We work with big companies on a daily basis and have asked a few of the fleet managers about what it is that makes monitoring fuel live such a necessity in their fleet management system today.
1. Controlling the cost of running your fleet in spite of the ever increasing fuel price.
When it comes to fuel the one thing we see at most companies is they still use 1 of two systems to try and manage fuel usage. They either fill every morning and check usage over kilometers on a daily basis, this is very time stacking or monitor fuel slips against total kilometers done by the vehicle monthly. Some companies wait till the driver runs in and says the fuel is low and then they give them some petty cash and off they go, “the driver has been with the company for 10 years now, he won’t steal from us” – Is the mentality some of the fleet owners have.
2. Diesel is a commodity
It is difficult to monitor fuel and drivers know this, diesel is a commodity, easily stolen and easily traded for other goods and is untraceable. It has become liquid currency in bordering countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique. You will see the stalls next to the road not selling fruit but selling Diesel because it is universally excepted and used.
3. The Fuel level guessing game
A fleet owner can better manage his fleet knowing how much fuel is in each vehicle. At the start of a day some fleet managers religiously go and check all vehicles before they leave the office to check the current fuel levels. This gets tricky when vehicles
“It use to be my daily task, from one truck to the next, because we have caught drivers lying about the fuel levels just to get cash in hand”Fleet manager Silverton
4. If I only had proof
For a lot of our clients they were already aware of the diesel theft, they picked up discrepancies in the figures and then added a theft Budget to cover that percentage. After installing the Digit fuel monitoring and fleet management system, the fuel cost was saved over and above what they thought was the approximate stolen fuel quantity. A few months down the line the client actually caught theft from some of the now relaxed drivers. This system is a live fuel monitoring system, updating every few minutes. Daily reports will actually show you where fuel has been stolen and if setup correctly the fleet manager can actually receive an SMS once fuel has been stolen giving you the ability to Identify fuel theft in real time.
“I actually saw the driver and one staff member when I drove in on the farm in the mornings around the fuel tank, but I can’t prove they stole anything”Fleet manager Nelspruit
5. You can’t control what you can’t measure
It is a old management saying but it is so true, if you don’t have any management system or way to measure something live, then you cant control the usage of it. With the Digit Fleet management system and Fuel monitoring system combined as a total fleet control system you can have fuel reports available at your finger tips without having to capture data. Reduces administration costs drastically because with the click of a button you can have weekly, daily, or even monthly fuel usage reports on your whole fleet. Print it out, and have it at your side in any meeting. It is being used in hearings to proof diesel theft, where drivers are disciplined on bad behavior and even theft.
Get a edge on your competitors and manage your diesel risk more efficiently then your closest competitor, with the price of diesel going up, if you don’t monitor your fuel, theft is going to get more and refilling is going to cost more.