Merridale FuelWorks helps K Rouse go greener
A leading Yorkshire-based civil engineering company has credited Merridale’s fuel management system for its functionality when reflecting on its transition to digital reporting.
K Rouse Civil Engineers Ltd, which operates across the UK from its Leeds base, has been using Merridale’s equipment and software since upgrading its systems earlier in the year. Before this, the firm relied only on handwritten accounts of fuel usage in order to track and report on its fleet of over 150 vehicles.
“Until now we never had all of the data in one place. We calculated the diesel for each job separately and never saw it as a full figure.” explained SEQ manager at K Rouse, John Whelan.
As part of the upgrade, which included a Merridale MX-M fuel management system and MX-T tank gauge, K Rouse chose to use Merridale’s web-based software FuelWorks. With this, users can access data from any device connected to the internet and export reports as spreadsheets if required.
FuelWorks has become increasingly popular with current customers, Merridale reports; due to its ability to be accessed through a web browser on any device, it gives the user complete flexibility and accessibility, says the company, eliminating the need for the software to be installed on a single nominated device.
John Whelan added: “The main features we were looking for in a fuel management system was the ability to track fuel usage and spend, and to also be able to report on our environmental impact.
“As a company we are trying to be much more mindful and environmentally friendly. The emissions reporting in FuelWorks is really helping us to make changes and cut down our footprint.”
FuelWorks allows multiple users to report on and monitor their environmental impact, fuel usage, costs and vehicle performance across multiple sites or tanks. It also has the capability to monitor tank levels and predict low stock, with email alerts being sent in such events.
“We are currently working towards our FORS accreditation, so we knew we wanted to go digital with our reporting,” said John.
“Previously it was all written down on paper, we had a notebook by the diesel tank and logged each fuel transaction by hand. It has halved the workload for our office staff now that they don’t need to go back and forth between paper and spreadsheets.”
FuelWorks is employed by many large fleet operators and local authorities, says Merridale, with over 1,500 sites using the subscription-based service.
This means that approximately 14 million litres of fuel during 150,000 fuelling transactions are accounted for each week using Merridale FuelWorks.
“The web-based software eliminates the need for software to be installed on office computers and avoids any training, security, and backup issues for the user,” said Merridale.
“This also means that users can access the vital data they require from anywhere and at any time, something that has become an even greater necessity as more companies now permit their administration staff to work from home.”
Designed and developed in-house by Merridale, the company is also responsible for hosting and maintaining the software, without any third-party input, which the firm says gives it a vested interest in ensuring that the companies that subscribe to this service can optimise their benefits.
“Using the vital data captured in FuelWorks, fleet operators will have a much better understanding of all aspects of their fleet and workforce,” said Merridale.
“The ability to measure and report on fuel consumption and performance by vehicle and driver provides the fleet operator the vital statistics needed to help shape decisions such as best routes to take, which vehicle to use for specific jobs, and whether drivers need extra training on efficient driving.”
The tank level monitoring and low stock prediction functionality can send email alerts as needed, and SMS texts in the event of a severe leak or theft.
Merridale also highlights the strength of its support and training offering, with initial telephone training for every customer, and a dedicated helpdesk on hand to offer ongoing support.
Customers can also access a suite of online ‘how-to’ videos through the ‘guides’ section of their website, which will assist with the most common queries relating to the equipment or software.
These queries include ‘how do I add a new driver?’ and ‘how do I reconfigure a data key?’ with more videos to be added in the near future.
There is also a voiced FuelWorks demonstration which provides an in-depth look at the features and the benefits of the web-based software.
The full demo video, which can be requested from the sales team, was designed to offer a first-glance to potential users without the need for a member of the sales team to visit in person.
Other fleet users include Linburg Coaches, which has used FuelWorks since 2013. Fleet manager John Hadaway said: “I can’t think of a time I’ve looked at our reports and wished FuelWorks could tell me something more. It seems to cover everything. It’s great having access on any device too, rather than being limited to a single computer.”
Fleet operators who wish to upgrade existing Merridale equipment to use FuelWorks need not worry about replacing existing hardware to do so, says Merridale; the company can upgrade most existing systems to make them compatible with FuelWorks, no matter how old the system is.
As well as FuelWorks, Merridale also offers packages to suit businesses that prefer to use a client-based reporting package on a single computer.
