Method and system for determining and monitoring the dispensing efficiency of a fuel dispensing point in a service station environment

A flow rate monitoring system, comprising:

• a fuel dispenser comprising a dispensing point and a meter that measures a volume of fuel dispensed at said dispensing point during a dispensing event wherein said fuel dispenser generates dispensing events;
• and
• a control system coupled to said meter to receive data regarding said volume of fuel dispensed at said dispensing point and receive said dispensing events to determine a time over which said volume of fuel was dispensed to formulate a volume and time pair measurement for a dispensing event;
• said control system adapted to:
• determine a plurality of said volume and time pair measurements for a plurality of dispensing events at said dispensing point;
• and
• determine a dispensing efficiency curve of said dispensing point from said plurality of volume and time pair measurements;
• determine the dispensing efficiency of said dispensing point by determining the slope of said dispensing efficiency curve;
• and
• determine the dead time of said dispensing point from said dispensing efficiency.

A method of determining the dispensing efficiency of a dispensing point on a fuel dispenser, comprising the steps of:

• measuring a volume of fuel dispensed at the dispensing point and the corresponding time period of a dispensing event at the dispensing point using a meter;
• receiving data regarding said volume of fuel dispensed at the dispensing point from said meter;
• receiving said dispensing events to determine a time over which said volume of fuel was dispensed to formulate a volume and time pair measurement for a dispensing transaction;
• determining a plurality of said volume and time pair measurements for a plurality of dispensing events at the dispensing point;
• determining a maximum dispensing efficiency curve from said plurality of volume and time pair measurements;
• and
• determining a maximum dispensing efficiency of the dispensing point by determining a slope of said maximum dispensing efficiency curve.