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The Business Dictionary describes the downtime definition as: “Period during which an equipment or machine is not functional or cannot work. It may be due to technical failure, machine adjustment, maintenance, or non-availability of inputs such as materials, labor, power.”

When it comes to the forecourt, there are many ways that downtime can negatively impact your sales, profits, and most-importantly, customer satisfaction. As we all know, paying $2.50-$3.00 a gallon for fuel is not a favorite past-time for most. And, having an additional poor experience while purchasing fuel can be detrimental to your brand. While some customers who encounter a down lane may try to look for an open fueling lane, a high percentage may drive down the road to your competition…..and never return.

Some examples of common failures that lead to downtime include:

*Point Of Sale failures

*Credit card network disconnects

*Power outages

*Fuel nozzle or hose leaks

*and, many more.

However, there are some circumstances that are controllable with the right tools, applications, and consistent monitoring in place. But, most-importantly and paramount to success, there must exist a company’s strong dedication to improve uptime, customer satisfaction, throughput and profits from the top of the company down, and vice-versa:

*Dormant fueling position detection:  Many operators count on manual processes related to the reporting of non-functioning fueling positions. A dependence on store managers or associates to report such issues can be risky given human nature and how busy your store personnel may be. Often, a down dispenser can go weeks without repair. Common causes can be related to defective nozzles, leaking hoses, leaking meters, malfunctioning credit card device issues, etc. Automating the detection of dormant dispensers can be done through the monitoring the dispenser transactions from each fueling point. This can be accomplished easily with the right tools and […]

 
MIDDLETOWN, R.I.  — Warren Rogers Associates, a leader in continuous and precision fuel management for the retail fuel industry, has launched an updated Warren Rogers’ website,  including a video featuring five ways convenience store owners and other fuel marketers can improve operational efficiency and boost profitability at their fuel sites.
The website, www.warrenrogers.com, includes valuable information regarding the company’s “All Points Monitoring System” which takes a comprehensive and precise look at fuel operations — from every underground tank and fuel line, and dispenser, right to the vehicle. The site is easy to navigate and customers can learn about Warren Rogers’ real-time technology and reporting and other services such as continual reconciliation analysis (CITLDS), advanced flow diagnostics, audit technology, statistical inventory reconciliation analysis (SIRA), and more. 
In addition, the website features an educational video which highlights five of the key ways Warren Rogers can help high-volume fuel site owners enhance operation efficiency and increase profits. William Jones, president and CEO of Warren Rogers Associates said, “With our comprehensive fuel management system, there are many ways we help fuel profitability. For the video, we selected five of the most common issues customers are concerned about and the specific actions we can take to address them — to ultimately make a real difference in their fuel business.” 
The five topics of the video include:

Meter drift analysis and identifying dispensers that are giving away fuel
Detecting delivery shortages and discrepancies with bills of lading volumes
Pinpointing dispenser flow rate issues
Providing timely alerts about fuel theft
Identifying equipment and dispenser problems in real-time to expedite repairs 

How else can Warren Rogers help you?  

We also offer the ultimate in down fueling position and slow flow reporting via our real-time, 24/7 portal called fuelWRAp and industry-leading operational […]

Middletown, RI-  Of course, we are always in a hurry! However, one of the biggest disappointments for any fuel customer is when the dispenser is pumping slowly. Slow fuel flow can happen for many reasons, but, as a fuel operator, how are you detecting or finding out that your equipment is not operating up-to-par?

Are you reliant on your customers to let your store manager know when your dispensers are pumping slowly? We hope not. The normal customer expectation is for gasoline to flow at between 8 and 10 gallons per minute (and 35-45 gallons/minute for truck diesel). By the time a customer gets out of their car and begins a pay at-the-pump transaction, the average fueling usually time takes 3-4 minutes. Any longer, and your customer will not be very happy, especially in the Winter! In fact, an underperforming dispenser can add 1-2 minutes to an-already frustrating experience for your customers. To a freezing customer, that can seem like a lifetime.

Some reasons for slowing flow can be related to clogging fuel filters, a defective nozzle, or your tank motors (commonly-called submersibles), not performing properly. In high-volume locations, a slow-down at the fuel lanes, particularly during peak times, can be devastating to your business. Complex motor arrangements, manifolded tanks, or a lack of proper maintenance, can also make detection and correction challenging.
How can Warren Rogers help?  
We offer the ultimate in down fueling position and slow flow reporting via our real-time, 24/7 portal called fuelWRAp and industry-leading operational reporting procedures.  fuelWRAp is viewable on desktop, tablet, and mobile.  We monitor EVERY transaction through every site and every dispenser and calculate the speed of those transactions over a short time period. Our analytics then determine when we see […]

Middletown, RI-We are excited to announce that Warren Rogers’ own Caroline Walker, Director of Research, will be presenting a virtual session at the upcoming 2020 SIGMA Annual Conference, occurring from November 9-13, 2020. The subject is Operational Analytics and the Forecourt. We hope that you will take some time to review her insights. She will demonstrate ways in which you curate available data in order to take travel center and c-store operational oversight to an optimal level. Learn more about how we help retailers “curate” their data at www.warrenrogers.com.

UPDATE:  View the session at this link on the Warren Rogers YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS5a_qCGvZ4

Caroline Walker has a strong background in mathematical statistics (B.S. MIT, M.S. University of Washington) and a passion for solving challenging problems. Since joining Warren Rogers in 2013 she has continued to advance our proud legacy of innovation, developing next generation analytical tools which leverage the power of big data to provide our customers with actionable insights- enabling them to maintain high standards in maintenance efficiency, ensure positive customer experiences at the pump, and increase forecourt profitability. At Warren Rogers, Caroline loves having the opportunity to work closely with customers to find the perfect-fit solution for their novel analytical and diagnostic needs. In addition to her analytical work Caroline has presented at a number of national conferences, most recently including the 2020 SAS Global Forum where she gave the talk “Principal Component Analysis Demystified”.
How can Warren Rogers help you?
Implementing improved system controls can greatly-increase efficiency in preventing fraud, abuse, or theft. With Warren Roger’s fuelWRAp Real-Time App, you can get:

*tighter fuel inventory control
*important equipment alerts
*detailed reports, and much more.
*interactive charts and graphs as well as historical data right to any of your devices
*dedicated account support […]

By Tony Caputo, Director of Business Development, Warren Rogers, August 2020

A recent article from the Wall Street Journal stated that “the coronavirus pandemic has crushed demand for fuels such as gasoline and jet fuel, and many expect global oil consumption to remain depressed for years. But the appetite for so-called renewable fuel is poised to grow because of government regulations in places, such as California, that are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greener Fuel U.S. renewable diesel consumption is poised to continue climbing as environmental rules tighten.” 1

Bob Herman, Phillips 66’s refining chief, spoke of the refinery conversions taking place to increase profitability, “The economic conditions are ripe for it,” He further added that “the company’s San Francisco-area facility isn’t making money as a traditional refinery.”1

In the same article, Turner Mason, an analytics firm, estimated that, as California’s rules become stricter and other states consider adopting similar rules, U.S. renewable-diesel consumption is projected to roughly double over the next decade to around 1.1 billion gallons a year.1

Per the US Department of Energy, Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning renewable replacement for petroleum diesel fuel. It can be manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease. Agri-biodiesel comes solely from virgin oils (soybean, corn, sunflower seed, cotton seeds, canola, etc.) or animal fats. Renewable biodiesel is derived from biomass and is treated the same as biodiesel for tax purposes.2

As such, Biodiesel is quickly becoming a source of additional margin and profit for traditional travel center operators.  This is also tempting conventional convenience store operators, such as Thornton’s, Speedway, and RaceTrac, into stepping into the travel center and bio-diesel blending business. But, with biodiesel, comes many positives, higher profits………and more complexities.

EPA credits can be as high as […]