Fuel insights you can act on

Fuel monitoring is the crucial process within modern fleet management that focuses on tracking, analyzing, and managing fuel consumption and associated activities in real time. Leveraging technology like vehicle telematics, it provides detailed visibility with actionable insights. Leading platforms, such as Samsara, help fleet managers improve fuel tracking, identify inefficiencies, reduce fuel costs, prevent theft, and ultimately improve overall fuel efficiency and operational profitability.

Tracking fuel effectively requires an integrated fuel management solution combining fleet fuel management software with vehicle telematics hardware. It involves automatically collecting detailed data directly from vehicles and fuel transactions, then using software to analyze that data, identify exceptions or opportunities, and provide actionable insights and alerts.

A fleet fuel management system provides the comprehensive capabilities needed to actively manage fuel consumption and related activities across fleet operations, which is essential for optimizing fleet maintenance and improving fuel economy. Comprehensive solutions, such as Samsara's Connected Operations Platform, leverage telematics and analytics to deliver real-time data, automate analysis and reporting, and identify and help prevent issues like excessive idling, fuel theft, and fraud. With Samsara, you can also enable strategic actions such as driver coaching to improve driver behavior, fuel purchasing optimization, and integrating fuel data into user-friendly fleet workflows to support data-driven decision-making and streamline overall fleet operations.

A fleet fuel management system is key to optimizing fleet operations, delivering significant fuel cost savings and improving operational efficiency through detailed, real-time fuel visibility. It helps fleets eliminate unproductive idling, prevent theft and fraud, optimize purchasing, facilitate driver coaching, and automate compliance (like IFTA reporting), ultimately saving time and minimizing risk.

Top fleet fuel management systems use fuel management software and hardware (like telematics devices) to provide real-time data and visibility into fuel usage, including exactly how, when, and where fuel is being used across all your vehicles. This precise data and fuel reporting gives you the control needed to identify inefficiencies and reduce consumption, directly impacting your bottom line and improving overall fleet efficiency.

In a challenging time when rising fuel prices are putting pressure on every fleet's bottom line, fleet management software can provide the real-time data and proactive tools you need to regain control. You may not be able to lower the price at the pump, but you can minimize fuel waste, theft, and fraud to protect your margins with Samsara via:

• Navigation to the lowest cost, preferred fuel vendor: See real-time fuel prices in the Driver App and automatically route drivers to preferred fuel vendors so they consistently buy at the lowest negotiated price.

• Advanced idling alerts and coaching tools: Stop fuel waste in real time with in-cab alerts and coaching tools that use context-rich data, including weather and PTO context, to pinpoint and reduce unproductive idling. Gamify fuel-friendly driving habits and celebrate idling reductions with personalized Kudos.

• Real-time fuel theft and fraud alerts: Get instant notifications for suspicious activity and unauthorized transactions.

Idling is often a leading source of fuel waste. Experienced drivers may be aware that idling can burn through nearly a gallon of fuel per hour, but the myth that idling is easier on the engine than restarting still remains prevalent. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, idling generally burns more fuel than restarting the engine.

To effectively reduce this fuel waste, you need context-rich data to distinguish between "unproductive" idling and "operationally necessary" idling, such as keeping a cabin comfortable in extreme weather or running a Power Take-Off (PTO) unit for equipment. With the right data, you can coach drivers to minimize unnecessary idling before it drains your budget.

Samsara uses a combination of real-time technology and behavioral coaching to pinpoint and minimize truly unproductive idling:

• Context-rich data: Samsara provides context-rich data, such as weather conditions, geofence location (in-yard vs. out-of-yard), and PTO status, to distinguish between operationally necessary idling and waste. 

• Proactive tools: Idling In-Cab Audio Alerts stop unnecessary idling in real time, Unified Coaching workflows drive long-term behavior change, and advanced reporting surfaces opportunities for improvement.

• Gamification: Transparent driver scores and leaderboards are accessible directly in the Samsara Driver App. This approach allows drivers to compete for top spots by mastering fuel-friendly habits, including reducing idling, using cruise control, and green band driving. Managers can send in-app Kudos specifically to celebrate drivers who successfully reduce their idle time. By incentivizing these behaviors, you foster a culture of efficiency that rewards the exact habits that keep your fuel costs down.

Real-world data from Samsara customers shows significant, measurable impact across various industries:

• Estes: Saved $3 million by reducing idle time.

• Gordon Food Service: Saved $2.5 million in fuel spend.

• ITF Group: Saved $4 million in fuel costs.

• City of El Paso: Achieved a 24% reduction in idling.

Yes. Rather than using one-size-fits-all metrics, Samsara allows fleets to coach on specific fuel-efficient behaviors like cruise control usage, coasting, and green band driving. The system accounts for real-world variables like vehicle weight and road topography to ensure fair performance evaluations. Efficiency can be further incentivized through gamification, where drivers compete for top spots and can receive in-app Kudos for reducing idling.

Samsara automatically flags potential theft events—such as a fuel level drop of more than 10% while a vehicle is unmoving—and allows you to instantly corroborate the event with AI Dash Cam footage and vehicle diagnostics. Additionally, by combining fuel card transactions with real-time telematics data, Samsara automatically identifies fraud, helping you pinpoint fuel purchases used to fill unauthorized vehicles or external tanks. These automated insights ensure that every dollar you spend at the pump actually goes into your tanks.

Yes. A vehicle’s mechanical health is directly correlated to its fuel economy. For example, for every 1 PSI drop in tire pressure, a vehicle can lose 0.4% of its mileage. Proactive maintenance ensures that your fleet is operating at peak efficiency, preventing poor vehicle condition from becoming a constant drain on your fuel budget.

Samsara Connected Maintenance combines real-time vehicle diagnostics, AI-powered fault code descriptions, and digital DVIRs into a single dashboard, giving you a holistic view of your fleet’s health. By automating service schedules based on actual mileage or engine hours and addressing mechanical inefficiencies early, you ensure every vehicle runs at its fuel-efficient peak—preventing poor vehicle health from driving up your fuel spend.