Tony Cantrill had two basic requirements when he decided to upgrade the ageing fuelling facilities at his depot in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. Firstly he wanted to increase storage capacity. With fleet usage currently now running at around 75K litres a month, a larger tank has simplified administration by reducing the number of bulk deliveries required to service his fleet.
“The other reason was the need to implement a more modern fuel management system,” explains Tony Cantrill. “Reliability of our previous set up was in question and we had lost confidence in the service support.”
An important benefit to me was the use of remote monitoring, this allows me the freedom to work from my home office in mid Wales, which is about 90 miles west of Swadlincote.
After making some enquiries, Tony Cantrill chose an integrated tank solution based on a Merridale Fuel Management System, recommended by the tank supplier.
“An important benefit to me was the use of remote monitoring,” says Tony. “This allows me the freedom to work from my home office in mid Wales, which is about 90 miles west of Swadlincote.”
“Our transport operations are backed by a single contract and business administration is fairly straightforward. The garage and depot facilities are managed by a third party, so there is no pressing need for me to be on site full time.”
The new tank together with a Merridale pump and control unit, contents gauges and electronic monitoring was supplied as a fully integrated package, delivered off the back of a flat top truck.
Commissioning was simply a matter of providing the electrical connections, filling the tank and installing the Merridale FuelSite software on to a laptop computer.
In operation, drivers use a smart key the access fuel. This identifies the vehicle being fuelled and each transaction is authenticated by entering the vehicle mileage. In addition to the main storage tank, the Merridale control unit is also used to access to the Adblue tank.
By using a GPRS telecommunications, Tony Cantrill can review all the fuelling transactions as and wherever he chooses.
Designed for single depot operations, the Merridale FuelSite software provides all the functionality required for data processing, analysis, costings and vehicle mpg economy reports.
Trading as a sole proprietor, Tony’s business operates the distribution delivery service for a well known biscuits manufacturer. The vehicles are all double shifted and return to the depot on a daily basis.
“Our drivers are provided with fuel cards but only for use as a contingency measure. Now and again I ask them to fuel externally just to keep the account active. Details of these transactions can be imported into the Merridale system to ensure a complete record.
Tony Cantrill concludes saying “The Merridale system has been in operation for 12 months it is easy to use and has not given us any cause for concern. I am more than satisfied and will be happy to endorse this solution to other fleet operators.”
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