A case study of a company trying to “MoneyBall” construction.
Burns Dirt is a heavy civil earthwork and hauling company operating across Mississippi and Alabama, led by Nic Parish (CEO) and Garret Parish (COO).
The company is built around a culture of precision, reliability, and strategic thinking—always looking for ways to elevate their bidding and operational performance.
From the outset, the Parish brothers were driven by a singular goal: to “Moneyball” their business—applying data, analysis, and competitive modeling to outperform rivals on efficiency, not just muscle.
Nic and Garret recognized early that cost control and haul efficiency were game‑changers in the dirt work industry. They understood that factors like material cost per pit, round‑trip time, miles driven, and loads per day could be quantified and optimized—but that doing so dynamically would be complicated.
To test this idea, one of their first efforts was creating a fully featured prototype in Google Sheets. The model allowed them to:
While powerful, the prototype underscored something important: they needed a more scalable, reliable, and shareable tool—one that could turn their data-driven insight into a repeatable advantage.
Burns Dirt partnered with Xeratec to transform their spreadsheet prototype into a purpose-built web application—designed not only to enhance their internal bidding strategy but to scale as a repeatable tool for other dirt work contractors.
The result was BattleShip—a custom-built platform that brings precision and automation to haul planning. The application enables users to model real-world scenarios with live, dynamic inputs, factoring in:
With BattleShip, users can quickly compare hauling configurations across pits, job sites, and truck fleets to determine the most cost-effective option. By incorporating real-time mapping and fuel insights, the app eliminates assumptions and sharpens accuracy in cost modeling.
What began as a flexible—but fragile—spreadsheet is now a scalable, intuitive web app that puts advanced logistics modeling into the hands of dirt contractors. The Parish brothers’ “Moneyball” approach is no longer a theory—it’s a platform they rely on every day.
“ We had a solid prototype in Sheets—but it kept breaking, and we hit a wall. We knew it wasn’t scalable, and we didn’t know how to take it further. Xeratec quickly understood the formulas and the theory behind it, then jumped in and started dreaming up ways to build and improve it. They turned our rough concept into a clean, reliable tool anyone on our team can use to run real scenarios and make smart, fast decisions. BattleShip took our ‘Moneyball’ strategy from idea to execution—it’s now baked into how we operate. ”
Nic Parish, CEO, Burns Dirt Construction
“ We had a solid prototype in Sheets—but it kept breaking, and we hit a wall. We knew it wasn’t scalable, and we didn’t know how to take it further. Xeratec quickly understood the formulas and the theory behind it, then jumped in and started dreaming up ways to build and improve it. They turned our rough concept into a clean, reliable tool anyone on our team can use to run real scenarios and make smart, fast decisions. BattleShip took our ‘Moneyball’ strategy from idea to execution—it’s now baked into how we operate. ”
Nic Parish, CEO, Burns Dirt Construction
BattleShip has quickly become a core part of Burns Dirt’s operations—bringing consistency, clarity, and speed to their job planning and bidding process. What started as an internal tool is now a scalable platform designed for broader industry impact.
Key outcomes include:
By turning their “Moneyball” concept into a purpose-built app, the Parish brothers not only transformed how Burns Dirt operates—they laid the groundwork for helping other contractors gain the same competitive advantage.
