Are you a fleet owner and is quite perturbed regarding increasing fuel thefts? It can lead to loss of money and at the same time, can lead to a decrease in revenue in the long run.
Currently, the fuel price is increasing at a very fast pace and hence; putting an end to fuel theft is very urgent. If you are thinking that why would someone steal refined fuel instead of crude oil then you must be amazed to know that thieves target refined fuel because it is used for personal use and can be sold easily in the market.
In this case, fleet managers are at a very risky stage where prevention of fuel theft is the only option left to minimize the unnecessary loss.
Fleet owners should take some extra precautions which would, in turn, make the drivers more conscious of their acts. They would be more honest and dutiful.
Most of the times it is the drivers who steal fuel from their owners. So, all the fleet managers should be aware of and should follow some tips to prevent fuel theft from vehicles.
Educate your drivers
Before doing anything else, you should have a meeting with all your drivers in which you should explain the consequences which you are facing because of fuel theft.
You can show them the data graphs that how is it impacting your fleet profitability. If you have implemented some tracking system, then you can make them aware of the approach which you are following so that they can be conscious before doing any such acts.
You should also tell them about their duties which you need from them to be fulfilled. Some examples of them are locking fuel caps properly and avoid parking in dark areas. Drivers should prefer to park in safe well-lit areas.
These things would help in minimizing the fuel theft and would help in increasing revenue from your fleet business.
Set up benchmarks
You should set up some fuel benchmarks with your detailed analysis. You should have an idea which shows the amount of fuel consumed for every KM travelled.
In this way, you can set up benchmarks and can have a rough estimate of money intake for a journey. In this case, you can transfer that rough amount of money to fuel card and then hand over the card to your driver.
This might be a tedious way, but it would definitely help in keeping a check on the increasing fuel thefts. If the consumption of fuel is high as per your benchmarks, you can then do the investigation against the particular driver.
Defensive Parking
Parking of vehicles is vital because most of the times it is the wrong parking location which leads to fuel thefts.
One should always prefer safe and well-lit areas for parking. Also, parking should be done in such a way that it should block access to the fuel tank. In this way, thieves might avoid touching your vehicles.
I acknowledge that this isn’t possible every time, but this practice should be followed by the drivers as far as possible.
Monitor your vehicles
If you have predictions that thieves regularly target your fleet, then you can have a monitoring system on Vehicles.
You can have some vehicle security device which would be having GPS tracking and camera recording options.
This would ensure that if some unauthorized person is trying to open your car, it will start recording the activity.
You can even track your vehicle on a real-time basis which would give you the exact location of your vehicle. This way, you can also keep a check on your driver’s activities.
Use Anti-Siphoning and Fuel Monitoring Devices
Anti-Siphoning devices help in preventing fuel thefts as it would keep checking if the fuel is going directly into the fuel tank or not.
Also, these devices send an alarm when someone is trying to steal your fuel. Using these devices, you can keep a check of the vehicle’s current fuel level and the amount of fuel entering into the tank. This additionally helps you in setting benchmarks.
Most anti-fuel theft devices provide real-time monitoring as well along with dashboard and mobile access.
This way, you can catch the thieves red-handed and do remember to make your drivers aware of these devices. They would never do the act of stealing fuel if they know that such devices are installed in the fleet.
Issue Fuel Cards to all your drivers
I know it is tough to keep a check on all the transactions and statements in the last of the month. Fleet owners should issue fuel cards to all their drivers, and with the help of these cards, the drivers would not be able to misuse your money.
So after much research, we have come out with these amazing tips which every Fleet owner can follow to increase their company’s profitability.
Try to follow all the 6 tips mentioned above and increase your company’s revenue without wasting much time. All the best.