of third set 110c that is for third proppant container 106c — server(s) 14 can schedule the first scheduled proppant order for fourth proppant storage container 106d to be ordered at point 112d, with each of the remaining scheduled proppant orders that are for the fourth proppant storage container being scheduled to be ordered at a time such that the scheduled proppant order reaches the wellsite when offloading of the preceding scheduled proppant order begins, is in progress, or ends. As shown by projected proppant inventory 122 with the scheduled proppant orders relative to projected proppant inventory 126 without the scheduled proppant orders, determining the proppant ordering schedule in this manner can facilitate the efficient maintenance of proppant inventory at the wellsite despite large quantities of proppant being used in a short period of time.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 3C, to facilitate timing of the scheduled product orders to achieve efficient arrival times, as mentioned above the product ordering scheduled can be based at least in part on, for each of the product supplier(s), a calculated time to delivering 130 that can include at least a time 154 to drive a load of product from the product supplier to the delivery site. The time to delivering can reflect how long after ordering a scheduled product order it will take for the scheduled product order to arrive at the delivery site and begin to offload. Thus, server(s) 14 can schedule each of the scheduled product orders to be ordered at a desired offloading start time (e.g., when offloading of the preceding scheduled product order ends, or at least within 20, 15, 10, or 5 minutes of the ending of the offloading) minus the calculated time to delivering. And adding both a wellsite offloading time — which can be, for example, input into electronic device 22 by the supervisor for transmission to server(s) 14 or can be determined based on the amount of product of the scheduled product order and information regarding a rate at which the product can be offloaded from a truck to the storage container —and the time to delivering to the time at which the scheduled product order is scheduled to be ordered can reflect when offloading of the scheduled product order will end, which can be used to determine the appropriate timing of any subsequent scheduled product orders (e.g., in the manner explained above).

[0075] While calculated time to delivering 130 can include at least a time 154 to drive a load of product from the product supplier to the delivery site, it can include additional times to allow server(s) 14 to more- accurately determine when to schedule a product order. For example, as set forth in further detail below, a truck that delivers a load from the product supplier to the delivery site may not be stationed at the product supplier, and it thus may take time for the truck to reach the product supplier and obtain product therefrom. To account for this, calculated time to delivering 130 can further include a time 142 to drive to the product supplier, a time 146 to wait at the product supplier (e.g., because a load may not be obtainable immediately on arrival), and a time 150 to load product at the product supplier (which can reflect how long it takes for the product to be loaded onto the truck). Because a particular truck may not be assigned to the scheduled product order at the time that it is being determined, time 142 to drive to the product supplier can be an average time to drive to the product supplier. Time 142 to drive to the product supplier, time 146 to wait at the product supplier, and time 150 to load product at the product supplier can be, for example, information input when configuring the product supplier profile for server(s) 14, received from the product supplier, or determined based at least in part on data received from electronic device(s) 30 of at least one hauler, from electronic device(s) 34 of at least one driver, and / or from electronic device(s) of the product supplier. Additionally, when a truck arrives at the delivery site, it may not be able to immediately offload product (e.g., because it may take time to position the truck and offloading equipment); to account for this, calculated time to delivering 130 can further include a time 158 to wait at the delivery site before offloading. Time 158 to wait at the delivery sitebefore offloading can be, for example, input into electronic device 22 by the supervisor for transmission to server(s) 14 or calculated based at least in part on data from electronic device(s) 30 and / or electronic device(s) 34. Finally, when a scheduled product order is ordered, as set forth below there may be multiple drivers eligible to accept the load for delivery and it may take some time for one of the drivers to accept the load after the load is offered. To account for this, calculated time to delivering 130 can further include a time 134 for a hauler to accept the load (e.g., the amount of time for a hauler to accept a load after the load is offered to the hauler, if there are one or more haulers that manage drivers and thus accept loads before dispatching to the drivers) and / or a time 138 for a driver to accept the load (e.g., the amount of time for a driver to accept a load after the load is offered to the driver, such as from a hauler). Time 134 for a hauler to accept the load and time 138 for a driver to accept the load can be, for example, an input that server(s) 14 receive or based at least in part on data from electronic device(s) 30 of the hauler(s) and / or data from electronic device(s) 34 of the drivers (e.g., which can indicate average historical acceptance times).

[0076] As the above reflects, determining the product ordering schedule based at least in part on the wellsite data and, for each of the product supplier(s), the calculated time to delivering and amount of product of a load drivable from the product supplier to the wellsite can facilitate timely, efficient delivery and offloading of product at the delivery site. And this can be especially beneficial for hydraulic fracturing, where there is a high rate of proppant use — which can be tens of tons of proppant per hour or higher — over a prolonged period and thus a corresponding need for a consistent resupply of proppant. Coordinating the delivery of such a significant amount of proppant can be a challenge, which systems and methods described herein can solve. For example, by generating a schedule that facilitates the delivery of as much proppant as can fit in the proppant storage container(s) at the wellsite, server(s) 14 can mitigate the risk of non-production time (e.g., especially if one or more ordered loads areunexpectedly cancelled) without over-ordering proppant that could not be stored at the wellsite.And server(s) 14’ s determination can facilitate the accurate scheduling of orders, with the determination of when to order each of the scheduled proppant orders guided by the calculated time to delivering to permit order arrival and offloading at a desired time that can promote efficiency. For example, as noted above, this can allow orders to be placed at times such that only one load arrives and is offloaded at a wellsite at a time — thereby reducing congestion at the wellsite and, for example, obviating the need for wellsite equipment to handle multiple offloadings at a time — while still providing proppant at a rate that is greater than or equal to the rate at which proppant is used for hydraulic fracturing to maintain to maintain (and even increase) proppant inventory at the wellsite.

[0077] Server(s) 14 can be configured to automatically place product orders at the time that they are scheduled in the product ordering schedule, which can further facilitate the appropriate delivery of product to the delivery site. For example, server(s) 14 can be configured to transmit each of the scheduled product orders to an electronic device 30 of a hauler and / or to an electronic device 34 of a driver at a time specified by the scheduled product order, which can begin the process of offer acceptance where, once a driver accepts the scheduled product order (such as when the hauler receiving the scheduled product order offers it to one of the drivers of the hauler), the driver can proceed to the product supplier that the scheduled product order is assigned to and pick up the load of the scheduled product order for delivery to the delivery site. Additionally or alternatively, server(s) 14 can be configured to transmit the product ordering schedule to an electronic device — such as electronic device 22 of the supervisor and / or electronic device 26 of the coordinator — that is configured to display the product ordering schedule. This can allow the user of the electronic device displaying the product ordering schedule to see when scheduled product orders should be ordered to achieve appropriate arrival and offloading times and thus, if orders are made manually, assist in such manual ordering.Referring to FIG. 4, for example, scheduled product orders 114 of the product ordering schedule can be displayed as icons (e.g., in a scroll display for the Upcoming Order Schedule), each of which can include an identifier 160 regarding that product supplier that the scheduled product order is from, an identifier 166 regarding the product type of the scheduled product order, and an identifier 170 regarding when to order the scheduled product order. Already- ordered loads can also be displayed alongside the scheduled product orders as icons (e.g., in a scroll display for ordered loads), each of which can also include identifier 166 regarding the product type of the order, in addition to an identifier 162 for the load ID, an identifier 172 regarding when the order was placed, an identifier 174 regarding when the order is expected to arrive at the delivery site, an identifier 178 regarding the expected total time from order placement until arrival at the delivery site, and an identifier 182 regarding the amount of time that has elapsed since the order was placed.

[0078] For each of the scheduled product orders, to allow a driver that accepted the offer to deliver the scheduled product order to pick up the load from the product supplier, server(s) 14 can be configured to transmit — and some methods comprise transmitting — the scheduled product order to electronic device 34 of the driver, and — as shown in FIG. 5 — the electronic device (which can be, for example, a portable electronic device like a mobile phone) can be configured to display a code 186 indicative of at least an amount of product of the scheduled product order. For example, code 186 can be a QR code that, when scanned, indicates the product type, the amount thereof, and which delivery site that the order is for. When the driver arrives at the product supplier, code 186 can be scanned (e.g., by an electronic device of the product supplier) so that the product supplier knows what to load onto the truck of the driver and what delivery site is ordering the product.

[0079] Server(s) 14 can also be configured to determine — and some methods comprise determining — a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled product orders (e.g., oneor more scheduled proppant orders), which can be the scheduled product order(s) of the determined ordering schedule and can each be from a product supplier (e.g., a proppant supplier) and for a delivery site (e.g., a wellsite). This determination can allow server(s) 14 to determine which driver should receive the scheduled product order so that the order can be executed, and the server(s) can make the determination in a way that further facilitates the efficient and timely delivery of product to the delivery site (e.g., proppant to the wellsite).

[0080] Server(s) 14 can determine driver assignment(s) at least by making one or more hauler determinations. There can be one or more haulers for a delivery site (e.g., for a wellsite), and each of the hauler(s) can have a plurality of drivers. The driver assignment determination can thus include, for each of the scheduled product order(s) for the delivery site, a determination of which of the hauler(s) to offer the scheduled product order and then which of the drivers of the selected hauler(s) to assign to the scheduled product order. Preferably, for one or more of the hauler(s), server(s) 14 can make a determination of which (if any) of the drivers are eligible to deliver the product of the scheduled product order to the delivery site and, of the eligible driver(s), which should receive an offer to deliver the product of the scheduled product order. As explained in further detail below, allowing server(s) 14 to make such a driver-eligibility determination for these hauler(s) — which are auto-dispatching hauler(s) — as opposed to relying on a manual hauler determination can facilitate the efficient and timely delivery of product and thereby mitigate, for example, the risk of non-production time.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 6, shown is a process 190 that server(s) 14 can execute — and that can be part of some of the present methods — to determine a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled product orders. Server(s) 14 can be configured to determine, for each of the scheduled product order(s), which one or more of the hauler(s) (e.g., which one of the hauler(s)) are the hauler(s) of a first hauler determination (e.g., which hauler(s) to first look to for thedriver assignment). The hauler(s) can include one or more (e.g., a single) priority hauler to which priority can be given. Because auto-dispatching best facilitates efficient and timely product delivery, each of the priority hauler(s) can be one of the auto-dispatching hauler(s); while each of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) can be one of the priority hauler(s), in some embodiments one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) need not be a priority hauler. When a site operator wishes for such a hauler prioritization, it can place server(s) 14 in a first mode that enables priority offers (e.g., with a supervisor making that input using electronic device 22). At step 194, server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — if the priority offer mode is enabled (e.g., if the server(s) are in the first mode). In the first mode, server(s) 14 can be configured to determine that one or more of the priority hauler(s) (e.g., that the single priority hauler) are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination and can proceed to step 198 where the first hauler determination can comprise — since the priority hauler(s) are auto-dispatching hauler(s) — an auto-dispatching determination.

[0082] When the hauler determination comprises the auto-dispatching determination at step 198, server(s) 14 can make the hauler determination — and some methods comprise making the hauler determination — at least by determining which of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) (e.g., of a single auto-dispatching hauler) of the hauler determination are eligible to deliver product of the scheduled product order to the site. Referring additionally to FIGs. 7A- 7C, the eligibility of drivers (e.g., 254a-254d) to deliver a scheduled product order that is from a product supplier (e.g., a proppant supplier) (e.g., 258a) and for a delivery site (e.g., a wellsite) (e.g., 262) can be based at least in part on, for each of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the hauler determination, a load completion time for the driver, which can reflect the amount of time that would elapse before the driver offloaded the product at the site and, in some embodiments, returned to a base location (e.g., 258a-258c) (e.g., where the driver parks at the end of a shift). The load completion time can thus include at least a load duration time 276 (FIG. 7B) that cancomprise (1) a time (e.g., 266) for the driver to drive to the product supplier and (2) a time(e.g., 270) for the driver to obtain the product of the scheduled product order from the product supplier, drive from the product supplier to the delivery site, and offload the product of the scheduled product order. Unlike time 142 to drive to the product supplier that is part of calculated time to delivering 130 — which can be an average (e.g., based on historical data) — time 266 to drive to the product supplier can be a time for the particular driver to reach the product supplier, and can be based at least in part on, for example, a current location of the driver (e.g., from location data regarding a position of the driver obtained from the driver’s electronic device 34). Time 270 for the driver to obtain the product of the scheduled product supplier, drive from the product supplier to the delivery site, and offload the product of the scheduled product order can include time 146 to wait at the product supplier (e.g., because a load may not be obtainable immediately on arrival), time 150 to load product at the product supplier (which can reflect how long it takes for the product to be loaded onto the truck), time 154 to drive the load of product from the product supplier to the delivery site, time 158 to wait at the delivery site before offloading, and a time 274 to offload the load of product (which can be, for example, an input that the supervisor makes into electronic device 22 and that is transmitted to server(s) 14 or based on prior offloading data). This time 270 may be the same across all drivers because, for example, it may be based at least in part on the relative positions of the product supplier and the delivery site and characteristics of the product supplier and delivery site (e.g., as inputted into electronic device 22 or from historical data) rather than driver- specific information. To account for the time that it may take the driver to return to its base location (which can optionally be one of the product supplier(s)), the load completion time for the driver can include — in addition to load duration time 276 — a time (e.g., 278a-278d) to drive from the delivery site to the base location, which can be based at least in part on the location of the delivery site and the location of the base location (FIG. 7A). Server(s) 14 canuse — and some methods comprise using — the load completion time and its load duration time276 to assess at least two constraints on driver eligibility.

[0083] First, each of the drivers may only be able to be on-duty for a certain period of time (e.g., due to regulatory and / or contractual constraints). For this constraint, the eligibility determination can be further based at least in part on, for each of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the hauler determination, a remaining shift time for the driver (e.g., at the time that the hauling would begin) (e.g., which can be received from an electronic device 38 that can track and store driver schedules (FIG. 1)). For example, server(s) 14 can be configured to determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether a driver is eligible to deliver the product of the scheduled product order to the delivery site based at least in part on whether the remaining shift time is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver. If the remaining shift time is not greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver, server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — that the driver is not eligible, as the driver would not be able to complete the load (including, for example, a return to its base location) before the end of the driver’ s shift.

[0084] Second, the driver desirably is able to deliver the product of the scheduled product order to the delivery site in a timely and efficient fashion, e.g., to mitigate the risk of nonproduction. For this constraint, server(s) 14 can be configured to determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether a driver is eligible to deliver the product of the scheduled product order to the site further based at least in part on whether load duration time 276 exceeds a calculated maximum load duration time. The calculated maximum load duration time can be, for example, a threshold above which delivery by a driver would be inefficient and / or risk non-production. For example, the calculated maximum load duration can comprise average time 142 to drive to the product supplier (e.g., the average time it takes for drivers to reach the product supplier, which can be based on historical data) and time 270 to obtain theproduct of the scheduled product order from the product supplier, drive to the delivery site from the product supplier, and offload the product of the scheduled product order. If load duration time 276 for the driver exceeds the calculated maximum load duration time, server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — that the driver is not eligible; this would indicate, for example, that the driver’ s time 266 to reach the product supplier exceeds average time 142 to reach the product supplier that was used in the determination of the product ordering schedule and thus that using that driver to haul the product would be less efficient and increase the risk of the delivery being offloaded after it was scheduled to be offloaded (e.g., if the driver’s time 266 to reach the product supplier exceeds average time 142 to reach the product supplier, the driver may be ineligible). On the other hand, if load duration time 276 is less than or equal to the calculated maximum load duration time (e.g., if time 266 to reach the product supplier is less than or equal to average time 142 to reach the product supplier) and the driver’s remaining shift time is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver, server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — that the driver is eligible.

[0085] If a single one of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the hauler determination is determined to be eligible, server(s) 14 can request — and some methods comprise requesting — the driver to haul the product of the scheduled product order. If multiple ones of the of the drivers are determined to be eligible, the hauler determination can further comprise determining which one of the eligible drivers to request to haul the product of the product schedule order. This determination can be based on a ranking of the eligible drivers that in turn can be based at least in part on the eligible drivers’ remaining shift times and / or load completion times. For example, in some embodiments, the eligible driver having the lowest difference between the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver can be the one requested to haul the product of the scheduled product order; this can prioritize eligible driversnearing the end of their shift and thereby facilitate the maximum utilization of driver time.And, in some embodiments, the determination can be made considering multiple scheduled product orders that are scheduled to be ordered within a window of time; for such scheduled product orders, which can be time-grouped scheduled product orders, determining which one of the eligible drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the hauler determination to request to haul the product of the scheduled product order can be further based at least in part on, for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the hauler determination of the other time-grouped scheduled product orders, the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver. This approach can allow consideration of more driver information across different scheduled product orders to better promote the efficient use of driver time.

[0086] FIGs. 7 A and 7C illustrate the auto-dispatching logic for determining driver eligibility and for determining which one of the eligible drivers to offer to haul the product (e.g., proppant) of the scheduled product order. In the depicted example, the auto-dispatching hauler of the hauler determination has four drivers (e.g., 254a-254d). The scheduled product order is from a first product supplier (e.g., 258a) (e.g., proppant supplier) and for a delivery site (e.g., 262) (e.g., a wellsite). The time to reach the product supplier (e.g., 266a-266d) is 10 minutes for the first driver, 40 minutes for the second driver, 30 minutes for the third driver, and 30 minutes for the fourth driver, and the time (e.g., 270) to obtain product from the product supplier and reach and offload at the delivery site is 40 minutes. Accordingly, the load duration time (e.g. 276) — the sum of these two times, in this example — is 50 minutes, 80 minutes, 70 minutes, and 70 minutes for the first, second, third, and fourth drivers, respectively. Furthermore, the first product supplier is the base location for the first and fourth drivers, a second product supplier (e.g., 258b) is the base location for the second driver, and a third product supplier (e.g., 258c) is the base location for the third driver. The time for the first,second, third, and fourth drivers to return to their respective base locations from the delivery site is 40 minutes, 50 minutes, 70 minutes, and 40 minutes, respectively. As shown, the first, second, and fourth drivers have sufficient remaining shift time — 130 minutes, 150 minutes, and 130 minutes, respectively — to accommodate their load duration time and retum-to-base time (e.g., the sum of the load duration time and the time from delivery site to the base location is less than or equal to the remaining shift time), but the third driver does not and is accordingly not eligible. Furthermore, in this example average time 142 to reach the first product supplier is 30 minutes such that the calculated maximum load duration time is 70 minutes (e.g., the 30- minute average time to the product supplier plus the 40-minute time to obtain, transport, and offload the product), and while load duration time 276 for drivers one, three, and four does not exceed the 70-minute maximum, the second driver’s load duration time does, rendering the second driver ineligible. Both the first and fourth drivers are thus eligible; of these, the fourth driver has the smallest remaining driver time (e.g., the difference between the shift time and the combined load duration time and retum-to-base time) — 20 minutes, compared to 40 minutes for the first driver — and is thus the most-eligible for receiving an offer to haul the product of the scheduled product order.

[0087] In the auto-dispatching determination, when one of the drivers of the autodispatching hauler(s) is requested to haul the product of the scheduled product order, the driver can have the opportunity to accept or reject the offer (e.g., using electronic device 34, which can transmit acceptance data comprising whether the driver agreed to haul the product of the scheduled product order to server(s) 14). If the driver rejects the offer or, in some embodiments, an offer expiration time has passed after making the request, server(s) 14 can request — and some methods comprise requesting — another eligible driver to haul the product of the scheduled product order; requests can be made to other eligible drivers until one of the drivers accepts or the servers determine to end the auto-dispatching determination. The nextdriver to request can be the next- most-eligible driver (e.g., the eligible driver having the next lowest difference between the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver) or, if all of the eligible drivers have been requested and have not accepted, the most-eligible driver (e.g., to restart the sequence). The auto-dispatching determination can be ended without assigning a driver when, for example, an expiration time has passed without a driver acceptance or if a threshold indicating there is a risk of non-production has been passed, such as if load duration time 276 of each of the eligible drivers exceeds a threshold remaining time for offloading (e.g., based on the ordering schedule). In some embodiments, the autodispatching determination can be terminated when all eligible driver(s) of the hauler(s) of the determination have received and did not accept a request to haul the product.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 6, at step 202, if one of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the hauler determination comprising the auto-dispatching determination accepted the request to haul the product of the scheduled product order (e.g., via an input into electronic device 34, which can be transmitted to server(s) 14 as acceptance data), then at step 206 the server(s) can assign — and some methods comprise assigning — that driver to the scheduled product order and the scheduled product order can accordingly be transmitted to the electronic device of the driver (e.g., such that the driver’s electronic device can display, for example, code 186 for the order, as described above).

[0089] If at step 194 it is determined that that the priority offer mode is not enabled (e.g., if server(s) 14 are in a second mode), the first hauler determination can be a direct-offer hauler determination. Similarly, if the priority offer mode is enabled (e.g., if the server(s) are in the first mode) but the first hauler determination for the priority hauler(s) resulted in no eligible drivers being assigned to the scheduled product order (step 202), server(s) 14 can proceed — and some methods comprise proceeding — to a second hauler determination that can be the direct-offer hauler determination (e.g., from step 204, which leads to the direct-offer haulerdetermination when the no-driver-assignment at step 202 is before the direct-offer hauler determination). The hauler(s) can comprise two or more direct-offer haulers — at least one of which can be one of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) (e.g., one of the priority hauler(s)) — and the direct-offer hauler determination can comprise whether to assign one of the drivers of at least one of the direct-offer haulers to the scheduled product order. At step 210, with server(s) 14 being in the second mode (e.g., in which case the direct-offer hauler determination can be the first hauler determination) or with no drivers of the priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination accepting an offer to haul the product of the scheduled product order (e.g., in which case the direct-offer hauler determination can be the second hauler determination), the server(s) can determine — and some methods comprise determining — which of the direct-offer haulers (e.g., which single one of the direct-offer haulers) are the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination. This determination can be based at least in part on a target hauler allocation percentage of each of the direct-offer haulers — the target hauler allocation percentage of a direct-offer hauler can reflect the percentage of the amount of product that the delivery site operator wishes the direct-offer hauler to haul. For example, server(s) 14 can determine, of the total amount of product of the scheduled product orders that have been assigned (if any), what percentage has been assigned to the drivers of each of the direct-offer haulers; the direct-offer hauler whose percentage is furthest behind its target hauler allocation percentage can (if eligible for the direct-offer determination) be determined to be the direct- offer hauler. This can facilitate adherence to hauler allocation targets among preferred haulers. If the direct-offer hauler determination is the second hauler determination following the first hauler determination in which it was determined not to assign any of the drivers of the priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled product order (e.g., because none accepted), the priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination can be excluded from the direct-offer hauler determination such that the second hauler determination comprises whetherto assign one of the drivers of at least one of the direct-offer haulers that are not the priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination.

[0090] With the determination of which direct-offer haulers are the hauler(s) of the direct- offer hauler determination, server(s) 14 can perform — and some methods comprise performing — the direct-offer hauler determination (e.g., as the first hauler determination or the second hauler determination). One or more of the direct-offer hauler(s) may not be autodispatching hauler(s) because, for example, they may not have the system to support such functionality; when the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination are not autodispatching hauler(s), the direct-offer hauler determination can first comprise requesting the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination to haul the product of the scheduled product order and, at step 214, determining whether the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination accepted the request. If the request is accepted (e.g., via an input into an electronic device 30 of the hauler that is transmitted to server(s) 14), because the hauler(s) that accepted are not auto-dispatching hauler(s), at step 218 the direct-offer hauler determination can proceed to a manual dispatch determination at step 226. When the hauler(s) of the direct- offer hauler determination are auto-dispatching hauler(s) (e.g., priority hauler(s)), at steps 214, 218, and 222 the direct-offer hauler determination can proceed to the auto-dispatching determination at step 198 — described above — unless auto-dispatching functionality is determined to be disabled at step 222, in which case the direct-offer hauler determination can proceed to the manual dispatch determination at step 226.

[0091] In the manual dispatch determination, the hauler(s) may be required to manually request one of the drivers to haul the product of the scheduled product order, such as by making an input into electronic device 30 that can be transmitted to server(s) 14, which can in turn can relay the request to electronic device 34 of the requested driver. Thus, at step 230 server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether the hauler(s) of the haulerdetermination requested a driver to haul the product of the scheduled product order, and if the hauler(s) made that request, at step 234 the server(s) can determine — and some methods comprise determining — whether the driver accepted the request. If the driver accepted (e.g., by making an input into its electronic device 30 that can be transmitted to server(s) 14), the server(s) can assign the driver to the scheduled product order at step 206.

[0092] Server(s) 14 may determine — and some methods can comprise determining — not to assign any of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination — whether it is the second hauler determination (e.g., when the server(s) are in the first mode) or the first hauler determination (e.g., when the server(s) are in the second mode) — due to one or more circumstances. For example, when the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination are not auto-dispatching hauler(s) and / or if the auto-dispatching is disabled such that the direct- offer hauler determination comprises the manual dispatch determination, when an offer expiration time has passed after beginning the direct-offer hauler determination (e.g., after making a request to haul the product of the scheduled product order) — with no acceptance from the hauler at step 214, no request to a driver from the hauler at step 230, or no acceptance from the driver at step 234 — it can be determined not to assign any of the drivers of those direct- offer hauler(s) to the scheduled product order. Additionally, when the hauler(s) of the direct- offer hauler determination are auto-dispatching hauler(s) (e.g., priority hauler(s)) and autodispatching is enabled (e.g., as could be the case when the direct-offer hauler determination is the first hauler determination), it can be determined not to assign any of the drivers of those hauler(s) to the scheduled product order when it is determined that, at step 202, no eligible driver accepted a request to haul the product of the scheduled product order during the autodispatching determination.

[0093] To facilitate a timely driver assignment when no driver assignment is made after the direct-offer hauler determination, server(s) 14 can be configured to determine the driverassignment — and some methods comprise determining the driver assignment — further at least by making one or more pooled hauler determinations. Each of the pooled hauler determination(s) can comprise making a request to haul the product of the scheduled product order to a pool of two or more of the haulers and determining whether one of the drivers of the haulers of the pool agreed to haul the product of the scheduled product order. For each of the pooled hauler determination(s), the haulers of the pool can include at least the direct-offer haulers such that the request to haul can be made to at least all of the direct-offer haulers rather than a subset thereof, which can increase the chances of a successful driver assignment even if there would be a departure from the target allocation percentage.

[0094] The one or more pooled hauler determinations can include a first pooled hauler determination whose haulers consist of the direct-offer haulers — this can be a preferred pool of haulers that can receive the opportunity to haul the product of the scheduled product order before an expanded pool of haulers that includes non-preferred haulers. Accordingly, when it is determined not to assign any of the drivers of the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination, server(s) 14 can proceed — and some methods comprise proceeding — to the first pooled hauler determination at step 242. This can occur if, for example, at step 214 there was no acceptance from the hauler(s) of the direct-offer hauler determination or if, during the manual dispatch determination of the direct-offer hauler determination, the hauler(s) did not request the driver to haul the product at step 230 or a requested driver did not accept at step 234, which can lead to step 238 that — when the no-driver-assignment comes from the direct- offer hauler determination — leads to step 242. And this can also occur if, during the autodispatching determination of the direct-offer hauler determination, an eligible driver did not accept a request to haul the product of the scheduled product order at step 202, which leads to step 204 that — when server(s) 14 are in the second mode to allow auto-dispatching during thedirect-offer hauler determination — leads to step 238 and thus step 242 following the direct- offer hauler determination.

[0095] If one of the haulers of the first pooled hauler determination accepts the request to haul the product of the scheduled product order at step 246, the first pooled hauler determination can proceed to the manual dispatch determination at step 226 or the autodispatching determination at step 198 depending on if the hauler from the pool that accepted the request is an auto-dispatching hauler (step 218) and if auto-dispatching is enabled (step 222). The same manual dispatch determination or auto-dispatching determination described above can be performed for the hauler of the pool that accepted the request in the first pooled hauler determination. If there ultimately is an acceptance from a driver at steps 234 or 202, server(s) 14 can assign — and some methods comprise assigning — that driver to the scheduled product order at step 206.

[0096] Server(s) 14 can determine — and some methods comprise determining — not to assign any of the drivers of the haulers of the first pooled hauler determination’s pool to the scheduled product order when none of the haulers of the pool accepted the request to haul the product of the scheduled product order after an offer expiration time has passed. And even if one of the haulers accepted the request, if a driver of the hauler ultimately does not accept a request to haul the product of the scheduled product order (e.g., at step 234, if manual dispatching is used, or at step 202, if auto-dispatching is used) before the offer expiration time has passed, it can be determined that no drivers are assigned in the first pooled hauler determination.

[0097] With no drivers assigned in the first pooled hauler determination, server(s) 14 can proceed — and some methods comprise proceeding — to a second pooled hauler determination beginning at step 250, whether from no-hauler-acceptance at step 246 or no-driver-acceptance at steps 234 or 202 (which for a pooled hauler determination can lead to step 238 and then —when the no-driver-acceptance is not from the direct-offer hauler determination — step 250).The haulers of the second pooled hauler determination can include both the direct-offer haulers and one or more haulers that are not the auto-dispatching hauler(s) and are not the direct-offer haulers, thereby expanding the pool to non-preferred haulers to further increase the likelihood of a driver assignment. There need not be a time expiration on the request to the haulers of the second pooled hauler determination to haul the product of the scheduled product order. When one of the haulers of the second pooled hauler determination accepts the request to haul the product of the scheduled product order, the second pooled hauler determination can proceed as the first pooled hauler determination: to the above-described manual dispatch determination at step 226 or the above-described auto-dispatching determination at step 198 depending on if the hauler from the pool that accepted the request is an auto-dispatching hauler (step 218) and if auto-dispatching is enabled (step 222). If there ultimately is an acceptance from a driver at steps 234 or 202, server(s) 14 can assign — and some methods comprise assigning — that driver to the scheduled product order at step 206. However, if a driver of the hauler ultimately does not accept a request to haul the product of the scheduled product order (e.g., at step 234, if manual dispatching is used, or at step 202, if auto-dispatching is used) before an offer expiration time has passed, the process can return to step 250 to again request the haulers of the second pooled hauler determination to haul the product of the scheduled product order. This process can be repeated until one of the haulers of the second pooled hauler determination accepts and that acceptance yields a driver assignment.

[0098] This sequence of hauler determinations can facilitate efficient use of driver time, timely delivery of product, and adherence to hauler preferences, especially when used to assign drivers to haul proppant of scheduled proppant orders. The auto-dispatching functionality can allow quick identification of eligible drivers such that drivers who have insufficient remaining shift time to complete a load or who could not deliver and offload a load within an efficienttimeframe are not erroneously assigned to the scheduled product order. And the autodispatching functionality can further facilitate efficient use of driver time via quick ranking of eligible drivers to prioritize drivers whose remaining shift time would be most used up completing the scheduled product order under consideration. The quick and accurate determinations with the auto-dispatching functionality are particularly valuable for proppant deliveries — where proppant demands are high and time-sensitive — and allow for more reliable and timely deliveries than traditional manual dispatching. Allowing prioritization of hauler(s) that can support the auto-dispatching functionality and including them in each of the hauler determination(s) can promote the use of the auto-dispatching functionality to take advantage of the benefits thereof.

[0099] At the same time, only some of the haulers may be able to support the autodispatching functionality, meaning that relying exclusively on the auto-dispatching hauler(s) could limit the number of drivers available to haul product and thus increase the risk of there being insufficient eligible drivers to meet product demand, especially for hydraulic fracturing where a large amount of proppant may need to be delivered to a wellsite in a relatively short period of time. Including both auto-dispatching hauler(s) and hauler(s) that are not autodispatching hauler(s) in one or more of the hauler determination(s) for determining a driver assignment can mitigate this risk. And doing so with a direct-offer hauler determination before one or more pooled hauler determinations can yield a beneficial balance between taking advantage of the auto-dispatching functionality, mitigating the risk of having insufficient drivers, and achieving a desired hauler allocation. With the direct-offer hauler determination involving a controlled allocation between auto-dispatching hauler(s) and hauler(s) that are not auto-dispatching hauler(s), a desired percentage of scheduled product orders can be offered to the auto-dispatching hauler(s) without the risk of other hauler(s) taking those scheduled product orders, yielding a balance between taking advantage of the benefits of the auto-dispatchingfunctionality and allowing other haulers to haul product of some scheduled product orders to mitigate the risk of there being insufficient eligible drivers. And if the direct-offer hauler determination does not yield a driver assignment — indicating that there may be a higher risk of there being insufficient eligible drivers — the following pooled hauler determination(s) can place greater weight on increasing the number of possible drivers by offering the scheduled product order to a pool of multiple haulers at once.

[0100] The above specification and examples provide a complete description of the structure and use of illustrative embodiments. Although certain embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of this invention. As such, the various illustrative embodiments of the products, systems, and methods are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, they include all modifications and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims, and embodiments other than the one shown may include some or all of the features of the depicted embodiment. For example, elements may be omitted or combined as a unitary structure, and / or connections may be substituted. Further, where appropriate, aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples having comparable or different properties and / or functions, and addressing the same or different problems. Similarly, it will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments.

[0101] The claims are not intended to include, and should not be interpreted to include, means-plus- or step-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase(s) “means for” or “step for,” respectively.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A hydraulic fracturing logistics system comprising: one or more servers configured to determine a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled proppant orders at least by making a first hauler determination, the first hauler determination comprising whether to assign one of a plurality of drivers of at least one of one or more haulers to the scheduled proppant order; wherein: the one or more haulers include one or more auto-dispatching haulers; each of the scheduled proppant order(s) is from a proppant supplier and for a wellsite; and the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), the server(s) make the first hauler determination at least by: determining which of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are eligible to deliver proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite based at least in part on, for each of the drivers: a remaining shift time for the driver; and a load completion time for the driver that includes a load duration time comprising: a time for the driver to drive to the proppant supplier; and a time for the driver to obtain the proppant of the scheduled proppant order from the proppant supplier, drive from the proppant supplier to thewellsite, and offload the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

2. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 1, wherein for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s): the driver has a base location; and the load completion time for the driver further comprises a time for the driver to drive from the wellsite to the base location.

3. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 2, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination, when making the first hauler determination the server(s) determine whether the driver is eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite based at least in part on whether the remaining shift time for the driver is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver.

4. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 3, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination, when making the first hauler determination the server(s) determine that the driver is eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite when: the remaining shift time for the driver is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver; and the load duration time for the driver is less than or equal to a calculated maximum load duration time.

5. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 4, wherein for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), the calculated maximum load duration time comprises: an average time to drive to the proppant supplier; and the time for the driver to obtain the proppant of the scheduled proppant order from the proppant supplier, drive from the proppant supplier to the wellsite, and offload the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

6. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 5, wherein the server(s) are configured to: receive wellsite data that includes: proppant inventory data comprising an amount of proppant stored at the wellsite; and hydraulic fracturing data comprising a fracturing schedule that includes when and how much proppant is used for hydraulic fracturing at the wellsite; and determine a proppant ordering schedule for the wellsite that includes the scheduled proppant order(s) based at least in part on: the wellsite data; and for each of one or more proppant suppliers: a calculated time to delivering that includes at least: a time to drive a load of proppant from the proppant supplier to the wellsite; and the average time to drive to the proppant supplier.

7. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 1, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) and multiple ones of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are each determined to be eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite, the first hauler determination further comprises determining which one of the eligible drivers to request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order based at least in part on, for each of the eligible drivers, a difference between the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver.

8. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 7, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for at least one of the scheduled proppant order(s), when the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) and multiple ones of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are each determined to be eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite, the eligible driver having the lowest difference between the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver is requested to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

9. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 7, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, when the one or more scheduled proppant orders comprise a plurality of time-grouped scheduled proppant orders that are scheduled to be ordered within a window of time and the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination for each of the time-grouped scheduled proppant orders are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the time-grouped scheduled proppant orders for which multiples ones of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are each determined to be eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite, determining which one of the eligible drivers of the autodispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order is further based at least in part on, for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination of the other of the time-grouped scheduled proppant orders, the remaining shift time for the driver and the load completion time for the driver.

10. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 1, wherein for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), the first hauler determination comprises whether to assign one of the drivers of a single one of the hauler(s) to the scheduled proppant order.

11. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 1, wherein: the one or more haulers comprise: one or more priority haulers, wherein each of the priority hauler(s) is one of the auto-dispatching hauler(s); and two or more direct-offer haulers, wherein at least one of the direct-offer haulers is one of the priority hauler(s) and at least one of the direct-offer haulers is not one of the auto-dispatching hauler(s); and the server(s) are configured to determine, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), which one or more of the haulers are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination, wherein: in a first mode, the server(s) are configured to determine that one or more of the priority hauler(s) are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination; and in a second mode, the server(s) are configured to determine which one or more of the direct-offer haulers are the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination based at least in part on a target hauler allocation percentage of each of the direct-offer haulers.

12. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 11, wherein: the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), when in the first mode and determining not to assign any of the drivers of priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order, the server(s) determine the driver assignment further at least by making a second hauler determination, the second hauler determination comprising whether to assign one of the drivers of at least one of the direct-offer haulers that are not the priority hauler(s) of the first hauler determination.

13. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 12, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s): when in the first mode and determining not to assign any of the drivers of the direct- offer hauler(s) of the second hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order, the server(s) determine the driver assignment further at least by making one or more pooled hauler determinations, each of the pooled hauler determination(s) comprising: making a request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to a pool of two or more of the haulers that include the direct-offer haulers; and determining whether one of the drivers of the haulers of the pool agreed to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order; and when in the second mode and determining not to assign any of the drivers of the direct- offer hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order, the server(s) determine the driver assignment further at least by making one or more of the pooled hauler determination(s).

14. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 13, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s): the one or more pooled hauler determinations include: a first pooled hauler determination, wherein the haulers of the first pooled hauler determination consist of the direct-offer haulers; and a second pooled hauler determination, wherein the haulers of the second pooled hauler determination include one or more of the haulers that are not the auto-dispatching hauler(s) and are not the direct-offer haulers.

15. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 13, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s): when in the first mode, the server(s) determine not to assign any of the drivers of the direct-offer hauler(s) of the second hauler determination when an offer expiration time has passed after making a request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the direct-offer hauler(s) of the second hauler determination; and when in the second mode, the server(s) determine not to assign any of the drivers of the direct-offer hauler(s) of the first hauler determination when an offer expiration time has passed after making a request to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the direct-offer hauler(s) of the first hauler determination.

16. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 1, wherein for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), the server(s) are configured to receive location data regarding a position of the driver from a portable electronic device of the driver.

17. The hydraulic fracturing logistics system of claim 1, wherein the server(s) are configured such that, for each of the scheduled proppant order(s), the server(s) determine whether to assign one of drivers of the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination to the scheduled proppant order based at least in part on, for each of one or more of the drivers requested to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order, acceptance data from a portable electronic device of the driver, the acceptance data comprising whether the driver agreed to haul the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

8. A method of facilitating hydraulic fracturing logistics, the method comprising: determining a driver assignment for each of one or more scheduled proppant orders at least by making a first hauler determination, the first hauler determination comprising whether to assign one of a plurality of drivers of at least one of one or more haulers to the scheduled proppant order; wherein: the one or more haulers include one or more auto-dispatching haulers; each of the scheduled proppant order(s) is from a proppant supplier and for a wellsite; and for at least one of the scheduled proppant order(s), the first hauler determination is made at least by: determining which of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are eligible to deliver proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite based at least in part on, for each of the drivers: a remaining shift time for the driver; and a load completion time for the driver that includes a load duration time comprising: a time for the driver to drive to the proppant supplier; and a time for the driver to obtain the proppant of the scheduled proppant order from the proppant supplier, drive from the proppant supplier to the wellsite, and offload the proppant of the scheduled proppant order.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s): the driver has a base location; and the load completion time for the driver further comprises a time for the driver to drive from the wellsite to the base location.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein for each of the scheduled proppant order(s) for which the hauler(s) of the first hauler determination are one or more of the auto-dispatching hauler(s), for each of the drivers of the auto-dispatching hauler(s) of the first hauler determination, when making the first hauler determination determining whether the driver is eligible to deliver the proppant of the scheduled proppant order to the wellsite is based at least in part on whether the remaining shift time for the driver is greater than or equal to the load completion time for the driver.

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