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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 […]

Want to boost your forecourt’s profitability? Here are five things every fuel retailer should know.

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

The weights and measures inspector protects your customer — not your fuel inventory. An inspector can give your store a “thumbs up” in terms of meeting tolerances, even though you may be losing hundreds of gallons of product due to meter drift. Our patented meter drift technology protects you, your fuel inventory, and your customers by identifying meters that are drifting away from strike and holding back or giving away product. Meter drift analysis reports for each dispenser position associated with a product help you identify meter error’s impact on profitability.
You don’t always receive the delivery amounts you pay for. Terminals, carriers, and drivers will all push back hard if you question a delivery amount and claim a delivery shortfall.– With our Continual Reconciliation data at your disposal, including actual calculated delivery amounts, you’ll have the information and evidence you need to pursue claims of fuel shortages. We identify the gross and net amounts of product actually-delivered to the tank system, which is critical information because deliveries to retail facilities are not metered when product is introduced. Our delivery audit provides a reliable measure of the actual amount of product delivered versus the bills of lading, and our precise delivery calculations consider factors such as temperature, tank geometry, and elapsed sales.
Want to attract business from the forecourt into the store? Don’t ignore slow flow rates that irritate customers.– Restoring a dispenser to its proper flow rate will increase sales at the position by up to 20% and help increase your store traffic. Our system calculates dispenser […]

By Caleigh Millette, Warren Rogers Associates, 2020

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced its 2020 final ruling for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), lifting the mandated amount of bio-fuel that  refiners must blend into conventional fuel. The ruling calls for 20.09 billion gallons of total renewable fuel in 2020, which is an increase of 170 million gallons from what was required in 2019. The required target for 2021 is still being considered.

The RFS requires transportation fuel in the U.S. to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel. The EPA administers the RFS and determines which renewable fuels are eligible as well as the amount of renewable fuel required in upcoming years.

The EPA’s 2020 ruling also finalizes other actions such as a change in how they calculate the annual percentage standard to account for volumes of diesel and gasoline that will be exempt from obligated renewable fuel volumes. Smaller refineries can be exempt from the RFS if they prove complying would cause them financial strain.

Furthermore, the EPA reports that the 2020 renewable fuel target includes 15 billion gallons from conventional biofuel and 5.09 billion gallons from advanced biofuel. The standard for biomass-based diesel for 2021 remains the same as 2020 at 2.43 billion gallons. However, the biofuel target of 15 billion gallons cannot be reached due to the declining production of products such as cellulosic (algae based) biofuel.

Warren Rogers role in bio-fuel blending:

At Warren Rogers, we monitor bio-diesel blending and audit consumption for federal and state reporting requirements. Learn more here.

Bracmort, Kelsi. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): An Overview. Congressional Research Service , Apr. 2020.

About Warren Rogers Associates

Founded in 1979 by Dr. Warren Rogers, Warren Rogers Associates pioneered the development of Statistical Inventory Reconciliation Analysis […]