Skip to Content

Installers think efficiency as fuel costs skyrocket

Installers think efficiency as fuel costs skyrocket

UNION, N.J.--Security companies that do installations and service calls are coming up with creative ways to deal with rising fuel costs--including changing to more fuel efficient fleet vehicles and installing GPS systems to map out better service routes. It's been a hot topic for many months, but interest in conservation intensified with the dramatic fuel price increase that followed Hurricane Katrina, industry officials say. "How to recover the added cost of fuel was something people were talking about at our meeting at ASIS," said Jim Coleman, president of Security Net, an association of integrators, which held its quarterly meeting at the September ASIS conference in Orlando. "A couple of Security Net members--MacSystems of Boston and First Line Security of Orange County, Calif.-- have installed GPS equipment to track where vehicles are so they can better assign service calls," he said. Other companies may add a fuel surcharge, like airlines do, to the cost of service calls, he said. According to AAA, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $3.018 on September 9. One year ago, the average was $1.84; just prior to Katrina, the price was $2.48. For more on this story, see the October issue of Security Systems News.

Comments

To comment on this post, please log in to your account or set up an account now.