Why should you monitor your fuel consumption?

Fuel is likely to be one of the biggest expenses for your business. As a fundamental consumable that literally powers your business, it’s unavoidable. Coupled with fluctuating prices that have seen several cost records broken in the last five years, it’s in the interest of every company to monitor consumption. This allows you to keep track of this expenditure, helping you forecast more accurately for your business. 

Many businesses believe they’ve done everything they can to minimize this cost, but aren’t using fuel monitoring systems. We look at how implementing a monitoring system can help you optimize your fuel spend and reduce your overall consumption.

Why monitor your fuel consumption?

Fuel monitoring keeps track of fuel levels. It allows you to see what’s being consumed and how much fuel you have left. You can use this data in different ways depending on your business. For haulage or distribution firms, this might be a metric for working out profits, with the aim being to reduce the cost of travelling. For a construction firm, it might be the efficiency of running a generator, or how much fuel is needed to keep a job site operating.

Monitoring is a crucial part of fuel management that allows you to have total control over your fuel. 

How does a fuel tank monitoring system work?

New technology has opened up more ways to monitor your fuel. You can still use mechanical gauges that tell you how much fuel is left in an individual tank. This is a great choice for smaller operations where you just need to keep track of a single tank or a small number of units. Now, sophisticated fuel tank monitors use sensors to track inventory levels and locations. This allows you to monitor levels remotely through apps and online and generate reports and email alerts as a reminder to place orders. 

Which method you choose will depend on the setup of your business, but any fuel monitoring system provides many benefits.

What are the benefits of fuel monitoring?

As we’ve seen above, monitoring fuel consumption is normally done with the overarching aim of saving money, but it’s not the only benefit it brings. 

A more accurate inventory

Ensuring your fuel inventory is accurate means fewer interruptions in your work. Running out of diesel can bring work to a grinding halt – with expensive consequences for your business. By monitoring your usage and fuel levels, you remove the potential for downtime. You can even set notifications to alert you when your reserves reach a certain level – giving you plenty of advance warning before running dry.

Tackle wastage and theft

Your usage might vary from month to month, but having an idea of what constitutes a normal range makes it easier for you to spot discrepancies and oddities. Things like night-time or weekend refuelling, even in small quantities, can be a red flag for theft. Any sudden spikes in consumption could mean a leak or spill or a serious issue with a piece of equipment. By monitoring your usage and building this picture of normal usage, you’ll be able to easily spot trends and patterns that indicate that something isn’t right.

Reduce costs

It’s useful to track expenses against individual projects, rather than just take fuel costs as a uniform expense. Knowing your spend and return by job site or project means that fuel can be treated like any other cost of materials. This will give you a more accurate picture of profit for a particular project and give you a much clearer idea of ROI.

Another benefit of keeping track of your fuel is the opportunity to reduce your overall fuel spend. If you have an understanding of your stock and how much fuel you need to operate, you can make tactical buying decisions. As well as buying when prices are low, you can hold off from buying stock when prices are peaking and still be sure that you’re able to operate without running out – allowing you to restock when prices drop.

Avoiding downtime, buying stocks when prices are low, and tackling loss through theft or waste, increases control and your profit margin.

Improve sustainability

When fuel is burned, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. The more fuel that’s used, the more gases that are released. By monitoring your fuel usage, you can identify opportunities to reduce your consumption and consequently lower the emissions your business generates – bringing you reputational benefits.

Boost efficiency

Fuel monitoring can boost efficiency for you and your fleet. Fuel monitoring software frees up time that would otherwise need to be spent checking gauges and inputting data into a spreadsheet. Modern fuel tank monitors can collect and input this automatically, and even notify you when stock reaches a certain level. 

It can also help to ensure your fleet remains efficient. Sudden increases in fuel consumption can be a sign that a vehicle or piece of equipment has a blocked fuel filter or an engine problem that’s affecting efficiency. You’ll be able to quickly see and track this, allowing you to arrange a fix in good time.

Western Global: Fuel usage monitoring

At Western Global, our fuel tanks are designed to go anywhere, keeping your fuel safe and secure – ensuring you don’t suffer stoppages on the job site. We have several options for monitoring usage, from simple, quality and accurate gauges to sophisticated dispensing systems with real-time reporting for remote locations. We can provide systems with offline monitoring, where data is kept within the tank ready to be downloaded as needed, or online monitoring, where your fuel activity is available anywhere and at any time.

Our tanks are designed to accommodate different monitoring systems, and to help keep your fuel secure, they allow telemetry to be stored inside the cabinet. Our fuel monitoring systems are configured to give access only to authorised users. Ensuring your information is kept safe and secure.

If you’re looking for a fuel tank monitoring system to use with one of our tanks, speak to our team today who will be happy to help you find the right system for the needs of your business.