Kill that 
DIESEL FRAUD

The cost to companies of fuel abuse and fraud is escalating. For organisations with large fleets this is an alarming trend. While routine checks and balances might stop the casual fraudster, they will not serve to deter experienced operators. By far the most effective way to counteract the exploitation of company fleets is through a competent fuel management system. In this article, Anton Loubser, technical manager: fuelling systems for Liquid Automation Systems, briefly introduces the concepts of these systems.

Since diesel fuel - of which 5.95 billion litres is consumed annually - has become an expensive portion of the operating cost of vehicle fleets, fleet owners are eager to manage and, if possible, prevent fuel fraud and corruption - particularly given the on-going hikes in the diesel price.

Fuel management systems control the dispensing and delivery of fuel by restricting access to on-road or home-based pumps to authorised consumers only. Access can only be obtained by means of a magnetic stripe card, proximity tag or a vehicle recognition system. Although the magnetic stripe cards and proximity tags ensure that fuel has been dispensed by an authorised user, they cannot guarantee that an authorised vehicle has received the fuel. This can, however, be done by means of a vehicle recognition system. 

Vehicle recognition systems operate on the principle that the pump is only enabled for dispensing when a fuel nozzle is in the vehicle tank, or coupled to the vehicle (in the case of heavy earth-moving machinery). The pump, in turn, is coupled to a dispensing controller.

Vehicle information, which usually implies the vehicle fleet ID, registration number, odometer reading and authorised products, is communicated to the dispensing controller via a link in the nozzle hose, established by using infra red, magnetised coil or radio frequency technology. As soon as the dispensing controller has approved the transaction, the pump is enabled. Removal of the nozzle from the tank immediately disables the pump - fuel can thus not be dispensed if the nozzle has not been inserted into the vehicle tank.

Another innovation in this arena is the development of a radio link from the vehicle directly to the dispensing controller, which bypasses the link via the fuel hose. With this system, such as the one marketed by Liquid Automation Systems, a passive proximity tag is mounted on the nozzle, while a nozzle scanner is fitted at the vehicle tank inlet to read the nozzle ID.

The vehicle information with the nozzle ID is transmitted via the radio link to the dispensing controller, which then authorises the transaction and enables the pump. The pump is disabled the moment the nozzle is extracted from the tank.

This kind of fuel management system will monitor the amount of diesel delivered to the storage tanks, as well as the wet stock in the tank, including existing levels of water present in the tank. Fuel management data is usually stored in an historic database and proffers invaluable stock reports to indicate discrepancies between diesel delivered and resultant tank levels. A daily wet stock 'gains and loss' report will indicate diesel siphoning.

Apart from preventing fraudulent activities, fuel management systems also provide fleet owners with up-to-date information on fuel consumption, facilitating more cost-effective management of fleets.

Practical experience indicates that fuel management systems can realise cost-savings of up to 35%, which ensures that the fuel management system soon pays for itself. On top of this, the electronic records of the system provide fleet owners with a ready audit trail to claim on the new diesel rebate.

In today's climate of high costs and high crime, a fuel management system is a must for profitable operations.