Speedway's Tanks Go Digital

http://www.csnews.com/csn/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003978618

By Renee M. Covino, Convenience Store News

In the world of tank gauges and compliance management, Speedway SuperAmerica (SSA) has entered the digital age. Compliance data once recorded in a manual, mistake-prone, paper-driven process is now electronically available at a single touch. The company was one of the first to sign on late last year to upgrade its system at high-volume locations to Veeder-Root's new tank gauge technology (known as the TLS-450), and even though SSA is still evaluating it, thus far, "we have been pleased with our overall results," said Michelle McKee, environmental compliance manager. "The analysis we have completed so far indicates it is a very good product."

Right away, Speedway found benefit "in the automated compliance reporting function of the new tank gauge due to the ease of access for state inspectors, contractors and internal maintenance personnel, as data is now immediately available," stated McKee. Prior to testing the TLS-450 at high-volume locations, compliance was managed at these Speedway sites through Veeder-Root's previous-generation tank gauge — the TLS-350.

"If we were to strike a comparison between the two, it's like a record player versus an iPod," said Matthias Bolling of Veeder-Root.

In addition to the elimination of stacks of paperwork, Speedway is also benefiting from the upgraded system's capability of monitoring multiple lines.

"It allows for locations with greater than six lines to utilize one ATG [automated tank gauge]," McKee maintained. "In the past, stores with more than six lines had two ATG's installed. We are also reviewing our release detection opportunities. The TLS-450 appears to be gathering data points at a faster rate for some of our high-volume locations."

Speedway is evaluating the new technology on a site-by-site basis, starting with the highest volume stores, said McKee.

"SSA is evaluating how well the TLS-450 performs in managing our alarms, obtaining release detection data and the overall performance at each location," she said."It's also very important to monitor the ease of operation by store personnel, our compliance team, and maintenance technicians. As we move forward with additional locations, we also plan on working with state regulators to obtain their opinion on the ease-of-use and overall impression of the equipment."

Regarding investment, McKee said the new system "has been a cost-effective solution as we were currently utilizing the TLS-350 for these locations."

Bolling explained trading up from the TLS-350 to the TLS-450 is pretty seamless for retailers. "The investment already made in probes and sensors is still good — they can very easily just exchange the consoles," he said.

So while the cost of new technology will vary, depending on how advanced a retail site is with ATG's, Bolling estimates "just by having automated compliance and taking the labor component out, retailers like Speedway can save $1,000 to $1,500 per site in a year. The other thing to think about is the cost associated with not being compliant," he said. "Fines vary from state to state, but it can be anywhere from $1,000 to $6,000 if you're not able to prove your compliance data."

Speedway recognizes the challenges surrounding compliance requirements and has made compliance management "an integral part of our business," said McKee, explaining SSA considers Veeder-Root one of its core business partners.

"We share a common vision of environmental stewardship with no accidents, no injuries, and no harm to the environment. We are always reviewing new technology to aid in this effort. It seemed natural to review this new product capabilities."

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