{"id":5032,"date":"2020-04-08T13:40:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T11:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=5032"},"modified":"2020-04-08T13:40:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T11:40:31","slug":"the-impact-of-electrification-on-fleet-maintenance-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/04\/08\/the-impact-of-electrification-on-fleet-maintenance-operations\/","title":{"rendered":"The Impact of Electrification on Fleet Maintenance Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Impact of Electrification on Fleet Maintenance Operations<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

CPS Energy, which serves approximately 820,000 electric customers and more than 345,000 gas customers in the San Antonio area, wanted to help convince its utility customers to explore electric and hybrid vehicles. But rather than roll out a marketing campaign touting the benefits of EVs, the company opted to roll out its own trucks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, CPS Energy has 44 hybrid plug-in Ford F-150s and 15 hybrid Ford F-250s among its fleet of 2,000 vehicles. It also has plans to deploy 14 fully electric sedans. While the sedans will come from the OEM, the Ford F-150s and F-250s were upfitted by XL (www.xlfleet.com<\/a>). XL offers two versions: a standard hybrid, which is available on several OEM platforms, including Ford, Chevrolet, GM and Isuzu; and a plug-in hybrid, currently available only for Ford F-150s and F-250s.<\/span><\/p>\n

XL introduced the F-250 plug-in hybrid earlier this year. According to Eric Foellmer, XL\u2019s marketing director, \u201cThat\u2019s really generated a huge amount of interest in the utility community.\u201d The plug-in hybrid makes sense for electric utilities in particular, Foellmer said, because \u201cthey have unlimited electricity access and a charging infrastructure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The standard hybrid system from XL reduces fuel use by about 25% through regenerative braking. The plug-in hybrid cuts fuel use by up to 50% and includes a 15-kWh battery pack that provides shared propulsion with the original powertrain. The plug-in option is compatible with Level 1 and Level 2 charging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maintenance Mechanics<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Since XL\u2019s electrification system is installed without altering the OEM\u2019s powertrain, fuel or exhaust system, the original warranty remains intact. Maintenance specs are largely the same, too. \u201cThe only thing you\u2019ll ever have to do is check and top off the coolant on the battery system,\u201d Foellmer said. \u201cThat can be done on the normal cycle of maintenance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the battery can create some concerns for utilities. According to Bert Hargesheimer, senior director of fleet operations and safety at CPS Energy, \u201cThere are some different safety challenges with the lithium-ion batteries. We\u2019ve been working on getting the safety team up to speed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That has meant training mechanics to work with the technology \u201cso that they\u2019re not nervous or concerned with working on the trucks,\u201d said Tania Hernandez, manager of the driving safe team and fleet process improvement for CPS Energy. \u201cThere are a couple that are a little hesitant, but there\u2019s a good sense that the training will get them there. Just like anything that\u2019s new.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits Outweigh Challenges<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

To assist its customers, XL is developing an online web portal that can be accessed by customers\u2019 mechanics. \u201cIt will have a basic overview of our system, information on high-voltage safety, and tools to diagnose and repair the system if it\u2019s required,\u201d Foellmer said. \u201cAn extensive training process isn\u2019t needed, but we want to make sure that they understand and feel comfortable with what they\u2019re receiving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Foellmer said that XL doesn\u2019t promote improved maintenance cycles, he noted that \u201cwe consistently hear from our customers that they see less wear and tear on brake pads with the regenerative braking system, which feels similar to shifting into lower gear when you\u2019re going down a hill. And with the electrification assist during acceleration, it puts less of a demand on the engine over time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the implementation at CPS Energy is still new, the utility hasn\u2019t yet seen the benefits of reduced preventive maintenance, but Hargesheimer anticipates they will be apparent soon enough. For now, the vehicles remain under warranty, so CPS Energy\u2019s mechanics haven\u2019t had to perform any repairs, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was one hurdle in the beginning, when XL recalled the batteries on its hybrids. \u201cThey worked with us well and tried to get help to us as quickly as they could,\u201d Hargesheimer said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s to be expected with new technology, according to Hernandez. \u201cSince we\u2019re early adopters, it\u2019s part of the growing pains of learning,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we feel it\u2019s worth it to be at the beginning of the curve.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author: <\/em><\/strong>Sandy Smith is a freelance writer and editor based in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

Driver Training Needed, Too<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

It\u2019s not just maintenance technicians who must adapt to a new hybrid pickup truck. At CPS Energy, drivers also need some help \u201cgetting familiar with the technology,\u201d said Tania Hernandez, manager of the driving safe team and fleet process improvement for the utility.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so new and a lot of drivers aren\u2019t experienced with it,\u201d Hernandez said. She noted that CPS Energy has a team that works with drivers \u201cto make sure they understand the technology at a high level so that they know what\u2019s happening while they\u2019re driving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bert Hargesheimer, senior director of fleet operations and safety at CPS Energy, said that driver training programs can ensure that fleet enjoys the benefits of a hybrid. \u201cIf you want to change behavior, the first part is familiarizing them with the new vehicles, how they work and why they work. It\u2019s about getting them comfortable. Then it is about getting the information on user behavior and providing feedback about the opportunities to optimize the hybrid technology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By\u00a0 Sandy Smith<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0 https:\/\/utilityfleetprofessional.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Impact of Electrification on Fleet Maintenance Operations CPS Energy, which serves approximately 820,000 electric customers and more than 345,000 gas customers in the San Antonio area, wanted to help convince its utility customers to explore electric and hybrid vehicles. But rather than roll out a marketing campaign touting the benefits of EVs, the company…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[217,53],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032"}],"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=5032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5034,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032\/revisions\/5034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}