How drivers steal fuel under the nose of a vehicle owner

Plums of fuel and lubricants by hired drivers is a very common phenomenon and many managers of motor transport enterprises face it. Fuel thefts are widespread in various industries, including on the railway, river vessels, and construction equipment.

Systematic theft of fuels and lubricants is typical for both large ATP and small organizations. In the most large-scale fuel theft schemes, in addition to the direct executors - drivers, auto mechanics, garage managers, accountants and other employees of logistics departments can participate. The mutual guarantee and collusion of personnel do not allow to ensure effective control of the consumption of petroleum products only through the use of organizational methods.

For example:  Take a company with light commercial vehicles. Taking into account the daily mileage, the driver's fat can reach from 3 to 25 liters or from 80 to 700 ₴ / day. From 2000 to 17500 ₴ per month from one car. For a relatively small fleet of vehicles, where 25-30 units of equipment are operated, the losses become significant and can exceed 500,000 ₴ / month or 6,000,000 per year. 

The main ways to steal fuel from vehicles

Draining fuel directly from the tank

For this, a canister and a hose are usually used, and all illegal actions take place outside the vehicle fleet. In some cases, drivers pour some of the fuel into cans directly at gas stations. Excess fuel is most often formed at enterprises where the rates of consumption of fuels and lubricants are overestimated. To justify the increased consumption of gasoline or diesel fuel, workers can cheat data on a mechanical or electronic odometer or hour meter. In some cases, devices are deliberately disabled.

The average damage from one drain is about 1500 ₴

Draining gasoline or diesel fuel through the "return"

An insert is made in the fuel return, along which part of the fuel flows into a separate container instead of the tank. Such tees are usually installed in hard-to-reach places and are carefully masked. The driver can explain the overspending by any factor: weather conditions, worn tires, congestion, road quality, a working refrigerator.

Buying checks at a gas station

This scheme is commonly used in companies where cash is given to drivers to refuel their vehicles. In such a scheme, the employee purchases cheap fuel, and the checks with the maximum value are bought at the gas station and used to report on the completion of the flight.

Sale of fuel coupons issued by the company

Many companies use such invoice documents instead of cash. The saved coupons are sold to drivers or petrol station employees at a discounted price, or they can be used to refuel their own vehicles.

Collusion with petrol station employees

Frequently, trucking companies enter into agreements with gas stations on the exchange of information to control the correct use of fuels and lubricants. Drivers negotiate with operators of gas stations, who transmit inflated data on refueling vehicles. Part of the fuel paid by the company is drained into canisters and sold or used in their own cars.

Departure for an additional flight

The driver can take the vehicle and execute the "left" order. Also, this scheme is relevant for public transport, where the driver can make a flight outside the schedule, and leave the fare for himself.

In all cases, fuel fraud occurs by collusion of employees within the trucking company or with the involvement of the supplier's company personnel. Fighting this is extremely difficult also because illegal schemes are constantly being improved. Drivers and employees involved in this business come up with new ways to steal fuel and lubricants, which are very difficult to identify.

This situation is typical for those enterprises where there is no thoughtful fuel consumption control system.  In such companies, theft of fuel and lubricants occurs regularly and many employees are involved in them, receiving income from the sale of these materials. The funds generated as a result of such transactions can be up to 50% of the official salary of employees. The organizers of such gray schemes, which bring serious losses to transport companies, receive the greatest profit.

Solving the problems of mass theft

It consists in the implementation of appropriate control systems with fuel level sensors.

Currently, different monitoring methods are used; special equipment is installed on vehicles for this. However, one of the most effective control systems is based on electronic fuel level sensors (FLS). The device of the capacitive type provides measurement of the volume of fuel in the tank with high accuracy and records any change in level. The number of sensors for one machine depends on the number of tanks it has. FLS connects to a GPS tracker and transmits data to a microprocessor for further processing and delivery in a human-friendly form.

An electronic capacitive fuel level sensor paired with a tracker performs the following functions:

• Record the facts of refueling and discharging gasoline or diesel fuel.
• Fuel consumption is determined under different conditions (average consumption per 100 km, idling, driving with increased engine load).
• Sets the exact fuel level at the beginning and end of a work shift.

A distinctive feature of a capacitive level sensor is an extremely low error of no more than 1% , provided it is correctly installed. Before installing the device, the tank is calibrated and using special equipment. Work on the installation of control system components should be entrusted to the employees of GPSM monitoring companies, this will allow you to fully realize the potential of the hardware and software complex. 

The use of electronic fuel level sensors connected to a GPS tracker provides a number of advantages:

• Revealing the facts of fuel draining even with small volumes.
  
• Possibility of detecting fuel drain when the vehicle is moving.
• Wide functionality of the applied software: the ability to calculate fuel consumption at any point on the route, control the speed limit and driving style, record the fact of refueling and determine the volume of the filled fuel.
• The resulting statistics can be used to identify fuel drain in various ways.

The fuel level sensor, integrated into the electronic control system based on the GPS tracker, allows for effective monitoring and ensures the efficient use of fuels and lubricants. In this case, direct fuel drain and other schemes of theft will not go unnoticed. The cost of installing the equipment will pay off in the shortest possible time, due to a significant reduction in losses and transportation costs.