The ROI of GPS … Speeding (Part 2)
How much time and how much fuel am I losing from idling engines?
(Today’s Topic) Are my drivers speeding and where?
Where are my miles going? Am I making full use of expensive assets?
How much is asset abuse really costing my company?
What time are my drivers starting work and what time are they completing their shifts?
How many minutes of pre and post trip time are you paying for?
Are my drivers arriving on time for their deliveries?
Are my drivers making unauthorized stops?
How productive are my assets?
Are my sales representatives making their required customer calls?
Well it’s now time for part 2 of our ten part GPS tracking tutorial. You can read the Introduction here or Part 1 here if you tuned in late.
There are a lot of ways you can track some of the parameters your fleet is operating under without GPS, but keeping a close eye on speed is one of the easiest with tracking and one of the most difficult without.
Speeding costs you money in fuel, money in accidents and possibly immeasurable damage to your company’s reputation. There’s three major ways that speed is really a business-killer for you:
1. There are dozens of sources proving that speed costs fuel. Here’s a well written excerpt from recent General Motors literature: The “GM Product Service Training Manual for the 6.2L Diesel Engine” (#16015.05-1D) has this to say about GM diesel fuel mileage:
“The diesel, like any engine, is affected by driving habits. Speed is more critical on a diesel than a gas engine. On the highway, in the 50-75 mph range, the fuel economy will go down about 3 mpg for each 10 mph increase in speed. A gasoline engine will lose about 1-1/2 mpg for each 10 mph increase in speed. This condition is perhaps the most significant factor in obtaining good fuel economy. Fuel economy may vary as much as 5 mpg in a given vehicle with different drivers.”
Now in practical terms, what does this mean to “Joe Chevy Van owner”? Well, suppose your truck does 200 miles a week and uses 40 gallons a week (10 mpg) and your driver averages about 70 mph (typical in highway use in western states). At today’s prices that truck has to earn you back more than $80 just to pay for it’s fuel. If you slow it down to 60, you’ll save 3 miles per gallon or nearly 10 gallons of fuel each week - more than $20! Want each of your trucks to “write you a check” for $80 each month? Do you know your fleet’s average speed? Do you know which drivers may be costing you $30 or $40 a week more than their co-workers?
2. Speed wears out vehicles.
Tires: Tire wear will almost double at road speeds of 70 MPH or greater.
Maintenance Cost: Increasing from 60 MPH to 70 MPH increases the cost by 80%. Higher speeds just flat wear out the vehicle faster.
3. And don’t forget safety, injury and death. All are painful, expensive and tragic. $23 billion plus per year is the current cost of speed-related accidents, $44,000 plus per minute according to Oklahoma University. Businesses pay a large part of that cost. Such consequences double for every 10 mph over 50 mph that a vehicle travels. If your fleet slows down, safety will improve.
One of the first large GPS fleet tracking projects that I was personally involved with was a system for several large units of the USAF. The drivers involved were some of the most carefully selected people, carrying the nation’s highest security clearances and monitored and supervised at a much higher level than most any commercial business. Yet speed-related accidents were an area of grave concern. One week after the commissioning of the tracking system, the average fleet speed dropped 20 miles per hour! Now your drivers might be even more highly trained and trust worthy, but unless you verify their performance, how will you know?
Always remember and never forget: You can’t manage what you can’t measure!
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March 11th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
[...] Are my drivers speeding and where? (10 March 2006) [...]
March 12th, 2006 at 1:44 am
[...] Are my drivers speeding and where? (10 March 2006) [...]
March 12th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
[...] Are my drivers speeding and where? (10 March 2006) [...]
March 13th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
[...] Are my drivers speeding and where? (10 March 2006) [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
[...] How much time and how much fuel am I losing from idling engines? (Part 1) [...]
March 15th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
[...] Are my drivers speeding and where? (10 March 2006) [...]
April 2nd, 2006 at 5:53 pm
[...] Are my drivers speeding and where? (Part 2) [...]
April 2nd, 2006 at 7:51 pm
[...] The ROI of GPS … (Speeding, Part 2) [...]