Petroleum marketing company RUBiS Energy Jamaica yesterday announced that it has introduced a new high-tech method of fuel testing.

According to the company’s Retail Manager Raymond Samuels, the introduction of Portable Digital Fuel Testers will strengthen the integrity of RUBiS’ products and confirm the company’s commitment to selling high-quality, safe fuels in all its markets.

The Portable Digital Fuel Testers perform analysis which would otherwise be conducted by means of time-consuming lab tests and display results, which RUBiS said are “99.999 per cent” accurate, within seconds on their LCD display-screen.

“The device can store over 1,000 test results; consequently allowing users to compare results of varying samples while readily allowing logging for an eventual database of results for consultation if needed,” RUBiS said in a news release, adding that the results are also transferable to laptops or can be exported to printers and other devices via wireless communication and infrared data interface.

The machine stores the data, including the sample identification, measurement unit and the date and time of the test.

RUBiS’ introduction of the device comes after what is now known as the “bad gas” saga threw the gasoline industry into a tailspin with hundreds of motorists claiming damage to their vehicles from contaminated fuel which they bought at service stations across the island.

The affair came to a boil late 2015 into 2016, resulting in seething tempers and finger-pointing between the retailers and their suppliers, with motorists demanding compensation.

A few weeks ago, the Petroleum Trade Reform Committee established by the previous Government submitted an interim report on the contaminated gasoline to the new Cabinet stating that its findings were inconclusive.

Yesterday, Samuels emphasised that fuel quality is a top priority for RUBiS and said that the newly acquired technology will help in improving the efficiency of fuel testing and RUBiS’s retail operations.

“RUBiS is fully committed to providing the highest quality products, and our latest investment in the Portable Digital Fuel Testers is in line with our mandate of providing safe, quality fuel products to the Jamaican consumers,” the release quotes Samuels.

“The usual procedure for quality assurance testing would include transporting fuel samples to the RUBiS lab located at our storage plant. However, with this advanced equipment we will be able to conduct onsite tests at our service stations and have the results delivered within seconds. This is the most efficient method of testing internationally, and RUBiS is proud to introduce it to the Jamaican gasoline retail market,” Samuels said.

He said the company’s staff have already been trained how to use the devices. “As a result, quality control testing is expected to gradually become much more frequent with results immediately attainable for retailers.”

“He said the introduction of the device is an important step in the right direction to ensure that the company realises its vision of improving the Jamaican gasoline retail market.

“While standardised quality tests already exist in our operations, this new technology ensures that the quality is examined literally at the pump, and importantly, on a more frequent basis. RUBiS has every confidence in the tests and all the procedures which we have in place, and those newly introduced with the Portable Digital Fuel Testers, to ensure the quality of our fuel products,” said Samuels.