Expert fuel fix gets fleet back on the road for nationwide distributor

Published: 31 March 2022

In the warehousing and logistics sector, reputations are built on reliability. So when water infiltrated a fuel tank at a leading nationwide distributor, our client faced losing valuable road miles – and vital customer confidence.

The contaminated fuel took 25 vehicles out of action. Service delivery was severely affected, and the price of repairs, recovery, and operational disruption totalled £750,000.

Adler and Allan solved the immediate fuel issues and prevented future problems with a money-saving regime of planned cleaning and testing.

The challenge

The cost of downtime was quickly ramping up, so our top priority was getting drivers back behind the wheel. Our teams worked onsite to clean the compromised tank and rid the fuel of water, microbes, and free sediment.

By polishing – rather than replacing – the 30,000 litres of affected diesel, we saved our client over £30,000.

With the fuel restored and the fleet returned the road, our customer asked us to identify further opportunities to extend tank life and cut long-term expenditure.

Our solution

Our specialist engineers designed a bespoke planned preventative maintenance (PPM) programme to keep assets clean, active, and compliant.

For a cost-effective annual fee, we now regularly service and maintain interceptors and drainage infrastructure across all UK sites. In addition to routine maintenance, we provide adhoc environmental work for the business’s overground fuel storage, covering:

Fuel sampling and analysis
Tank testing
General pipework maintenance
Annual OFTEC oil storage audits

By reviewing asset performance on a rolling basis, our client stays confidently in control of cost management and compliance – with tank and fuel health firmly in the hands of the experts.

Investigation and assessment

To address the initial contamination issue, we ran a full fuel and tank survey to gauge the extent of moisture damage and determine the most cost-effective course of action.

Diesel samples were evaluated for bacterial growth using an extensive range of British Standard tests, analysing appearance, water content, vapour pressure, distillation, and microbial contamination.
Our experts recommended fuel polishing over replacement, leading to significant savings.
Fuel was uplifted and polished to filter and eliminate micro-organisms, water, and free water sediment.
During the polishing process, tanks were cleaned and inspected for signs of structural weakness, deterioration, and corrosion.

Remediation

To head off future financial and environmental risks, we implemented a targeted service and maintenance programme for the interceptors and drainage systems across all sites.

Routine inspections and interceptor filter changes using our fleet of vacuum tankers, jetting tankers, and CCTV.
Remote tank cleaning and inspections for vehicle fuel storage, generator tanks, and gas oil tanks for sprinklers and boilers.
Cutting-edge remote inspection technology, including AdlerView™, a non-man entry, ATEX Zone 1 device.
Installation of above-ground fuel storage tanks to minimise fuel contamination risks.

The outcome

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£750,000 in costs incurred by damaged vehicles and operational downtime.
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£30,000 saved through fuel polishing rather than replacement.
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£5,000 average annual site fee for routine fuel cleaning and tank testing.
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£745,000 in potential savings achieved through planned preventative maintenance.