Environmental Upgrades at Freightliner

The UK's largest rail to road cargo specialists, Freightliner, has upgraded its fuel storage facilities to meet new regulations for the protection of the environment. Underground fuel tanks at Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham terminals have been decommissioned and replaced with high specification integrally bunded surface tanks.

At the same time all ten of Freightliner's national network of intermodal terminals, have been equipped with new fuel dispensers supplied by MIS Fuel Monitoring of Wolverhampton. The installations include Merridale 'Auditor' control units to record fuel transactions and associated management software used to report and analyse fuel usage. At Tilbury the system is used in conjunction with high capacity pumps to fuel rail locomotives.

An advanced feature of the Merridale system is the use of network interface units and a central PC server. Specifically designed for larger transport organisations with multiple sites, the network interface units allow the 'Auditor' control units to be fully integrated as part of the user company's existing computer infrastructure.

"Traditionally fuel dispensing systems have been standalone facilities with information being downloaded either by landline or GSM telecommunications," explains Paul Ledbury, development director of MIS Fuel Monitoring.

"In addition to simplifying the data collection side, the big saving for our customers is the elimination of telephone line rental and connection charges."

Commenting on the new system, Freightliner's production development manager Malcolm Thomas sees this as an important development in streamlining the distribution of management information.

"Freightliner personnel can access details of fuelling transactions from any point within the company's internal IT network. Previously this information was disseminated from Leeds by the headquarters, management accounts department."

"Regional fleet managers, as well as headquarters staff can now access fuel usage details, immediately and whenever necessary. They can also view comparable reports from other sites. Information can be presented for specific vehicles, either on a site operations basis or across the corporate organisation. From a strategic point of view this will allow for better-informed decisions to be taken, for example, on the future replacement of vehicles or plant."

"Another important benefit is the server PC can be located anywhere on the network. We have taken advantage of this by installing it at our Southampton facilities, under the control of our IT department. This means that software upgrades and any maintenance issues can be dealt with locally."

"From our assessment, the Merridale network interface was the only fully developed solution capable of meeting this requirement," says Malcolm Thomas.

Another deciding factor was that MIS Fuel Monitoring put forward a total package, covering fuel dispensers and monitoring units as well as the management reporting software. Compared to its closest rival the Merridale system was also the least expensive. MIS also scored in terms of its UK service support and its short response times, using its own specialist personnel.

Although the focus of Freightliner's operations is the trunk movement of containers on rail based services, the company operates a total fleet of around 140 heavy goods vehicles, which are used to transport standard cargo containers to and from customers' premises and the rail terminals. The HGV fleet is made up of ERF and DAF 85 tractor units, the latter being the most recent investment, and currently making up around half of the fleet.

Says Malcolm Thomas: "Although previously Freightliner was using similar technology to capture fuelling details, the data was downloaded for analysis in Leeds. This was the only place where the information could be accessed and the reports were not sufficiently current to support day-to-day management decisions."

"With the Merridale system we can see variations in vehicle mpgs for different areas, type of work, traffic density and geography. The new DAF vehicles were acquired at the same time as the fuel systems were updated. Naturally, as a major fleet operator our managers are very keen to check economy performance, especially as these new vehicles are being introduced."

To obtain fuel each vehicle is now equipped with a coded key, which is required to turn on the fuel dispenser. Transactions are then authorised after mileage information has been entered on the control unit keypad. Keys are managed centrally. Each key relates to specific cost accounts, allowing Freightliner to ensure that all fuelling expenses are charged against the appropriate operating account.

In summarising benefits, Malcolm Thomas believes that the main advantage has been in the time saved in collating information. "It is easier now to monitor the performance of vehicles. And because the information is more readily available, managers can be more proactive in dealing with anomalies".