{"id":3075,"date":"2019-07-13T19:15:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T17:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3075"},"modified":"2019-07-13T19:15:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-13T17:15:17","slug":"3075","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/07\/13\/3075\/","title":{"rendered":"Why A. Duie Pyle is Adding Electric Trucks to its Last-Mile Delivery Fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A.<\/p>\n

A. Duie Pyle is leasing two battery-electric Fuso eCanters for use in its last-mile delivery fleet. Photo courtesy A. Duie Pyle<\/p>\n

Why A. Duie Pyle is Adding Electric Trucks to its Last-Mile Delivery Fleet<\/h2>\n

A. Duie Pyle is one of the first motor carriers in the U.S. to add all-electric Fuso eCanter medium-duty trucks to its fleet \u2013 a great fit for its Bronx Service Center, where it joins a fleet of electric hybrid straight trucks used for urban business-to-business and business-to-consumer deliveries in the New York metro area.<\/p>\n

The company, which offers less-than-truckload, asset and non-asset based transportation and supply chain solutions in the Northeast, is adding two of the Fuso eCanters, which Daimler says is the first series-produced fully electric-powered medium-duty truck.<\/p>\n

Why Electric?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Electric power for trucks \u201cdefinitely seems to be picking up steam and it\u2019s something we believe will be sustainable in the future,\u201d explained Dan Carrano, VP of fleet maintenance, in an interview. \u201cWe wanted to dip our toe in the water and give it a try on a small scale. The Fusos don\u2019t require much infrastructure and they\u2019re a good stepping-tone toward a full electric-powered tractor.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Luciani, COO of LTL Services, told HDT that the company already has a number of green initiatives, making this a natural step. Through its ECO (Environmentally Conscious Operation) Program, Pyle has incorporated a number of green and sustainable practices throughout its fleet, facilities and operations, such as a solar-powered warehouse in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, paperless dock management and handheld systems, and electric forklifts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe currently run 10 hybrid diesel trucks in the Bronx service center, and this was an excellent segue from the hybrid diesel to a fully electric freight truck,\u201d Luciani said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

While Pyle has investigated natural gas, it decided it was not a good fit for the company. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing our research, following the industry as far as electric vehicles,\u201d Carrano says. \u201cWe are part of the Daimler electric vehicle council, and as we accumulated information we believe this is the direction as far as alternative-powered vehicles. As technology catches up with the concept, we truly believe it is the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right truck, right application<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With a permanent synchronous e-motor, the eCanter delivers 185 kW, completely silent and emission-free, making it ideal for urban delivery and green application needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two electric trucks, while limited in range \u2013 60 to 80 miles between charges \u2013 they work well in that urban environment,\u201d explained Luciani. \u201cThere\u2019s heavy congestion, and relatively short delivery routes. The driver can go 25 or 30 miles away and come back. It\u2019s the right application.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fusos are a smaller unit than the larger Hinos that Pyle is running in its Express Solutions last-mile delivery fleet, with a 16-foot box and a liftgate on the back.<\/p>\n

The trucks are on a full-service lease for two years, after which they will go back to Fuso for evaluation of the batter and electric components. So it was a good way for Pyle to \u201cstick its toe in the water,\u201d Luciani said.<\/p>\n

The full-service lease also means there\u2019s no maintenance to worry about \u2013 although the technicians at the Bronx service center are already familiar with working on electric-vehicle components because of the 10 hybrid trucks Pyle runs from that facility.<\/p>\n

\"The
The two new electric trucks join A. Duie Pyle’s fleet of Express Solutions medium-duty trucks spec’ed for last-mile delivery. Photo courtesy A. Duie Pyle<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the Bronx<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Strategically located on the East River in Hunts Point, A. Duie Pyle\u2019s service center opened in the Bronx in early 2018.<\/p>\n

The Bronx service center includes 77 doors for loading and unloading, 6,846 square feet of office space (located above the docks), and a three-deck parking garage with the maintenance shop integrated into the garage. It includes 100% stand-by power generation, on-site snow removal capabilities, heated dock operations, secure fencing and a 24\/7 monitoring system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt like if we wanted to be a Northeast premier service provider, we needed to be right next to where our customers are,\u201d Luciani said. \u201cWe deliver about 1,000 bills a day from that service center in the boroughs and Long Island. It was a good place to be, the first major trucking investment on that side of the East River in the last 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a terminal right in one of the five boroughs is an optimal location\u201d for testing out the electric delivery trucks, Carrano explained. \u201cWe\u2019re peddling freight right from there, versus getting on the highway and using a lot of the battery power.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eCanters are charged overnight using a 230-volt slow charge system \u2013 similar to a household dryer, he adds. It takes about eight hours. The two charging stations required minimal infrastructure investment; just some wiring to get the electrical outlets where the trucks were being parked at night.<\/p>\n

The two electric trucks join 15 other Express Solutions trucks running out of that facility; tractor-trailer combinations make up the rest of the fleet. About 65 drivers operate out of the Bronx facility.<\/p>\n

Express Solutions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Pyle\u2019s Express Solutions fleet was designed to do two things: address the growing demand for last-mile delivery of package that don\u2019t work well either in Pyle\u2019s traditional LTL operations or in a traditional package-delivery system; and as a way to transition dock workers and other employees into full-fledged truck drivers.<\/p>\n

The Express Solutions fleet totals 90 trucks that don\u2019t require commercial drivers licenses. Non-driving employees can get behind the wheel without having to go to school to get a CDL. After a year in the smaller trucks, if they\u2019re at least 23 years old, these employees can go through Pyle\u2019s truck driving academy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking to grow some of our residential delivery business and having these 18-foot box Class 5 Hino trucks, taking those [loads] off the tractor trailer combinations and putting them on the right truck in the right application was an important part of our initiative. We have expanded our residential delivery service \u2013 not to the extent we want to and will in the future \u2013 but we were serving two masters by putting those small trucks into the fleet,\u201d Luciani said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Carrano and Luciani don\u2019t rule out trying out Freightliner\u2019s eM2 medium-duty electric truck and eCascadia tractor, both currently in fleet testing. While emphasizing they won\u2019t be \u201con the bleeding adge,\u201d Luciani said, \u201cPutting our toe in the water does essentially give us first right of refusal of the next iteration. It keeps us engaged. That\u2019s where we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

by Deborah Lockridge<\/a><\/p>\n

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

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n