Since 1991, Air Control Systems has been a cornerstone in Southern California’s commercial HVAC landscape. Today, the company runs 150 vehicles across California and Arizona, making fuel one of their largest operating expenses.
Andy Barnes, Fleet Manager at Air Control Systems, recognized that fuel spend was one of the biggest levers for operational savings. He started digging deeper into how and where fuel dollars were being spent, and where better oversight could unlock meaningful improvements.
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The Challenges
Andy lacked sufficient insight into his fleet’s fuel efficiency and real-time visibility into who was fueling, when, and how much. This opened the door to inefficient driving habits, delayed maintenance operations, and unauthorized fill-ups. As a result, Air Control Systems experienced several recurring issues:
- Vehicle inefficiencies: Tracking MPG proved difficult. Without clear visibility into vehicle efficiency, Andy didn’t know when it was time to replace underperforming vehicles.
- Fuel fraud: Their old fuel card system used magnetic stripes, leaving them vulnerable to skimming and PIN sharing. In one case, a $500 diesel charge appeared, despite the fleet running gas-powered vehicles. Sorting out these fraudulent charges took months. “I’d get fraud alerts and would have to manually prove that our vehicles weren’t at a pump and it was an extreme pain,” Andy describes.
- Inefficient driver behavior: While Andy encouraged drivers to take breaks in their vehicles to escape extreme heat, long idling times led to higher fuel costs. Without data to quantify the impact, these costs quietly accumulated.
- Employee reimbursements for non-fuel expenses: Before Coast, employees often had to pay out of pocket for expenses like daily parking, then wait weeks for reimbursement. “As a company with 150 vehicles, it just doesn’t make sense to rely on our employees to cover extra costs,” he explains.
The Solution
- Actionable vehicle insights through easy reporting: With Coast’s real-time data and reporting tools, Andy can now track MPG and fuel spend across the fleet and flag underperforming vehicles before costs add up.
These insights led to the replacement of inefficient vehicles, saving the company $7,000 per vehicle annually.
- Integrated telematics for smarter decision-making: Air Control Systems uses Samsara to monitor driver behavior. Coast integrates directly with Samsara, allowing Andy to see how driver habits impact fuel efficiency and safety. He also uses the data to build driver scorecards and create incentives.
- Secure sign-in that eliminates fraud: Unlike legacy fuel cards, Coast requires drivers to unlock cards via mobile phone, tying each transaction to a verified driver and vehicle.
- Flexible, real-time card controls: Coast makes it easy to set role-specific spending permissions. Technicians can purchase fuel and approved non-fuel items like tire repairs without delay, while special permissions (like travel meals) can be toggled on or off instantly. “We have different spend controls set up for different types of employees. When someone’s role changes, it’s just two clicks to update their permissions. Coast gives us control without slowing anyone down,” Andy explains.
The Results
✅ Saved $7,000 per vehicle annually by identifying and replacing inefficient trucks
✅ Improved fuel efficiency across the fleet using real-time driver and vehicle data
✅ Eliminated fuel fraud and unauthorized card charges through secure mobile authentication
✅ Enabled flexible, controlled non-fuel spending for on-the-job needs
✅ Gained visibility into project-level profitability with better expense tracking and job costing
