Fife is Scotland’s third largest authority, employing over 22,000 people and spending over £1,000 million a year delivering services to Fife’s 350,000 citizens. Fife Council, which manages a varying fleet of some 2000 vehicles, took an investment decision to find a fuel monitoring system that enabled their fuel resource to be controlled, and overcome the sticky issue of fuel security and on site storage.
Fife council spends in excess of £5m per annum on fuel. This could have represented a messy and unaccountable figure given the fuel crisis and its impact on budget control. Fuel cards would not have represented a viable option in that further costs and analysis would have been associated with the management of the information, adding to the problem. Triscan extended its provision of fleet and fuel management software to Fife Council. As part of a major step forward in telematics, the company has been working with key personnel in Fife’s Fleet Services team to assist with the management of key performance indicators. Fife Council’s priority was to introduce a fuel management system that would give them high fuel security, clean data, clear fleet management reporting and the ability to cross charge separate budget areas with accuracy.
As part of a major fuel storage and management project, Triscan’s fuel management systems were installed at 17 of the council’s sites, which also cater for the region’s fire service vehicles. The on-site fuel monitoring equipment, which is linked to the fuel pump, provides security via access control. It also sends transactional fuelling information back via their network, to the administration centre based at the council’s HQ in Thornton, Fife.
The Triscan software takes the information, which is set up and configured to meet the individual reporting requirements of the fleet management team, and presents it in an accurate format.
“At a time when so many factors are out of our control, it is comforting to reflect on our initial investment in our Triscan fuelling solutions – which represents less than 1% of our annual fuel bill – and in particular on the level of control that would have otherwise not existed. Storing and managing a considerable asset like our fuel stock has given us an element of protection in controlling our budgets. As a publicly accountable organisation, we are pleased that we took the decision to work with Triscan. The return on investment that their IT solution has provided has not only repaid the initial capital layout but has also provided efficiencies gained from improved operational effectiveness.”
FIFE COUNCIL