Delivery fleet better mpg

[oil pan 4]

Diesel programmers can boost mileage.

[oldtamiyaphile]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Yeah, it depends on how much of the route is urban; if average speed is low then it's a non-issue.

Speed has bugger all to do with it. My brand new Wrangler's screen was chipped in a 25mph zone, by a Landrover with a missing mud flap. I was following at least 100 yards back.

[UltArc]

Air pressure might not be worth daily, for the time of each driver each day- instead of weekly.

[ksa8907]

ROI calculations will be of chief importance since this is a business. Air pressure and simple aero mods from inexpensive materials are probably the best bet.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Hardattack

Thanks for input guys. Dirty fave that is good idea about rewarding driver. Have to study on how to do so with the different trucks and routes. Have to check on the mud flaps. There is some highway miles from terminal to route and back. Wife has drove 340 in one day. Routes are made up in office but doesn't make any sense at times. Only the new drivers use them though. After they learn route it's done to get done as early as possible which go in hand with fewer miles. Thanks a lot for the input and keep it coming.

I was going to suggest a reward system too, but it will be tricky to sort out. With so many different types of vehicles, it is not a level playing field.

Hold a driver training class. Most hypermiling techniques would be off the table, but things like using the brakes less, accelerating slower (every FedEx driver I've seen is either at WOT or stomping on the brakes), and keeping the speed down should be acceptable. Maybe run gauges (ultragauges are cheaper so ROI should be quicker) in their trucks for a week without anyone knowing why, hold a class and inform the drivers of the push to improve efficiency, and then reward the driver that has the highest percentage increase over their baseline.

I think most aero mods would be a hard sell on a corporate vehicle.

It may make sense for the owner to sell some of the less efficient vehicles and buy more of the more efficient vehicles. Maybe even buy some smaller vehicles. A light delivery day might be handled by a Ford Transit Connect or similar.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Hardattack

Routes are made up in office but doesn't make any sense at times. Only the new drivers use them though. After they learn route it's done to get done as early as possible which go in hand with fewer miles.

Then maybe it would be worthwhile to look at route optimization software, because the specific route should change every day, depending on exactly where packages are to be delivered. For instance, there's no point in driving down my dead-end road unless there's a package for one of the half-dozen houses on it. A really good program would take into account how traffic &c varies by time of day, and so on.

My guess is that you ought to be able to find something that runs on a tablet, with GPS mapping &c.

[oldtamiyaphile]

Originally Posted by darcane

Hold a driver training class. Most hypermiling techniques would be off the table, but things like using the brakes less, accelerating slower (every FedEx driver I've seen is either at WOT or stomping on the brakes), and keeping the speed down should be acceptable. Maybe run gauges (ultragauges are cheaper so ROI should be quicker) in their trucks for a week without anyone knowing why, hold a class and inform the drivers of the push to improve efficiency, and then reward the driver that has the highest percentage increase over their baseline.

If you reward the highest increase over the driver's individual baseline, you're basically penalising drivers who were doing the right thing all along. I say this because I used to hypermile a van I didn't own or pay the fuel on.

UG's are too easy to cheat. Just EOC and they take so long to reboot that they miss the 'pulse' entirely. Easy to get great numbers this way.

The reward system is a good idea overall, but I can't think of a way to police it that would be practical. Even if it tallied up fuel receipts, if the reward was too large they could just top up the tanks with their own cash or short fill.

There are GPS monitors available to track drivers but that opens up a whole stack of other issues.

[jaylhouse]

Set an overall fleet savings goal and everyone wins if it is met

[Rembrant]

Originally Posted by Hardattack

I know there is some sprinters...

If you do a calculation on gallons of fuel used per year, those Sprinters will likely do pretty well since they often spend a month at a time in the garage...lol.

As for increasing the MPG of fleet vehicles, that's a tough one...they have a hard life (much like rental cars.

Are the employees allowed any personal usage of the company vehicles? If so, that's a place to start.

Rem

[Frank Lee]

The Boss will just have to appeal to their moral compass'.

BWWAHAHAHAHA.