I got a lot of questions following NACFE’s announcement that we would be conducting a Run on Less demonstration with electric vehicles. People wanted to know why we were doing it now.
In previous Run on Less events, where the technology was proven, we were trying to show what fleets and drivers that were committed to improving fuel efficiency could achieve MPG numbers significantly higher than the average MPG for the nation’s fleet as a whole. With Run on Less – Electric we are focusing on myth-busting because there are still people out there that say electric trucks won’t work. Our goal is to show that electric trucks can actually deliver real freight in certain duty cycles. While they don’t yet make sense in long-haul applications, for the pick-up-and-delivery market and drayage segments and as yard spotters — to name a few — they are very well suited.
We see Run on Less – Electric as an opportunity for the whole industry to learn more about electric trucks, and we hope that what we’ll learn will encourage more fleets to begin testing electric trucks in their operations. The Run will include trucks in Classes 3-8, but while we expect many of the participants will be in the lower GVW range, there are still things we will be able to learn from successes in those duty cycles. NACFE will share the benefits and the challenges these fleets face and together we will create an atmosphere for all of us to minimize those challenges as we go forward.
The only way we are going to get electric trucks to scale is if more people start ordering them and putting them into service. And the only way that is going to happen is if people have more confidence that those trucks can successfully deliver freight to their customers.
We are in the early stages of determining on which metrics we should focus our data collection efforts during the Run. How we measure the efficiency of electric trucks is in its infancy. Some of our early thoughts of what to measure focus on things like the percentage of battery charge, time to charge, miles traveled, number of stops per day, speeds traveled and others.
The question around what data to collect is very important. What we measure needs to be meaningful to fleets in making their purchasing decisions and to manufacturers developing the many new components on these trucks.
The NACFE team is hard at work trying to determine not only the type of data to collect but the metrics to use to evaluate that data. We are very open to input from fleets, manufacturers, manufacturers of charging equipment, utilities — really from anyone who wants to help us move trucking into an electric future.
I would hazard a guess that every fleet manager is keeping track of the maintenance and repair events for their fleet’s vehicles. I would also bet that most have digitized some if not all of their maintenance reporting.
I am a big advocate of automating or digitizing maintenance and repair tracking. For one thing, it ensures the consistency of the data; every data point is collected the same way every time maintenance is performed. Automating the process also means data is collected on every vehicle every time it is serviced no matter where that service takes place. Whether you perform maintenance in your own shop, send it to an outside service provider or use some combination of in-house and out-sourced maintenance, all your data will be consistent.
This allows you to compare equipment performance on an apples-to-apples basis. You can see which assets are performing well and which are having problems. You can use the data to compare the performance of one manufacturers’ truck or component to that of another. This information can be used during the spec review when ordering new vehicles to help ensure you get the best vehicles for your various duty cycles.
The data can also help fleet managers make smart decisions about the level of warranty they should purchase. In some cases, it might be wise to purchase extended warranties for certain components.
In addition, having all this data allows you to identify training needs of both drivers and technicians. If you see a repeated problem with a vehicle (or vehicles) driven by a particular driver that is the result of poor driving habits, you can schedule some additional training and have facts to back up why you think the driver needs a refresher.
The data also can be used to identify where additional technician training may be needed. If a truck or group of trucks are in the shop frequently between PMs for the same issue, that tells you that there is a hole in your technician’s skill set. You can then take steps to schedule training that addresses the problem.
Data from maintenance and repair events is a gold mine that you can use to help improve your overall fleet efficiency.
Joseph Evangelist joined Transervice in 2007 and currently serves as executive vice president of sales, operations and staff responsibilities. Heavily involved in new business development and account management, his day-to-day focus consists of post-acquisition assimilation planning to maximize new growth and business combination opportunities.
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January 21, 2021 at 10:52PM
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Run on Less – Electric: A deep dive - Fleet Owner
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