Fuel theft is an on-going problem for the road transport and haulage sector. One way the crime can manifest is as theft from individual vehicle fuel tanks, either by employees or from vehicles parked up at remote locations.
Wolverhampton-based building suppliers, Carvers, have been using Merridale’s fuel management systems for over 15 years and have first hand experience on how the package can alert you to theft.
Operations director, Bryan Purslow, said “We once had an unfortunate scenario where one of our drivers stole fuel from us by taking the truck home and syphoning some out. We were able to spot this and catch him when we noticed an unusual change in his MPG on Merridale’s software. Without that, who knows how long that could have gone on for.”
The risk of theft isn’t only posed to your fleet though, with large thefts being made more often directly from depot bulk-storage tanks. These thefts are far more sophisticated and involve long-term planning, resources, and a vehicle capable of transporting the large volumes being stolen. This type of attack is usually repetitive, with thousands of litres being stolen every few days. If not detected quickly, this can continue for weeks resulting in tens or hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel being stolen.
Merridale’s tank management systems include stock depletion 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.
Fridlington Farms, which supplies potatoes to the likes of Walkers, McCain’s & Mercian have been using Merridale’s systems since 2019. Their assistant manager, Callum Stark, told us about the difference it has made already.
"The week after installing the system, we had a break-in at the farm. They managed to get away with tools and equipment, but they could not get to the diesel. If they would have been a week earlier, we'd have had no way of stopping them from emptying the tank. I even found that the tank management system had sent an alert to my phone warning me of irregularities as the attempted theft was happening."
To find out how a Merridale fuel and tank management system could benefit your company, contact Merridale on 01902 350 700 or visit www.merridale.co.uk.
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