Why this checklist exists.
Philippine independent stations use buried underground tanks. Outside sensors are not the mass-market tool. The only physical check is the dipstick through the manhole. The gauge, the sales book, and the delivery ticket can all be wrong. If you do not dip, you are not in control.
1. Daily dip — before first sale
Needed: phone, the stick for that tank, fuel-finding paste, water-finding paste.
- Open Dipstify. Select your name. Start the morning dip from the field app your station uses.
- Select the tank. Use the stick color-coded for that tank. Do not swap sticks.
- Fuel-finding paste on the lower half. Water-finding paste on the bottom 10 cm.
- Open the correct manhole. No open flame. No smoking within 10 meters.
- Lower the stick slowly and straight until the handle rests on the pipe rim. Do not slam the tank bottom. Wait 3 seconds.
- Pull up smoothly. Hold level. Do not wipe before you read. Read the sharp line at its center — liters, not inches.
- If water paste turned bright red: stop selling that tank. Call the supervisor. Do not guess.
- Enter the reading immediately. Do not try to remember it later. Confirm. The app timestamps it.
- Wipe the stick. Close the manhole. Repeat for every tank. Submit the morning report.
Also dip after every delivery (when the product has settled) and at closing. Any time the numbers feel wrong — do not wait for month-end.
2. How to read it right
- Correct manhole. Correct stick. Pipe clear of debris.
- Lower slowly. Hold vertical. Wait a full 3 seconds. Read at eye level.
- If it looks wrong, redip once. If it matches, enter it. If it differs, take a third reading and enter the middle value, flagged.
- If ATG or the sales book disagrees with the stick, the stick wins until you prove otherwise.
3. Hardcopy on site
Digital is for speed. The checklist is for continuity — power out, phone dead, staff change. Print this page. Post it at the manhole.
- Date, time, tank, product, stick reading, water, who dipped.
- Delivery: litres on the ticket vs what the stick says after drop.
- Do not erase. Strike through and initial if you correct a line.
4. Variance — you stay in control
Expected inventory = yesterday’s close + deliveries − pump sales. Compare to today’s dip. Owner’s Lens uses the same four bands everywhere, as a percent of tank capacity: ≤0.5% acceptable · 0.5–0.75% flag · 0.75–1% orange · ≥1% red.
- Green: at or under 0.5% of tank capacity.
- Flag / orange: 0.5–1% — recount, check photos, check the shift.
- Red: 1% or more — redip all tanks. Check unrecorded sales. Check overnight delivery. Check pump meters. Escalate to the owner. Do not hide it.
5. Integrity
- Ghost dipping (a number without a physical dip) is a firing offense.
- Do not use someone else’s login.
- Do not sell from a water-flagged tank.
- A reading without a photo is incomplete until confirmed.
6. Safety — non-negotiable
- No smoking within 10 meters of any manhole or dispenser.
- No phone calls while the manhole is open.
- Nitrile gloves when applying paste and handling the stick.
- Wash hands after dipping, before eating.
- Never leave an open manhole unattended.
- Do not open the manhole in heavy rain. Water in the tank is your loss.
- Stick dropped in the tank: retrieval magnet only. Never reach in.
7. Quick reference
| Problem | Action |
|---|---|
| Number looks wrong | Redip once; if still wrong, enter and flag |
| Water detected | Stop selling that tank. Call supervisor |
| Paste dry / no color | Replace the tube. Do not use old paste |
| Stick bent / markings gone | Do not use. Request replacement. No Sharpie |
| Manhole stuck | Use the retrieval hook, not the stick |
| Variance red | Redip all tanks. Check sales. Escalate |
| No internet | Still dip. The app queues. Do not skip |
| Phone stolen | Tell the owner immediately so they can lock it |
Source: Dipstify Field Kit product bible (locked 26 July 2026). Variance bands: Owner’s Lens standard locked 31 July 2026. HMC. This page is a practice checklist, not a government form.