Concrete Products

MAY 2012

Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.

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FEATURE BY PETER COCHEFSKI FUEL-MONITORING SERVICE WITH A PURPOSE Imagine it's a cold day in January. You leave the house for work, get into your car and it won't start. Or, the temperature is approach- ing 100°F in July, you go to turn on the air conditioning and nothing happens. Let's say you sit down at your computer, ready to cruise the Internet, and it makes a loud pop- ping noise before the screen goes blank. The reality is that our daily lives are filled with a variety of machines and other pieces of equipment that we know how to basically operate, but couldn't fix in a pinch if our lives depended on it. When these break- downs occur, often the only resort is to turn to the phone book, hoping that we can find a knowledgeable person who can fix the problem both quickly and cost effectively. Now, imagine you operate a company—it can be a ready-mix concrete plant, waste dis- posal service, rental-car agency, or hundreds of other types of businesses—that relies on a steady supply of fuel to keep your opera- tions humming and on schedule. What would happen if any one of the various pieces of equipment that keep that fuel flowing—dis- pensers, storage tanks, level-monitoring gauges, overfill alarms, etc.—were to stop functioning properly? Sure, you know how your business operates and the amount of fuel that is needed on a daily basis, but like that malfunctioning car, air conditioner or computer, could you repair it in a timely manner? The answer to that question would, in a vast majority of cases, be a resounding, "No." So, what's the solution? DON'T GO BY THE BOOK For many, the solution would be the least common denominator: Reach for the phone book and find someone who can profes- sionally address the problem. There is, how- ever, a much better alternative—partnering with a company that can make service management a one-stop shop. An expert partner can remotely monitor your opera- tions, receive notification of system break- downs or alarm events and then expeditiously dispatch a certified contrac- tor to fix the problem correctly, the first time, and in the most time-sensitive man- ner possible with no hidden costs. For any business that relies on a fleet of The Web-based Service Management solution is designed to ease the burden on companies that must keep their fueling systems available 24/7/365. A service protocol unique to each user aims to have contractors dispatched to system- diagnosed problems within a four-hour window. 36 | MAY 2012 vehicles, fuel is the lifeblood of the opera- tion. Therefore, the number one focus is ensuring that the fuel island remains oper- ational 24/7/365. If the ability to fuel ve- hicles is interrupted for even a few hours, the negative effects can be far-reaching. Take, for example, a ready mixed concrete company. Let's imagine that a malfunction- ing dispenser at the plant's fueling island has halted the flow of fuel. After a service call is made and the wait for the technician to arrive has begun, one of the alternatives to keep the fleet rolling may be to have the concrete mixers refuel at a retail facility. A potential drawback is that the retail fueling facility is inconveniently located, resulting in time-wasting trips to refuel. A second potential negative is that the price of the fuel at the retail location will likely be higher than what the concrete company is paying through its fuel-supply contract. On top of that, having to go off-site to refuel can throw production and delivery schedules out of whack. This could set back the concrete-delivery schedule to the point where the delay will push back the comple- tion of the project. These delays will reflect negatively on the concrete provider, who will suffer through loss of reputation that can result in decreased business opportu- nities in the future. AT YOUR SERVICE Companies who provide service manage- ment have designed their programs to limit downtime, costs and headaches for their customers. If service of the fueling system is needed, the customer needs to make only one call—to the service management provider. From that point, the service provider uses its expertise to diagnose the problem, plot a solution and make every ef- fort to ensure that it is resolved in a timely, non-intrusive, cost-effective manner. Once the problem is diagnosed, the serv- ice management provider will, through its contractor network, find the right person to complete the repairs. This also means only one trip by the contractor to the site, rather than the two a phone book-initiated service call would take as the contractor would first need a site visit to assess the problem, then schedule a return visit with the right tools and parts to rectify it. The service provider will also have a keen idea what the final cost to the end-user will be for the repairs, while a trip through the phone book leaves the plant operator pay- ing whatever price the repairman quotes. Then, after the actual repair work is done, the service management company will review all invoices to ensure that the labor rates, travel time, travel costs and parts costs were all reasonable and custom- ary (and even make payment to the con- tractor) and then note which parts are under warranty, should the need for repairs arise again before the warranty expires. The service provider will also make certain that any environmental regulations are being adhered to throughout the entire process. And all of this is done with the express goal of ensuring that the maximum amount of fueling-island uptime is achieved. One company that is currently setting the pace in providing Service Management pro- grams for its end-users is Ryder Fuel Serv- ices, based in Houston. It has designed a Web-based system—what it calls "white glove" service—that allows a company's fuel-system needs to be monitored off-site, which also enables on-site personnel to WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM

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