Coencorp Blog

We apologize in advance for delivering bad news. If your company is in the construction industry, you likely aren't managing one of your top expenditures optimally.

Let's start by stating the obvious. After labor, fuel is the most expensive part of operating a fleet. You'll need a fuel management system if you have your own storage tanks and dispensers. The level of sophistication and control necessary depends on a number of factors: your fleet’s size, fuel consumption, and the industry in which you operate, to name a few. But the requirement for some level of distribution management is unquestionable. Fuel is costly, and buying it without knowing who takes it, how much of it is taken, and where it goes is as intolerable as not having the same type of control over your bank account.

Regarding fuel, remote working operations such as construction sites, open pit mines, commercial farming and logging operations create unique challenges for the fleet or operations manager. 

The global construction industry accounts for between 25-40% of the world's carbon emissions from all its gas-guzzling assets. It’s no surprise construction companies are under intense scrutiny over fuel consumption. Increasingly rigid government regulations demand accountability for every drop of fuel that goes into an asset’s tank and how every one of those drops is being spent. Public opinion now plays an equally strong value in sales, and gas-dependent companies need to get green to keep and gain more clients, especially regarding lucrative government contracts. Construction fleet managers are needing to report on behaviors they once took for granted and provide detailed data beyond the amount of fuel purchased. They must know where, how, and why it’s being spent. Traditional manual data collection methods are no longer adequate, and new industry leaders must implement more efficient solutions. The need for accurate reporting tools has become clear, and gas giants like BP are painting perspectives for their customers on the imperative benefits of having automated & integrated fuel management systems like SM2. At Coencorp, we always start with the individual’s unique needs, so let’s start there to illustrate what BP is telling all fuel-consuming industries.

A business-wise man once told me, "Fuel Management may not be the sexiest, but top fleet managers know it's where the money is."

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: next to labor, fuel nearly always represents the highest cost of running a fleet. You need a fuel management system if you have your own fuel tanks and dispensers (AKA in-house fleet fueling). No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The level of sophistication and control required will vary from one industry to the next and even between companies within the same industry. But the need for minimal distribution and inventory control of fleet fuel is undeniable. Fuel is expensive, and maintaining inventories without knowing how much, to whom, when, and where it goes makes as much sense as having an open-bar bank account for all to dip into.