Merridale diesel dispensers linked to office management software.
When it came to equipping its new headquarters and Freight Centre in Huthwaite, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, B Taylor and Sons took the opportunity to invest in a fully integrated diesel fuelling point using Merridale pumps and FuelFX management reporting software, provided by MIS Fuel Monitoring of Wolverhampton.
[quote]Basically it means that we can account for every drop of diesel oil brought onto the premises and consumed by our fleet.[/quote]
B Taylor & Sons operates over 100 vehicles covering all types from articulated trailers and rigids used for trunking operations to smaller Transit /Sprinters for local collection and delivery services. The company consumes around 100,000 litres of fuel a month. In addition to the depot facilities, drivers also use fuel cards for external fuelling.
Built over a 110K litres underground storage tank, the depot fuelling point has two ‘twin’ self-service diesel dispensers, providing a choice of high and standard flow rates. Drivers access the pump by using a smart key coded to the vehicle and the keyboard to enter vehicle mileage and PIN to authenticate the transaction.
These details are captured by computer monitoring, which together with electronic gauging, enabling the fleet administrators to reconcile precisely the storage tank contents against fuel drawn and updates after stock deliveries.
Details of all external transactions are imported into the Merridale fuel management system allowing the company to maintain a unified record across the entire fleet.
“Basically it means that we can account for every drop of diesel oil brought onto the premises and consumed by our fleet,” says Operations Consultant , Ray Calladine. “Apart from the need to manage our costs, this is important because we are committed to operating our vehicles economically and with minimal impact on the environment in terms of carbon emissions.
[quote]All of these factors can make a measurable difference of up to five per cent on the vehicle’s mpg performance and this translates to operating costs and impact on the environment.[/quote]
“The recording system provides the reports we need to monitor the fuel drawn by individual vehicles and this can be used to calculate its fuel economy performance, in terms of miles per gallon. Any anomalies in mpg will be highlighted, enabling the staff to investigate further to ascertain the cause. This may be a service issue, traffic conditions on the route or possibly, the manner in which the vehicle is being driven.
“All of these factors can make a measurable difference of up to five per cent on the vehicle’s mpg performance and this translates to operating costs and impact on the environment.”
