Im getting bugged by the transport office over idling logged through the tracker system and its driving me nuts.
In a 5 day week the other week I clocked up over 7 hours idling though immediately knew why it was so high…I leave the engine running in the yard for some time to ‘warm it up’ plus check for engine faults that might appear. Guessed I was doing 40 mins a day over 5 days. I stopped all that and made sure all my idling was kept to a minimum. I dont sit in much traffic over my 7am-4pm day but I’m gobsmacked how the following week I’ve still clocked up over 5 hours. I do about 10-15 stops per day.
Anyone have any ideas please?
Moved to the PDF, more likely to get a response.
Do you leave it running when you are stopped? If so - why? When I was doing multi-drop I turned the engine off at every opportunity, even in queuing traffic sometimes. An idling engine is wasting fuel and polluting the air.
Turn it off at every drop mate. Im rarely in queues
KevofKent:
I leave the engine running in the yard for some time to ‘warm it up’ plus check for engine faults that might appear.
What for? There’s literally no point at all. Any engine faults will either appear straight away or won’t appear until you’re a few miles down the road no matter how long you leave it sat there idling. As others have said, turn it off when you get to your drops. Arrive at drop, turn engine off, go find someone, maybe start again if you need to move to where you have to be to get tipped then turn off whilst you’re getting tipped. If you need to go back to the office again on the way out turn off whilst you’ve stopped to go into the office. Batteries and starter motor will be just fine.
Modern engines are designed to ‘warm up’ when driven: cold idling doesn’t actually warm them much at all (loads of cold air blowing through the engine and only a little fuel) and can cause excessive wear + problems with the exhaust.
Check the telematics system is actually suitable for the vehicle: some trucks freewheel down hill without driver intervention (ecoroll & similar), and a third-party telematics system may count that as idling because the engine is ticking over with the gearbox in neutral.
There system might be faulty.
End of the day I wouldt worry or get stressed about it.
If you turn engine off as much as possible that’s all you can do.
And doubt you’d loose your job over it
edd1974:
End of the day I wouldt worry or get stressed about it.
Why tf is it ‘‘driving you nuts’’ ? 
^^^This…if you show that you do it only encourages them, and makes them feel justified in their non jobs, but worse still makes them look actually credible. 
Just carry on doing an efficient job and leave it to them to suss out the …‘‘problem’’.
Seems to me that much of the idling is being done by the transport office who clearly have nothing better to do.
Sidevalve:
Seems to me that much of the idling is being done by the transport office who clearly have nothing better to do.
Exactly ! 
I worked for a well known fridge company…in came a new boy, who had ideas ( as they do ) apart from the pointy shoes…so his idea to save money was: When coupling up…reverse towards trailer…switch off…check the height of trailer, check trailer brake is on…start up and reverse under…switch off…finish coupling…safety chain etc, number plate, lights and a basic walk round check, wind the legs up. start up move foward…switch off, close the back doors… at every opportunity we had to switch off…even at the gate house while we signed in or out…in traffic…ffs, why didnt they have a system fitted like the buses…everytime they stop the engine cuts out, maybe thats the way forward.
Sod me truckyboy yer bloody mitt must have been ready to drop with off all that switching on and off.
Can’t be arsed with any of this ■■■■■■■■, you just know that these motors being stopped and restarted up to 100 times or more every day are going to lunch the starter motor sometime in the first three years if not sooner, and who knows what the resulting wear and tear is to other parts…anyone here recall just how long turbochargers used to last on the old motors before all this technology had every bugger terrified of triggering an excess idle black mark?, i’ll tell you how long they lasted, for bloody ever, as did starter motors and ring gears.
We used to have to switch the engine off at every opportunity to save fuel. Until we had a couple of breakdowns. Starter motors and ring gear knackered in some trucks. It was put down to the constant stopping and starting of the engine. Now we’re told not to turn the engine off unless it’s obvious we’re going to be stationary for a considerable length of time.
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Dors this actually mean that these guys who come up with all this stuff…know the far end of ■■■■ all about the job in reality.■■..
Who would have thought it eh?
What are you supposed to do f you pick up a heavy trailer that’s been standing for a week ?
We all know how those have next to no air left and you need to leave truck running to build the air up just to take the weight off the legs and knock the brake off
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Thanks for all the comments. Found out today one of the Artics is registering 24 hour idling in a 24hr period lol. Transport say theres issues with the system! Typical. I reckon with 2 mobile phones laid on the dash, a satnav constantly on so close to where this telematics/tracker module is its fudging the signals or screwing the software up.
KevofKent:
Thanks for all the comments. Found out today one of the Artics is registering 24 hour idling in a 24hr period lol.
Maybe they should’ve just fixed the night-heater?
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If I need to leave it running for a little while, usually to put air in a trailer that’s been stood, I use the cruise to raise the idling speed. Doesn’t seem to register as idling.
KevofKent:
I reckon with 2 mobile phones laid on the dash, a satnav constantly on so close to where this telematics/tracker module is its fudging the signals or screwing the software up.
Cool, 
, If that IS true you’ve just given me a brilliant idea, just for a laugh, and to relieve a bit of boredom. .
…it’ll give them something to occupy their time. 
Tell them to ■■■■ off, then tell the managers if they must streamline and want to save money then get rid of the gormless cretins who sit starin at a computer screen all day, then ■■■■ off every driver when they get back from a days graft by telling them there doing it wrong. Or you could just switch then engine off at every opportunity, even when waiting at a roundabout, then when it goes bang point the finger at them who moan. See if telematics can justify that