{"id":13568,"date":"2022-04-15T16:28:19","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T14:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=13568"},"modified":"2022-04-15T16:28:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T14:28:19","slug":"electrification-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/04\/15\/electrification-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Private fleets charge ahead with electrification"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before your freight-hauling operation makes this leap, learn how some private carriers are showing the way. To them, it’s all about ‘mixed’ fleets and phasing in the future over time as an all-new market develops and ‘use cases’ evolve.<\/p>\n

One of the largest private fleets in North America still is one that is showing the way for any fleet interested in the painstaking process of electrifying their freight-hauling operations.<\/p>\n

Emily Conway, PepsiCo\u2019s fleet sustainability manager, joined a recent\u00a0webinar<\/a>, \u201cTransitioning to a Truly Sustainable Fleet,\u201d to provide carriers some guideposts on easing EVs and the necessary charging infrastructure into their operations.<\/p>\n

The company has delved into fleet electrification since earlier in the 2000s\u2014perhaps most prominently with its North American snack-food subsidiary, Frito-Lay\u2014and the webinar was another entry point that FleetOwner<\/i>\u00a0used in recent weeks to eavesdrop on the important discussions taking place in the industry over what any fleet operator needs to know before deploying, routing, and maintaining EVs.<\/p>\n

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One of the Smith Electric Newton 2000 delivery vehicles that PepsiCo\u2019s Frito-Lay North America division ordered back in May 2012. PepsiCo and Frito-Lay have had longtime involvement with fleet electrification.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

PepsiCo<\/a>, which is No. 2 in the 2022\u00a0<\/a>FleetOwner<\/a><\/i>\u00a0500: Top Private Fleets<\/a> (up one spot from last year<\/a>) and is made up of three North American divisions (including Frito-Lay) and several others overseas, has the goal of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030, Conway noted.<\/p>\n

Some might say that goal is ambitious, but the company already operates 11 million all-electric miles with some contribution from compressed natural gas (CNG) and other sustainable vehicles, she noted. In September, PepsiCo announced a companywide sustainability transformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conway said PepsiCo uses a balance of short- and long-term planning to advance its fleet sustainability goals, which also includes the use of renewable diesel that is mostly available only on the West Coast of the U.S. But EVs are clearly center stage now for PepsiCo; they are the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been integrating aerodynamic devices for several years,\u201d she added during the discussion. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the way we\u2019re going to be transforming the industry. How do we really change?\u201d<\/p>\n

Electrification, that\u2019s how PepsiCo really changes, Conway said. It’s been involved in that process for quite some time, at least 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cElectric and CNG require more change management and training and more capital investment,\u201d she noted, \u201cbut they promise even greater change. Route optimization<\/a> [is important] because you have to think about where charging is available. We have to be much more careful when planning these new technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

For fleet managers, Conway also stressed the merits of running a mixed fleet such as PepsiCo\u2019s, especially if you\u2019re not sure about electrification as a long-term strategy. Mix in EVs as you phase out older diesel- or gasoline-burning vehicles; that\u2019s what PepsiCo has done, she said. \u201cThe variety of assets is already an asset for our fleet. We\u2019ve piloted so many different types of technologies; it\u2019s already part of our operational profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

The topic of maintaining\u2014not just buying and running them\u2014also is coming to the fore.<\/p>\n

Philip Saunders, who directs the City of Seattle\u2019s Green Fleet Program and was another panelist for the webinar,\u00a0stressed that any fleet\u2014municipal, private, or for-hire\u2014must plan for maintaining any sustainable vehicles they purchase, which requires advance planning for their maintenance shops that these vehicles are coming. \u201cGet your mechanics in there and get them trained\u201d in green technologies, he advised.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrain, train, train,” he added. “Give your [maintenance] people a buffer and let your people know what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also:<\/b> Mack offers range calculator for electric trucks<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

According to Joe Puff, VP of truck technology and maintenance at NationaLease, there are profound technician and shop implications to adding EVs to a fleet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This includes having the proper safety equipment\u2014arc flash shields, electrical safety gloves, dielectric boots and shoes, special insulated tools, etc. Procedures also have to be put in place to cover decommissioning an EV prior to beginning work on one, and technicians will need to be trained in proper EV servicing.<\/p>\n

As recently as the week of April 11, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence<\/a> (ASE) was hosting a three-day workshop in Leesburg, Virginia, focused on establishment of safety standards for service professionals who work on EVs. ASE is the well-known organization that certifies auto and commercial vehicle mechanics, so servicing EVs is definitely becoming top of mind for the maintenance industry if ASE has gotten involved.<\/p>\n

Special care is even required during the upfitting of vocational and other vehicles with chassis that feature high-voltage batteries. Using the wrong drill points, for example, for a commercial body upfit can put an installer in harm’s way, attendees at Work Truck Week 2022<\/a> in Indianapolis learned during a special session, “Upfitting Electric Vehicles: Work Truck Industry Challenges and Opportunities,” of the Green Truck Summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

George Bernwanger Jr., chief engineer with vocational upfitter Adrian Steel Co. and a panelist, stated the obvious during the summit special session:\u00a0“Avoid the battery” and high-voltage power lines during an upfit, just like you would when accessorizing a fossil fuel-burning vehicle around its gas tank or fuel lines.<\/p>\n

“We want to make sure everybody stays safe. We want to avoid high-voltage parts of the EV,” said Ray Eyles, chief nameplate engineer on Ford Pro’s 100% electric E-Transit platform<\/a> and another special session panelist.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Department of Energy | Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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‘New frontier’ of asset management<\/h3>\n

Then there’s that charging issue again\u2014and how telematics offers some solutions to day-to-day operations challenges that EVs present.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, PepsiCo’s Conway said, fleet managers have needed to know where, away from HQ, their vehicles could fuel or how much diesel or gasoline they needed to order for delivery and storage at home base. Electrified fleets, however, require them to think differently\u2014where and when to charge and build that knowledge into their duty cycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of electrification, the new frontier of asset management is charging. Truck people have had to become experts in electric infrastructure,\u201d\u00a0 Conway said, adding that PepsiCo developed an Electrification Site Prioritization (ESP) software tool, which takes into consideration fossil-fuel types\u2014diesel, CNG, and renewable natural gas (RNG)\u2014but looks at partnerships with electric utility companies for EVs. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to eliminate diesel as much as we can. We balance uses at specific sites,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly, the assets aren\u2019t just vehicles,\u201d added Charlotte Argue, senior manager of\u00a0fleet electrification at Geotab<\/a>\u00a0and also a participant in the webinar. \u201cIt\u2019s all about managing the facility and charging management.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also:<\/b>\u00a0Making the case for electric terminal tractors<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Where does a telematics company like Geotab, which provides data-driven hardware and software solutions to commercial fleets, come in?<\/p>\n

Its products empower fleets that are considering the jump to EVs to identify whether their routes are suitable for these vehicles. After adoption, Geotab\u2019s tools also assist with route optimization and data-driven software that can pinpoint the real-time remaining range of an electric vehicle out on a run and the status of its charge\u2014all in the name of maximizing coveted uptime and reducing dreaded downtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith EVs, there are different day-to-day management issues,\u201d Argue said, who recommended a telematics option such as Geotab\u2019s to give fleet managers and dispatchers the ability to keep track of data that is unique to electrified operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where real-time status of charge can be pulled into dispatching operations. Dispatchers can have confidence that those vehicles are actually being plugged in. That\u2019s quite a bit different than a [gas- or diesel-powered fleet]. It\u2019s an inconvenience to have to go someplace to fuel up, but an uncharged vehicle means several hours of downtime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Geotab<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Geotab&apos;s<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
Geotab’s GO device, which works on all kinds of vehicles, including EVs, providing performance and diagnostic data to fleets that use them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Geotab is a telematics engineering company with 44,000 customers around the world and 2.5 million vehicles using its devices and data services, including in private and local, state, and federal government fleets. It represents some of the largest fleets in North America, Argue noted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGood data is essentially fundamental to make good decisions in your sustainable strategy. For any new technology, you want to be able to do an assessment and figure out your \u2018use case.\u2019 You\u2019re going to be a lot more accurate in this if you base [your decision] in real data,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Argue recommended comparing the fuel economy of the fossil-fuel burning vehicles in your fleet with the cost of electricity for your prospective EVs. Also ask, she advised, whether seasonal changes are relevant to your operations; for example,\u00a0will your EVs operate in very cold or very hot conditions?\u00a0Geotab uses its EV Suitability Assessment Tool (EVSA) to even determine this.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, the data proves your assessment inaccurate. EVs are proving more useful and TCO-friendly. Telematics can benchmark your fleet to other similar fleets. [It can] improve routing, your driver fuel-management habits, and balance that with evaluating new types of fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a separate interview with\u00a0FleetOwner<\/i>, Rob Minton, Geotab\u2019s associate VP for connected cars, weighed in on how data from any vendor can help commercial fleets make that go\/no-go decision about electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re operating a fleet and you\u2019re interested in adding EVs, the No. 1 issue is that the EV has to be able to do the job that [internal combustion engine, or ICE] vehicles do,\u201d Minton said. \u201cThat requires good analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as Argue did, Minton mentioned Geotab\u2019s EV Suitability Assessment Tool. \u201cLook at real-world data with EVSA. How many miles a day, what\u2019s being driven, what\u2019s the geography, [what\u2019s the] payload? We look at that data and run it through the assessment tool.”<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could replace 10 of those [ICE] vehicles tomorrow and lose no capability,” Minton continued. “We would actually show you what EVs you could replace those ICE vehicles with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geotab makes its EVSA available to all its fleet customers at no charge through the MyGeotab portal on its website<\/a>. \u201cWith one click of [the EVSA button], it\u2019s going to start running that analysis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

OEMs feature Geotab solutions aboard their electric vehicles, Minton said. Count among them Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS), a maker of Class 1 electric urban delivery vans with a range of about 110 miles. Geotab\u2019s GO tracking device is embedded aboard ELMS vans. \u201cThat\u2019s a big plus from an end-user standpoint. That gives a company like Electric Last Mile Solutions a competitive advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geotab brings its long experience with ICE fleets to the table with EVs\u2014diagnostic information, location information, route optimization, real-time state of charge. \u201cI don\u2019t want to send an EV out to a customer if it doesn\u2019t have enough charge,\u201d Minton said.<\/p>\n

Most fleets, he said, are going to charge their EVs at a central depot. Geotab solutions can even tell a fleet which of their vehicles are charging and not in use and how long it will take for them to reach full charge. Minton added: \u201cDepending on that infrastructure provider, we can even tell a driver\u00a0which<\/i>\u00a0charging stations are available. Time is money. To be able to tell a fleet that they can pull right up and charge that vehicle is hugely important.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Editor’s note:\u00a0<\/b>This is the second part of our\u00a0look into the many aspects of EV adoption and the questions fleet operators should ask before making the leap to electrification.\u00a0Part 1<\/a>\u00a0appeared April 12\u2014and please look for the third and final part of the series later this week. These stories ran in abbreviated form as one piece in\u00a0the\u00a0April edition of\u00a0<\/i>FleetOwner\u00a0magazine.<\/i><\/p>\n

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By Scott Achelpohl<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Source https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Before your freight-hauling operation makes this leap, learn how some private carriers are showing the way. To them, it’s all about ‘mixed’ fleets and phasing in the future over time as an all-new market develops and ‘use cases’ evolve. One of the largest private fleets in North America still is one that is showing the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[217],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13570,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13568\/revisions\/13570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}