For operators, every gallon counts, and technology can help them prevent accidental losses as well as outright theft. It can also increase efficiency for operators by accurately tracking and communicating information on tank levels.
“If I were an operator, I would be looking for things driven around efficiency—staff efficiency, maintenance efficiency, delivery efficiency, driver efficiency—anything that makes the staff’s work easier and eliminates the spreadsheets so they can focus on things that are more customer-centric,” said Tony Caputo, director of business development for Warren Rogers.
There are several solutions that can eliminate the manual work involved in picking out which terminal to go to, determining driver scheduling and planning the logistics around the delivery process. Caputo said Warren Rogers is integrated with several logistics platforms that feeds real-time information about tank levels so fuel orders can be generated automatically.
Because the technology is capturing live data, it feeds analytics and can improve decision making. “We’re not dependent on statistical data or numbers that may or may not be correct. We’re getting it straight from the source continuously, and it goes straight into our analytics so we’re able to detect things faster and more accurately,” Caputo said.
In addition to helping operators determine when to order fuel, continual monitoring can detect wet- stock loss, which is the discrepancy between the amount of fuel delivered to a truck stop or travel center and the amount dispensed or sold. Losses can result from various factors, including leaks or theft. “We can detect even minute fuel losses or thefts or and also we can detect delivery shortages.”
No matter what the cause, Caputo said it is crucial for operators to be proactive rather than reactive. “You can see compliance issues that are causing inconclusive results of your required tank and line testing, so you can be proactive and address it before you have a failure or, worst case scenario, actually have a leak or a loss that goes undetected,” he said. “There are costs not only from lost product but also from the cleanup. Nothing’s worse than a leak that has been going on for six months.”
When there is a loss of product, it can take time for maintenance teams to figure it where the loss is occurring. “They’re basically told, ‘We lost 1,000 gallons and don’t know where it is.’ That initiates about 10 different tests and many of those come back as inconclusive and they cost a lot of money,” Caputo said.
Thieves often try to manipulate dispensers, adapting the pulsers to slow them down, which means the pump is metering a smaller amount than is being dispensed. “To your system, it looks like a 10-gallon purchase, but 500 gallons left your tank,” Caputo said. “It would show up as a loss, but you’d have no idea where the loss occurred. We can detect it in real time. Those are easy for us to detect because that throws an alarm in our system.”
Monitoring the flow rate is also important for overall performance. “That ensures it is performing optimally, so it is more efficient for the customer,” Caputo explained. “We can also detect if the dispenser isn’t transacting any longer, meaning that it’s been dormant for an unusually long period of time. We can let the operator know that it might be bagged off, the nozzle might be down or it could be something else.”
Monitoring technology can be added to most systems. “We can work with the oldest locations and still give them the leak and loss detection that they need to be compliant and rest assured that they’re not having an undetected leak without making upgrades,” Caputo said.
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