Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/314292
WORLD FENCE NEWS • JUNE 2014 • 29 Ask the Fuel Expert Wasted time is wasted money! BY JACK LEE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 4REFUEL Ok, time for an oldie but a goodie… Time is money. How many times have you heard that line? And I did use the word "time" three times in the opening line on purpose, because, you guessed it, "time" will be the focus of this column. To start, let's ask a question: How much are you worth an hour? Now, I know many of you may not get paid by the hour, but give this some thought and do some simple math to figure out what that number is. I remember when I started my working life my employers told me what I was worth per hour. Back then it was maybe a buck or two an hour. When you look at it, I wasn't worth very much, but it was a starting point. As I became more experienced and knowledgeable, that number grew, to a point where I was telling my clients what I was worth. That's how most businesses work today. When you offer value-added services you become a whole lot more than just an hourly rate for labor. Now back to my original question. What is your time worth? And what is the best way to invest that time and turn it into profit? Low leverage activities, like filing and organizing contact information are important, but they are not the most productive. Neither is sitting in a line up at a cardlock or refueling your equipment from your own fuel storage tanks. It takes time, and time is money. Industry standards tell us that it used to take, on average, 20 minutes to refuel a vehicle or a piece of equip- ment. Well I have some news for you. That number has grown to more than double. It is now 45 minutes! That's right, the average time for refueling a large vehicle is now 45 minutes! This increase is due to a number of factors. First of all, traffic has increased dramatically, causing longer line ups at refueling stations. This, coupled with increased demand for fuel, shorter supplies, environmental issues and seasonal fuel shortages, have made refueling a bigger challenge than it ever was. And if you are like most compa- nies, you need to fill up more than once a week, so the time wasted grows even more. If you are still refueling your own fleet and equipment, there is a better way. Why waste your valuable time on a low leverage activity like refueling when you and your team could re-in- vest that time into production? On location fuel delivery has been around for years, but in case you haven't discovered it yet, there are more benefits than what you may think. In addition to eliminating the has- sle of refueling, fuel is delivered when your trucks and equipment are parked. You don't have to go searching for fuel when your key supplier is dry, and of course you no longer have to face en- vironmental risks. Another advancement is the avail- ability of Total Fuel Management (TFM) systems. TFM not only locates and delivers the fuel you need, it also gives you critical fuel management data to turn your fuel investment into profit. Without information, you have no power to make decisions. TFM gives you powerful software tools to control and manage fuel consumption data as well as key operating data. Total Fuel Management has changed the way business thinks about fuel. Rather than a "buy it and burn it" attitude, fuel becomes an investment, just like your time. When you can track fuel con- sumption by unit, by the hour, time spent idling, hard acceleration, etc., you can assess your fuel investment and turn what used to be a fixed cost, into profit. The environmental benefits are an added bonus, because with less con- sumption comes less pollution. So what are you waiting for? The more time you spend thinking the less time you spend working. And after all, time is money! Jack Lee is president and CEO of 4Refuel Inc., the leader in fuel man- agement. If you have questions or comments, Jack may be reached by phone at 604-513-0386 or via e-mail at AskthefuelExpert@4refuel.com.