I have been involved with maintaining company gas cylinder rental accounts for over 8 years.
When I started with one company as their Store Supervisor, I asked the manager if there were any specific areas that needed attention. The manager's reply was "get the gas cylinder rentals under control". That was the start of 4 years of developement, implementation and modification that has delivered Gas Cylinder Tracker as it is today. As changes to the suppliers' system were made, the program was modified to accommodate the changes.
I now concentrate, full time, on developing systems that assist businesses to increase efficiencies and cost savings. I consult with customers on implementation and training of my systems and customise solutions to meet their specific needs.
Most businesses that utilise gas cylinders, either as essential equipment such as medical gases or a construction company that utilises welding gases; you are probably losing money by not controlling your cylinder rentals.
In a lot of cases these costs are considered an operating cost or built into the contract for the job. If you could reduce your daily rental charges by making some small and simple changes, would you be interested?
Most businesses that utilise gas cylinders, either as essential equipment such as medical gases or a construction company that utilises welding gases; you are probably losing money by not controlling your cylinder rentals.
In a lot of cases these costs are considered an operating cost or built into the contract for the job. If you could reduce your daily rental charges by making some small and simple changes, would you be interested?
By implementing the following changes, in most cases, you can achieve a reduction in daily cylinder rentals.
The first thing you need to do is gain an understanding of exactly how your supplier’s cylinder rental system operates. With the larger companies throughout the world, you are charged a daily rental fee on each cylinder you have.
A daily rental of a few cents isn’t much and tends to be overlooked or ignored. The cents rapidly turn into dollars when you have a large number of cylinders on hire across your company.
The next step is to take control of your gas cylinder holdings and assess your weekly requirements. Once you’ve established your weekly requirements, reduce your cylinder holdings to a level that allows you to operate your business efficiently, without running out of gas.
Organise with your suppliers for a routine weekly delivery/pickup day. Be sure you allow enough time to place your order and have it delivered without incurring additional delivery fees.
Once you have a specific day of the week organised you can then forward plan the gas requirements for the following week. You can reduce your cylinder holdings and consequently daily rental charges by trying to establish a one-for-one exchange of cylinders.
This will reduce the total number of cylinders you have on hire at any one time and will also reduce the number of empty cylinders you have setting around still attracting daily rental charges.
If you don’t already have one, establish a compound from which all cylinders are is
Designate an individual to be responsible for the gases, including accepting all deliveries and dispatching all returns.
You can post a sheet at the compound that all individuals can record the type and quantity of gas being taken from or returned to the compound. Hold a short briefing with your staff to inform them of the procedures to follow and ask for their assistance in ensuring the recordings are made.
Segregate the empty and full cylinders within the compound. This allows the individual looking after the gas to have a quick glance at the holdings to ensure stocks aren’t running low. It also makes it easier to assemble cylinders for return to the supplier.
In a short period of time, you will have established a degree of control over your cylinder holdings and in most cases will have reduced your total number of cylinders. As a direct consequence of reducing you total holdings and returning cylinders to the supplier on a regular basis, your rental charges will be reduced.
With control over your cylinder holdings you can also reduce the number of lost cylinders you have.
These simple little changes that reduce the daily cylinder rental charges can wind up increasing the profitability to the job and adding to the company’s bottom line.