The Challenge
A manufacturing facility stored diesel in two 5,000-liter tanks for generator and equipment use. Monthly fuel delivery was 7,000–8,000 liters. Tank inventory was checked quarterly at most.
What Became Visible
Real-time fuel tank level monitoring combined with consumption tracking revealed a consistent gap: actual fuel consumed by generators and equipment amounted to 5,800–6,200 liters monthly, but inventory loss was 7,000–8,000 liters monthly — a 12–20% monthly shortfall. Over one quarter, the facility was losing 900–1,200 liters monthly to unaccounted-for loss. Investigation revealed a combination of: 18% leakage from aging tank fittings, 32% theft by staff taking jerry cans, and 50% accounting error/evaporation.
What Changed
Tank level monitoring installed on both storage tanks with alerts for abnormal depletion. All fuel access points secured. Fuel issued via logged dispenser only; manual jerry-can access eliminated.
How it worked: The combination of real-time monitoring and access control eliminated loss. Tank fittings were replaced (eliminated leakage). Dispenser logs were reconciled daily with consumption tracking. Within 2 weeks, monthly fuel loss dropped to <50 liters (expected evaporation and measurement error only).
Results
unaccounted
evaporation only
vs ±15% prior
theft + leakage elimination
Fuel loss is the largest undetected cost leak in facilities with generator or diesel equipment. Without real-time monitoring, losses of 10–20% monthly go completely unnoticed.
Operational Reality
Most facilities operating diesel systems lose 8–15% of fuel monthly to theft, leakage, and accounting error. Monitoring identifies the loss immediately.