Fuel Management and Storage Upgraded by Council for Better Control and Carbon Reduction

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Davyfield Road depot has been upgraded to meet modern fuelling demands and improve efficiency by fuel infrastructure specialist Fueltek. The complete strip out and re-fit installation was managed in a slick 24 hour operation that minimised disruption to normal operations.

Concerns about fuel cost, accountability, energy use, environmental protection and carbon reduction were key drivers in the decision by the council to implement the upgrade. The Davyfield Road depot is a central transport resource for several council departments and was equipped in the 1980’s with fuel storage tanks and a basic fuel management system. The original fuel management equipment supplier was no longer able to provide service to the fuel monitoring equipment. There was also a danger of tank leakage and environmental damage due to their age and the protective catchment (bunding) being open to the elements. It was also time consuming for vehicles requiring both diesel and plant fuel because this was housed in a different location in the depot.

Fueltek was the successful contractor from the five companies tendering for the works. Key to the decision to use Fueltek was the ability of the company to offer a complete fuel storage and management package and their promise to programme installation of the new system to minimise disruption to the busy depot.

A dual tank of 50,000 litres for diesel with a separate compartment of 10,000 litres for gas oil has been installed allowing drivers who need diesel and gas oil to access both from a single location. Tanks are housed within a single totally-enclosed steel bund. Tankwatch, Fueltek’s fuel gauging system, is fitted to monitor tank contents continuously, provide accurate recording of deliveries and give early warning of primary tank leakage.

Two FT4000 fuel management units control access to the fuel. These are activated by the driver presenting a pre-programmed datatag to the reader on the unit. Datatags specifying their individual fuel drawing rights for diesel have been issued to 145 authorised drivers. An additional 24 tags have been issued to those drivers who use portable plant and need to draw gas oil. To access fuel, the driver must key in vehicle mileage readings so that the system captures this essential information.

Detailed analysis and reporting of fuel transactions are provided by the Fueltek software. These reports pinpoint exceptions – where vehicle or driver performance differs from the norm. This may then trigger investigation of the vehicles in the workshop or training to improve driver performance.

Blackburn with Darwen’s executive member for Environmental Improvement and Sustainability, councillor Faryad Hussain said, “We are constantly striving to improve the efficiency of operations and reduce cost. The fuel management reports provide essential information for both immediate action and for long term strategic planning of the fleet. For example, we can produce reports on the comparative performance of vehicles in the same class assisting the council in future vehicle choice and in meeting goals for carbon reduction.”

“The Council were keen that the installation caused minimal outage and disruption to the busy depot,” explained Fueltek managing director Martin Devine. “We arranged for the removal and dismantling of existing tanks and ancillary equipment, fitting the new tanks and control equipment and for fuelling and commissioning all in one busy but productive day,” he concluded.

“We were impressed with the speed of the exercise, not least because we were able to fuel the first vehicle at 4PM on the same day as the installation,” added councillor Hussain.

The most experienced fuel management and infrastructure company in the UK, Fueltek undertake complete turnkey systems or will upgrade existing installations, integrating their equipment with existing tanks and equipment where this is sound and suitable for purpose.

More Information
High resolution images are at: www.ainsmag.co.uk/ft243/4947ft1a-fuel-management.htm

Fueltek is a leading fuel management company dedicated to developing, installing and providing full customer support for advanced and reliable fuel storage tanks, fuel pumps, secure fuel access and management reporting systems.

Martin Devine, Managing Director

Fueltek Ltd, Lang Court, Nuttalls Way, Blackburn, Lancashire. BB1 2JT, UK

Tel. +44 (0)1254 291391 Fax +44 (0)1254 291 339
E-mail: info@fueltek.co.uk Web: www.fueltek.co.uk

This release was published on openPR.