{"id":4649,"date":"2020-01-28T16:13:10","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T15:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=4225"},"modified":"2020-01-28T16:13:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T15:13:10","slug":"covenant-goes-electric-to-reduce-idling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/01\/28\/covenant-goes-electric-to-reduce-idling\/","title":{"rendered":"Covenant Goes Electric to Reduce Idling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Covenant Goes Electric to Reduce Idling<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When the fuel crisis of 2007-2008 hit, Covenant Transport, like virtually every other large carrier in North America, realized it needed to get its fuel consumption and costs under control. As with many fleets at the time, diesel-powered auxiliary power units were part of that solution.<\/p>\n

APUs are small generator units that mount on long-haul truck chassis to provide power, heat and air conditioning to the sleeper and cab to keep drivers comfortable during rest periods.<\/p>\n

But the initial diesel-powered units the fleet experimented with weren\u2019t the solution the carrier needed, says Dan Porterfield, senior vice president of maintenance. \u201cThere\u2019s always been a certain amount of friction between the desire of fleet management to control costs by reducing idle times and driver comfort on the road,\u201d he says. \u201cDiesel-powered APUs were invented to address those goals, but \u2013 if we\u2019re being honest \u2013 haven\u2019t always achieved the results we\u2019d like to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the initial evaluation of APUs more than a decade ago, Covenant discovered that while the units did a fine job providing in-cab power and comfort to drivers, the fuel savings they delivered were \u201czeroed out\u201d by increased maintenance costs. Early electric-powered APUs, however, often didn\u2019t last for the full rest period, especially in the worst heat of summer.<\/p>\n

In the years since, something of a revolution has taken place in electrification technologies, including considerable improvements in battery size, weight and power densities. Moreover \u2013 and significantly for Covenant and its idling challenge \u2013 these advances include sophisticated power management software that allows battery systems to dispense electricity in \u201cintelligent\u201d ways that manage energy use to provide optimum effectiveness and the longest possible use of a battery charge.<\/p>\n

Unlike their diesel predecessors, electric APUs draw power from a truck\u2019s batteries while parked, and rely on power management systems to nurse that load throughout an entire off-duty time period to keep a cab and sleeper powered up and comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were skeptical at first,\u201d Porterfield admits. \u201cWe had questions about the run times these systems would be able to achieve. The initial data looked promising \u2013 but if you can\u2019t get the battery to last through the driver\u2019s rest cycle, you\u2019re not really achieving anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, Porterfield had reservations about how electric APUs would affect the life of the truck batteries. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of the same thing we ran into with the diesel-powered units,\u201d he says. \u201cIf we end up saving money on fuel, but spending those savings on new batteries because our battery consumption rates double, we\u2019re not really coming out ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Porterfield felt the data warranted test trials. So last summer, Covenant fitted out six long-haul tractors with three of what he felt were the most promising units available (two test units per manufacturer) and sent them out on the road. Installing the units takes about the same amount of time as putting in diesel-powered APUs, he says. And their size and weight requirements are right in line as well.<\/p>\n

So far, he says, the results have been encouraging. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get started until late summer,\u201d Porterfield says. \u201cSo we didn\u2019t get a full warm season in. However, we did learn that the units were more than capable of keeping a truck cab cool and comfortable during an entire off-duty cycle in Phoenix, Arizona, at the height of summer. And that was a major milestone for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As winter winds down, Porterfield says the electric APUs are handling the cold season without any major hiccups. He\u2019s looking forward to getting a full year\u2019s worth of data in so the fleet can make some purchasing decisions going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drivers tell me they love the systems,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we\u2019re looking forward to seeing how they do this year in a full range of changing seasons and temperatures. But I think there\u2019s some real potential here. It\u2019s just going to take some more time \u2014 and data \u2014 to prove the concept out.\u201d<\/p>\n

by Jack Roberts<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.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