The following is an article taken from Hanson Constructions magazine

NEW FUEL ISSUING SYSTEM A SUCCESS

Lower fuel costs, safer fuel storage vastly increased storage capacity and effortless fuel reconciliation are the results of Pioneer Brooklyn Transport's new fuel issuing system.

"It all started with the need to upgrade Brooklyn's existing diesel fuel storage to comply with revised Environment Protection Authority (EPA) regulations" Craig Banthorpe, Southern Region Logistics Manager for Pioneer Construction Materials, said.

"Pioneer Brooklyn Transport has a fleet of approximately 13 tippers and eight tankers. A ready-mixed concrete plant on the site adds another 15 agitator trucks to the number of vehicles filling up at the site," explained Craig.

The first consideration was EPA compliance. "The replacement tank, a "Transtank", is double-skinned, and therefore does not require external bonding, making it EPA compliant" said Craig. Next came fuel cost economy. " By choosing a tank that could hold 60,000 litres, fuel can now be delivered in greater than 30,000 litre lots, providing a two cent per litre discount with its resultant annual saving of around A$30,000."

The final consideration was ease of fuel issue reconciliation. "Previously the driver manually filled out a fuel issue form, which had the potential for fuel to be unaccounted for," said Craig.

The solution was an electronic fuel issuing system, developed by Compac. Using e-tag technology, a collar is fixed to the nozzle of the bowser. Each truck's fuel tank has a matching tag attached and the bowser will not activate unless it registers the truck's tag. "The result is that all fuel is automatically accounted for, making fuel reconciliation a breeze," said Craig.

The whole project, including bowsers, tank and software cost A$85,000 to install. Craig says the next step is to install this system at other localities where fuel use is in excess of 150,000 litres annually, which makes the installation of the system financially viable.