Increasing fuel efficiencies – An Example
Using fuel efficiencies as one example of a targeted objective:
- Establish baseline of current fuel consumption. The average fuel costs per truck are estimated at $31,543 assuming 160 miles per day at with 4.01 gallons of fuel being consumed per hour.
- Set a desired goal for fuel efficiencies: To shave 20 minutes of driving time per day (3.3%) for a saving of $1,049 annually per truck
- Establish truck and driver productivity reports. Identify reports to show fuel efficiency by hour and by mile. Truck and driver reports will allow you to track which trucks and drivers are most and least efficient. For example, if a truck has differing fuel economies with different drivers, then it’s a driver issue and behaviour can be modified.) Productivity reports can compare different driver/trucks across fleet to identify any flags (apples to apples comparisons), check idle times and more.
- Establish the key criteria for the productivity reports, who will review them and how often.
- Set guidelines for driver interaction. Once the process for review and analysis has been established, develop guidelines for addressing any issues with drivers. This should primarily be done through positive incentives. For example, all drivers that have a score of 95% and more get a bonus.
- Ensure a process for making the program a sustainable one. Don’t stop once objectives have been achieved.
- By monitoring and reducing idling times, better managing speeding and reducing the amount of unnecessary travel, the following fuel-related savings can be achieved:
- Best case: Reducing 30 minutes per day (5.0%) saves $1,573 annually per truck
- Worst case: Reducing 15 minutes per day (2.5%) saves $787 annually per truck
- Expected: Reducing 20 minutes per day (3.3%) saves $1,049 annually per truck