InfraStructures - August 2005 - RSC Partners With Suncor to Help Manage Equipment and Rental Needs

RSC Partners With Suncor to Help Manage Equipment and Rental Needs

Since the first time a prehistoric caveman loaned somebody his pointed rock, people have faced the challenge of keeping track of their tools and equipment. Obviously, that is a serious concern on any modern jobsite, because efficient, timely use of equipment and machinery directly affects a project's bottom line and its schedule.

The problem can get even more complicated if rental equipment is involved. When a large company maintains several project sites and frequently rents many different pieces of equipment, items often come and go as schedules or priorities change. Without a way to know exactly who's using what equipment and where, it can be difficult and frustrating to maintain accurate inventories. That is what was happening at Suncor Energy Inc.

Headquartered in Calgary, Suncor manufactures, distributes and markets transportation fuels and other petrochemicals, primarily in Ontario. In addition to hundreds of retail fuel locations throughout Canada, Suncor operates a 70 000-barrel-per-day refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, where it produces gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and jet fuel. The company also recently broke ground for an important new ethanol plant in St. Clair Township, Ontario.

Given its network of sites and huge production facilities, Suncor understandably has had an ongoing need for rental equipment, yet managing those transactions was becoming a very time-consuming responsibility.

Understanding the types of challenges faced by Suncor and many other industrial customers is what motivated RSC Equipment Rental to create its unique Total Control computer software program. Total Control enables a customer to quickly locate equipment, track its usage, schedule on-rent/off-rent dates, times and processes, and much more-all in real time, and all right at the customer's fingertips. Total Control simply resides on the user's company network, or can be accessed via the Web. Total Control can be customized to distribute whatever specific information the customer wants.

When Suncor implemented a Total Control program through RSC, the results were evident almost immediately. Equipment procurement was quicker and smoother, and efficiency was improved at a number of levels, according to Naticia MacDougall, material technician for Suncor.

Source: RSC Equipment Rental