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BNSF Railway Co. recently presented a BNSF Achievement Award to an employee team to recognize the workers’ efforts to simplify the railroad’s wheat tariff system.

Earlier this year, the team combined and eliminated tariff rates — the method BNSF uses to price wheat shipments — reducing the number of rates by 78 percent and aligning tariffs more closely to the way wheat is traded. Now, 90 percent of wheat shipments fall under four rate categories. The team also reduced origins 31 percent.

The new rate system enables BNSF’s tariff publishing team to correct pricing errors in about an hour instead of a day, reduce case backlogs and speed rate quotes.

"The new system … frees up a significant amount of time that we can now spend with customers rather than on administering tariffs," said Market Manager Brett Porter in a prepared statement.