Fuel Theft Prevention

In today’s fueling business, we are bombarded with 100 different challenges to our business every day. We face increasing permitting costs, regulatory pressure, angry customers, spoilage of inventory, hiring good employees, and the list goes on. In the past several years, with the increase in fuel cost and the economic downturn, fuel theft has risen to be a serious threat to fuel retailers. Whether through skimming, employee theft, tank pump outs, or manipulated equipment, the thefts are becoming much more common.

So what is the answer? There is no easy button or other super quick solution, but listed below are the 5 things you can do to protect yourself with minimal expense.

Step 1 – Become familiar with how it is done, and train your employees.

1. Pumping out of your tank. Indications are missing inventory, broken fill caps, missing locks, and Veeder Root sudden loss alarms.
2. Manipulating the pulsar in the dispenser to decrease the recording of the number of gallons pumped. Look for open dispenser doors, damaged pulsars, broken seals, transactions which take a long time for very few gallons, and bent lock tabs.
3. Dispensers placed in stand alone. Keep an eye out for open doors, incorrect dispenser totalizers, and POS systems indicating "offline".
4. Skimming, the latest and most dangerous problem. Skimmers installed on pay at the pump card readers, and most recently, on terminals inside the store. Look for broken seals, open doors, missing holographic seals, and mismatched equipment.

Step 2 – Train employees! Your employee’s eyes and ears are a great defense against all types of theft. Train them to be aware, make inspections routinely, and above all, to report ANY suspicions. Inspections should include walking the site, checking seals, physically pull on dispenser doors, pull on card readers, checking fills, etc. Their presence on a regular basis also goes a long way to deter theft.

Step 3 – Secure your site. Dispensers come from the manufacturer with generic locks; every technician has a copy of the key. Tank caps are very easy to pop off with a long screw driver. You need to take the steps to replace the dispenser locks with high security locks, both on the skirts and the door. Install tank fill shields/covers to keep them from the fill cap. It is all about denying easy access.

Step 4 – Upgrade your video. Today’s video technology is exceptionally good at a fair price. High Definition systems can get you license plates; great face shots, and remote access for monitoring. If you’re still changing tapes each day, it is time upgrade.

Step 5 – Seal all dispenser doors. Using security seals and holographic decals are cheap and very effective (if they are maintained and inspected). If a door is opened, the seal will be damaged or broken. Seals are a very easy system to implement. Ensure you properly track the seal numbers by recording which numbers you use.

Keeping your fuel from being stolen is not as hard as is seems. Taking the time to look for your site’s vulnerabilities, and then closing any gaps where you are likely to be hit is the beginning of the process. For every gallon of fuel that is stolen, you will need to get 100’s of gallons in new sales to replace it. Today is the day to protect yourself.

 

Article Provided By:

Brian Decker

DeWitt Petroleum

POC 2014 Speaker: "TEN Ways to Prevent Fuel Theft"