Key points
- Every fill needs four facts on record: which equipment, when, how many litres, and the hour meter or odometer reading at that moment.
- Calculate consumption between two full tank fills, using litres per hour for machines and litres per 100 km for vehicles.
- Compare each unit with its own past and with similar units; a change matters more than the absolute number.
- Reconcile tank stock against logged fills every month, and treat rising consumption as a maintenance signal, not only a cost line.
What a fuel report by equipment shows
A fleet fuel bill tells you how much you spent. It does not tell you which loader is burning more than it should, which truck has a meter that stopped working, or whether the site tank is losing diesel. A report broken down by equipment answers those questions, because it ties every litre to a unit and to the work that unit did.
A useful report has one row per unit for the chosen period, usually a month. These are the columns that earn their place:
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Asset code and name, plus its group (excavators, tractors, light vehicles) |
| Litres taken | Sum of all fills in the period |
| Work done | Hours or kilometres between the first and last meter reading |
| Consumption rate | Litres per hour or litres per 100 km |
| Baseline | The unit's own average over the previous months |
| Change | Difference between this period and the baseline |
| Fuel cost | Litres multiplied by the price actually paid |
What to record at every fill
The report can only be as good as the fill log behind it. Whether fuel comes from a site tank, a bowser or a fuel card at a station, the person filling should capture the same set of facts each time:
- Equipment: the asset code, not a description like "the yellow loader". Scanning a tag on the machine removes most mix-ups.
- Date and time of the fill.
- Litres as shown on the pump or flow meter, not estimated.
- Meter reading: hour meter for machines, odometer for vehicles, read at the moment of filling.
- Full or partial: whether the tank was filled to the top. This decides which fills you can use to calculate consumption.
- Source and who filled: which tank or card, and the name of the person.
How to calculate consumption per equipment
The most reliable method is full to full. Fill the tank to the top and note the meter. At the next full fill, the litres you add are the fuel burned since the previous full fill. Divide by the work done in between. If there were partial fills in between, add their litres too and keep going until the next full fill.
- Machines: litres per hour = litres added ÷ (hour meter now minus hour meter at previous full fill).
- Vehicles: litres per 100 km = litres added ÷ (odometer now minus odometer at previous full fill) × 100.
Worked example, with made up figures for illustration only:
| Unit | Previous full fill | This full fill | Litres added | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excavator EX-04 | 1,200 h | 1,250 h | 400 L | 400 ÷ 50 = 8 L per hour |
| Truck TR-11 | 45,000 km | 45,800 km | 240 L | 240 ÷ 800 × 100 = 30 L per 100 km |
For the monthly report, use the first and last full fills inside the month and the litres between them. A single short interval gives a noisy number, so for units that fill rarely, look at a rolling period of several fills rather than one.
Reading the report: what each signal usually means
Once the report runs for a few months, each unit has a baseline. The job is then to look at the rows that moved and decide which of three things happened: the machine changed, the work changed, or the data is wrong.
| What you see | Likely causes | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Rate creeps up over several months | Clogged air or fuel filters, injector wear, dragging brakes, low tyre pressure | Open an inspection or work order and check against the last service |
| Sudden jump in one period | Harder work, a fuel leak, a fill logged to the wrong unit, or fuel taken out of the tank | Check the fill entries first, then ask the site supervisor about the work, then inspect |
| Litres logged but hours or km barely move | Broken meter, long idling, or fuel going into another container | Verify the meter works; check idle time with the operator |
| Rate suspiciously low | Fills missing from the log, often from a station or another site | Match against fuel card statements and the other tanks |
| One unit far above its sister units on the same job | Mechanical condition, operator habits, or a different attachment | Compare operators and attachments before blaming the machine |
How big a change deserves a look depends on how accurate your meters and pumps are and how much the work varies. Pick a threshold that fits your fleet, write it down, and review it after a few months instead of reacting to every small wobble.
Reconcile the tank before you trust the report
If you run your own tank or bowser, the equipment report should add up to what left the tank. Doing this check monthly catches unlogged fills and losses that a per unit view alone can hide.
- Take the opening stock: the tank level measured at the start of the month.
- Add all deliveries from the supplier's delivery notes.
- Subtract the closing stock measured at month end. The result is what left the tank.
- Compare it with the sum of fills logged against equipment from that tank.
- Investigate any gap beyond your agreed tolerance, starting with the days that had the most fills.
Example, figures invented for illustration: opening stock 10,000 L, deliveries 20,000 L, closing stock 8,500 L. That means 21,500 L left the tank. If the fill log shows 21,100 L against equipment, 400 L is unaccounted for and needs an explanation, whether that is a missed entry, a meter calibration issue or something worse.
Turn fuel data into maintenance work
The fuel report is usually owned by finance or the fleet office, but its most useful readers are in maintenance. Consumption is one of the few condition signals you get for free on every machine, every week, without fitting a sensor. A loader that slowly burns more per hour is telling you something about filters, injectors or the drivetrain before it breaks down.
- Review the report in the monthly maintenance meeting, not only in the cost review.
- When a unit crosses your threshold, raise a work order or inspection with the fuel figures attached, so the technician knows why they are looking.
- After a repair, watch the next few periods. If consumption returns to baseline, the fix worked; if not, keep looking.
- Use the same meter readings to drive hour or kilometre based preventive maintenance, so one reading serves both purposes.
A spreadsheet works for a handful of units if someone keeps it up to date every week. Once fills come from several tanks, cards and sites, it helps to log them in the same place as the equipment and its work orders. Solmex records fills against each asset with the meter reading, so consumption per unit and the maintenance history sit side by side.