THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

April 2008

OTI AFRICA (On Track Innovations)

Keeping fuel costs 'on-track'

OTI Africa established in December 1999, is responsible for the distribution, installation and maintenance of OTI product solutions in Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand as well as specific projects in other regions. The company’s primary focus is on promoting its petroleum payment solutions, which include EasyFuel and pay at pump readers. The head office is in Cape Town with a branch operation in Johannesburg and support staff based in Durban, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. 

FuelMaster, the OTI petroleum payment solution is promoted by Masana Petroleum Solutions the BP Southern Africa Black Empowerment partner. To date more than 50 000 vehicle-mounted tags have been issued and installed, operating as stand alone or encoded to operate in conjunction with a driver tag. FuelMaster can be used at an extensive number of BP service stations in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. 

The FuelMaster-Fleet version speeds up the fuelling and payment process of fleets. The system supports nozzle in correct tank identification and a convenient method of payment for fleet managers providing a comprehensive billing while reporting fuel consumption and kilometres travelled or hours of operation. 

Sasol Petroleum following its procurement and licensing agreement with OTI Africa has issued and installed more than 7 000 vehicle mounted tags with many of these programmed to operate with driver tags. Chevron has licensed OTI’s Easy Fuel solution, which they are implementing in selected markets in Africa and Asia.

For those not familiar with FuelMaster’s automated refuelling system it is generally regarded as a most secure solution to combat fraud. The smart card system eliminates fuel card fraud and provides fleet managers with the information needed to manage fuel costs effectively. OTI’s petroleum payment solutions are based on the ISO 14443 standard for contactless smart card technology, ensuring maximum flexibility and security. 

In addition to fuel, oil purchases can also be controlled by the smart card. The system has full read/write capability allowing date; time and odometer reading at last refuel to be written to the tag. In addition the tag can be programmed or disabled, remotely.  

FuelMaster has full SABS certification and is widely used by local government, parastatals as wel as large fleet owners both locally and in neighbouring countries including the Imperial logistics and transport fleets (OTI Africa publish a list of their prominent customers). The company has established business relationships with the fleet divisions of the four major banking groups. OTI Africa summarises the key user benefits as:

• Elimination of fuel card fraud
• Unsurpassed control over refuelling expenditure
• Accurate transaction and fleet information
• Correct amount of fuel is always dispensed into the correct vehicle
• Driver cannot purchase more fuel than programmed tank capacity
• Equipment is superior and durable – low maintenance

BP FUELMASTER... to date more than 50 000 vehicle-mounted tags have been  issued and installed.