October 22, 2024
Fuel Optimization: Enhancing Compliance & Asset Management on Fuel Retail Sites
When we talk about fuel optimization, what do we really mean? Essentially fuel optimization is an accumulation of products and solutions that provide fuel retailers with a comprehensive overview, control, and management, through data and analytics, of their site – from the terminal to the consumer’s tank.
Managing all aspects of a fuel retail business can be a difficult job, fraught with challenges. At Dover Fueling Solutions® (DFS), we have designed our wetstock product and solutions portfolio to offer enhanced fuel optimization capabilities to fuel retail businesses, in order to help make their day-to-day operations smoother and more profitable. This includes Wetstock Management (Fairbanks and DX Wetstock®), DFS Compliance and Asset Management™ (DFS CAM I Tech:niche), Equipment Monitoring (RDM by DFS and DX Monitor®) and Planning and Optimization (Bottomline).
Why is Fuel Optimization Important?
Simply put, fuel optimization provides better fuel supply chain planning, better fuel stock and loss control, and better management of compliance and fuel assets, which ultimately leads to optimized profits.
Having good data and visibility on volumetric data is no longer sufficient and does not by itself proactively help retailers control and maximize their business potential – in fact, the future of wetstock management goes way beyond data reconciliation. What fuel retailers need are tools, information, guidance, and advice to help make business decisions, such as when to order new fuel stock, how to assess the status of their inventory underground, and how to gain insights into possible problems that need attention. What’s more, all these products and solutions should work together to create maximum efficiencies and one source of the truth through shared data. This ultimately enables retailers to do everything they need to maintain industry best practices without spending valuable time and resources on analytics, data-crunching or problem-solving. The DFS Fuel Optimization package provides the help and support fuel retailers need to do exactly that.
The Impact of Compliance and Asset Management
In recent years, there has been an increased focus on compliance and asset management (not just tank compliance) and the associated costs of compliance and maintenance. In fact, an overwhelming number of requirements (e.g. SIR/ATG compliance, risk assessments, permits to operate, consumer protection, and vapor emissions among many others) generate questions in need of answers.
How do I get my compliance costs under control?
Why are my maintenance costs so high?
How can I know which assets are causing the biggest problems on site?
Why do I get so many last-minute compliance emergencies?
Minimizing downtime and maintaining compliant assets are vital to driving the most profit from retail or fleet fueling sites, including convenience stores and other revenue generating assets onsite. Without continuous compliance and asset management, fuel site operators and owners can be impacted by mounting maintenance costs, fines due to non-compliance, and accident claims. BUT knowledge is power, and power means potential.
Available tools and best practices help optimize compliance and asset management, and these solutions do not have to be expensive, large-scale-deployment management systems. Having a built-for-purpose, common, centralized asset database and document library, coupled with a task management tool that provides centralized visibility for all asset related issues, provides retailers with essential information and insights for minimized compliance risk and asset optimization.
That is why DFS partnered with Tech:niche to bring you DFS Compliance and Asset Manager™ (DFS CAM). These solutions can help reduce your labor and environmental costs and risk and improve your ROI for your assets by helping to improve efficiency and productivity.
DFS Compliance and Asset Management™ (DFS CAM)
Fuel site, store owners, and operators have a common need for a centralized asset database and document library coupled with a task management tool that provides central visibility of all asset related issues, especially maintenance and compliance related expenses. Various tools that provide solutions to these requirements exist, but they differ in their functional focus, depending on the markets in which they operate. They are also often suited for large organizations only.
The DFS Compliance Manager provides insight into all site-specific compliance, licenses, and certifications, as well as regulatory, legal, and health & safety documentation - all located in one central library. Automated reminders with pro forma work orders enable you to easily kick off the workflow. This ensures compliance tasks are carried out for those certificates which are due to expire, leaving plenty of time to arrange for renewal, giving you peace of mind.
This, combined with interactive, comprehensive reports and dashboards, provides true visibility to your compliance status and costs.
The DFS Asset Manager enables retailers to manage all assets from the forecourt to the car wash to the c-store, ensuring you have access to, and can track, the real-world performance and health of your assets and realize true ROI. The DFS Asset Manager enables you to assign tasks, deploy contractors and technicians, manage work orders and track progression. You and your service partners can increase both efficiency and effectiveness by automatically receiving notifications and reminders for tasks. With the mobile app, you can update and create work orders, capture photos and documents, and provide and receive live updates. You can track total task expenditure and monitor performance by site, contractor, and asset, which includes downtime and lifecycle analysis.
In summary, DFS CAM enables fuel retailers to stay on top of compliance obligations, increase operational efficiency, and improve asset optimization and investment planning. Think of DFS CAM as the Compliance, Maintenance, and Asset Optimization Solution retailers need to enhance their entire fuel retail operation.
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