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Oil prices are rising, and so is employee fuel theft.
According to research conducted by Shell, two out of five commercial drivers have witnessed another driver commit some kind of fraud, such as siphoning fuel from a company vehicle.
The Shell survey also found that fuel spending accounts for over 20% of total fleet operating costs, and theft prevention allows fleet managers to reduce fuel spending by as much as 10%. So, it’s easy to see how fuel theft prevention will result in significant savings.
In addition to siphoning, fuel fraud can also take the following forms:
- Fuel card fraud, which involves drivers using funds allocated for company vehicles on their personal vehicle
- Side fueling, which involves a driver filling up a portable gas container for personal use and charging the expense to their employer
- Inflating mileage figures for reimbursement
Effectively preventing employee fuel theft requires a multi-pronged approach. A combination of the five techniques listed below will help you control fuel costs and make more profit.
1. Monitor Employee Activity
You can’t stop employee fuel theft if you can’t see it.
The best route planners have the ability to show you the location and speed of everyone on your team in real-time.
Route4Me route planner goes even further than that. Our GPS-powered reporting and analytics feature provides you with key insights into your fuel consumption habits.
It shows you your average gas price, total gallons used and gas cost, average trip cost, and much more.
There’s also a timeline tool, which allows you to analyze your fuel expenses for selected routes over a given period.
Watch the following video to learn more about Route4Me’s reporting feature and how it can benefit your business.
With this information, you’ll have a much easier time identifying instances of fuel fraud.
You’ll know if someone is using more fuel than average. Then you can investigate to determine if there’s a good reason for the discrepancy (an accident on the highway forced them to take a long detour, etc.) or if something suspicious is going on.
There’s also the big brother effect at play. Even if you never take a peek at your tracking data, it still influences your fleet’s behavior.
Employees are unlikely to commit fraud when they know they’re being watched.
And that’s not all delivery scheduling software can do for you.
Here are six benefits of delivery management software.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
Whether you want to slash the time it takes you to plan routes for your drivers, increase the number of stops they can make, or keep your customers satisfied knowing that your drivers show up on time… Route4Me helps you achieve that!
2. Install Anti-siphoning Devices
Of course, the big brother effect is indirect. Anti-siphoning devices give you more control.
They use sensors to monitor fuel tanks, and you’ll automatically be sent an alert whenever there’s an unauthorized attempt to access the tank. This gives you the ability to respond to employee fuel theft rapidly.
3. Track Fuel Card Transactions
Fuel cards allow employees to purchase fuel and other vehicle maintenance items within a network of authorized merchants.
Fleet cards provide customizable purchasing controls, so you can choose where, what, when, and how much your drivers are spending.
Generally, employees will need to input an identification number before making fuel purchases, which discourages them from stealing fuel.
But even with these controls in place, you must take precautions to stop fuel theft.
If you’re not vigilant, someone could regularly commit fuel theft and use a fuel card to fill up their personal vehicle.
Using a route planner that automatically tracks fuel expenses will improve your oversight efforts, as it can clearly display overall trends vs. the fuel usage stats of a particular employee.
Learn how a route planner can help you reduce fuel costs.
4. Educate Your Drivers
An employee could break the rules without even knowing it.
There might be some legitimate confusion over your fuel usage and reimbursement policies. So, be sure to make your policies clear.
Ideally, policy details should be in writing, and you should share them with employees as soon as you bring them on board.
5. Conduct Regular Audits
No matter how many methods you’re using to prevent employee fuel theft in the act, there’s always a chance that you’ll miss something. This is why it’s important to conduct regular audits of your fuel-related records.
You want to catch anything that might have slipped through the cracks.
Keep an eye out for frequent refueling, unknown gas station locations, and irregular fueling times. You should watch out for drivers claiming a purchase that exceeds a vehicle’s fuel tank capacity as well.
Do you have any questions about preventing employee fuel theft or using routing optimization software? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Boost Your Profits?
Whether you want to slash the time it takes you to plan routes for your drivers, increase the number of stops they can make, or keep your customers satisfied knowing that your drivers show up on time… Route4Me helps you achieve that!
