The Source: APCO Ltd.

MWM talked to Mr. Ian Pellicano, one of the directors at APCO Ltd. "Our company specializes in providing high tech solutions. Using Micronetics MSM we integrate software with hardware. We normally control hardware devices via the software besides data processing activities. The system we are currently working on at the moment is the Petrol Attendants Tagging System (PATS), currently being tested at a number of stations".

The Problem

A petrol station owner (irrespective of whether the owner owns just one station or many) normally encounters a number of problems in the areas of stock, account and personnel management. Besides, petrol stations today, as in many other industries, are looking at new ways to reduce the cost of personnel while at the same time offer a better and more convenient service to customers. A petrol station normally has two modes of operation: attended and unattended modes.

When attended, the station has a number of employees working the pumps. People drive up to an islet (this being one of the many filling areas distributed throughout the petrol station) and tell the person serving them what they want and how much. The attendant follows instructions.

In unattended mode people normally fill up the pump themselves. They normally pay the clerk at the window who then switches on a particular pump. The clerk controls the type of fuel and the quantity to be distributed.

Clients visiting the station can be organized under two main classifications: paying customers and those who operate on credit. The paying clientele can either use cash or credit cards to settle the bill. The credit clients are normally companies which settle their dues periodically, for example monthly. Since the bill handling part of the transaction is normally dealt with using a debtors system, we will not discuss it here (although the transactions will be generated automatically).

How does the system work?

The soul of the PATS is the computer system lying in a clean and secure room. One of the main reasons for choosing M is because with this language one does not have to bind oneself to any hardware. The company could offer a number of different options varying in performance, security, fault tolerance, etc. Without having to create totally different versions of the software in each case. Besides, since M has low overheads, efficient transaction processing speeds could be arrived at without boosting up prices. A third consideration is that M is more device friendly than other languages.

Unattended mode

As briefly pointed out before, a petrol station has two types of customers:

General customers. These drive up to the islet next to which is sited an Outdoor Payment Terminal (OPT). This is an ATM-like machine that will be used to effect payment for fuel. An OPT may be shared by a number of islets sitting adjacent to each other. A person may either pay in cash or use credit cards. The consumer will select the type of fuel required and, if applicable, the islet from where the car will be filled up. A receipt is printed and the system instructs the pump to supply the type of fuel. The pump is automatically switched off when the appropriate amount of fuel has been distributed. During this stage, the server will be checking for numerous conditions. Two obvious controls are those that ensure whether payment is valid or not (counterfeit) and situations of empty fuel reservoirs.

Credit Customers will be issued with special cards. Rather than cash, they put in their card and enter an authorization code. This is also done at the OPT. The OPT transmits the data to the server which checks the card against its hot card database (for stolen cards) besides checking data such as expiry date, credit limit, etc. Once everything is verified correct, the system will retrieve from the database information about what type of fuel the client can take. For example a particular client is restricted to only diesel, while another has a choice from three different types of fuel. As with general customers, when the person makes his/her selections, an invoice is printed and the server switches on the selected pump to provide the choice of fuel.

As with ATM’s the system must provide for secure transactions. In the case of the PATS, a typical transaction will extend over a considerably longer period of time than that of an ATM. With an ATM everything is done from the console, while with the PATS, a person initiates the transaction at the OPT and sees it through at the islet; first the money is inserted, then the fuel is selected after which the software must wait for the car to fill up. Pumps must be monitored frequently to ensure that the correct amount of fuel is dispensed. As with banking systems, the server must monitor the state of a transaction. IF something unusual happens, the server must be able to rollback (undo a partially complete transaction) this transaction and take appropriate action. For example if a fault is detected in an islet, the system must shut it down.

The unattended mode being presented here means that no employee need be present at the pump. Security measures therefore become necessary. OPTs must have secure safes (as is the case with ATMs) and other deterrents (e.g. video systems) to ensure that the station will operate efficiently unattended.

If the owner wants to maintain a person at the station to switch on the pumps manually, s/he may do so. While this may seem inefficient, this process may be opted for during the phasing in of the new system or because of laws and regulations that may restrict the use of fully unattended operation. Since this system will soon be marketed world wide, during analysis it was considered an important option. Here the controls would be done via a terminal, with all other options remaining practically the same.

Attended Mode

One unique facet of this system is that it can handle pump attendants. In some countries, attendants sitting next to pumps serve fuel. This person takes on the role of the OPT; you pay the attendant and instruct him verbally (no button presses) what you want. PATS also caters for this type of operation. In order to maintain a control of how fuel is being distributed, the attendants will be equipped with remote control devices through which they punch in the details of the transaction to the pump. Operation of the pump is, at this stage, similar to that described above.

At the beginning of each day, each attendant is tagged automatically to a particular remote control. Whatever the attendant punches on his/her remote control gets assigned accordingly. Just like a cashier, the attendant would be temporarily storing the money from fuel sales. At any time the attendant can enter the office to hand over the money to the office clerk. The amount due is generated by the system. Once the attendant passes over the money, the balance is cleared. Additional modules allow one to provide Management Information about the performance of each attendant. The attended mode is automatically switched off at scheduled intervals. This ensures that it is not possible to steal fuel by operating a stolen remote control when the station is running unmanned.

Dual Operation Mode

With such a system it becomes possible for the PATS to be set-up so that there would be unattended and attended lanes. As the software will automatically recognize the type of transaction it could prove not only more cost effective, but will also provide valuable Executive Information. This information would allow stations to adjust the ratio of attended to non-attended pumps, for example depending on season or month. As we mentioned above, the system allows the dynamic shifting from attended to unattended modes and vice versa and if, for example, there is a build-up in the attended lanes, the station could shift islets from one mode to the other.

A gas station normally offers numerous other services to its customers. The system can be extended to cater for other facilities such as car washes, vacuuming, etc. While it may be necessary to up the hardware as the load increases, the software can be ported without having to change one line. Modules such as stock and accounting systems can be added and the two systems linked up.

You may contact APCO Ltd. through MWM.

"The software can be ported without having to change one line"

E&OE