We used to have one it got its figures from the canbus harsh breaking, idling etc but it never used mpg. Once the whole driver group got to such a standard where they saved the company a million pounds a year in diesel they took it off us.
You may be surprised how you could cut back on fuel usage by altering your speed on dual carriageways etc. I did some experiments on a long run and found that knocking a couple of k’s of the limiter was hugely better than running at max or at 50 mph.
You can also make sure that you minimise your PTO usage by not leaving the PTO in & engine running whilst strapping on etc.
I’ve thought through how I can make improvements for such a time as when it becomes an issue.
In the mean time just make sure you use loads more fuel than you need to so you suddenly improve.
Mates firm runs a fuel bonus scheme, he’s on walking floors so PTO work too, basically, if you do the savings whilst driving, there’s still a saving at the end of the day and fuel bonus is paid.
Depends on where they set the ‘goal posts’, usually somewhere near the figures you currently get.
Marmite used to run theres based on vehicle and depot, so a scania in leeds would have a different target from a scania in Grain for example.
That’s just it, I was having an air filter problem back in May, I kept having a filter warning flash up on the display, just after truck had just come out from a major service.
At that time, I was second from top for best MPG.
About 4 weeks ago now, I decided to take a look myself, and discovered it was a gauze bunged up in the air intake funnel between the cab and chassis when you tip the cab over for maintenance.
Washed it out, immediatley got better MPG, but ended up 3rd from bottom in Junes MPG results, yet nothing in my driving habits had changed.
Goldfinger:
That’s just it, I was having an air filter problem back in May, I kept having a filter warning flash up on the display, just after truck had just come out from a major service.
At that time, I was second from top for best MPG.
About 4 weeks ago now, I decided to take a look myself, and discovered it was a gauze bunged up in the air intake funnel between the cab and chassis when you tip the cab over for maintenance.
Washed it out, immediatley got better MPG, but ended up 3rd from bottom in Junes MPG results, yet nothing in my driving habits had changed.
At least you noticed the change in vehicle, most people wouldn’t have even known anything was different
We have Transit connects for the mobile fitters. At first they wanted you to reach 20MPG, first time the results came out, they were getting 40ish MPG.
So they’ve now decided to set the target to 45MPG! I don’t even think it states that in the vans own manual - and these guys carry god knows how many Kg’s in tools too!!!
Goldfinger:
That’s just it, I was having an air filter problem back in May, I kept having a filter warning flash up on the display, just after truck had just come out from a major service.
At that time, I was second from top for best MPG.
About 4 weeks ago now, I decided to take a look myself, and discovered it was a gauze bunged up in the air intake funnel between the cab and chassis when you tip the cab over for maintenance.
Washed it out, immediatley got better MPG, but ended up 3rd from bottom in Junes MPG results, yet nothing in my driving habits had changed.
At least you noticed the change in vehicle, most people wouldn’t have even known anything was different
Yeah, less smoke more go. And doesn’t die as much on certain hills around here.
We have a system based on fleetboardusual stuff idle time over revs driving style ect you can get anything from 10 to 100 pound a month i usually get aroud 70 pound which i think is more than fair for in essence doing your job
Unless every lorry is doing the same job, at the same time, carrying the same weight, is 100% mechanically correct, has the same tyres with the same tread depth and pressure and a million other variables are removed from the equation, then a fuel bonus will never be fair
The only way that I can see a bonus being fair is if they drop maximum speed and reward everyone, speed is the biggest factor in fuel economy, slowing down will save fuel every time, that’s pure old fashioned physics. So set the limiters 5km/h slower and give every driver a pound per hour increase in wages. The company will save money and the drivers earn more money and they all lived happily ever after
Not leaving to join another firm.
Keeping your clean licence.
Not a scratch on your vehicle year after year.
Things that encourage your firm to make more money out of efficiency should be encouraged with bonus payments. Anything else encourages bad practice, eg. cutting corners, switching the engine off at traffic lights, changing up and “rumbling along” in the next gear higher, because you are trying to stay below “over-rev” levels. All a load of crap.
Then there’s the bonus systems based on “luck” like “fuel economy”; One driver might get a cushy up and down run on the motorway at 3am meaning they are going to be more economic than the hapless barsteward that gets a double run to Stratford during friday rush hour a fornight from now!
Sounds like a load of BS to me thought up by some management jobsworth who’s paid to come up with dumb ■■■■■…! I think it’s meant to be a means of conning drivers out of their hard earned or working harder to line the firm’s pocket. As said above its a minefield-no 2 vehicles will ever run the same…!
how about these office bods putting their brains into gear and planning our workload better to cut out empty running and wild goose chases… could save a fortune before the trucks even turn a wheel, and just how many office staff do we REALLY need ■■? I see a lot of savings.
I did that SAFED course a year or so ago plus the useless Driver NVQ, and was told a few more revs and a bigger block change would save fuel; I was also told to keep revs in the green band so a slight contradiction? Our mixers have this telematic crap for over revving but to block change a loaded and gutless Daf 8w (360bhp) you have to leave the green band.
Most of the “advice” on this subject seems to have been written by some science student who’s not good enough to get on a worthwhile research project.
How many transport offices have the majority of staff being non-licence holders?
You could say “There’s some fat to be cut off there”, but remember that currently these people have the power to ruin your day, so tread carefully!
