Enterprise Gloucester installs OTS MultiServ™ fuelling station

Another example was the decommissioning of an obsolete underground diesel storage tank. This has been replaced by an above ground, bunded storage unit which is more environmentally acceptable and easier to maintain.

The new fuelling station is based on a MultiServ unit supplied by Oil Tank Supplies (OTS) of Moreton in the Marsh. MultiServ is a self contained facility incorporating pumps, fuel dispensing hoses and a control cabinet housing computer monitoring and the communications link for back office fuel management reports.

Users – drivers and staff access fuel by using a key fob dedicated to specific vehicles. Each fuelling transaction is authorised by entering the vehicle mileage on the control panel. This data including amount of fuel drawn, date and time, is captured and processed by a web based service to provide stock control and fuel consumption reports.

“This information is used in conjunction with vehicle tracking technology to tune our operating costs precisely,” explains Enterprise Waste and Recycling Manager, Lee Thompson.

“We have a 15 year Waste Partnership with Gloucester City Council. Although this has been priced very carefully, we have to take into account inevitable changes such as increases in demand as the population grows. Fuel accounts for a large proportion of our operational costs so it is vital that we have accurate monitoring and good quality data to manage this efficiently.”

“The system provides a daily report and if any vehicle has been speeding the registration will be highlighted in red and we can easily identify the driver involved.”

“As well as recording the fuel usage the new station is equipped with a low level alarm and the software provides ongoing reconciliation of the tank contents for stock control and re-ordering.
Previously this was a very time consuming clerical task relying on meters and manual records which were invariably prone to errors.

“The information was only available once a month and at best it provided an estimation of our fuel usage but it wasn’t foolproof. I didn’t rely on the information it provided – let’s put it that way,” says Lee Thompson.

“This was not satisfactory bearing in mind that we are now using over 40K litres of diesel a month. We have a fleet of around 100 vehicles, ranging from refuse wagons to staff vans and 4×4s. Fuel oil is only second to wages in terms of our operating costs and it is the most challenging on-cost to manage and forecast.

“With the new system, the current status is up to the minute and continuously updated, so we now have absolute visibility and therefore control over the most important cost element of our operations.”

Lee Thompson summarises by saying: “If I need to investigate any anomalies, the tank tells us how much fuel has been used and then I can look at the distance travelled with the tracker.

“This tells me what speed the vehicle was travelling and we can use this data to ascertain whether or not it was burning excess fuel. I can see what time the vehicle left the yard at the start of a shift and any occasions when it was stationary with the engine possibly idling, time which would then be made up by speeding on the round.

“The system provides a daily report and if any vehicle has been speeding the registration will be highlighted in red and we can easily identify the driver involved.

“Now that we have these measures in place, they provide the platform we need for training and sustainability.”