“The help desk and after-purchase care have been brilliant. Whenever we’ve needed new datakeys, they’ve been sent through and set up in no time. We’ve also damaged the pipes and kill switches on occasions with some of our drivers being a bit overzealous but Merridale has always had someone out promptly to get it sorted.”

“We are very happy with the reports we get from Merridale FuelWorks. It has enabled us to track data on all our vehicles and drivers, giving us accurate reports on our usage and keeping us in check and alerted to our stock levels.

As part of the upgrade, which included a Merridale MX-I integral pump and management system and a Merridale MX-T tank management system, Bristol Waste chose to use Merridale’s web-based software FuelWorks.

By transferring the data to the Merridale FuelWorks web-based service, via the built-in fuel management integration of the Merridale MX-I, Bristol Waste is benefitting further from fuel stock prediction, automatic delivery detection, low-level warnings, and order prompts, all accessible on any web-enabled device.

Built to be the complete solution in commercial fuelling and designed to meet strict ATEX standards, the Merridale MX-I integrates the intelligence and control of Merridale’s MX-M fuel management system with the reliable performance of the Merridale MX-P pump in a single cabinet. Having both systems in one robust unit makes it an ideal and cost-effective solution for fleet operators with limited space.

Merridale fuel management systems give fleet operators control of up to four pumps with several options available to allow access to fuel. They also have the option to unlock the benefits of Merridale FuelWorks web-based software to measure fuel usage, vehicle performance, driver efficiency and environmental impact.

Merridale FuelWorks is the choice of many large fleet operators and local authorities, with over 1400 sites already in the UK. Each week more fleet operators switch to Merridale FuelWorks, taking advantage of this low-cost subscription-based service, securely hosted by Merridale.

The ability of Merridale FuelWorks to be accessed through a web browser on any device gives the user complete flexibility and accessibility, eliminating the need for any software to be installed on office computers. This means that users can access the vital data they require, from anywhere, at any time.

The software has been designed in-house by Merridale to be as user-friendly as possible, without sacrificing any functionality. Merridale also offers unrivalled levels of support and training, with initial training being available remotely, and a help desk on hand to offer ongoing support.

Other features include secure encrypted HTTPS connections, multiple users across multiple sites, real-time capabilities, a range of reporting features, tank stock reconciliation and costing, and email alerts.

Merridale’s tank management systems can now also include sudden drop detection, to alert you immediately, via SMS, of an unexpected drop in fuel level. This means that you will be alerted to any severe leak or theft from the tank that occurs, irrespective of where you are at the time.

“We are very happy with the reports we get from Merridale FuelWorks. It has enabled us to track data on all our vehicles and drivers, giving us accurate reports on our usage and keeping us in check and alerted to our stock levels. It’s a very simple system to use. If I can get to grips with it, anyone can! We’ve even been able to train new starters in-house without needing to go to Merridale each time.”

To find out how a Merridale complete fuel management package could benefit your company, contact Merridale on 01902 350 700 or visit www.merridale.co.uk.

Fortress Recycling and Resource Management is expanding its business in the West Midlands. The company has opened a new vehicle service depot at Aldridge, which has been equipped with a Merridale stand-alone fuelling point supplied by MIS Fuel Monitoring of Wolverhampton.

“All Fortress vehicles are fitted with satellite tracking, enabling our staff to pinpoint vehicle locations and plot routes and thereby optimise fuel usage,” explains operations director, Andy Pass.

The system more or less looks after itself, I can call up a simple dashboard display which shows the fuel stock levels for both depots. Both our depots are using around 12,000 litres of diesel a day to operate our services. The system will warn me in good time as we need to re-order fuel supplies.

“We are committed to using the best equipment available to ensure that our operations are carried out efficiently and with minimal impact on the environment. Fuel management is an important part of this process and the Merridale system has been used for many years, since we started operations from the Warwick depot.”

“Our new depot in Aldridge has provided the opportunity to switch over to the Merridale FuelWorks web based reporting service. This enables us to manage fuel usage across the entire fleet from any location that has access to an Internet connection.

“The system more or less looks after itself,” says Andy. “I can call up a simple dashboard display which shows the fuel stock levels for both depots. Both our depots are using around 12,000 litres of diesel a day to operate our services. The system will warn me in good time as we need to re-order fuel supplies.”

Andy continues. “All our clients are provided covered containers which are usually emptied on a weekly basis. We are collecting cardboard, plastics and paper mostly which is then taken to regional recycling centres. The Warwick depot also operates a tanker service for septic waste.”

“Fortress Recycling takes global warming seriously. The company’s carbon footprint has been assessed independently under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) under which its environmental offsets must be real, measurable and independently verified.

“As well as providing accurate information for costing new accounts, the Merridale reports play an important part of the VCS verification, by providing a detailed analysis of the fuel usage for every vehicle in the fleet.”

So far over 40 depots with bulk storage tanks have been incorporated onto the network, using the Merridale FuelFX monitoring and reports system. Having been relieved of the admin burden, one of the SITA depots at Yate, South Gloucestershire, has introduced performance league tables to help increase awareness and improve fuel efficient driving.

SITA UK, one of the UK’s leading recycling and resource management companies has over 300 facilities across the United Kingdom providing waste collection and disposal services to some 12 million households and 40,000 businesses. The group operates in partnership with local authorities throughout the UK as well as operating its own commercial recycling business.

The Fleet office also provides a weekly report so we can keep an eye on what fuel usage we have had and that each issue is attached to a vehicle and which driver has drawn the fuel.

Fuel management is handled by the fleet management team which is located in Weston-Super-Mare alongside the group’s finance, accounts, and procurement departments.

Up until last year SITA depots were responsible for their own supplies. This resulted in various local arrangements. Most of the larger units were using bulk storage tanks with secure facilities for dispensing fuel on site. Smaller depots were obtaining fuel from retail forecourts using card accounts and In some other cases, fuel was being obtained under arrangements with local authorities.

As a transport based business, SITA has already harmonised its fuel supply by negotiating bulk supply prices with two major oil companies. This has now been followed up with a cross company project to centralise monitoring and stock management. This involves a major capital investment to upgrade existing depot tank facilities and implement a corporate fuel usage monitoring and reporting system.

Merridale fuelling equipment and the associated FuelFX reporting system was chosen as the common platform since this was already being used successfully by a number of SITA depots.
“We wanted to reassure the depot managers that central management would reflect existing procedures and we didn’t want them to worry about ‘Fleet’ taking responsibility and then changing things,” explains Fleet Administration Manager, Sharon Gane “During the implementation we recorded the depot tank capacities, set a re-order point and delivery requirements. We are now monitoring stock levels every 24 hours and the Merridale system flags up any tank that reaches the re-order level. We then advise the depot manager that an order has been placed and expected delivery date.”

Around 40 sites have been brought under the fleet administration so far and the programme is on-going with something like 200 other sites around the country under review.

A survey of these sites is being carried out to establish fuel usage, current fuelling arrangements and the cost benefits for bulk storage versus card accounts. As priorities are determined then Merridale engineers will undertake site surveys to review existing facilities.

Sharon adds: “The site managers have been involved in setting out their operational requirements and planning the implementation for their sites. Although the emphasis so far has been on white diesel for road going vehicles, we have included a few sites that also have bulk storage for red diesel (gas oil) tanks.”

The next phase of the project is to review the red diesel facilities. This is used in offroad plant such as loading shovels and fork lift trucks, which are used mainly at transfer stations and sites handling household waste.

Business benefits 
One example, where the project has highlighted the opportunity to make strategic decisions has been demonstrated recently. The SITA refuse collection vehicles in this case were drawing fuel from a council depot. Following the review, the decision was taken to switch location of this fleet to a nearby SITA site in order to access fuel directly from the company’s own fuelling point. This has resulted in significant savings compared to the cost of fuel provided by the council depot.

Sharon points out that without any overall fuel management strategy this type of decision would not have been possible without an option for alternative and less costly arrangements.”
“And of course our purchasing power allows us to negotiate good prices from the oil companies. This is allowing us to drive down costs in depots which did not previously have access to bulk fuel supplies.”

Depot Benefits
From the operational point of view the introduction of Merridale reporting software has eliminated the laborious administration of cost accounting and reconciling stock since this is all now being recorded automatically.

At the SITA depot in Yate, South Gloucestershire the upgrade has resulted in a larger capacity 26K litres tank, allowing more flexibility in the event of any problems on the supply of diesel from the oil companies.

Matt Canning, the Contract General Manager at Yate has been involved with the Merridale implementation at two other SITA depots, having just transferred from Warwick.

“The implementation went in very smoothly; there were no issues with it. Merridale is very easy to use for dispensing and for reporting financially when doing the month end returns the reports that come through from Fleet Management are easy to understand and easy to work out how much fuel we have used.”

Matt continues. “The Fleet office also provides a weekly report enabling us to keep an eye on what fuel usage we have had and verifying that each fuel issue is attached to a vehicle and which driver has drawn the fuel.

“Our current contract involves 65 vehicles of which there are about 35 located at the Yate depot and the remainder operate from a sister depot at Cowhorn near Warmley, which has also been upgraded with a larger tank and Merridale dispensing facilities.

Apart from standard refuse collection vehicles, the depot has some small vans and open stillage vehicles for glass and cardboard. Most domestic waste is sent to a SITA landfill in Packington, Warwickshire so the transport requirements range from kerbside collection to long distance haulage.

Visitors from other SITA sites can fill up provided their vehicle is registered and has a Merridale key. We also keep an admin key to provide fuel to other company vehicles. We notify the Fleet office of these transactions so the relevant inter- department charge can be made.

As well as the vehicle key, each of the drivers has a PIN which must be entered at the pump to authorise each transaction. We have 23 drivers at Yate and we are starting to use Merridale reports to analyse individual drivers’ fuel economy performance. League tables have been introduced to show how driving style makes a difference.

This provides some friendly rivalry and adds interest as we can highlight the most improved drivers. They can also see how their SAFED training does help to reduce operating costs.

Prior to the introduction of Merridale, fuel management at the North Kesteven district council depot in Metheringham was basically a paper chase. Access to the fuel dispenser was controlled by a key and the amount of fuel drawn would be displayed on the pump meter. The driver was then expected to enter this information together with the vehicle registration onto a daily record.

Depot administrator Jayne Brown collected the record sheets each day for checking and to compile a weekly return for the finance department at the council’s headquarters at Sleaford.
“This depot has a bulk storage tank and we are taking delivery of up to 8,000 litres of diesel a week. The finance department need to know where this diesel has been used and it’s my job to reconcile the amount of fuel used. We have to record how much and which vehicles had been filled and balance the remaining stock in the storage tank,” she explains.

By measuring fuel economy we can also check the CO2 emissions, allowing us to monitor and reduce pollution. For instance, if we see any anomalies in fuel consumption this could point to a servicing problem with the vehicle engine.

Essentially this was a manual process and therefore quite laborious and inevitably prone to errors and omission. It wasn’t unusual to have a discrepancy of as much as 200 litres unaccounted for. More time would then be taken up with a forensic investigation to check that the vehicle fuelling records had been updated correctly.

Jayne continues: “As with all public bodies, operating costs are under close scrutiny. Diesel is an expensive commodity and we could see that we needed to update the management process to improve our control of this resource.

“Having been given the approval to upgrade our dispensing system, we looked around to see what solutions were available and how other fleet operators were dealing with depot fuel management.
“Merridale was selected following a competitive evaluation. Testimonials from other users were helpful and in particular, the system was also being used by a local bus and coach operator.

“Now that the Merridale system is operational our fuel management process has moved onto a different level. We are measuring fuel usage far more precisely and that has given us more insight and therefore potential for making savings in the future. The system is easy to use, information is collected automatically and the emphasis has shifted to education of the drivers.

“The Merridale reports enable us to compare vehicle mpg performance which has revealed some interesting insights – for example we have noticed that the later vehicles with low emission engines do not appear to be as fuel efficient as the older vehicles in the fleet.

“By measuring fuel economy we can also check the CO2 emissions, allowing us to monitor and reduce pollution. For instance, if we see any anomalies in fuel consumption this could point to a servicing problem with the vehicle engine.

“We can also evaluate the comparative performance for vehicles over different routes and for drivers to see how much fuel they were using – doing the same route.

“Observations have also shown that a driver with a more relaxed driving style uses less fuel than a driver who is inclined to push on quickly to finish the route as soon as possible.

Jayne Brown concludes by saying: The Merridale reports will allow management to make informed decisions about vehicles and routes and re-assess our approach to shift timings in order to optimise operating costs, which is an important benefit.

And as in the case of all businesses, it is the ability to manage operational costs that is the key to a profitable and sustainable future. For J&B Recycling of Hartlepool the fuel bill for running its fleet of refuse collection vehicles was a major factor in delivering a competitive service.

“We were able to obtain a discounted price for diesel by using fuel cards but it wasn’t until we installed our own storage tank, that we realised the full benefits of purchasing at bulk prices,” explains Transport and Logistics manager, Victor Ross.

“Purchasing in bulk allowed us to negotiate a far better price. The depot pump is also saving time as it is more convenient for the drivers than having to queue at busy filling stations.”

Purchasing in bulk allowed us to negotiate a far better price. The depot pump is also saving time as it is more convenient for the drivers than having to queue at busy filling stations.

“The most important advantage however is the control it gives us. The storage tank was supplied as a complete package, incorporating a Merridale diesel dispenser monitoring unit and management reporting software. The installation was integrated with the existing gas-oil tank, enabling us to monitor both road diesel and the gas-oil used for the workshop plant and materials handling machines.

Previously J&B relied on plant operators to enter details of gas-oil usage into a manual log book. These entries would then have to be reconciled against purchases and then keyed into a computer to update the cost accounting process. This was not only time consuming but it was also prone to omissions and human error.

With the Merridale system each machine has a dedicated key, which is used to access the fuel in the same way as the road going vehicles. Details of every transaction, the vehicle or machine identity and amount drawn are now recorded automatically.

“It is this visibility that enables J&B to control its costs,” says Victor Ross. “We can track which vehicle and the amount of fuel drawn and assign the fuel costs incurred against specific contracts.”
“Fuel usage is now closely monitored and analysed to provide different reporting requirements. We are using around 7,000 litres of fuel a week and by purchasing this at bulk prices we have achieved a saving of around 2p a litre. Over year that amounts to a saving of some £7,280 more than enough to cover this investment.

“On top of that we are saving the equivalent of about a day a month in administration costs for checking the card account invoices and updating the computer records.
“All this information is now recorded automatically and the record will state how much fuel has been used by any particular vehicle.
Victor continues, “The system has also been set to prevent mistakenly cross fuelling plant with white diesel.

Currently the J&B Recycling fleet comprises thirty vehicles using white diesel, including company cars. Ten keys have been allocated for plant using gas-oil. The diesel tank was supplied by Neil Vessey who recommended the Merridale pump and FuelFX software for management reports.

J&B Recycling services have a wide reach in the north east of England. As well as collections, the company operates two Material Recycling Facilities (MRF), processing domestic recyclable waste from as far away as the Borders and Fife. The company also serves a number of local authorities including Redcar Council, Stockton Council and Hartlepool Council.

J&B also runs three Household Waste Recycling Centres for local councils. All these operations are highly regulated and local authorities insist on strict codes of practice. Licenses are required for recycling and carrying waste. All commercial vehicles also require an operator’s licence. These include skips and a roll on/offs which are used for internal work as well as customer requirements.

In the MRF all the waste materials are sorted into relevant components, paper, glass, plastic, metal – all of which are then recycled.
The company also provides a commercial waste management service catering for all sizes of business from SMEs to large corporations. A lot of this material previously went to landfill or incineration. But increasingly this is no longer an economic solution as landfill costs have escalated.

Victor Ross concludes by saying: “Everything we do today involves a cost in some form or another. Ultimately this has concentrated minds and pushed people into doing the right thing.”

Fuel Installation Services Limited of St Albans is the lead contractor, working in conjunction with MIS Fuel Monitoring Ltd. Each tank installation is delivered as a complete package equipped with Merridale heavy duty commercial pumps and an integrated Auditor control unit.

The Merridale Auditor system provides an absolute record of every fuelling transaction. As well as ensuring that all transactions are properly authorised, we are also benefiting from a more accurate analysis of our fuel costs, mpg performance and from this any issues relating to the vehicles.

The initial contract was awarded following a detailed assessment of a number of proposals from equipment suppliers.
“Merridale FuelFX management software was recommended because it was a good match for the type of user,” explains Colin Mitchell of Fuel Installation Services. “From Sita’s point of view, the overall package fulfilled the requirement and it was competitive.”

According to depot manager Kevin Smythe, the new installations have introduced standardisation, which could provide the basis for a more corporate approach in the future.

“Currently fuelling is the responsibility of individual depots. The way our group has developed has resulted in various different methods or systems, which then created difficulties because of a lack of consistency. Visiting drivers were able to draw fuel from depots and this resulted in large amounts of accrued costs which had to be reconciled several months after the transactions had been completed.”

Says Kevin Smythe, “The Merridale Auditor system provides an absolute record of every fuelling transaction. As well as ensuring that all transactions are properly authorised, we are also benefiting from a more accurate analysis of our fuel costs, mpg performance and from this any issues relating to the vehicles.”

In the past twelve months, MIS has supplied a number of new systems throughout the UK to Sita’s ever-growing network of locations.