Your environmental compliance team has been through a lot of change over the past few years. The 2005 Energy Policy Act is fully in place and that means increased UST regulations and added another layer of complexity for many high-performing environmental compliance teams. Turbulent economic challenges and a global pandemic also means some teams are under-staffed, having to accomplish more with fewer resources. As if that wasn’t enough, the pandemic also changed many inspectors’ habits, leading to more fines and raising the stakes for understaffed teams. 

Ultimately, this adds up to an industry facing new and increasing challenges. That’s left some environmental teams scrambling to stay up to date. But under these same challenging circumstances, some teams aren’t just surviving, they’re thriving. 

So what separates high-performing environmental teams from their competitors? At Titan Cloud, we work with high-performing teams every day and we’ve noticed that the most successful teams have a few things in common. 

Here, we share the 4 most common practices that differentiates high-performing teams from the rest. Best of all, you can implement these tactics right away.

1. They are consistent and proactive when it comes to alerts.

Too often, operators are reactive to problems instead of proactive, but high-performing environmental teams stay ahead of major problems by fixing small ones.

With all the literal noise from beeping ATGs and other alerts, teams often jump from one emergency to the next without leaving any time or resources for non-emergent problems. However, high-performing teams are able to break this cycle and devote time and energy to fixing minor problems before they become major ones. They’re able to operate this efficiently because they’re consistent. They bake in time to perform visual inspections regularly, even if there isn’t an operator on site requiring it.

Become a high-performing team by proactively and consistently looking at release detection alerts, inventory variance trends, etc. to head off issues before they become headline-making problems.

2. Local operators are trained to respond to ATG alarms and they follow through.

ATGs constantly send alarms. Frequently these alarms are just informational and, as a result, local operators ignore them until ignoring an alarm becomes the standard operating procedure. 

Until a show-stopping event occurs, that is. Too often, crucial alarms get lost in the noise.

But high-performing teams do things differently. Their operators are trained to respond to ATG alarms and already have a plan in place for anything that requires corrective action. These operators know what to do, how to do it, and who to contact in their chain of command. 

When an event occurs that needs attention, high-performing environmental teams spot it and act on it right away, making a quick fix far more likely than if the problem had been allowed to progress. 

3. They keep meticulous electronic records.

High-performing environmental teams file notes electronically and follow-up quickly to get first-time fixes. They don’t waste valuable time hunting through filing cabinets, shoeboxes, or spreadsheets.

The information they need—operator classifications, warranties, records of action, NOVs, etc.—is available digitally to their internal teams and to operators and vendors. These files are often kept together in the same portal, with each component linking to the next. 

High-performing environmental teams don’t worry that the same problems will keep showing up during inspections, creating a paper-trail of inaction to be flagged by inspectors.

Instead, they have clear documentation from problem to solution that everyone can follow, be it an inspector, a boss, or vendors.

4. They’re in control of their vendors and their vendors’ records.

Speaking of vendors, many teams these days use 3rd party inspectors and wouldn’t be able to fulfill their obligations without them. Almost all 3rd party vendors use their individual app which can create more problems:  

• The apps don’t communicate with other apps or share data with other point solutions and other operators.
• You have to keep track of several different apps and remember what information is located where.
• Your operators are at the mercy of 3rd parties to meet compliance dates.
• Vendors have to send individual emails or summarize exceptions on a spreadsheet which then has to be manually transferred to internal systems.

These various apps and associated issues are a major headache. Some teams accept them as the price of doing business with 3rd party vendors, but not the high-performing teams. 

Instead of several point solutions with limited visibility, they opt for a single platform where everyone has access to the information they need. These teams are able to standardize their processes—and no, the processes don’t include shoeboxes or manually entering data you already have. Instead, technology populates that information for them.

Wrap up

Even with increasing regulations and decreasing resources, some environmental teams are performing better than ever. They’ve found an efficient solution that allows them to work smarter and save time and money: digitization. The above characteristics are easily accomplished with the right digital tools. 

Technology allows you to cut down on timely—not to mention error-prone—manual processes and start automating repetitive tasks. Too many teams still consider manual processes and paperwork problems unavoidable. An all-in-one platform, on the other hand, allows all of your teams and even your vendors to access the most important information from the same source.

You could be operating more efficiently. Your competitors might already be. If you’re interested in becoming a high-performing environmental team, contact us and our team will be ready to help.

There’s a lot to keep up with when you start as a new fleet manager. To help you keep up, here are ten things fleet managers need to know to understand, track, and stay ahead of your UST compliance.

1. Every state has different regulations: As a fleet manager responsible for UST compliance, you need to know that every state has different regulations. Even though the regulation comes from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), each state has the authority to create its own rules. You can find those here.

2. Your inventory cycle may change depending on the state: Every state is a little different regarding requirements. In some states, you must do inventory variants on a ten-day cycle. Some are 30 days. In other states, you don’t have to do it at all. Learn about state requirements here.

3. Some states require a third party inspector: Some states require a third party inspector to come out and inspect the system to get your permit (i.e., Illinois). In other states, you pay a fee. Other states don’t even have an annual process. You can learn the specifics here.

4. There are three types of operators: The three types of operators are Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class A operators must operate and maintain your UST system. Class B performs your monthly walkthrough inspections. Class C is often the first respondent to emergency situations. 

5. Violation fees multiply until you pay them: Regulators can issue violation fees monthly if you don’t resolve a violation immediately. For example, if you have a $1000 violation and it takes you six months to get it fixed, that violation could ultimately cost you $6,000 total.

6. You need a follow-up process for inspections: All deficiencies that crop up in an inspection require not only corrective action but also a way to track that action. With a process in place, you’re able to produce the required documentation whenever someone needs it, be it a technician or an inspector. Without the proper paperwork, the next time a technician goes out, they won’t know there is an issue. 

7. You must maintain a record of deficiencies and corrections: Monthly walkthrough inspections now have a monthly compliance report that includes any deficiencies. As noted, you have to have documentation for every deficiency as well as the corresponding corrective action. You need a means to attach those corrections to your compliance reports easily and linear linkage–when each document links to the next one in the chain–is the most efficient method.

8. Implement a standard practice to triage alarms: Some alarms will clear themselves, such as needing a fuel delivery, low volume, and high volume, but most will need you to respond. Having a standard in place to triage and respond to alarms can stop you from wasting hours sorting them.

9. Keep track of your UST operators: It’s important you know which operators are on your roster for each location you manage. Each class of operator has different training requirements and different frequencies for training in order to be up to date. Fleet managers need to know that every facility has the right class operator with up to date training ready to respond to any issues.

10. Know every facility’s testing requirements: Every UST system is a little different with different components and requirements, and this is especially true for fleets. Because of these variations, there are few standards for maintaining facilities. New fleet managers need to know what they’ve got and when testing is done or you risk falling behind and getting hit with major fines.

How to get ahead

Being a fleet manager is rewarding, but, in the past, it required juggling reams of papers containing all the dates, personnel info, deficiencies, and corrective actions you need to stay compliant. Luckily, these days, you can invest in technology that keeps you on track and documentation at your fingertips.

Discover technology that does the tracking for you.

As the leaders in fuel and fluid handling equipment, PEI is uniquely qualified to provide direction on the best way to manage and maintain your underground storage tanks. Since rules and regulations are constantly evolving, it’s a good business practice to stay on top of inspection tasks.

They have scoured published and unpublished information from manufacturers, contractors, petroleum marketers, and regulatory agencies to provide the most up-to-date recommendations to promote the safety, health, and compliance of your business. Instead of forcing you to scour the internet and archives to find the information you need, PEI keeps it all together in one place. Having one centralized source-of-truth is not just good for your data, but it’s also good for you. 

PEI’s goal (and ours) is to be proactive by identifying potential equipment problems and reducing liability associated with operating underground storage systems.

A quick summary

The biggest changes in the RP900 are all about inspections, who and how they are to be performed in 2022 and beyond. 

As we mentioned before, inspection requirements have changed this year, and these changes have had a trickle down effect to also cause shifts in other areas of the RP900. In addition to noting the changes required by monthly and daily inspections, the RP900 has also changed to reflect the new inspection processes affected by the monthly and daily inspection requirements (or lack thereof). There’s also been a change to the specific language around who can perform inspections to clarify who exactly is qualified and what qualification entails.

This is not to say that all changes are a result of the inspection requirements. However, many of the changes (outlined in more detail below) are a direct result of new processes and requirements from the inspections. 

Recommended Inspection Practices for USTs

Many of the 2021 revisions include updates, modified language, and clarifications. The biggest change is the removal of daily inspections, making them optional and updating monthly and annual inspections requirements to mirror EPA requirements.

The 2021 version includes the following revisions:

• Updated monthly and annual inspections requirements to mirror EPA requirements
• Removed requirement for daily inspection (Chapter 6) and made optional
• Modified monthly inspection process to reflect removal of daily inspection
• Modified daily inspection to an optional periodic operational inspection and moved to Appendix
• Added language that the optional periodic operational inspection is a possible method that can be used to comply with monthly inspection
• Modified language on who should complete monthly and annual inspections by revising the definition for qualified person and removed requirements for Level I and II designation
• Updated periodic, monthly and annual checklists
• Reordered Appendix to reflect changes for monthly, annual and optional periodic operational inspections
• Clarified use of electronics sensors for leak detection
• Clarified use of statistical inventory reconciliation for tank and line leak detection

What hasn’t changed is the amount of data you need for accurate recordkeeping. 

Checklists are designed to help you get things done. When you’re managing monthly and yearly maintenance tasks, keeping track of all that data manually can bog you down. On the PEI website, there are 10 Appendixes alone available to download! When you multiply the number of checklists by 10s or 100s of tanks, your recordkeeping can spiral out of control.

Wrap Up

With Titan, you can store all your documents and comprehensive data in one place. You’ll get more done in less time with automated reports at your fingertips. Best of all, you can stop worrying about delayed reporting, missing paperwork, or losing critical compliance documents.

Those in the business of storing and dispensing fuel can use advanced technology to streamline their UST inspection tasks. 

Learn how Titan can keep your fuel operation efficient and profitable. Schedule a demo today.

There’s a saying in life: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll only get what you’ve always got. If you’ve been tracking fuel tank inspections with pen and paper, then you can expect the same inefficient workflows and cumbersome compliance reporting.

If the people who have been going from site to site and tank to tank with pen and paper only knew they could be conducting inspections with digital tools. With mobile inspections software tools, customers can replace dozens of manual processes with one software tool  that enables efficient, on-the-go data capture.

You already understand the importance of accurate information. The wrong data or a faulty tool could potentially cost you thousands of dollars in downtime, environmental fines, or more. Inspecting your fuel tanks one by one is actually more likely to produce errors than when you utilize digital tools. 

We’re here to help you save time and improve accuracy while remaining—and even improving—compliant. Here are some fuel tank inspection recommendations that utilize technology in order to keep your inspections as efficient as possible.

Underground Fuel Tank Inspection Basics

Conduct a visual inspection with a mobile form. You should perform visual inspections of your fuel tanks regularly—but are you doing it thoroughly, consistently, and accurately every time? Using a mobile form, you can be sure that your inspectors are looking for the right things every time and not missing anything. A mobile form will guide your inspectors to look for signs of corrosion, cracks, and leaks in all the highest risk places so you don’t miss anything if an inspector is in a hurry or inexperienced.

Our environmental software automates access to all required state and PEI forms in a central hub and stores all documentation for as long as you want or need. Titan also adds new forms as states adopt them so you’ll always work from the most current regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states that enforce UST rules do require a walkthrough inspection every 30 days, and you are required to retain inspection records for at least three years. 

Reporting and record keeping. Depending on your UST, you’ll need to inspect various equipment associated with your storage tanks and keep written verification of equipment performance. Equipment manufacturers or installers provide this verification, but it’s the owners’ responsibility to maintain accurate and current records. If and when an inspector conducts an on-site inspection, you need to keep records that prove your facility or store meets certain requirements. 

This is a lot of information and paperwork to keep track of. However, the right technology makes it simple. Our platform operates as a virtual filing cabinet so you no longer have to search actual filing cabinets—or worse, shoeboxes—for the relevant paperwork. Instead, you can do a simple search on the platform and see everything you need in seconds. 

You can also keep track of vendors and work orders to make sure you’re fixing all notifications and alerts that pop up.

Wrap Up

With Titan’s facility management software, you can keep all the essential federal and state records stored in one place and ensure that inspectors see and inspect what’s installed at your site. You can connect all your fuel equipment to understand the root issues of your most valuable assets.

Our solutions represent the convergence of compliance, fuel analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT), setting a new standard for facilities with fuel.

Learn more about how Titan can streamline fuel inspections—and more.

Brent Puzak has worked for convenience stores for over two decades. During that time, he learned first-hand about the challenges facing each department. So we brought him in to share his perspective on how teams of all sizes can scale their operations amidst increasing regulations. 

Read his take below.

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During my time working for convenience stores, I’ve learned that Compliance Managers face unique challenges. They need to answer complex questions and focus on the day-to-day tasks necessary to follow state and federal regulations. Finding that balance between increasing revenue while meeting the needs of stakeholders, regulators, and public health is hard.

The role of the Director and Compliance Manager is complex. Their job is three-fold:

1. Keeping stores and tanks operational while taking the pressure off store personnel. 
2. Find solutions for operators.
3. Ensure their actions comply fully with all regulations.

My tenure with convenience stores gave me a 360-degree view of these segments: employees, operators, and regulators. It allowed me to work with massive amounts of data and interpret it from many perspectives in a way that minimized disruption.

Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

How do regulations create challenges for compliance teams?

The biggest challenge facing the industry over the last several years is the updated underground storage tank (UST) regulations. The 2005 Energy Policy Act created a greater focus on compliance for the c-store industry. The new double-wall requirements have added a layer of complexity for compliance teams.

Because of this, convenience store owners now need to turn their attention to a new problem: How can they better manage increasing regulations? Their old ways of managing data and performing inspections are no longer sustainable. These new requirements go beyond the scope of what your average compliance manager can handle manually. 

For example, before the 2005 Energy Policy Act, a lot of people were using SIR and CSLD for their method of release detection. Then interstitial monitoring became a rule. There are more sensors in the storage tanks pulling more data than ever before and stores need to collect that data on an ongoing basis.

People who managed their data on Excel spreadsheets struggled to keep up with the workload. A lot of people looked for systems to help them better manage their business to keep pace with their growth. As you can imagine, using remote technology to access, store, and check data is far easier than checking gauges manually and sorting every spreadsheet by hand. It makes a compliance manager’s job much easier, much cheaper, and much more effective.

Because of its convenience and functionality, we’ve seen software evolve from a nice-to-have to a critical need in the industry.

How do c-store compliance teams solve these challenges?

Owners and operators have had to figure out how to manage the firehose of data. They’ve realized that spreadsheets, which they’d been using for years, weren’t going to cut it. An increase in compliance requirements means more testing and inspections. And more scrutiny means finding more issues to resolve. 

The amount of data required to meet regulations has almost tripled now that the 2005 Energy Policy Act is in place. These new requirements have placed an extra burden on compliance staff and organizations as a whole. Depending on the types of systems in operation, periodic testing and release detection must be completed to ensure overall system integrity, while monthly visual inspections ensure that irregular operating conditions are caught to minimize and prevent impacts to the environment. Many of these tests and inspections are new requirements and add additional visibility and tracking to each site.

In fact, some customers have seen an increase of 30,000 or more component tests and inspections over a two to three-year period! 

Store owners want to remain compliant, but they need help to scale at this order of magnitude. It is humanly impossible to track such an enormous amount of data without some tracking system in place. Operators need to find platforms that allow them to manage compliance aspects more effectively; the data needs to be housed somewhere, and ideally someplace that’s easy to navigate and sort.

Customers are looking to cloud technology for its vast storage capabilities. Cloud software allows them to access data remotely from anywhere and share it more globally. This flexibility gives them visibility to critical compliance information and more control over the way people work.

Once compliance teams have access to a central source of truth and have experienced first-hand the value of technology, they embrace digital transformation.

Wrap up

In my experience, it’s important to have a system in place that gives me visibility into all the data. I want to make sure I’m not missing anything that regulators need and I want a way to report on compliance efficiently.

At my last company, using Titan’s software allowed me to do that. Today, as a Titan team member, I help other convenience stores transform how they handle their mountain of data. 

Best of all, the technology will continue to evolve and grow as regulations do. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this industry–regulations tend to only increase.

When we announced our acquisition of Melbourne-based Environmental Monitoring Solutions (EMS) in February, many Titan Cloud customers were curious about the reasons for the acquisition and wondered how it would benefit them. Not only do we share similar goals and a vision for the industry, but by combining the companies’ extensive product lines, we can expand our offerings and capabilities to EMS and Titan customers around the world. For current Titan customers, there should be two new products first and foremost on your mind: Greenscan and Fuelscan.  

You can now ditch third-party SIR vendors and use Greenscan for monthly, weekly, or even daily SIR reports. By  giving you control of your own data, Greenscan lets you fully integrate compliance information on one platform while leveraging a team of dedicated analysts to process daily reconciliation data. For those Titan users who are currently self-managing their SIR, Greenscan can help you save time and money by consolidating internal systems and processes. 

For on-site fuel reconciliation, look no further than Fuelscan. This product yields richer data sets than third-party sources, allowing you to view all your fuel data instead of the trimmed-down version you would otherwise receive. By integrating Fuelscan with other Titan products, you have the freedom to use the equipment you already own instead of being locked into a particular hardware provider. Additionally, you can create a more autonomous fuel management system by removing your dependency on third-party vendors for your own data.  

Finally, EMS is the only ISO9001-2015 certified company for leak detection, so you can rest easy knowing we meet the highest industry standards. 

We’re excited to offer both Fuelscan and Greenscan solutions to all our customers, so you can fully integrate your forecourt from required SIR testing to fuel inventory management. 

Interested in Greenscan or Fuelscan software? 

Get in touch with your account manager and one of our specialists will reach out to discuss how we can help.

*Adapted from How to Confidently Manage Environmental Compliance webinar 

Managing environmental compliance means not only meeting environmental regulations and reducing the risk of catastrophic leaks, but also identifying operational gaps and implementing solutions to resolve or mitigate those gaps. At a time when companies are asking staff to constantly do more with less, how can you be confident in your compliance management? 

Build up foundational knowledge

Compliance managers operate in a world where state and federal regulations are constantly changing. It’s crucial that compliance managers know their governing environmental regulations. It could take several years for a compliance professional to truly know the regulations by heart (and by then they’ll probably have changed anyway), so having a reference on hand will serve them well should a crisis arise.  

Compliance managers should also lean on vendors, peers, consultants, and the regulatory community for guidance on reducing risk exposure. Compliance affects almost every function in an organization, so it’s important to build internal relationships as well as external ones to identify how everyone can impact an organization’s compliance. 

Staying organized – the key to success

Forecourt data is becoming easier to access, but without an organized system to compile and analyze it, the data might as well be buried with your UST. Spreadsheets may work for only one site, but once a company has several locations, especially across multiple jurisdictions, the data becomes increasingly chaotic and time-consuming to analyze.  

A powerful, simple platform that captures all necessary data is critical for compliance managers in today’s fast-paced environment. Operating at the highest level means compliance managers need to embrace more robust systems to store and organize compliance data. With a single source of truth at their fingertips, compliance managers can retrieve the exact information they need for an upcoming inspection, permit renewal, or test for an easier, more efficient approach.  

Out into the field

At the end of the day, understanding regulations and a good database will only get you so far. Compliance managers need to get out into the field to understand what systems the company has, how they function, and what problems frequently occur. Tracking assets and recurring issues can help compliance managers understand where their budget is being spent and how to decrease costs. Critical insights such as these are often difficult to keep track of in a spreadsheet, but forecourt management software that tracks this data and related correspondence can help compliance professionals make better business decisions. 

As these insights are recorded and patterns emerge, compliance managers should reference their support network and the knowledge they’ve built up to ensure there are systems in place to solve these challenges.  

Plan for the worst-case scenario

Despite every compliance manager’s best effort, releases will undoubtedly occur. The first step in mitigating your exposure is to identify potential points of failure and how they could impact sites. Include other departments in the plan, as regulations often require specific notifications to ensure an effective response.  

The best way to guide plans for a worst-case scenario is to conduct a gap analysis, where compliance managers review current processes and document organizational requirements. Once this information has been collected, managers should compare these to what is required by regulations to identify any areas where they may be lacking. This is where field experience is vital, as compliance professionals can accurately assess their risk indicators and implications from the insights they gathered in their database. But completing this process doesn’t mean a company will always be in compliance, this is something that must be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis.  

The future of compliance

Technology adoption has swept through the convenience store industry, and compliance departments can reap the benefit. Not only have advances in AI and Big Data helped c-store professionals get large amounts of data quickly, they’ve also provided access to analytics and insights that help drive profitability. But perhaps the most exciting development for compliance professionals has been the Internet of Things. IoT improvements allow users to access data from multiple equipment sources on one central platform, which is critical for environmental departments that touch most aspects of a company. To ensure nothing slips through the cracks, compliance managers need to take a holistic approach and single platform usage is integral to that strategy.  

Today’s compliance managers have a lot on their plate, but with an organized platform for data and a strategic plan to address operational gaps, mitigating risk and maintaining compliance becomes a whole lot easier.  

SEE ALSO: Global Convenience Store Focus’ summary of the webinar

Beep. Your employee looks up from his work. Beep. He walks to the back of the convenience store to check the UST alarms. Beep. He looks confused and silences the alarm. And then…he does nothing.  

We get it. For forecourt owners and operators this is the stuff of nightmares. Managers are always concerned about prioritizing and responding to UST alarms correctly and effectively and don’t want an important alarm to fall through the cracks. This constant worry about alarms would keep anyone up at night, especially if you’re relying on on-site personnel to correctly identify an alarm and begin the resolution process on their own. Not to mention that if one of the ignored alarms happens to be a leak detection, then any delay in response could end up costing thousands in remediation and environmental fines.  

Managing thousands of alarms is time-consuming and inefficient, but fortunately there are solutions that can help. Titan Cloud’s alarm management software, Alarm AI, is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to filter, prioritize, and resolve UST alarms, so users can rest assured their alarms are being addressed properly. While Alarm AI 1.0 filtered out “noise” with unparalleled accuracy, Alarm AI 2.0 goes far beyond filters and conditional logic to prioritize and escalate alarms from one centralized platform. With Alarm AI 2.0, users have access to the tools, diagnostics, and insights necessary not only to manage alarms, but also to determine the root cause of the problem.  

Titan’s solution completely automates the alarm management process by using new algorithms to classify true positives, prioritize alarms, and create detailed work orders for the maintenance team. From there, Alarm AI can dispatch to primary and secondary vendors for a quick resolution, every time. The ability to set site-specific protocols and integrate with existing ATG equipment means Alarm AI saves owners and operators more than 50% on alarm dispatch costs.  

With Alarm AI 2.0 up and running, convenience store professionals won’t hear anything going bump in the night anymore. But if they do, here’s a hint: Don’t look under the bed. 

Want to know how you can save money with Alarm AI 2.0? 

Contact us. 

By Tim Tang (Hughes) based on an interview with Titan Cloud Director of Product Management, Clay Moore

The Internet of Things (IoT) has enormous potential to transform modern business with the innovations that are developing every day. For the convenience store industry, one IoT opportunity involves technology that has been deployed for decades: the Automatic Tank Gauge (ATG). Routinely used by almost all modern businesses that store or depend on the distribution of fuel, the ATG is an electronic version of the dipstick that is dropped into an underground tank to assess fuel levels. 

Beyond tracking fuel inventories, the ATG–with its direct telemetry with installed probes and sensors across the forecourt–holds tremendous potential for improving customer experience, increasing operational efficiencies, and protecting the business against compliance risks. 

Common ATG Challenges: Misconfiguration 

To fully realize the business potential in the ATG, the first place to start is by resolving common configuration problems. Improperly configured ATGs overwhelm store operators with unnecessary alarms. This not only distracts them from their daily responsibilities, it also trains them to ignore these incessant alerts—like the boy who cried wolf—which can be dangerous in those instances when the system is alarming on critical issues, such as fuel leaks or overfill events, in which the ATG may be warning the operator that the tank has been overfilled and fuel is literally spilling out of the exhaust vents. However, because of frequent false or trivial alarms, the store clerk often learns to ignore this box in the backroom that beeps periodically throughout the week. The danger is that in those few instances when the alarm is valid and critical, spilled or leaked fuel not only represents wasted inventories that should have been sold;  it also causes costly regulatory fines and clean ups that a year of margins may be unable to make up. A far better practice is to learn to manage the ATG’s parameters properly to ensure these alerts represent true positives and to couple that with the right software tools to help guide the appropriate response. 

In addition to the nuisance of unnecessary alarms, misconfigured ATGs can also unnecessarily shut down all the dispensers at a location. There are some alert conditions that are severe, but most should only require the shutdown of an individual affected dispenser or set of dispensers associated with the tank in question. When the ATG is misconfigured, an alert could result in a station-wide shutdown, interrupting the station’s ability to service customers. This not only causes an immediate loss of customers but also leads to the loss of future business as those same customers are unlikely to risk repeating the same experience. They may, temporarily or permanently, alter their commuting behavior and begin frequenting the station down the road instead of yours. 

Another common ATG misconfiguration misleads the operator into believing that his tanks are critically low, shutting down dispensers. The system does this by design to avoid stirring up sludge in the bottom of  the tank and risking the introduction of air into the system. An opposite misconfiguration tells the operator there is more fuel than is actually available, resulting in a true run-out scenario—the bane of any fuel manager’s existence. In either case, improper tank probe settings almost always lead to lost sales and frustrated customers and operators. 

The good news is that many of these misconfigurations can be easily detected by the right software capable of analyzing data collected from the ATG and dispenser. With the right remote management capabilities, these and other configuration issues can both be identified and proactively resolved before they affect your bottom line. 

Common ATG Challenges: Inadequate Employee Training 

Another related problem compounded by the high employee turnover rate common in this industry is that on-site employees often do not know how to interpret ATG alarms and sometimes simply disarm them. Anything to stop that annoying beeping. As part of the recent EPA requirement for class A, B, and C operator training, employees must be fully trained on how to handle emergency situations. For your company, this could include supplemental training on what each key ATG alarm might mean and the appropriate action to take. Depending on the issue, some federal and state violations can be levied based on the number of transactions conducted after an issue was detected. For example, the station may be fined thousands of dollars for each transaction conducted after an ATG logged a leak event. When an employee repeatedly ignores valid alarms, they not only put the station at risk of a dangerous situation, they perpetuate avoidable financial loss. 

ATG Opportunities: Improving the Customer Experience 

In the convenience store industry, a crucial component of the customer experience is the speed at which the fuel dispenser is able to deliver product. There is quite a discernible difference between an eight gallon and a four gallon per minute flow rate. The former marks a satisfying customer experience. The latter tests your customer’s patience and brand loyalty. 

Like other retail industries, operators must be vigilant in details that directly impact their customers’ experience with their brand. Not every customer may take the time or opportunity to complain about a slow dispenser, but it is well understood that for every customer who complains, there are many more who drive off irritated an may or may not give you a second chance. Even worse, in this constantly connected worlds, customers may utilize one of many social platforms to vent their frustrations to the masses. Some consumers take it upon themselves to provide a “service” to the community by warning other of poor service wherever they find it. You don’t want to be caught in these cross-hairs consistently. This has a tangible business impact on your brand and causes a halo effect on other surrounding stations flying the same flag. A brand that has become associated with an unsatisfying experience undermines the business opportunity for other operators. This is why any large oil companies require strict adherence to branding standards by their dealers. However, the customer fueling experience is often missed on their surveys and secret shopper apps. 

In conjunction with a negative customer experience, there is also an even more quantifiable business impact of slow flow. A slow dispenser directly correlates to fewer fuel sales. Plain and simple, lower throughput equals less fuel sold. 

To measure the customer experience and throughput, an ATG stands front and center. It can be augmented with additional electronics, such as an electronic dispenser  interface module,  or EDIM, which brings in the dispenser loop data to allow flow rate tracking. By studying deviations from normal transaction trends across a system, fuel operators may accurately infer which dispensers are performing out of specifications. Critical data collected from ATGs can also be analyzed to triangulate not only flow rate issue but root causes. Whether a dirty filter, a failing dispenser component, or even poor fuel quality, the ATG can be used to identify and solve a multitude of issues. 

ATG Opportunities: Optimizing Fuel Inventories 

A longitudinal analysis of ATG data may reveal opportunities to improve the business. For example,  some  operators maintain extremely high fuel inventories of thousands of gallons continuously. When such levels are repeated across many convenience stores, they represent substantial corporate resources that are literally buried in the ground. Unturned fuel in the ground translates into dollars that could have been otherwise invested in the business. 

 ATG Opportunities: Centralized Data Collection & Automated Compliance 

A critical aspect of convenience store operations involves data collection to meet numerous state and federal regulatory compliance requirements. Accurate record keeping can be time-consuming and tedious for store operators. Risk management is a known cost of doing business in the petroleum industry. To provide additional store operation support and alleviate labor requirements, the ATG can be used in conjunction with mature software platforms to provide compliance and compliance reporting automation. 

In the case of emergencies, centralized alerting provides an additional layer of protection. For example, when a leak has been detected, true positive alarms should not only be going off at the convenience store, they should also be going off at the corporate office. Real-time alarming serves to prevent small accidents from turning into larger, more expensive ones. A critical success factor for real-time alarming is a high performance and reliable network connection at the store. If the network is suffering from congestion or an outage, the alarm will not be successfully transmitted. Multi-path SD-WAN solutions are a cost-effective way to address this critical need over broadband networks. 

Summary 

Ever present and mature, the ATG is an IoT device that can be used to enhance business. Proper ATG setting configuration and training are critical first steps. But after that is done, the data that can be accumulated from these devices allows significant automation and optimization of service and protection against risk. Store managers and fuel delivery teams need to work together to understand the data and make the adjustments necessary to achieve these benefits. Having a robust network that can transmit the data to the right decision makers will bring all of this together and create a new reality: a reality focused on the customer experience and proactive, automated environmental compliance. 

*This article was originally published in SIGMA Marketer’s IGM Magazine