Shell FuelSave ParTner

ISSUE 04
Save on fleet
management
costs with
Shell
FuelSave
Partner
It’s an easy-to-use system that
can save you money. With Shell
FuelSave Partner you can:
Monitor fuel consumption
and CO2 emissions
Prevent fraud by reconciling
euroShell card transactions
with fuel usage
Monitor driver behaviour such as
idling, harsh braking and accelerating
So, do you want to save up to 10%
on your fleet costs? Find out how on
pages 5 and 6 of this magazine or
by calling 0161 499 4624.
Autumn 2012
IN THIS ISSUE
ll in a days work
A
Tommy Duncombe of SIG Trading
Limited: the challenge of a large fleet
Saving you money
Dispelling the myths about
Shell FuelSave Partner
Smarter logistics
For CFT Services, monitoring driver
performance has reaped rewards
It's here!
The new motorway service
station at Cobham
REFUEL
Shell commercial fleet news
We are trying to make
a difference with the type
of fuel we use and Shell is
helping us achieve this.
Tommy Duncombe,
UK Logistics Administration Manager,
SIG Trading Limited
ISSUE 04
Autumn 2012
Meet
the team
you have any feedback or would like
If
to suggest content for future editions,
please contact us via:
refueluk@shell.com
Welcome to the Autumn issue
of Shell ReFuel magazine.
Angela Everitt
Editor
There’s no getting away from it: times are still tough. Whether you’re in the trucking
industry or the fleet business, we know Shell customers have been under constant
pressure to maintain and control costs. We also know that this focus will continue
for the rest of the year and into 2013: the Chancellor’s delay in the 3p fuel duty tax
rise until January is a welcome respite but that’s all it is, a delay. It does not solve the
long-term issue of rising fuel costs, coupled with a difficult trading environment.
We’ve been working hard with our customers to help them make savings.
Ultimately, the only way to save money on fuel is to use less. Shell has three tools that can
help companies do just that: Shell FuelSave diesel, our quality fuel that’s designed to offer
greater fuel economy; Shell FuelSave Partner, an in-cab system that monitors driver, fuel
and vehicle performance (in using this system some Shell customers have seen up to 10%
savings); and Shell Card online, a web-based fleet manager tool that allows companies
to manage spend, driver performance, CO2 emissions, invoices and all transactional data.
The sun may not have been much in evidence over the summer, but a welcome sight may
have been a growing number of yellow and red Shell signs visible through the gloom.
Shell is committed to growing its network with the acquisition of more than 250 new
sites; we hope to make the refuelling experience even easier than before. We want to
continue to be your partner on the road.
Aisha Hayatuddini
Managing Editor
email:
refueluk@shell.com
Web address:
www.shell.co.uk/refuelmagazine
Production:
This magazine is printed on Greencoat
100 Offset which is made from 100%
recovered fibre, certified in accordance
with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)
and is manufactured to the ISO 14001
international standard, minimising negative
impacts on the environment. It is also
a Carbon Balanced Paper – where the
carbon intensity has been measured through
the production process and an equivalent
carbon credit (offset) has been purchased.
© 2012 Shell International B.V.
Phil Williams
UK Sales Manager
WHAT’S INSIDE
All in a day’s work…
Tommy Duncombe of SIG Trading Limited shares some
of the challenges and rewards of running a large fleet.
saving you money
Think Shell FuelSave Partner is an expensive piece of kit
you don’t need? We dispel a few myths…
3
5
Smarter logistics
7
For CFT Services, monitoring driver performance has
reaped rewards.
It's here!
The new motorway service station at Cobham, which
includes a brand new Shell filling station, is on its way.
9
Breathalysers
required!
AdBlue
now at the pumps
From 1 November 2012, any motorist or motorcyclist
driving in France who fails to produce a breathalyser
when stopped by police will face a fine of €11.
The Shell filling station at Cobham is the first
purpose-built site that has AdBlue installed at
the pumps.
The law was passed in July of this year and states that:
“Shell is committed to developing its AdBlue network
to make the haulage industry’s on-the-road experience
a better one,” says Phil Williams, Shell UK Sales
Manager. “At the moment the majority of oil companies
don’t have AdBlue at the pump, but as Shell builds or
refits sites it plans to install AdBlue to make filling up
as easy and efficient as possible for customers.”
every driver must carry two valid single-use breathalysers
at all times. Each breathalyser must be unused and within
its expiry date period;
the law is applicable to every driver, regardless of whether
the vehicle is a personal, company, or rental vehicle; and
only NF Certified & Approved breathalysers are compliant
with the law (CE certified only breathalysers are not).
The new regulations exclude mopeds, two or three-wheeled
vehicles whose engine cylinder capacity does not exceed
50cm3, and vehicles equipped with an ignition interlock
device (including an integrated system of alcohol detection).
Possession of the two breathalysers is compulsory for any
motorist crossing into the country (with the exception of those
stated above), regardless of nationality or the registration
country of the vehicle. French police will carry out random
checks on drivers across France, including those crossing
into the country via ferry terminals and the Channel Tunnel.
New eco tax for hgvs
driving through france
Give us your views!
Take a few minutes to fill in our reader survey and be
in with a chance to win British Grand Prix tickets or a
bundle of Ferrari goodies.
Winners will be picked at random. The first two entrants out
of the hat will each win a pair of tickets to the British Grand
Prix at Silverstone in 2013. The next five will receive Ferrari
goodies, including a baseball cap, mug and key ring.
To fill in the survey online, and for terms and conditions,
visit www.shell.co.uk/refuelsurvey
From 13 April 2013 in Alsace and 20 July 2013
across the rest of France, a new Heavy Goods
Vehicle (HGV) eco tax will come into force,
affecting all vehicles, be they French or foreign,
weighing more than 3.5 tonnes. The eco tax
project is one of the key measures instigated
by the Grenelle de l’environnement law.
The Grenelle de l’environnement, or the Grenelle
Environment Round Table (as it might be called in
English), was launched in 2007 by the former French
President, Nicolas Sarkozy, to define new actions for
sustainable development. Transport was an issue up for
debate and France hopes that this new levy on HGVs
will encourage lower and better road use, while raising
revenue for new and improved transport infrastructures.
The cost of the tax is likely to average around
€0.125 per kilometre travelled on the taxable network.
Some vehicles will be exempt from the tax: military
vehicles, vehicles delivering key public service goods,
agricultural transports and public transport vehicles.
A reduction will be applied to vehicles travelling through
certain regions of France (40% in Brittany; 25% in the
Midi-Pyrénées; and 25% in Aquitaine).
REFUEL | i n t e r v i e w
All in
a day’s
work...
Tommy Duncombe of SIG Trading Limited
shares some of the challenges and rewards
of running a large fleet.
SIG has 430 sites spread around the UK
and the recent acquisition of more than
250 new sites by Shell will help make it
easier for SIG drivers to source fuel.
3 | REFUEL
SIG Trading Limited (SIG) supplies
building materials to businesses
across the UK, including insulation,
roofing, and fixings products.
The company has a large network
of sites throughout the country –
which has been in operation since
1957 and has grown considerably
over the years – it is now one of
the largest suppliers of construction
materials in Europe. Business is brisk
and Tommy Duncombe, UK Logistics
Administration Manager for SIG,
is a very busy man.
“We have a fleet of around 500
vans, 750 commercial vehicles of over
3.5 tonnes and around 1,050 cars,”
he says. “I’m responsible for our
accident management, order numbers
and invoicing processes, driving licence
auditing and checking, car procurement
and maintenance, and our Commercial
Driver Certificate of Professional
Competence training. On top of that,
I look after our fuel purchasing –
we spend around £16–17 million a
year on fuel.”
SIG Trading has been in partnership
with Shell since September 2011 and
uses Shell fuel cards. With a fleet the
size of SIG’s, costs are under regular
review but the decision to use Shell
was down to more than just the cost
– the company already had a strong
relationship with Shell account manager
Andy Gray, plus the size of the Shell
network was a big draw.
“SIG has 430 sites spread around the
UK and the recent acquisition of more
than 250 sites by Shell will help make
it easier for SIG drivers to source fuel.”
Despite the pressures on Tommy’s
time, decisions aren’t made lightly and
he took some time out from his busy
schedule on a couple of occasions to
visit Shell’s Stanlow refinery. “I went to
find out more about fuel production and
what Shell is all about,” he says.
It was really interesting to
get an understanding of
the technology involved in
the production of fuel and
lubricants and how Shell
is trying to make fuel
more efficient.
However, Tommy is a pragmatist – in
his job you have to be: “A fuel like Shell
FuelSave Diesel can save money but
the problem for us is we have several
older vehicles in our fleet with several
miles on the clock, and just putting in a
fuel like Shell FuelSave Diesel might not
generate the cost savings it would in a
brand new vehicle. It is also important
that you don’t mix fuels and that you
use the correct lubricants. For me, it is
getting the balance between all those
things right so as to achieve the best
performance from our vehicles.
We see cost-saving claims and
efficiencies in all areas of our industry,
and that’s great if you’re running vehicles
in a perfect world but the weather
changes, road conditions change and
the drivers make a difference. We are
trying to make a difference with the type
of fuel we use and Andy is helping SIG
to try and achieve this.”
The relationship between Shell and SIG
has been strengthened further through
Shell’s involvement in SIG’s ‘Driver of
the Year’ competition. The competition
is a forward-thinking move by SIG as
an incentive to encourage their drivers
to perform better over several different
areas, including fuel efficiency, safe
braking and safe handling.
“They are in front of the customer,
battling traffic and are expected to
get the deliveries to our customers on
time, so we thought it was about time
we recognised the work they do and
rewarded our good drivers through
our Driver of the Year event.”
For someone with a job like Tommy’s,
there’s never a quiet moment.
REFUEL | 4
REFUEL | f e a t u r e
Saving you
money
Think Shell FuelSave Partner is an expensive piece
of kit you don’t need? We dispel a few myths…
Myth 1
Myth 2
Shell FuelSave Partner is the same as all telematic devices
It’s difficult to use
Not true. Shell FuelSave Partner is a sophisticated system
that’s designed to monitor fuel consumption and exhaust CO2
emissions on HGVs (artics and rigids) and large vans. It does
this by highlighting driving areas in which your fleet is being
inefficient, such as idling, harsh braking or acceleration.
You do need to invest a little time setting up the system and
learning how to use it, but we have dedicated in-house
support to assist with its implementation every step of the way.
Shell FuelSave Partner automatically links with the euroShell
Card, so you can check whether what you are buying is
actually going into the truck, allowing you to monitor for
fraud. It’s all done automatically (there is also an option that
allows you to upload third-party information if you don’t use
the euroShell Card).
Idling is one of the biggest ways to waste fuel and increase
exhaust CO2 emissions, and yet it is one of the easiest things
to address – the system can show you how often and for how
long individual drivers leave their engines on when making
deliveries. Simple changes to driver behaviour, that you can
implement as a result of the system’s findings, could result in a
substantial reduction in fuel consumption and, thereby, exhaust
CO2 emissions reductions.
The online tool shows how many litres of fuel you could save
by changing behaviours, allowing you to see cost savings
clearly. There are downloadable charts and reports that
enable you to analyse the areas in which the company
needs to improve and where you need to take action.
5 | REFUEL
The online tool shows
how many litres of fuel
you could save by changing
behaviours, allowing you to
see cost savings clearly.
20.7
44
89
21
22
7.95
20.7
44
11
44
2955
18.5
Myth 3
Myth 4
It’s just a track and trace device
It’s expensive
A benefit of the Shell FuelSave Partner system is that it can
track and trace – it’s fitted with GPS so you can see where
your vehicle is at any given time – but there’s a lot more to it
than that. An important feature of the system is the availability
of tachograph data downloads.
Shell picks up the cost of installing the boxes into your
vehicles, so there is no upfront investment. The Shell FuelSave
Partner box represents good value – fuel consumption
monitoring, exhaust CO2 reporting capabilities, track and
trace functionality, fuel reconciliation, tachograph downloads,
optional remote data downloads and more. In fact, our
customers using Shell FuelSave Partner have found that
their average annual financial saving after installing the
Shell FuelSave Partner box is around 5% on a £1 million
per year fuel spend – the equivalent of £50,000.
All companies running HGVs are required by law to
manage their working time but for a firm with a large fleet,
downloading this information from each and every individual
vehicle is a time-consuming business. Shell FuelSave Partner
gives you the option for remote data download – you can
access the data online and simply press a button to
download it. You don’t even have to leave your desk.
To find out more visit
www.shell.co.uk/sfsp
Or email
info-shellfuelsavepartner@shell.com
REFUEL | 6
REFUEL | i n t e r v i e w
Smarter
logistics
Ironically, while the world moves at a
faster pace, Ian’s success in terms of mpg
has been partly due to slowing down.
7 | REFUEL
For CFT Services, monitoring driver performance
has reaped some pleasing rewards.
Ian Townsend drives an HGV for CFT Services
(CFT), a transportation and logistics company
based in the north-west of England. The entire
fleet uses the euroShell fuel card, allowing drivers
to fill up on the road. The vehicles are fitted with
Shell FuelSave Partner technology, which allows
CFT to monitor where fuel is purchased and
how much, in addition to observing the driving
methods used by the drivers.
The information is accessed by CFT via an online
tool, which then calculates how many miles are
being driven per gallon. Ian was recently singled out
as one of the company’s most improved drivers: he
was returning 8.1mpg when CFT started with Shell;
now he gives 10.4mpg. “It feels good to know I’ve
improved,” says Ian.
I’ve been driving for 41 years, so a
lot of what I do is instinct. I just drive,
you know? It’s all I know and it’s all
I ever wanted to do.
Ian has seen a lot of changes during his four
decades on the road and finds certain aspects
of the job more challenging than he used to.
“It’s the volume of traffic,” he explains. “The roads
are unbelievable at the moment and I see a lot
more accidents than I ever did before. You can
understand it in the winter, but not on a gorgeous
day. Personally, I don’t think car drivers have any
consideration for anybody anymore – when they’re
joining the motorway, they expect you to slow
down for them, instead of matching your speed
and slotting in behind you. I’ve always had to be
on my guard, driving a large vehicle, but I have to
be even more so now.”
Another aspect of the job that has altered for
Ian is the pace at which business now operates.
“Getting there on time is the hardest part of the
job these days,” he says. Shell FuelSave Partner
can be a help: the telematic device fitted into
Ian’s wagon has a satellite tracking device, which
means if a driver gets lost en route, head office
can redirect them, saving time wasted trying to
get back on course.
Data from the satellite system can also be given
to clients, so that if a company claims CFT were
late for a delivery, it can be checked and CFT can
avoid a fine if the claim is incorrect.
Ironically, while the world moves at a faster pace,
Ian’s success in terms of mpg has been partly due
to slowing down.
We’ve got a stem on the wheel,
so if I put on the cruise control
at 53mph, but go down a bit of
a gradient, and speed up a bit,
the exhaust brake comes on and
keeps the truck slowed down.
It’s a big help.
Ian has also changed a few old habits; he doesn’t
idle in stationary traffic any more, he switches off
the engine. He contributed to saving CFT fuel and
money, but this down-to-earth veteran of the road
from Rochdale won’t take too much of the credit:
“It’s all just common sense really, isn’t it?”
REFUEL | 8
REFUEL | i n t e r v i e w
It's
here!
The new motorway service station at
Cobham, which includes a brand new
Shell filling station, is open.
Cobham in numbers
The site covers 2.33 acres or 9,400m2
1.36 acres or 5,500m2 of paved forecourt area
0.55 acres or 2,200m2 of canopy over
the forecourt area
18 fuel pumps, one LPG pump, three high-speed
HGV pumps and three AdBlue pumps
430m2 retail sales building
1.66 miles of underground pipe
12,000 tonnes of earth were excavated
The storage tanks have the capacity to store over
a million litres. It would take a week to fill them up
with one truck making four deliveries per day
9 | REFUEL
It’s taken 17 years of planning wrangles, not to mention
several public inquiries, but the new service station at
Cobham, located between junctions 9 and 10 on the
M25, is now open for business.
The site includes the largest Shell filling station in the UK in
terms of numbers of pumps and volumes, the largest in fact
from any retailer. So building it was no mean feat. Kevin Porter
is Managing Director of Broham Forecourt Developments
Limited, the building firm tasked with constructing the filling
station. “We’re specialists at this sort of thing,” says Kevin.
“We’ve been in the business for 30 years so we’ve got a
proven track record.”
Even so, the Cobham project presented its own unique
challenges. “The sheer size of the site was the main challenge.
Everything’s on a huge scale compared to your average
petrol filling station.
There is a very
complex system
of services you
have to put under
the ground.
On a standard roadside development, you’d have something
in the region of 150–200,000 litres of storage capacity –
at Cobham, there are underground tanks that can store
up to 1.3 million litres.”
Digging the four-metre-deep pits for the enormous storage
tanks was the first job for Kevin’s firm. The planning had to
be meticulous, particularly when it came to the temporary
works required to hold up the sides of the pits once they
were excavated. “We used what’s known as a piling
system, so the holes didn’t fall in on themselves,” explains
Kevin. “The pit is rectangular in shape, dug with sheer
vertical sides. We put steel sheets at the sides of the
excavation, then propped it from one side to the other
with a big frame.” Double-lined cylindrical steel tanks
could then be put in place.
The challenge didn’t end there. “There is a very complex
system of services you have to put under the ground,”
says Kevin. “There are all the petroleum services, so the
pipes that feed the pumps, plus the pipes that feed the tanks.
Then you need to install vapour recovery systems.”
Petrol contains volatile organic compounds that release
vapours that could escape and pollute the atmosphere during
the filling of storage tanks if the proper recovery systems were
not put in place.
At any one time, up to 50 people were on site to get
everything finished in just 33 weeks. So is it a job well done?
Kevin doesn’t hesitate:
Yes, a job very well done.
We’re very pleased with it.
Why not see for yourself? The Site Launch Day will
take place on 6 October, featuring a Formula 1
show car, plus prize giveaways on the day.
REFUEL | 10
A New Way to Reduce
Your Fuel Costs
Would you like to save up to 10% of your commercial transport fleet fuel costs? By analysing your fuelling, vehicle
and driver data and creating easily actionable reports, it shows you exactly where and how your fleet can save fuel.
Shell FuelSave partner also has a wealth of features to support effective fleet management, including:
■Track and Trace your vehicle
■Fraud prevention by reconciliation of fuel purchases to fuel consumption
■Tachograph data downloads (with optional remote data download if required – no need to physically download
data from each vehicle)
Interested in finding out how we can help you save on fuel consumption and fuel costs?
For a limited time only, for fuel card customers new to Shell, we will match your current
fuel card price and give you 20 Shell FuelSave Partner boxes free for 6 months.*
Try Shell FuelSave Partner and the euroShell Card, and see how we can help you save on your fleet costs.
To find out more please contact us on 020 7934 8686, Info-shellfuelsavepartner@shell.com
or visit www.shell.co.uk/sfsp.
*Terms and Conditions apply. Offer on a first come, first served basis. Sign up for a minimum of 10 euroShell cards,
and minimum fleet size 50 HGVs. Limited number of boxes available.
www.shell.co.uk/sfsp
Competence is key.
The five steps to good driving:
1
Reduce idling
2 Use of cruise control where possible
3 Limit harsh braking
4 Limit harsh acceleration
5 Coasting where possible