Fight against diesel-fuel losses
Austrian company DATATRONIC GmbH has developed a system that helps avoid loss of diesel fuel at firms' fueling stations. The heart of the system is software that automatically registers all refueling and prevents misuse and theft. Authorized vehicles are identified by a transponder close to the fuel neck rather than by the reading of a driver's badge or fuel card. "Amortisation time is typically one month," says DATATRONIC CEO Wolfgang Peiritsch.
Vehicle fuel prices are constantly rising. Transport, construction, bus, public service and other companies that have vehicle fleets of lorries, cars, buses, vans and other fuel-using machines would like to know how much fuel has been obtained at stations by drivers. By providing exact data through continuous monitoring of fuel use, fuel monitoring/savings programmes can lower fuel costs by up to 30 per cent and help prevent criminal misuse of fuel.
Fully automatic recording of all refuelling events
The solution is quite simple. A BlueTank reader is attached to each fuel nozzle, and a transponder is placed on the refueling neck of each vehicle. The fuel pump is activated only if the transponder is on a white (authorised) list to ensure that refueling of company vehicles is possible only through vehicle identification. Misuse of the fuel system is impossible.
The Transponder
The transponder has a worldwide, unique ID. The BlueTank reader detects the transponder ID using an RFID system. The ID is transferred by Bluetooth (up to 100m) to a controller connected to the pump switch and the fuel-flow metre. The white list is stored in the controller. If a vehicle's transponder ID is on the white list, the pump will work; if not, no fuel will flow. The controller communicates by GSM/GPRS, Ethernet IP or RS232/485 and sends transaction data to a server/PC. In mobile applications, position data are monitored by GPS.
The Software
The software is typically web-based, working on a web browser, and manages vehicles and vehicle IDs, drivers and dispensers. Data can be imported and exported and reports printed. Data are stored directly in the controller, allowing the system to work off-line without connection to a server. Refueling is possible around the clock, 24/7. Export of data to ERP or management software like SAP is possible at any time.
The transponder memory can be programmed with any other data by use of a desktop RFID - reader/writer. Vehicle IDs can be placed on the white list by a TagTrans reader for the transponder that is connected to the controller by Bluetooth in the same way as the BlueTank system.
ROI within a month
The BlueTank system is amortised by fuel savings. For example, a company's petrol station has two nozzles for 100 lorries, which means expense of around one million Euros for diesel. Typical savings according to several users in the construction industry are about 10 per cent.
In the case of an expense of about 10,000 Euros - ROI for the BlueTank system occurs within one month, and, in addition, you get a fully-automatic record of all refueling, 24-hour operational availability and wage savings due to unmanned operation. These are compelling arguments for the BlueTank system.
