If you ignore fuel loss, it could be detrimental for your business. Not just for retailers, either, but also for facilities with underground fuel storage.
Staying up-to-date with efficient reporting is imperative. The need for trustworthy leak detection is only becoming more relevant as the need for environmental compliance increases along with the costs of accurate reporting and the costs of fuel leaks themselves.
What’s At Stake
There are two different kinds of fuel loss: normal and abnormal, and both can cause complications for a business, and even the most experienced site manager won’t be able to tell the difference between the types using onsite methods.
Abnormal fuel loss is caused by leaks in the fuel system. These leaks can be large or small – and if they’re small, you might not even notice that fuel is missing. But no matter the size of the leak, it will cost your business – especially if you aren’t actively monitoring your fuel system.
You can expect consequences like:
- EPA fines (up to millions of dollars)
- The cost of cleanup
- Loss of product, which equals money lost
- Dissatisfied customers, which leads to revenue lost
- Pump closures
You might notice fuel loss and assume the worst case scenario, spend thousands of dollars, only for it to have been a normal loss the whole time. This is one of the major costs that come from poor fuel tank monitoring.
Pay Attention
A service station owner should never assume that fuel loss won’t happen to them – it can happen to anyone, and it should be taken seriously.
Every fuel supplier is required to use some sort of leak detection method. The EPA says that the method must be able to detect a leak of 18.2 litres or more per day, but even a smaller leak than this can put your business in trouble.
Ask yourself: Am I using a certified system that meets this EPA regulation? If I did come across a fuel system leak, could I prove that I did my best to detect it as quickly as possible?
Your system should provide accurate and timely feedback that will allow you to address the fuel leak as soon as it’s detected. Without a trustworthy system, you won’t know what type of problem to react to.
Improve Your Leak Detection
At ServoPro, EMS is our partner for everything related to leak detection management, SIR analysis, and reporting. Their software, Greenscan, caters to retailers, storage facilities, and fuel management and environmental businesses around the world, and they detect unacceptable losses or gains that lead to loss of fuel – so you can make sure your service station is on top of leak detection at all times.
ServoPro members can access special rates so contact us to get your fuel monitoring sorted.