RFID Technology and Fuel Management Systems for Modern Fleets

by Jordan Schwed | Oct 2, 2020 | Distributor, Operator

This is a great time to consider implementing an RFID (radio frequency identification) fuel-management system. There are three main advantages of an RFID fuel system over pen-and-paper or older technology that fuel management systems may use for reporting.

1) Eliminate Shrinkage

First, you can lock down fuel to eliminate “shrinkage” (a euphemism for theft) or misallocation. Industry figures estimate shrinkage at between 5 and 10 percent of a fleet’s annual consumption. If you burned a million gallons last year, you may have lost between 50,000 to 100,000 gallons to shrinkage. With fuel hovering at $3.50 per gallon, there is an incredible opportunity for savings through reducing shrinkage.

2) Precise Equipment Cost

Second, fuel-management systems can precisely quantify your fuel burn for individual vehicles or entire departments, resulting in more accurate equipment costing and job bidding, allowing for condition-based maintenance scheduled by fuel consumption, and facilitating decision-making when choosing new equipment. These benefits may well surpass the potential savings from eliminating shrinkage, although they are much more difficult to quantify.

3) Accurate Odometers

Third, accurate odometers or hours meters. This is the lifeblood of any well-run fleet. RFID provides cost-saving benefits and effective preventive maintenance programs. Capturing this information from the vehicle at the fuel island and not relying on the driver, due to human error, is the key to success.

How Does it Work?

RFID systems have an electronic module mounted on the vehicle that takes data from an RFID tag near the fuel nozzle and combines it with vehicle data such as hour meter, odometer, GPS location information or fault codes (in the case of vehicles). The module then wirelessly transmits the data back to the Island Control Unit or fuel truck, which records the fuel transaction and reports the additional data from the machine or vehicle’s electronic module.

For fleets that are comprised mainly of on-road vehicles, installation can be as simple as plugging the module into the on-board diagnostic (OBD) connector under the dashboard and running a cable to the RFID tag. The connectivity with the vehicle’s computer systems through the OBD connector allows you to collect a wealth of data from the vehicle at every fuel transaction, including odometer readings and fault codes.

RFID tag-only systems can be installed in a matter of minutes. Simply attach the RFID tag to the vehicle’s fuel filler neck. The per-unit cost is substantially lower than with RFID tag-only systems, and installation is much easier to manage. This will secure fuel and ensure it goes into the authorized vehicle but it will not bring back additional data from the OBD.

Only you can decide which system is right for your fleet. Either way, you can no longer afford to not secure and track your fueling operations. FuelDrive is an automated fleet fuel management system that supports continuous, real-time fuel management over virtually any communication platform. With HaaS and SaaS offerings, you can expect access to your own secure, accurate information wherever you are.

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Best Practices for Utilizing Fuel Management Systems in Emergency Situations

by Jordan Schwed | Jun 10, 2020 | Distributor, Operator

Emergency situations can strike at a moment’s notice. From natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, to large-scale criminal activity, to even a global pandemic. In many cases, your organizations are relied on to provide assistance and support throughout your regions. Your vehicles have to be working and maintained and need to be able to fuel properly and accurately. Fuel management systems, like FuelDrive, allow for your organization to quickly deploy fobs or other fueling credentials This allows you to open up your fuel islands for outside agencies, like FEMA and other local agencies or emergency response vehicles. Below are some best practices to help your organization navigate emergency situations while utilizing your fuel management system.

1. Get fuel quickly

When an emergency is severe enough that every second counts, you’ll want to make sure you are not delayed at the fuel island. With a Wireless Automated Fueling (WAF) solution, you can pull up to the pump and begin fueling quickly, no manual entry required. Automated fueling can be used to authorize fuel for any vessel, not just vehicles. These might include portable fuel tanks, lawn mowers, snow blowers, ATVs or even boats.

2. External fueling

Utility companies from around the country will often mobilize to assist the affected areas during natural disasters, like hurricanes. Users of automated fuel management software in those areas can issue fuel cards or simply set up codes within their system for outside entities (other utilities, FEMA, Law Enforcement). These organizations can now get fuel at these convenient fuel sites. Ultimately, this allows for better tracking of where your fuel is being allocated while still allowing everyone to get fuel quickly.

3. GPS Tracking

A truly robust fuel management system will offer passive GPS. A passive GPS solution will allow you to make an assessment of where assets were most utilized so that you can reallocate as needed. In addition, your provider may have partnerships with multiple real-time GPS solutions such as AssetWorks FSS, Verizon Connect, GeoTab and others.

4. Mobile Fueling

Your emergency situation (or even your standard business practices) may require that you have the potential for mobile fueling. Your system should provide and track emergency fuel supply on mobile fuel tankers. As a result, you can get the fuel to locations that need it right away, such as remote generators or other equipment in the field. Often, these assets are not able to return to onsite fueling locations.

5. Fuel Levels & Allocation

Your system should be able to give you real-time and long-term statistics. These numbers might include your fuel levels, trends in fuel consumption, fluctuations in price and any anomalies that require your attention. This way, you can understand in real time where you have fuel and where you are short. This information is crucial in an emergency and allows you to keep your fuel vendor aware of your levels and any changes in purchasing or distribution.

6. Fuel Management Support

Most importantly, your selected fuel solution must come with available support from the provider. Proper, long-term support for off-hours and emergency situations is critical to your success and effectiveness in the middle of a crisis. You shouldn’t have to face any issues alone, so FuelDrive has a support team that is trained to work remotely and to be available during a crisis.

Do you want to learn more about our fuel management system and how it works in an emergency? Simply fill out the form below:

Press Release: FuelDrive, Powered by AssetWorks, Partners with NWESTCO for Fuel Equipment Distribution

by Maryellen Kennedy | Jan 20, 2020 | Distributor

FuelDrive, a leading supplier of integrated fuel management equipment hardware and software, announced a new partnership with NWESTCO for fuel equipment distribution in the Pacific Northwest.

“The FuelDrive team is excited to be partnering with NWESTCO in order to provide top tier fueling equipment to customers across North America,” said Russ Whelan, Account Manager at FuelDrive.

NWESTCO is comprised of six business units, as well as a first class construction group. The clients of NWESTCO include major oil jobbers, independent fuel retailers and general contractors.

NWESTCO joins the ranks of fellow distributors Adam’s Tank & Lift, AllPro Fuel Solutions, CTE, Neil Nakai Inc, and Global Fueling Systems in partnership with FuelDrive.

To learn more about this partnership, please contact a FuelDrive representative.

3 Ways You can Maximize your Fuel Management System

by Jordan Schwed | Dec 18, 2019 | Distributor, Operator

Having a small fleet doesn’t mean you’re stuck with limitations on your fuel management system. There are affordable options that can provide better security for your organization and software, as well provide a greater depth of vehicle and driver information.

Wireless Automated Fueling

Utilizing Wireless Automated Fueling (WAF) speeds up the fueling process by minimizing time spent manually entering data at the pump. A wireless antenna at the fuel island interacts with a nozzle transponder on the pump and hardware installed on a vehicle. Just pull the vehicle up to the pump, insert the nozzle into the vehicle and the system will automatically validate and dispense (or deny) fuel based on predefined user profiles. Wireless authorization also helps to prevent fuel theft by dispensing fuel only to the approved vehicle – no more swiping a fob and fueling a personal vehicle. In addition, WAF can save you time, help eliminate errors and display engine fault codes!

Driver Behavior

Controlling and managing the fuel dispensed to that vehicle is only part of the picture. You entrust your employees with a company vehicle. How much do you know about the behavior of your drivers? Driving habits can greatly affect the fuel mileage of a vehicle and lead to more frequent fill ups. Rapid braking and acceleration, excessive idling and exceeding speed limits all cause extra fuel use, add to wear and tear cost and increase liability. Excessive hard braking is a known indicator of a distracted driver. These behaviors can be tracked right inside the FuelDrive Fuel Management System, providing for better reporting and increased driver accountability.

Passive GPS

You trust that your drivers are not taking advantage of company vehicles, but how can you be sure? A Passive GPS Module can provide peace of mind by allowing you to monitor and evaluate complete trip details as soon as the vehicle returns to the lot. When company assets are optimally managed, service and savings improve along with the efficiency and safety of fleet-based operations.

The FuelDrive Fuel Management System has the capability to allow for these enhancements, and more. Fill out the form on the right for more information.

4 Qualities of an Upgraded Fuel Management System

by Jordan Schwed | Nov 25, 2019 | Distributor, Operator, Uncategorized

Many companies utilize a fuel management system to manage onsite fueling, but are they operating a system that has the most current and most effective processes? Get the most out of your fuel solution and maximize your investments by making sure you are getting these benefits.

Security

Driver names, driver license numbers and VIN information; the data contained in a fuel management software database is proprietary information that needs to stay secure. Most fuel systems are housed on internal servers, sometimes even on a mobile laptop. With an increase in hacking incidents and the constant threat of theft, the safety of that data is not guaranteed. Moving to an upgraded, web-based fuel management solution significantly increases the level of security. A cloud-based platform ensures data is encrypted and protected by several layers of security behind a firewall. Password protection and permission settings further restrict database access.

A dedicated server farm means data is secure and available when needed. No longer is there a need to perform daily backups or have internal data recovery systems in place. Data is automatically backed up and stored on a managed infrastructure featuring full redundancy. In the event of a failure, downtime or excessive traffic at the primary server, the system will automatically shift to an alternate infrastructure on a redundant server, allowing for uninterrupted access of your data.

Ease of Use

An effective and efficient fuel management system needs to be adaptable to a growing fleet, and easily interface with 3rd party systems to expand management capabilities. Fleet operators need to manage their data when and where it is convenient for them. An intuitive, user friendly, cloud-based software system can be accessed from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Customizable, web-based software with actionable data allows for detailed reporting as well as remote support and login options for troubleshooting purposes. This cloud-based platform also allows for automatic software updates, eliminating the need for fleet managers to manually perform these duties.

Cost Efficiencies

A web-based fuel management system eliminates the need for on-site physical servers or internal network expansion and the addition of more servers, which helps to minimize upfront costs and reduce start-up time. There is no need for server hardware maintenance or repairs. And operating in the cloud also means little or no need for in-house IT support, saving even further on costs.

Cloud-based solutions also offer flexibility in payment options. Fleet managers, especially those in smaller companies, don’t always have the budget for larger upfront costs. Web-based systems allows for peace of mind while knowing what monthly expenses will be.

Complexity of Services

A comprehensive, cloud-based fuel management system will dispense unleaded and diesel fuel to authorized vehicles/users from on-site pumps, automatically track the mileage of vehicles at fuel up, and record fuel disbursements and costs for billing purposes. Dynamic information is displayed through active and user-friendly screens that help to optimize the user experience. Web-based systems with simple, robust report generators can provide flexibility for report templates to be saved on demand for future use.

Departments, vehicles, and employees should be simply managed and edited. Inventory control should also be easy to manage. A cloud-based, upgraded fuel management system will allow a fleet manager to easily view current inventory levels, measurements, deliveries and alarms at set reorder points. Integration with automatic tank gauge systems provides real-time fuel inventory details.