It’s simple: you want to have confidence you are paying for what you use. When you’re renting cylinders, you want to know:
• How many cylinders do I have?
• How long have the cylinders been here?
• What cylinder was delivered to the job site and who signed for it?
• Where are all the cylinders on this PO and Ship-to?
• How many cylinders did I receive this year?
• How many cylinders did I return this year?
• Am I getting credit for all that I returned?
This really isn’t too much to ask. Any gas supplier worth their weight should be able to answer these questions for you.
What does a cylinder tracking system look like?
Each cylinder is barcoded and scanned at all stages of distribution: filling, truck loading, delivering, truck unloading, and sending out for services.
How does cylinder tracking benefit me?
Reports can be produced to locate slow moving cylinders, increasing utilization and reducing rental bills. If you have multiple job sites and locations, cylinder tracking will keep these balances straight. Also, with cylinders getting mixed up at job sites—and don’t kid yourself, that happens a lot—you’ll always get the credit when the other guy tries to return your cylinder. You’ll never lose a cylinder again.
With cylinder tracking you only pay for cylinders you have and not for cylinders that may accumulate on your account due to paperwork errors.
Knowing your cylinder usage can lead to decisions on renting versus leasing or buying and when it may be time to move from cylinders to Micro-Bulk or Bulk supply.
So, bottom line: cylinder tracking helps protect your bottom line.
