Ask the Fuel Expert

We’ve heard the phrase, do more with less, right? But surely, where fuel is concerned, more production requires more fuel. Simple logic, isn’t it? Well, like everything today, nothing is simple and when you look at new opportunities and new technology, it’s now a realistic idea to get more productivity out of less fuel. Here’s what I mean.

Know your True Cost of Fuel

Proven ways for construction companies to lower fuel costs, reduce consumption and improve operating efficiency

Fuel represents the highest business cost behind labour for organizations in construction and other fuel-dependant services. Construction firms face additional pressure in the post-recession economy to manage costs, meet budgets and keep a firm hand on projects. Understandably, as fuel prices continue to rise, everyone wants to reduce their exposure to rising costs.

As managers we all want to be in control. If not it costs us money. Everything from operations expenses, to equipment, to labour and all costs from computers to fuel must be controlled. And those things we can’t control, we must manage around. Over the last two and a half years we have had to manage our businesses around uncontrollable economic factors. Wherever we turned pundits were explaining the recession. In Canada we were not hit as hard as our friends in the US, but still we had some devastating effects. I hope you made it through.

These last few weeks, Jack Frost has taken a bite out of some of us while Mother Nature has shined warmly on others. It’s that time of the year again when weather conditions can change quickly without notice, for the best or the worst. But one thing you can count on this winter is that harsh operating conditions will happen fast, so you must be prepared.

I get asked that a lot. Over the years we have served thousands of clients in many industries including transport, construction, earthmoving, power generation, marine and rail. They all want the same thing, control of what seems to be an uncontrollable cost. Hopefully this will help. When you have the information you need, broken down into six easy to read reports you can minimize your fuel costs and improve productivity.

The calendar reads “October” and I still haven't brought out the winter coat! Hard to believe, but summer is over and with the new fall season comes optimism for the cost of fuel. Or so it seems.

I’ve always hated math. Then they invented the calculator (yes, I’m that old). And for me and millions of other users that amazing gadget provided the first step into the wonderfully digitized world we live in today. I still hate math, but a lot of this type of automation has made life simpler and helps me make fewer mistakes.

There’s really nothing very fun about managing a fleet fuel budget. Nothing simple about figuring out where all of last year’s fuel dollars actually went. There’s the stack of receipts and the pages of invoices and a few spreadsheets that try to summarize it all. But there’s a lot those papers can’t tell you.

Unless you’ve been living on an island with Gilligan and the Skipper you’ve probably heard about the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. An explosion of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010 killed eleven workers and is currently spewing about more than 18,000 barrels of oil per day into gulf waters. The full extent of the damage won’t be known for a long time and the repercussions will be enormous. But what can businesses like ours learn from this?

I just about fell out of my chair. I know gas and oil prices have moved up over the last few months and we are on the verge of the annual summer bump in fuel prices, but when I heard about the possibility of a $7 dollar gallon, I had to do some digging. Where did that number come from?

It seems the prediction was made as a reaction to more stringent environmental controls on emissions coming in the future for both Canada and the US.