How to Improve Efficiency in the New Year

Most people start out a new year with all kinds of goals and resolutions meant to improve on the past year’s performance. And sadly, most people abandon their good intentions pretty quickly once they realize the hard work involved.

But what if you could improve your productivity and efficiency in the new year without too much heavy lifting? Of course, there’s always room for improvement in any business - and in many cases it’s just learning to work smarter, not harder, that gives you the leg up over your competition.

When your business involves purchasing fuel and fuel products, there are proven methods to make it fairly simple and hassle free. Let’s look at some of those options.

What are the Benefits to Delivered Fuels?

There are numerous benefits to having your fuel delivered. First and foremost, you’ll know that your fuel is coming from a reputable source that you trust. Once that’s established, you’ll find that choosing to have fuel delivered can help you achieve efficiency by:

1. Freeing up valued team partners to continue working, rather than making trips to the fueling station.
2. Having a steady source of fuel always at the ready.
3. Saving money by buying wholesale.
4. Keeping engines running so your employees can work.
5. Having one source for accounting records, rather than a multitude of receipts from here and there.

Besides being on an automatic schedule so you don’t have to worry about it, having your bulk fuel delivered encourages productivity and efficiency - and helps you work smarter.

Do I Need to Have Someone Doing My Tank Monitoring?

Will choosing to use telemetry in your tank monitoring save you time and increase your productivity? Well, it depends on your situation. If you have one tank that you regularly drive by, then you can probably check it yourself.  

For many business concerns, however, there may be multiple fuel tanks distributed throughout job sites. You are busy making sure that day-to-day operations are proceeding smoothly - and putting out fires when they aren’t. You certainly aren’t driving around to your fuel tanks, checking the levels. That’s when you may consider using telemetry.

This form of remote monitoring gives you several benefits, including:

• Reducing costs.
• Making your accounting system much easier.
• Receiving critical data that helps you make informed business decisions.
• Checking on individual tanks.

This fairly new technology is now easily available to you in real time on your cell phone, whether you use an Apple or Android device.

Will Fleet Cards Make It Easier?

Fleet cards are an essential tool to simplify your business practices if you have multiple drivers in a small or large fleet operation. After all, you cannot be there every time a driver stops for fuel or if a quick repair is needed on the road. You can put a serious dent in security and control challenges with a proper fleet card system in place. 

Essentially, a fleet card system gives you not only better control over operations, but vital information you can use to work smarter in the new year - not harder! Here are some ways a fleet card can help your business:

• Security - You don’t have to trust complete strangers with large amounts of company cash or a company or personal credit card. A fleet card allows you to decide what it can be used for in terms of on-the-road expenses, as well as how much can be charged. If an employee quits suddenly, you can cancel that card in real time - decreasing the potential for abuse and arguments with a credit card company.
• Locations - You’ll know that your drivers are fueling up at trusted fuel sites, not some upstart that could close tomorrow. With the right fleet card, your drivers will have plenty of locations to choose from all across the U.S.
• Accounting - No more using multiple pieces of crumpled paper receipts to do the monthly accounting. No more looking high and low for that receipt that blew out the window in Grand Rapids. With a fleet card system, you’ll get daily or monthly reports that provide detailed information you can use in many ways. Not only will you be easily able to reconcile accounts every month, you’ll be able to see if one vehicle is suddenly guzzling fuel - indicating a problem.
• Real-time access - You won’t have to wait for a driver to return home to learn valuable information to help you make decisions.

Whether you have a large or small - or somewhere in the middle - fleet operation, putting a good fleet card system to work for you just makes sense when you are trying to work smarter.

How Can I Make My Equipment Work Smarter? 

Taking good care of your diesel equipment - whether that’s trucks, cars, construction equipment, material handling equipment or whatever - is one way to help your assets work smarter. After all, a starving employee isn’t going to be performing at his or her best. It’s the same with diesel equipment - it requires special additives and lubricants to keep it running smoothly. When your equipment runs smoothly, it’s working for you - making it easier for you to do your job.

We know that diesel engines can work harder for cheaper than gasoline engines. We’ll be getting more for our fuel dollars. But we need to make sure our diesel fuel is clean, and the moving parts are lubricated - just like in any engine. 

With good diesel fuel additives, you can prevent problems such as clogging and sticking. Because engine components are cleaner, you’ll have a more powerful piece of equipment to do the hard labor. 

At Bear Oil Company, we’ve been helping people work smarter for more than 80 years. We offer a line of products and services designed to keep you working efficiently and productively whatever the conditions. Contact us today to find out how we can help your operation run smoothly.