In the diesel fuel business, it is all about pennies.  Fifteen, twenty years ago a price increase of a penny was a big jump and there were sequences of days when fuel prices did not change.  So, when I saw the video on the link below about the National budget it really struck a chord.  I get pennies and often spend time on the far right side of the decimal but when you get up in the millions, billions and trillions frankly it is harder for me to conceptualize.  I thought this would be a great way for my kids and their friends, not to mention my coworkers, to understand the numbers we are hearing about in the news.

What I did not expect is one of the responses I got back from a friend of mine.  She requested that I not send her any more political emails. Now, I admit, I can get on my dad’s soap box and rant a bit with the occasional unsolicited opinion about the current world order.  What a scary realization- I did not even notice a political bend to the video.  If you click on the link it does show the President pledging to reduce the National budget by $100,000,000. My first response was applause and frankly, so was my last response.  (Again I like pennies, so saving even a $0.0025 is good by me!)  What my friend, who tends to lean a little more left then I do, saw in the first 15 seconds was an attack on the President and that framed her opinion of the video, not the remaining minute, twenty three seconds.

I have watched it a number of times and if it were done 3 years ago and the President at that time was featured in the first 15 seconds, I realize that I would have considered it political too.  This would have been compounded by the fact that my leftward leaning brother-in-law is the one who shared it with me!  It really is just a great learning tool.  I am a huge fan of learning, but realize my genetic skepticism would have made me miss this opportunity too.  What a great lesson for me about education.   Information is good, regardless of who shares it with you.  I still applaud budget cuts wherever we can get them, especially since we just sent in our latest donation to the state and federal government…. don’t even get me started….

 http://www.wimp.com/budgetcuts/

My Best, Mary

Mary Fleet Manager Wall DeWitt, diesel, economic recovery, fleet, fuel price increases, petroleum, policy

In 2006, the California Legislature passed AB 2330. This law mandated the Office of the Small Business Advocate to commission a study on the cost of regulation on Small Business. This month the study was published with concerning results:

• The direct cost of the regulatory environment in California is $176.996 billion in lost gross state output each year. The direct cost does not account for second order costs.
• The total loss of gross state output for California each year due to direct, indirect, and induced impact of the regulatory cost is $492.994 billion.
• In terms of employment the total output loss is equivalent to the loss of 3.8 million jobs for the state each year. 10% of the total population of California!
• The total regulatory cost of $492.994 billion is four to four and a half times the total budget for the state of California, and almost five to six times the general fund alone.
• The indirect business taxes lost could have helped fund many of the state’s departmental budgets. As an example, the indirect business taxes lost are 60 times the budget of the Office of Emergency Services, and would have paid for almost half the budget of the Department of Education.
• The total cost of regulation was $134,122.48 per small business in California in 2007, labor income not created or lost was $57,260.15 per small business, indirect business taxes not generated or lost were $4,359.55 per small business, and finally roughly one job lost per small business.
• The total regulatory cost of $492.994 billion translates into a total cost per household of $38,446.76 or $13,052.05 per resident. The total cost per household comes close to the median household income for California.

For the complete report, description of the methodology used, go to the Small Business Advocates webpage, www.sba.ca.gov. Many thanks to Assemblyman Juan Arambula and the former CA State Controller, Steve Westly for authoring and sponsoring AB 2330. I have requested information from the Advocates office on the “now what?”. Will let you know what I learn!

My Best, Mary

(I found the list of the Bill’s Supporters and Opposition “interesting”)
Support (partial list)

California State Controller, Steve Westly (sponser)

California Chamber of Commerce

California Manufacturers and Technology Association

California Metals Coalition

California Small Business Association

National Federation of Independent Business

Small Business Action Committee (SBAC)

Opposition (partial list):

AFL-CIO

Ca Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union

California Conference of Machinists

California Teamsters Public Affairs Council

Strategic Committee of Public Employees, Laborers’

International Union of North America

Unite Here!

United Food and Commercial Workers Union

Mary Fleet Manager Wall policy, regulation, small business

Establishing a fleet fueling policy makes sense. After all, fuel is usually the single largest variable expense for a fleet of any size. A fleet fueling policy–carefully planned, implemented and enforced–can be a company’s most effective tool in the battle to cut unnecessary costs.

Thanks to a revolution in the electronic capture of fueling data at the pump through the use of electronic fleet fueling cards, fleet managers now have timely, accurate data they can use to battle waste and abuse.

If a driver makes a purchase outside parameters set by the manager–e.g., the driver buys premium rather than regular gasoline–this information is recorded instantly and appears on a regular billing statement along with the individual driver and vehicle number. Through the use of tools like Exception Reporting and purchase alerts managers can enforce cost-saving policies quickly, not weeks after the fact.

Six Components of a Fleet Fueling Policy.
Here are 6 basic guidelines you can use to build an effective fueling policy:

1. Enforce limits at the time of purchase. The most effective way to enforce a fleet fueling policy is to set limits so that purchases outside the limits are not even allowed. For example, if you restrict transactions to two per day, the third transaction will be declined at the point of purchase.
2. Restrict non-fuel products and services. Many fleet managers find it helpful to place restrictions on the kinds of products drivers may purchase. This helps to control costs, quality and consistency.
3. Control the location, days, and times of purchases. Frequent fuel purchases made with the company card outside of business hours are a sure sign of waste and abuse. Make sure your drivers purchase fuel only during business hours, look for fuel purchases that exceed tank capacity, and eliminate multiple purchases in a single day whenever possible.
4. Mandate one or more fueling locations to help control quality, consistency and the cost of fuel and service your drivers purchase.
5. Encourage drivers to fuel at locations with pay-at-the-pump. Drivers will save valuable time and get on the road faster by patronizing only pay-at-the-pump locations.
6. Stipulate the type of fuel for each vehicle. There is no reason that your all diesel fleet should ever have the option to purchase gasoline. Get one or two cards that are good for all fuels. It is easy to track. In addition, Every time a driver fills the tank with a premium or mid-grade fuel, the company wastes as much as 10¢ to 25¢ more per gallon – or approximately $2 more per tank of gas.

Communicate the Policy.
Once you have established a good, comprehensive fleet fueling policy, the next step is to communicate the new policy clearly to every driver in the fleet. Let them know that all fuel purchases will be monitored and that all exceptions, especially repeated infractions, will need to be justified. Have them sign a Fuel Card Agreement to make sure your drivers understand you company policy.

Choose a Flexible Program.
DeWitt Petroleum can help you take a critical look at your fleet, identify the areas where you have the most problems and work with you to establish a fueling policy.

Bobby Fleet Manager Wall costs, cut, driver, enforce purchase limits, fleet, Fleet Cards, flexible, fuel, policy, program, unnecessary