W. K. WICKS

Turning now to note acceptor units, I must admit that I cannot speak with much experience. The one I have has only been in operation about a month and it might therefore be premature to form conclusions. There are one or two things which can be said, however.

In the first case I would say that note acceptors are preferable to coin acceptors from a safety angle. The minimum outlay of £1 should certainly discourage children or hooligans from trying to obtain petrol. As the note acceptor is not incorporated in the pump housing, any larceny attempts to jemmy open the money box will not endanger the petrol.

The conditions to be laid down for the acceptance and licensing of note acceptors are very similar to those for coin operated pumps. There is one important difference. As the note acceptor unit is fitted with a heater it must be positioned at least twenty feet away from any pump or other petrol hazard. Although some of us may be disposed to accept a coin operated pump on a site without a petrol interceptor, a note acceptor unit should not be so approved in view of the higher petrol quantity involved in each delivery. Note acceptors seem to be a good idea and, I understand, prove very satisfactory. I have not heard of any untoward incidents occurring with them.

Leaving prepayment self-service and going on to consider post payment systems, I must now admit that with these I have had even less personal experience. When I agreed to introduce this subject some months ago there was already a post payment station envisaged for my area and I had hoped that it would be in operation before now. However, although the station is not yet in operation, I have been concerned with the initial planning.

If note acceptor units can be considered safer than coin operated pumps, then post payment systems are a step or two safer again. In fact, in some respects they are safer than a conventional service station. There may only be a girl in charge but she will have complete control. She can control smoking by refusing to switch on a pump if a customer is smoking. Ordinary pump attendants faced with an awkward customer are apt to take the easy way out and ignore smoking. Spillage is practically nonexistent, as customers serving themselves are far more careful than busy or "slap happy" pump attendants.

So far there are two systems for the operation of a post payment station. In both cases the operator sits at a console in a pay office overlooking the pumps. In the Wayne system there is two-way communication by means of loud-speaker and microphone between pump and console so that the operator can give instructions or offer guidance to the customer. The Avery Hardoll system employs no built-in speech communication and relies merely on push button and lamp signals. I think it essential, however, that there should be means for the controller to issue instructions to the customer, especially to stop smoking. I would, therefore, not be prepared to licence a post payment station without loud-speaker communication at least one way, that is, from controller to customer. This is not difficult to arrange.

Another essential is that the control office for any system should be so sited as tC! give the controller a clear view of the pumps and service area from the console position. Ideally, the co.nsole ?e at least twenty feet from the pumps as 1t contams switch gear which is

Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd.

History. is a subject upon which one can talk at length, but I wish to leave time for discussion. May with a few historical details. Apart from the old sh11lmgs worth on a hand operated pump way back in !he 1930's self-service as we know it today was m Sweden by the Co-operatives in the late 50's and this subsequently spread to Denmark and other European countries. They concentrated on a modern sophisticated post payment system, much as we know it here in the U.K. The first site to open for self-service in the U.K. was at Plymouth using Swedish equipment. A very close second (some will argue which came first) was at Southampton where the first British equipment was used. We then had to wait some time before the next site was opened in 1965, but since then numbers have increased until currently there are more than 150 post payment types of self-service sites operating in the U.K. Pre-payment self-service systems followed post payment as a natural development. Australia led the way in this respect but the major develo\'ment was in Germany with the Muntztank operation rn 1964. Some present today have visited Germany to see this system in operation, and may have impressed (as I was) with the statistics quoted to us durrng that visit. One company alone has in excess of 2,000 of these coin operated pumps, all of which are used without supervision. You ha_ve no doubt heard at sometime, the figures quoted that m lit million customer operations

64 not of flameproof construction. In some cases where this ideal cannot be achieved, safety might be ensured by having the power pack and other gear mounted above four feet from the ground. Even this is not always practicable and on a site I have been asked to approve where the pumps are a foot or two short of the desirable twenty feet from the console, I have agreed to the power units being below four feet provided the floor of the control office is six inches above outside ground level, so as to form a step to prevent the ingress of petrol vapour from any spillage.

Although I have said that spillage is unlikely from selfservice, I still think that a petrol interceptor is advisable at these stations. Control consoles are usually fitted with an isolator switch to de-energise all pump motors at once but it is still essential for a master switch to be fitted in the control room to cut off both power and lighting to pumps in case of emergency. There should also be in the contr<;>I. room a for calling the fire C_ond1tions should be laid down requiring fire extmgmshers, adequate operating instructions on the pumps, no smoking, etc., notices. Pump nozzles should be of the approved safety type and without latching mechanism. Hoses should be retractable, in so far as this is practicable.

There is no doubt that self-service in one form or another is with us to stay and, with the imposition of the right conditions, I think licensing possible in the majority of cases.

only two incidents involving fire have been reported. Even allowing for all the pros and cons of argument that have ranged around these figures, I think you must agree gentlemen, that they are impressive. In the U.K. we had to wait until 1964 before a completely unattended coin operated site was opened, but since that time many other coin operated pumps have been installed; and some bank note operated.

Most of these installati_ons operate without supervision, some on a temporary basis, but many having been granted consent. To date there are 91 approvals for com operated pumps and 58 approvals for bank note and. in total we must now be approaching l_QO mstallat10_ns wluch are operational. This is a contmually changmg figure and therefore cannot be absolutely accurate.

Systems Post Payment

We all familiar with this system where the customer himself then kiosk or control point to pay for hts purchase. Thts equipment necessitates the employment of at least one person on the premises to control the pumps and to accept. the payment, and is often referred to as attended This was the system introduced down at Plymouth _usmg Swedish equipment. At least five m the U.K. are currently producing post payment eqmpment; these I will talk about later. Pre-Payment

As the the customer pays for his spirit before servmg himself and by far the vast majority of systems . are operated by the insertion of coins or bank notes, either mto the pump or into control cabinets or remote from the pump. One system was eveloped where by the pump could be pre-set remotely a_ cash register type of console but I have not seen this used practise. This does not mean that it has not been used m the The coin or bank note operated systell1:s are the ones mstalled on the unattended sites, but you will gather that had the third system been developed to any great degree we could have had an attended presystem. I understand that there are one or two sites. bemg operated. with normal pre-set pumps as selfserv1ce. On these sites an attendant carrying a satchel the forecourt, taking the customer's cash and prepump, then switching on for the customer to sherve tmse.If. I have not seen these sites but I am told t ey are quite successful.

Equipment

As Il1:entioned earlier, there are at least five pump compames manufacturing self-service equipment in the U_.K. and very broadly these can be split into two Groups. Firstly there are the ele<;:tro-mechanical systems being p_roduced by two compames. Basically this system consists of pulse generators, mounted on the money and <?f the head in the pump, which send electr!cal impulses mto control gear mounted in a console umt the control point or kiosk. The pulses are counted electrically and are to provide readouts of both the cash and q uant1ty. The controller is able to converse throu_gh an intercom system with the customers. This sometunes give rise to difficulty because the intercom units have to be intrinsically safe and so the power supply is very small. It is therefore difficult to obtain sound transmission which is higher than general noise level on the forecourt. When the customer has signalled his presence to the operator, he or she releases the pump for customer use. The operator is able at any time to switch off the supply of energy to any pump. Additionally, there is a master switch on the console which isolates all pumps. One manufacturer in the U.K. has developed a completely electronic system. In this case again pulse generators are fitted to the appropriate shafts in the computer head, but at the kiosk or control point the impulses are fed into memory store and thence to a ticket printer, which, when the pump is switched off, prints a ticket automatically, this being presented to the customer when he comes to pay.

Two-way communication is included in this system through press buttons and light systems, which are very simple to operate and to The presses a button on the pump which ltghts an amber ltght on the pump and the console. When the operator releases the pump a green light shows on the pump and the customer serves himself. Again the operator has comple!e of the pumps, being able to switch on or off md1v1dual pumps or to isolate all pumps at will.

Two further U.K. manufacturers have developed systems utilising electronic equipment by a _fi_rm of electronic specialists. Naturally there are s1mtlanties, between these two systems, but basically again we pulses being fed from the pumps back to. a control pomt. In this case they are fed into an electromc memory store, and here the system becomes more and more complex than the others mentioned so far. Havmg the information into the memory store, it is the1?- possible to operate this system either as post payment readouts, or as pre-payment either bank or com Used as post payment the infonnatton from the store can be transferred to a readout and held whtls! the following customer operation is takit?-g Alternatively the information can be transferred immediately onto the readout which follows the pump computer as a slave.

When used as pre-payment either 5/- or £1 number of impulses corresponding to the value mserted ts recorded on a relay. When the pump is operated the pulses sent back from the pulse generator co_unt up _to the number on the relays and the operation ts when the correct numbers have been dispensed. Audto intercoms are fitted on the post payment systems but these suffer the same weakness as other similar arrangements.

A feature of the bank note operated and coin section is that the control cabinet has a system of air purging which overcomes the problems of flame .P!·oofing or making intrinsically safe. Some local find this acceptable and the control equipment 1s therefore allowed to be mounted adjacent to the petrol pump.

The Swedish equipment used on the first site in this country is similar to the first two that is, electro mechanical with audio intercom, but ongmally this transferred price indications only.

Apart from the one equipment mentioned above, which could be used for either pre or post payment, prepa)'.ment equipment in the U.K. is mainly of two types. Firstly,

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we have the coin operated variety which operates by the insertion of two half crowns and dispenses only that quantity of fuel. With this system the first half crown can be recovered if the customer changes his mind or does not have a .second half crown which is valid, but when the second half crown has been accepted then the customer either takes his fuel or loses the cash. In this system the pump is pre-set to 5/- and the coins simply provide the electricity supply; the cut-off control being mechanical as with ordinary pre-set pumps. Coin accumulation using both florins and half crowns has been tried, but has not been developed to any great extent. The other prepayment system that is familiar to us is the bank note operated equipment. The bank note validator is based upon the American Dollar Changer, and is an anglicised, sophisticated version of the equipment which is used extensively in the U.S.A. This device scans a section of the bank note in great detail and is usually adjusted to reject about 5 % of valid notes. This means that very old, dirty and creased bank notes would be rejected. The systems in operation are basically very simple. When a valid note has been accepted this simply supplies energy to the pump which is mechanically pre-set, and cuts off automatically when the correct volume to the monetary value has been dispensed. In this respect it is similar to the coin operated 5/- version. In the bank note system a three minute timing device has been incorporated, the operation being completely cancelled at the end of this period.

Another system being developed and to be evaluated in the near future is a mechanical ticket printer built into the pump. Some form of intercom will be built into the system which will of course be post payment. When the pump is freed by the operator the customer serves himself and at the end of the sale a ticket is issued automatically, which is presented to the operator for payment. This equipment will have power re-set which means that the customer will only have to remove the nozzle from the pump, serve himself, and return the nozzle to the pump, which is about as simple as the operation can be made.

A system is being developed using remote pumps with a readout on the nozzle end of the hose. In this system hose reels underground or suspended from canopies could be incorporated.

Yet another system under development will use blender pumps on a post payment system during day time operation, and will switch to bank note or credit card unattended operation at other times.

These last two systems are not being developed in the U.K. and are very much in the development stage so we need not concern ourselves with details at this time.

Nozzle

When self-service was first introduced into the U.K. it was suggested by some authorities that a nozzle should be produced which would not operate until it was placed in the fill pipe of the vehicle. It should be designed so that it would cut off automatically when the level of liquid rose up to the end of the nozzle, and should cut off in the event of blow back. It should also be impossible to grasp the trigger when taking it out of the pump.

Wayne Tank an~ Pump Co~npany spent a great deal of time and money 111 developmg a nozzle which would satisfy all the conditions called for. They built in electronic sensing devices so that it sensed when a car was in front of the pump. There were other devices built into it, so that it would not operate until it was placed into an opening. It cut off as required in the event of blow back or fill up. This development cost that Company many thousands of pounds, but it did not prevent a customer placing a nozzle into a metal pipe similar to a car fill pipe, and what was worse, it could not be made reliable. The sensing devices were far too delicate for a piece of equipment which receives somewhat rough handling in quite normal operation. The significant point of course was that it could not be made reliable and thus would have created a hazard. The next development was carried out by a continental manufacturer. In an attempt to satisfy some of the conditions, they produced a nozzle which had an external bar running underneath the spout, and which operated a moving fulcrum arrangement within the nozzle body. In theory this nozzle would not operate until it was placed into an opening, but the opening could be anything from a vehicle fill pipe to a section of chain link fence. In practise this nozzle proved to be most unreliable as t~e bar qu~ckly became damaged due to being pressed aga~nst the sides of the vehicle fill pipe, and knocked agamst the pump when being replaced in its holder.

Far from being a safety feature this arrangement became an additional hazard as the customers failed to make the no~zle op:rate. when in the fill pipe after a very short period of time m use, and therefore took it out and started fiddling with it. This often resulted in petrol being sprayed anywhere but into the proper place.

For these reasons, some of the authorities who had ask~d for this arrangement changed their requirement. The maJonty of pump manufacturers and certainly my own company strongly recommend that this nozzle is not used for self-servic~ and generally a preference for the type of nozzle which has an inbuilt inertia device is stated. These latter nozzles will not operate until the nozzle is pointed downwards below the horizontal they cut off automatically at ve~)'. slow speeds in the ~vent of bi?~ back or fill up cond1t10ns, that is where the level of spmt rises above the end of the spout. We consider these nozzles to be eminently satisfactory and this would appear to be borne out by experience on the continent, particularly in Germany, where they have been used on the many thousands of coin operated machines installed on sites in that country.

In addition to the safety features built into these nozzles, in practice it has been found that customers serving themselves are more careful with their own vehicle than an attendant would be, and one rarely sees even the dribbles at the end of the sale running down a vehicle on selfservice sites, whereas this often happens with attendants who tend to become somewhat careless.

Regulations and Licensing Conditions

There has been little guidance to Licensing Authori~ies or Oil Company personnel on the subject of self-service, from the Home Office. What little information that has been issued to date upon application, has been in the form of an opinion given by H.M. Chief Inspector of Expl_osives. This opinion included some conditions which are impossible to comply with, such as not allowing young persons

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to obtain petrol from an unattended equipment. However, you may have heard that when on the 28th March Mr. Gresham Cooke asked the following question in the House of Commons: "To ask the Sec~etary of State for the Home Department, when, havmg regard to the contribution to National productivity that can be made by Self-Service Petrol Stations, he will publish the Model Code for attended and unattended Petrol Stations for the guidance of local authorities".

The following reply was received: "\Tuidance on_ !he precautions necessary at SelfSer~1ce Pet~ol F1llmg Stations will be included in a rev1s~d version of the Home Office Model Code to be pubhshe~ by H.M. St'.1-tionery Office in about three moi;iths time. 1'.1e~nwh1le any local authority advice can obtam it from the Home Office". requiring M_ay I expre?s the hope that any advice sought and received followmg that statement, will be based on the new Model Code and not on the information as given in the past.

You are all no doubt familiar with the documents headed '.'Sp~c~al Cond_itions for Post-Payment Self-Service at Retail Fiihng Sta~1ons" and "Special Conditions for Unattended Self-Service at Retail Filling Stations" issued recen~ly by_ the Council of the A.P.A.A. Befor~ com~entmg bnefly on some of these conditions !1ke t<? make clear that these documents helped I should fill a gap I~ gu1d'.1-nce to Petroleum Officers which was creating d1ffic1:1lties for all concerned with the Oil Industry, and that. mcludes H~vmg been this n_ature, I ~he relevant sections of local authorities. mvolved myself in framing documents of appreciate the hard work and thought that went mto the production of these two documents and we should all be grateful to the people who made the effort to ~roduce them. It is much easier to criticise someone else s work than to produce original work, so I would ask ~ou t.0 . a.ccept any comments I may make are not intended as c~1tic1sm, but as suggestions where amendments could possibly be made with benefit to all concerned. Further, l shall long. not comment on every item ' as this would take too Let us first consider Post-Payment: Condition 1 "~he bustible Contr?l Room shall materials and shall be be so constructed of incomsited and designed that ~le

C~nsole operator (hereinafter called the Controller) . as a c .ear and _unobs~ructed view of all Self-Service pumps and adjacent d1spensmg areas". We would enitrely agree ~~at th~ Controller should have a clear view of all that is appenmg on the forecourt in the area of the dispensing equipment, but the term "incombustible materials" does appea~ !o. be so.mewhat loose and surely this would not apply if1t IS outside the areas prescribed in the Model Code. Condition 4A "Deliv~ries of Spirit into receptacles which comply the requirements of the Petroleum Consolidation with Act, 1928, other may be made person". by a forecourt attendant but by no

There may not be a forecourt attendant so the Con~roller does ~ot release a pump for a customer for filling mto a contamer. 1t would appear that this Condition is really questioning the efficiency of the Controller but we feel it would be better omitted.

Condition 5 "If the Controller, for any reason, leaves the Control Room so that the remote control devices are no longer under his immediate supervision all systems shall be de-activated. The only exception to this Condition shall be that if the Controller makes a delivery from any pump then that pump and that pump only may remain activated during his absence from the Control Room". It would appear that this Condition has been framed to cover Condition 4 and may be thought unnecessary. We would all agree that the control devices must be deactivated if left by the Controller.

Condition 6 refers to Operating Instructions. Much thought has been given to the instructions on SelfService equipment by manufacturers, the Board of Trade, Oil Companies, and some authorities. They vary for each system and tion has to if we or anyone wishes to vary them, ~pplicabe made to the Board of Trade. The mstructions given in this document do not cover all systems and we would suggest that they be either qualified, ~hich would be a major operation, or omitted altogether m the detail given. Condition 10 "The persons employed as Controllers shall have received instructions in the use of the apparatus, shall be over 18 years of age and their names shall be displayed on a notice kept within the Control Room. No person other than those so named shall operate the Control Console". Here we would suggest that reference to a responsible person would be better than stipulation. of a minimum age limit as I am sure you will agree age IS no guarantee of responsibility or intelligence. Condition 12 This condition refers to the design of the delivery nozzle but we would suggest that some aspects have not been covered. For instance, the Conditions in the document do not mention latched nozzles and this could lead to some confusion because as you know the Home Office Conditions for latched nozzles state that they shall not be used by anyone other than the pump attendant, but these Conditions are supposed to supersede the Model Code. Condition 14 is one which gives the Special Conditions priority over Standard Conditions, but as you see from my few comments there are some points that need clarification if Condition 14 is to stand in its present form.

Now may we look briefly at the Conditions for unattended Self-Service. Condition 1 "The method of operation may be by coin or note acceptor, but in order to safeguard against misuse the minimum permissible quantity shall be limited to that obtainable by the insertion of 10/-. If note accepting apparatus is used this shall be built into the Sales Office or Kiosk and, unless it is of the pressurised type, be sited at least 20 feet from any part of the petroleum installation: the base of the apparatus shall be 42 inches above ground level. Pressurised coin or note accepting equipment is automatically switched off immediately following a loss

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of pressure within the housing of the apparatus". Here it is difficult to understand the minimum figure of 10/when there are nearly 100 coin operated ~quipments installed dispensing 5/- worth. These have been very successful as a get-you-home service and it is felt should be allowed to continue, particularly in view of the experience in Germany where many thousands of machines having a lower limit of under one gallon have been very successful. Further, it is difficult to see why the base of the control apparatus should be 42 inches above ground level. It may be better to suggest that the greater part of a gallon be the minimum quantity dispensed from this type of equipment. Condition 2 "A good standard of lighting shall be provided to illuminate the dispensing area, the note accepting apparatus when provided and the cabinet containing fire fighting equipment; all other lighting shall be extinguished". We feel that it is preferable to have a good standard of illumination on the forecourt with a higher concentration on the actual filling area. Maybe some guidance could be given on the intensity of illumination. May I quote Germany again· here, where they insist on good lighting on the many sites they are successfully operating.

Condition 4 again refers to the type of nozzle and it is felt that a little more detail could be given in this item. At the same time the fitting of a shroud has been tried unsuccessfully, and to my knowledge there is no equipment available which will completely lift the hose from the ground. We feel that the nozzle with the inertia fitting coupled with the normal retractor type hose gives sufficient safety and the retractor mechanism tends to pull the hose and nozzle off the forecourt area onto the pump island.

Condition 9 "Apart from the normal instructions on the operation of the pump(s), there shall be a notice on the pump housing itself marked "NO SMOKING' -"SWITCH OFF ENGINE" and giving instructions to the customer on the replacing of the hose after use. There shall be a further notice on top of the pump(s) bearing the words "SELF-SERVICE". Such pumps and notices shall be free from any advertising matter".

In this case, a plea for help, because the operator is not allowed to display any notices on the pump without the consent of the Board of Trade. I am sure you can appreciate, gentlemen, that we poor people in the Oil Companies and our dealers could be battered from two authorities unless we can ask you to co-operate with each other.

Condition I I once again gives the Special Conditions priority over the Standard Conditions and as before we feel that some clarification may be needed.

I hope l have not sounded hypercritical of these Special Conditions, in the absence of positive guidance from the Home Office some guidance was necessary and I am sure that these documents were given much thought before they w~re pu?Jished .. I shall ~e ple~sed to discuss any of the pomts raised durmg the d1scuss10n period. fn closing I wish to say that the growth of Self-Service in the U.K. has been assisted by those Petroleum Officers who have granted approval for these installations with realistic conditions. It is fair to say that without these gentlemen there could have been no progress in this sector of the Oil Industry and their efforts and courage are appreciated I am sure by the Oil Companies. Now ifthere are any points which I can clarify I shall be pleased to receive your questions or comments.

Discussion ....

Mr. R. P. Holdaway referred to Mr. Wicks' comments on the Special Conditions for Post-Payment and Unattended Self-Service at Retail Filling Stations issued by the Council of the Association and pointed out that, although every effort had been made to have discussions round the table with representatives of the Home Office, Petrol Companies and Pump Manufacturers, the joint discussions did not materialise. In consequence, as Association Members were requesting immediate guidance and even though it was known that a new model Code was to be issued soon, the Council had done their best to fill the gap.

Replying, Mr. Wicks said that he hoped his remarks had not been misinterpreted. The Council's Special Conditions were very good and had been issued with good intent.

In reply to questions dealing with the safety of selfservice: the advantages of note acceptors over coin operate~ pump~; the danger of customers spilling petrol on the1r clothmg; and the type of fire extinguishers to be provided, Mr. Whitehead considered that the time had come when one must take a calculated risk in accepting the principle ~f. self-service. From the experienc;:e of.oth~r Local Authont1es and as evidenced by Mr. Wicks m his paper, this was a risk that could be accepted. Altho~gh h~ had no personal preference in the type of fire extmgmshers, the 2-gall.on foam type might have an advantage over dry powder 111 that they were Jess likely to be stolen from the premises and so be missing at the time they were needed.

In answer to a question concerning immigrants who m~y be un'.lble to read the operating instructions,. Mr· Wicks remmded the meeting that there were resident British persons who could not read. There was no real answer to that question.

Other points raised and replied to by either Mr. Whitehead or Mr. Wicks dealt with:

The prohibition of latched nozzles on self-service pumps;

The desirability of the break away device between the nozzle and the hose;

Consultation with the Planning Authority in the event of filling stations commencing to sell other goods not normally related to that trade;

The necessity for an attendant to remain on the forecourt at those conventional filling stations which were using th~- normal type of pump but permitted the customer to operate the pump;

The provision of retractable hoses;

The fact that, in Germany, it had been found that accidents resultant from self-service were so unusual that few, if any, garages now took out insurance policies to protect themselves against claims by motorists.

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