FORT BELVOIR, Va. – A team from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy Business Process Support Directorate has deployed an innovative solution to a critical issue impacting military fueling operations in arctic environments. The team successfully modified the DLA Energy Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) system to counteract battery failures in subfreezing temperatures, ensuring that warfighters can maintain operational readiness.
The Challenge in the Cold First fielded in 2022 to replace the older Automated Fuel Service Stations, the modern EPoS fixed device system relies on a handheld scanner for fuel authorization. However, the lithium batteries in these scanners quickly lose their charge and become inoperable in subfreezing temperatures, halting the dispensing of crucial fuel.
"System end users reported the battery limitations after the initial use in subzero temperatures," said Emmanuel Stockdale, branch chief of the DLA Energy Business Process Support Directorate. "The initial solution required warfighters to switch the batteries out multiple times throughout the day to keep the system operational, exhausting valuable time."
An Innovative Solution To solve this, the team collaborated with the EPoS Program Management Office (PMO) and application vendors to modify the system's software. This enhancement expanded the capability of the EPoS pedestal's built-in barcode reader — originally designed for scanning military IDs and driver's licenses—to also read QR codes. This pivotal change eliminated sole reliance on the battery-dependent handheld scanners in extreme cold.
"The team pursued other options that would have required extensive development time and resources," Stockdale added. "The final option was selected for its efficiency and immediate impact."
Global Implementation With the software solution in place, DLA Energy EPoS Support Team members, Andre Farley and Tene McAdams, managed the production and distribution of over 33,000 durable QR code tags. These tags can be attached to vehicle keys and scanned directly by the pedestal's newly enhanced onboard reader.
"The process began with a meticulous design phase to engineer the precise label dimensions," explained McAdams. "Next, we moved to data validation, where every one of the 33,000 equipment IDs was carefully checked for accuracy. Once verified, we produced the tags and coordinated their shipment to designated cold weather sites."
Supporting the Warfighter The EPoS system is a front-line customer and business partner-facing system, used to capture real-time military fleet management fuel retail transactions at unattended military service stations, mobile ground fuel transactions, and aviation fuel transactions for mobile airfield/flight line operations.
In everyday terms, it allows users to make fuel purchases securely using either a fleet card or a QR code at over 600 locations worldwide using mobile and satellite connectivity.
“There's nothing quite like the feeling of knowing your work directly helps a service member in the field,” said Farley. “For me, it’s a deep sense of pride. We took what was a frustrating limitation and transformed it into a genuine solution that makes a real difference.”