OTS Group: advanced fuel management with AVI
OTS Group, together with partner OTI PetroSmart, have explained how the incorporation of automatic vehicle identification (AVI) technology within fuel management systems can provide fleets with increased accuracy and crucially, control of their fuel consumption.
“Until recently, fleet managers have primarily used fuel management systems to measure and track fuel inventories, accessing data through web portals and using this information to make decisions regarding fuel purchasing and vehicle fleet maintenance,” said the company.
“With AVI technology, fleet managers now have access to so much more, so much faster…
“Organisations can now ensure that the right amount of the right fuel is dispensed into the right vehicle at the right time as well as monitoring the vehicle fleet in real time.
“This enables fleet managers to improve efficiency, which can lead to cost savings, improved productivity, and better customer service.”
While traditional fuel management systems focus on controlling fuel consumption by measuring and tracking fuel inventories and monitoring fuel dispense, without oversight of vehicle activity, AVI systems provide real-time monitoring of fuel consumption by integrating advanced sensors and telematics devices into vehicles.
“This allows businesses to have a real-time view of their fleet’s fuel consumption, which is crucial for making informed decisions and taking actions to improve fleet efficiency, but that’s not all,” said OTS.
Where AVI systems really come into their own is dispensing control, the company contends.
“With AVI fuel management systems, only the proximity of authorised vehicles or plant can activate the dispensing mechanism on automated fuel pumps,” it continued.
“There is a wireless RFID communication between the vehicle and the pump that ensures that authorised vehicles will be refuelled with the correct type of fuel, and that no further fuel can be dispensed to secondary containers or vehicles.
“This ensures a much greater level of fuel security, effectively eliminating fuel misuse, misappropriation, or theft from the nozzle. Third parties simply cannot access the fuel from the nozzle.
“This is particularly important to our clients since the changes to the entitlement to rebated fuels in April 2022, when fuel stored in remote or unattended storage tanks became significantly more vulnerable to theft and misuse.”
The use of AVI technology significantly reduces operational expenditure by eliminating manual processes, adds OTS.
“One key way this is achieved is by removing the need for fleet drivers to manually input odometer numbers or driver identification numbers at the pump. This eliminates the potential for human error in these inputs, as well as the time it takes for drivers to manually input this information on the keypad.
“By automating these processes, AVI fuel management technology can save a significant amount of time per refuel.
“One major retailer that has implemented AVI fuel management technology reported that this time saving alone resulted in tens of thousands of pounds in savings across their operation.
“By reducing the time required for each refuelling by just 30 seconds, the retailer was able to achieve significant cost savings…
“Additionally, automated systems can also help to prevent fraud, leading to even more savings for the business.”
EasyFuel+ is an advanced fuel management system that can be installed as a full 360 degree solution, or can be added as an AVI bolt-on for companies that have an existing fuel and fleet management system that they wish to keep.
For organisations that want to take advantage of EasyFuel+’s full fleet and fuel management capabilities, the system uses GPS and odometer sender technology to accurately record the distance travelled by a vehicle without needing to connect to the vehicle’s on-board diagnostics (OBD) system. This makes it a uniform solution that can be used for all vehicle models.
“One of the key features of EasyFuel+ is its small profile, which allows for in-loom installation,” said OTS.
“This means that it can be easily integrated into a vehicle’s existing wiring without causing any warranty issues, as it does not connect to sensitive vehicle electronics.”
Meanwhile, the EasyFleet upgrade provides all the benefits of EasyFuel+, while also adding powerful vehicle location tracking functionality.
“This allows businesses to monitor the location and movement of their fleet vehicles in real-time, which can be used to optimise routes, improve driver safety, and increase overall fleet efficiency.”
In addition to live location tracking, EasyFleet includes number of features intended to simplify fleet administration. These include CANbus diagnostic data capture, temperature monitoring, two-way driver communication, RFID driver identification, onboard fuel tank level monitoring, and camera tracking.
