Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/332591
68 • JULY 2014 • WORLD FENCE NEWS World Fence News contributing editor Read Jim Lucci's monthly column: The Human Link • Jim's by-line: PROFIT IS NOT A DIRTY WORD!™ Past IFIA Convention speaker and presenter of Eastern International Convention keynote addresses Fill out (please print) and return to: James V. (Jim) Lucci Management Motivational Associates, Inc. 18 Hansome Place • Freeport, NY 11520 • MMAJandJ@aol.com Please call me. I'm interested in ____________________________________________________ Telephone________________________________ Convenient time________________________ Fax Number _____________________________ E-mail: ________________________________ Name __________________________________________________________________________ Name of Business / Organization_____________________________________________________ Address_________________________________________________________________________ City________________________________ State ______________ Zip _____________________ COUPON Is your business or association positioned for the changing economy? Do you have the strategy in place to put you and your staff/members in the best position to succeed? If the answer to the above questions is anything other than a solid "YES", then contact us to discuss possible ways we can help you to improve your overall operations and to help put you and your business or association in a better position to succeed. MANAGEMENT MOTIVATIONAL ASSOCIATES, INC. When you need an experienced executive level management consultant like Jim Lucci to review overall business strategy and procedures or business specifics such as sales training, staff motivation, time management, inventory control, scheduling, yard/warehouse layout, etc., call Jim Lucci at 516-379-0903 or fill out and return the coupon below by mail or fax to 516-379-2404 or contact us by e-mail at MMAJandJ@aol.com (please identify subject as "consulting"). We will contact you promptly to discuss your needs and schedule business, seminar, meeting or convention appointments and rates. Appointments may be made for personal appearances or telephone consultations. Jim Lucci • Easy to install or remove from existing fence • All weather tolerant / Impervious to water • UV tolerant / Mold resistant/ Vermin proof • Easily cleaned • 100 % recyclable / Made from 90 % recycled material • Made in U.S.A. from all U.S. materials Applications include highway environments, construction sites, manufacturing plants, retail facilities and many types of residential settings. Comes with brass eyelets Com Comes es wit with b h bras rass e s eyel yelets ets Acoustifence can be left exposed or easily enclosed in other fencing Aco Acoust ustife ifence nce ca can b n be l e left eft ex expos posed ed or or eas easily ily en enclo closed sed in in ot other her fe fenci ncing ng View Our Installation & Testimonial Videos: Ask the Fuel Expert "Fuel smart" strategy can show positive results on your bottom line BY JACK LEE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, 4REFUEL, INC. How's business? Most of us have seen cutbacks in the last few years but I have some good news for you. A "fuel smart" strategy will actually make you money. And it's not hard to do. Extra cash is sitting right there on your company's spreadsheet mas- querading as an expense or hidden in- side other costs. When fuel prices are high, every- one wants to know how to cut them. When fuel prices drop or stabilize (a temporary thing, I assure you), fuel is still the highest operating cost for busi- nesses in construction, earth-moving, transport and logistics right after labor. Up to 20% of your fuel costs are buried in labor, administration and overhead. And there's even more in waste, inefficiency, lost productivity and misappropriation. So, how do you reduce some of these hidden expenses? Unlike other variable costs, your cost of refuelling is relatively easy to manage. There are a number of things you can do today which will eliminate unnecessary waste, and tomorrow, when fuel prices start to creep up again, those savings will be even big- ger. You don't have to be a mathemati- cian to understand how this can put more operating cash into your com- pany. By employing even a couple of these strategies you can measurably – and permanently – reduce your refu- elling expenses. It's a lot of money and when fuel prices go up, it's even more. To start, make a resolution to be more "fuel responsible" this year. You have heard this before: fuel is a non- renewable resource, so plan to be more responsible. Make this a company- wide initiative. Decide who will be- come your company's fuel manager, then empower them to work with you to cut your fuel consumption. Here are a few tips: • How are you getting the fuel you need today? Does it make sense for you to send your fleet to card-locks and pay the overtime, maintenance and administration? Do site tanks make sense or are there hidden expenses in that fuel re- lated to insurance, environment or theft? Have you looked into having fuel delivered directly to your vehicles? Onsite delivery cuts the cost of labor, reduces environmental risk, eliminates theft and converts time waiting to fuel into time getting more work done – roughly 20 minutes per vehicle per day. This one strategy alone can save you thousands of dollars each year. • Check with an onsite delivery company and have a fuel needs analy- sis done and compare it with your cur- rent method of refuelling. For the best efficiency, refuelling is done when your equipment is idle, so productivity is not interrupted. Another benefit of having your fuel delivered to each truck or piece of equipment is time saved. On average each refuelling you do can take at least 20 minutes. You'll save the fuel used traveling to and from the card lock too. Add this all up and each month you can save a lot of fuel and hundreds of hours in labor costs. This saved time is instantly converted to productivity, rather than refuelling. • Another fuel smart initiative is to plan to measure and manage your fuel. Technology exists that can help you, and it is not expensive. Here's what I mean. You can record every drop of fuel consumed by each piece of equipment and have that data delivered via e-mail. Now you can check your fuel consumption and make qualified operating decisions. With this information in hand you can talk to your operators and show them where fuel is being wasted and make suggestions on how to work smarter. Data is captured showing total operating time, time spent idling, en- gine revving, speeding, etc. This al- lows you to train your operators and monitor their performance against re- alistic operating thresholds you set. When you have accurate informa- tion you become a better manager. Your equipment will last longer, too. When your operators are re- minded regularly about your new fuel smart initiatives and adjust their habits less fuel will be consumed. With that, operating time is cut. The result is you will add months to the life of your equipment and cut maintenance costs along the way. And that delays making major capital ex- penses. Now let's think about the environ- ment. It is foolish to waste fuel be- cause it is a non-renewable resource. Besides that, the more fuel you use the more pollutants you spew into the en- vironment. A new fuel strategy can easily save you 10% to 20% in fuel costs and a corresponding amount of toxic emis- sions will also be cut. With a new fuel management strategy you will become part of a worldwide movement to help cut pollution. As the champion of good fuel management in your industry you can take on a leadership role. Tell your customers what you are doing. It will attract attention and it's good for busi- ness, too. This year has given us fuel pricing on a roller coaster. Right this moment they have stabilized, but we also know that they will go up. No one can predict if they will reach the extremes we saw a few years ago, but you can save cash with a bet- ter fuel smart strategy. Look at it another way. With a slower economy you are not as busy. Why not invest this time and make some fuel smart changes that can pay you dividends for years to come? It makes sense! Jack Lee is president and CEO of 4Refuel Inc., the leader in fuel man- agement. If you have questions or comments, Lee may be reached by phone at 604-513-0386 or via e-mail at AskthefuelExpert@4refuel.com.