How to Prevent Fuel Theft at Petrol Pumps?

Have you ever been tempted by the idea of indulging in the ‘crime of opportunity just for fun? Yes, here we are talking about gate-crashing a wedding! We know, you successfully overpowered the urge to be the partner in crime with your besties. But, can this be said convincingly about your petrol pump employees?

3 Ways to Reduce Petrol Theft

• Use Petrol Pump Management Software
• Adopt Practices to Minimize Fleet Fuel Theft
• Educate Your Petrol Pump Operators

Did you know? More than 100,000 litres of petrol was stolen from Mathura Refinery pipeline – Economic Times, February 23, 2017.

There have been many such incidences of fuel theft over the last few years.

Now that the price of fuel is at a record high, can your employees still practice the great theft abstinence?

Considering that it’s really not possible for you to track fuel shrinkage on a regular basis, the situation goes completely haywire when you are owning several petrol pumps across diverse locations!

Chances are aplenty for your employees to sniff out pilferage opportunities due to a poor theft detection systems. We are not asking you to have doubts, but precautionary measures can be taken!

With extra precaution, you can ensure that your fleet drivers & petrol pump employees don’t succumb to the opportunity of fuel pilfering.

Do you actually have a clue how fuel is stolen?

It may come to you as a surprise, but there are many ways in which your employees can indulge in fuel theft.

1. Providing incorrect fuel purchase reports
2. Fuel pumped out of tank
3. Fuel not totally filled to tank’s capacity

If you go by customer reviews at public content sharing platforms like Quora, you will find people with enough reasons to rant at some petrol pump operators for their misadventures. While some operators fleece their customers by filling lesser quantity of petrol/diesel than they pay for, others dupe them with tankers not filled to capacity. There are many incidences where employees tamper with manual logbooks to present incorrect product purchases and consumption figures.

Now that you are aware of the following fuel theft methods, the next wise step is to look for ways to eliminate any loophole.

• Use Petrol Pump Management Software

When it’s about keeping your fuel safe from theft, there is no better way than using a petrol pump management software. This software not only prevents unauthorized use but also helps in effective fuel stock management. By providing restricted access to fleet drivers and petrol pump operators, you can track fuel consumption effectively.

One such popular petrol pump management software is Le Petro, which helps in proper meter reading to detect fuel shrinkage in real time. Also, you can perform stock checking with the help of a gauge. If you also offer miscellaneous items like oil, snacks & water at your petrol pump, then the stock of these items can also be managed with a petrol pump management software.

With petrol pump management software, you can track every activity at your fuel station and prevent any scope for your employees to indulge in theft.

• Adopt Practices to Minimize Fleet Fuel Theft

You need to convey clearly to your fleet drivers the consequence of fuel theft and how it will impact profitability. After you have implemented a fuel theft detection system, you need to discuss with your tank drivers. Convey the consequences of wrongful activities and how they can protect themselves from becoming the possible target for fuel theft. Take the opportunity to remind your drivers about the basic vehicle security practices like keeping fuel tanks locked and parking vehicles at a safe place.

• Educate Your Petrol Pump Operators

Say goodbye to manual logbooks for tracking fuel purchases on a day-to-day basis. Take the opportunity to make a smooth transition from manual data entry to automated processes with petrol pump management software. Now that you are ready to automate your petrol pump processes, let’s bring your employees on the same page.

Help employees know that they can generate reports automatically (accurate ones too) via petrol pump management software. Whether it’s sales challan register or credit sale statement, all reports can be generated in real time to ensure transparency.

That’s not it! In just a few clicks, you can get customized reports for every petrol pump operation. Use these reports to track the performance of every employee. Remember to reward them for not just high sales figure but also theft abstinence and inculcate the spirit of right-mindedness.