According to research done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fuel expenses can take up to 60% of total fleet business costs. With the ever-rising fuel prices, having a fuel management system will save your business a large sum. This is why it is important for every fleet business to have a fuel management system.
Let’s have a closer look at how this works.
Everything you need to know about a fuel management system
A fuel management system is a combination of hardware and software technology that is used to optimise fuel consumption in various industries such as mining, construction, and transportation.
Fuel management systems ensure that fuel is being used efficiently by monitoring factors such as fuel consumption and engine performance. Businesses without a fuel management system battle with the cost of fuel daily.
How do fuel monitoring systems work?
Fuel monitoring systems work hand in hand with fleet management software and telematics to be able to translate the data. Here is a brief breakdown of two components of fuel monitoring systems:
- Engine Control Unit
Also called an engine control module, this unit controls both the engine and the transmission. It collects data related to fuel consumption, engine operating hours and mileage. - Fuel level sensors
These are filters installed in vehicle tanks to monitor fuel levels. A tube connects to the fuel measuring system, and when fuel is added, it fills the tube and the spaces around it. The information is then sent to a telematics system, which gives readings such as tank capacity, litres and vehicle location.
Disadvantages of running a fleet without a fuel monitoring system
Here are some of the things that can go wrong when your fuel is not being monitored:
- Fuel theft and fraud: Having a fuel card is essential when running a fleet as it helps keep track of fuel expenses. It makes it easier to know which driver refilled where, when and for how much. However, if the cards are not integrated with a fleet management system, there will be loopholes, such as false transactions or drivers using their fuel cards to purchase fuel from their personal vehicles.
- Incorrect data analysis: Without a fuel monitoring system, fuel card reports can be misinterpreted, and there is room for many human errors.
- Careless driving: Bad driving habits such as harsh braking, speeding, excessive idling, and harsh cornering require more energy from the engine. This means that more fuel needs to be burned, leading to fuel wastage. Aggressive driving not only drains fuel but also causes vehicle wear and tear, leading to unexpected breakdowns, vehicle downtime, and heavy repair costs.
- Unnecessary mileage: Fuel monitoring systems work hand-in-hand with GPS technology. This enables you to see the routes that heighten your fleet’s fuel consumption. Without it, it becomes more difficult to track mileage and pinpoint problem areas.
- Environmental impact: Businesses are charged more tax for a high fuel consumption. This is due to global warming and the aim is to slow down climate change by lowering greenhouse gas emissions such as the burning of fossil fuels.
Benefits of a fuel management system
There are many benefits that come with having a fuel management system, such as:
- Improved driver behaviour
Driving habits such as excessive idling, harsh braking or speeding not only put drivers in danger of possible collusion but also drain fuel faster. With a proper fuel monitoring system in place, fleet managers will be able to monitor driving habits that increase fuel as well as vehicle wear and tear. - Reduces human error
Fleet technology simplifies administration and speeds up operations. A fuel monitoring system reduces the manual work and is more accurate, eliminating any miscalculations of fuel expenses.
- Improved route planning
Fuel management is part of fleet telematics. Fleet management software gets you access to real-time GPS tracking. With this, fleet managers can track the routes drivers use to make deliveries and see which routes are wasteful or unnecessary, therefore saving fuel.
- Fuel theft prevention
Integrating a fuel card with a fleet management system catalysis the process of matching fuel receipts with the vehicle’s location and fuel level status, making it easier to detect fuel theft.
- Greener fleet
If you want to go green, a fuel management system will help you lower carbon emissions by reducing the amount of fuel you use. You will save money and the planet too. - Reduced maintenance and repair costs
Using engine technology to monitor fuel can save your fleet from breaking down and needing more repairs.
The difference between fuel management and fuel monitoring
Fuel management is about gaining full control of all the fuel operations in the business in order to reduce costs. It’s about knowing which vehicle needs refuelling, monitoring driver behaviour, maintenance, and fuel storage, and getting detailed reports. A fuel monitoring system, on the other hand, is the literal real-time tracking of fuel levels using fuel monitoring tools such as a fuel level sensor. Essentially, the fuel monitoring system is a part of fuel management.
What kind of insight can you gain from a fuel management system?
Let’s have a look at Chris, who’s fleet manager at a logistics company. He has noticed that every time a certain driver uses one of his cars, the petrol in the tank doesn’t last long. He always checks receipts for the fuel cards and just doesn’t understand why there are so many refills. So, where does the fuel go?
Chris suspected fuel card fraud, so he decided to get a fuel monitoring system to better assess the situation. To his surprise, it turns out that the driver was always taking a longer route because he was more familiar with it. There’s a bakery on the way that he likes and normally stops by. This route increased the mileage, which is why the driver always needed to refill.
Chris also noticed that the same driver had many incidents of excessive idling. This was because whenever the driver would stop by his favourite bakery, he would leave the engine running, thinking it would just be a quick in and out. However, on some days, there would be a queue, and he’d wait longer for his baked goods. Chris has since coached the driver on driving habits that increase fuel consumption and is now seeing massive improvement.
From this, you can see that very simple and innocent things can have a huge impact on fuel expenses. A quick analysis plus some chats with your drivers can save your fleet a fortune.
Boost your fuel savings with a Cartrack fuel management system!
Cartrack is an industry leader in the fields of telematics and has helped many from different industries, such as transport, construction and mining, to maximise their fuel savings. With us, you get:
MiFleet
Mifleet is cost management software that can help you detect fuel theft and fuel card fraud by validating transactions with vehicle telematics data such as location, litres and tank capacity. This powerful tool gives you alerts whenever there is suspicion of fuel fraud, allowing you to further investigate and resolve the matter.
Fuel sensors
You can monitor your vehicle or machinery’s in-tank fuel levels with any of the following three fuel monitoring tools:
- Float sensors: Every vehicle comes with a floater and a variable resistor installed inside the tank. This moves up or down as fuel is added or while the vehicle consumes fuel. Cartrack connects to the wires the wire to the IoT device in order to read the voltages produced and translate them into litres. This information is then accessible for your use on our fleet management platform.
- Fuel probes: These are fuel level measuring devices that use a float system to track fuel levels. They are for external tanks or fuel tanks that are not connected to the vehicle and are connected to a telematics device inorder to send fuel level data.
- CANBus: The Control Area Network bus (CANBus) clamp is connected to our telematics device to enhance the ability of vehicle components, such as the engine and transmission, to “‘communicate” with each other. This then makes it easier for vehicles to detect when fuel is needed, and the data is then stored and sent to our fleet solutions.
Preventative maintenance
An overworked engine uses more fuel. Cartrack has a preventive maintenance feature that tracks engine hours. This feature provides real-time alerts of engine faults and automated maintenance schedules for each vehicle, so you know in advance which vehicles are due for servicing.
Route optimisation
Find the best order for drivers to complete tasks and create job routes for drivers to minimise mileage and fuel consumption.
AI LiveVison
Promote driver safety by installing our AI LiveVison Camera solutions to help you monitor driver behaviour. Drivers get real-time alerts whenever distracted behaviour such as yawning, cell phone use or smoking is detected, allowing the drivers to make corrections quickly. The goal is to avoid driving habits that increase fuel consumption, such as harsh braking, which often happens when the driver is distracted and suddenly has to stop. You can also have external cameras that monitor your fuel cap installed into your vehicles.
Driver Scorecards
Get reports on driver events such as speeding, harsh braking and harsh cornering for each driver so you can use them to coach drivers on their areas of improvement.
Cartrack makes saving on fuel so easy!
We are an all-around solution for everything related to running a fleet with a user-friendly platform that gives you peace of mind. We are industry leaders in fuel management and all things fleet-related.
Contact us today to help you fuel your fuel efficiency.
