The conflict in Ukraine has sent the cost of various commodities skyrocketing, with fuel being chief among them. This is pushing many companies with large fleets to review their strategies in the face of fast-rising operational costs. Companies that didn’t make efficient driving a priority will need to from now on if they want to stay competitive. Thankfully, there are various tools and techniques companies can use to mitigate fuel costs. Here are a few of them.
Reduce Idle Time
The simplest way for companies to reduce fuel costs for fleets is to monitor their drivers better through telematics. And one thing they have to pay very special attention to is how long drivers leave their vehicles idle.
A lot of people aren’t aware of this, but did you know that a truck can burn as much as 1 gallon of fuel per hour while staying idle? Or that leaving a vehicle sitting idle for 30 seconds burns more fuel than restarting the engine? If you have a large fleet and employees driving a range of hours, these costs can easily add up and put a dent in your finances, so do not take this part lightly.
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Monitor and Correct Aggressive Driving Patterns
Pay close attention to how aggressive your drivers are on the road, and, if you notice bad patterns, you need to bring bad drivers in for an evaluation and consider giving them specialized training. Aggressive driving could add as much as 31% to your fuel costs, so make this a priority and constantly give your drivers feedback so they can improve on their habits.
Look for things like rapid acceleration, tailgating, harsh braking, and excessive lane change. These are all signs of an aggressive, expensive driver.
Again, only good telematics tools will allow you to monitor your drivers’ behavior efficiently, so get the best tools you can afford and implement them correctly. You can use the information you get to score drivers. Create a score leaderboard to foster healthy competition between your drivers.
You could go a step further by setting real-time alerts. Many telematics tools allow you to do that and give auditory cues to drivers when they’re driving irresponsibly. This alone could greatly improve their driving by making them more conscious of what they’re doing.
Optimize Routes
You should also try to use the most efficient routes for your drivers. You might assume that more efficient means shorter, but that’s not always the case.
You have to think about elevation as well. If you can take advantage of a downwards slope and avoid going upwards when possible, do it. Going uphill puts a lot of pressure on a semi-truck’s engine, especially when it’s hauling a heavy load. Even things like road quality can affect your fuel costs. So, get information on the terrain and set up pre-scheduled customized routes for them.
These are all ways companies can reduce their fuel costs. Every little thing you do will help, so focus on monitoring behavior and trends down to the last detail while constantly encouraging your drivers to do better.