Fuel services represent an especially difficult aspect to managing a waste operation, but the newest fuel management systems can help centralize data and assist in a more efficient process.
Peter J. Cochefski
For any waste management fleet concerned with a healthy bottom line, the management of time and the establishment of reliable resources can occupy an enormous amount of personal energy every day. Troubleshooting is a daily requirement for a manager in the waste sector. Every day there are challenges that require troubleshooting which could have been eliminated with the employment of the newest technologies in fuel management systems.
A Focus on Improving Fuel Operations
A successful waste management operation requires coordinated fuel supervision. The newest fuel management programs create great value by saving time, eliminating stress and boosting the bottom line. New technologies are capable of centralizing various fuel-related processes into one place for seamless access and unparalleled efficiency. From tracking fuel inventories to daily fleet usage, today鈥檚 most comprehensive fuel services meet essential needs such as environmental compliance management, remote monitoring/alarm management and even service contractor database management.
Current fuel and transportation costs remain unpredictable, and waste industry executives who focus on improving their fueling operations will see today鈥檚 automated fuel-management systems as a real chance to positively impact their fleet operations. The modern automated fuel management system can centralize all the potential data associated with the fueling operation. Indeed, where there was once a scattering of variable data streams to follow and attempt to bring together for a bigger picture understanding of the business, there is now a one-stop shop where all of it can be accessed and analyzed. For the waste management sector, centralizing the capture and storage of key fueling-site information through automated processes ensures the end-user creates and maintains consistent site operations, delivering maximized operational efficiencies and site profitability.
The key to any customer-focused fuel-management service is that it can be tailored to any business鈥� needs and customized to focus on the most important aspect of the business 鈥� keeping the fleet in motion. Today鈥檚 systems have become fully customizable. The very best services are capable of offering their customers any number of individual fuel management services. The customer should have the option to choose enhanced management of very specific services or opting into a fully integrated solution, depending on their needs. A manager who possesses expertise in the waste management sector understands the specific demands on fuel handling and fuel systems. With the implementation of an automated fuel management system, they will have the ability to manage all of the services. In addition to time savings, the reduction of the carbon footprint is often a residual benefit of the new fuel management tactic.
Automated Fuel Tracking
The benefits of an automated fuel tracking system are numerous. Providing real-time access to inventory levels and fueling habits at any time of the day or night is a huge advantage for any waste operation. A company鈥檚 fueling operations can have several variables, all of which can impact bottom-line profit.
Today鈥檚 best automated fuel tracking systems deliver an incredibly accurate account of fuel usage data from a facility, including exactly where that fuel is going. This can immediately impact any guesswork on expenditures for a day, week, or month, and it is often an opportunity to identify or deter theft. All fueling activities, regional or national, may be monitored from a central office. Reporting on fuel volumes and individual routes is easily noted and monitored for immediate supervision. Increasingly, data can be monitored and analyzed for future planning. The three most prominent features of a quality fuel management system capable of positively impacting a waste operation are service maintenance, alarm management and environmental compliance.
Service Maintenance
This capability is all about reducing maintenance costs. If you reduce maintenance and the costs associated with it, you can save money and more effectively keep trucks on the road and bringing in revenue.
Maintenance issues cause headaches, not only when a piece of equipment fails but also when the maintenance issue needs to be documented. If this data is not accurately recorded, the waste operations manager runs the risk of overpaying for a service call or repeating service calls.
Fuel management services can let the operator know how much time the technician spent onsite, which is something that can be hard to track by an onsite manager or clerk. By accurately tracking common maintenance issues, it becomes much easier to anticipate maintenance expenses, identify significant trends and plan accordingly for the cost to keep the fleet running.
Alarm Management
Alarm management is a critical function to ensure response to alarm notifications as quickly as possible. If mismanaged, this critical function can cost a company a significant amount of money through fines and/or potentially unplanned maintenance expenses.
While alarm management has been a traditionally labor-intensive manual job, an automated fuel management system allows this difficult waste management task to be outsourced to a company that can diagnose, solve and document alarm conditions immediately. Detecting an alarm event at the earliest possible point is essential in identifying a potential environmental risk and mitigating the costs that can be associated with environmental remediation. Environmental fines and clean up costs have been steadily escalating, and a quick response to a single alarm can mean the difference between a profitable bottom line for the week or a bottom line in the red.
Environmental Compliance
Compliance management for environmental regulations can be one of the most complex and intimidating functions for the waste operations manager. Today鈥檚 top automated fuel-management systems have been designed to track and update compliance data and incidents 24/7/365.
Compliance management can never be allowed to fall off the radar or become a low priority; the risks and the potential monetary penalties are too potentially damaging. The automated management of this process increases its importance in the system without increasing the amount of employee interactions or the need for the waste operation manager to understand the complex environmental policies.
Centralizing Data
The waste management industry presents its own very unique daily challenges that can create stress and immediate impacts on an operation鈥檚 bottom line. Fuel services represent an especially difficult aspect to managing a waste operation, but the newest fuel management systems can help centralize data and assist in a more efficient process.
Peter J. Cochefski is the Director of Ryder Fuel Services (Houston, TX), a subsidiary of Ryder System, Inc., and a provider of fuel-management programs that focus on compliance management, remote monitoring, alarm management, service management, fuel management and supply, and environmental best management practices. Peter can be reached at [email protected].