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SAVING MONEY TROUGH TRUCKS * USA - TLC maintains an aging fleet
Hurricane Marine Transport Inc.’s Ian Fenberg saves fuel with engine software, super-wide tires and *tender loving care
Akron,OH,USA -Fleet Equipment Magazine, by Eric Brothers -13 August 2008: -- “As in every aspect of today’s transportation market, fuel economy and the maximization of that key component is our goal Number 1,” says Ian Fenberg, president of Hurricane Marine Transport (HMT) Inc. “If you can save fuel, you’re saving money. This filters down to every aspect of business operations,” he says. “When you can save 1/2-mile per gallon per truck per day, we pay out less daily for fuel, and that eases the burden on cash flow”... That’s a sound business decision any way you look at it, whether your fleet is large or small. And Fenberg has found ways to maximize his dollars in several ways... The company operates a mix of older power units, including International 9200s, Sterling AT9513 day cabs, and Western Star 4900 EX and FAs. The average vintage is 2003, and all are powered with Detroit Diesel Series 60s... One of the innovations that has improved performance, efficiency and cost savings for HMT has been engine standardization. “We have embraced the Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine as our main line engine,” says Fenberg. “We have purchased proprietary software from Detroit Diesel Corp. (DDC) that allows us to troubleshoot problems, track engine and driver performance, and change drive parameters to fit our specific customer’s requirements”. Even for Fenberg’s small fleet, he says the benefits of this program have far outweighed the cost. “As fuel costs go up, we are able to bring our equipment into our facility and reduce the maximum road speed each vehicle is allowed to travel. Currently, we have our regional day cab tractors set for a maximum road speed of 60 MPH”. The maximum idle time for day cab tractors is three minutes. “Our long haul, over-the-road tractors are allowed to travel a maximum 63 MPH,” Fenberg relates. The average length of haul is 300-500 miles, so this limit makes sense, he says. Idle time has been set at 10 minutes maximum. “The ability to change road speed and idle time, as well as track fuel economy performance in our own facility without having to go to an outside vendor has saved us a great deal of time and money”. He cites as one example a tractor with a hot-foot driver that was getting 4.5 MPG, now gets 6.3 MPG with speed limits. “But for most, we’re seeing between a half- and a mile-per-gallon in-crease by doing this and it doesn’t take long for that to add up at $4.70 a gallon”... Using synthetic motor oil has allowed HMT to extend oil drains up to 35,000 to 50,000 miles, “But that doesn’t give us an excuse not to see the truck more often,” Fenberg says. They try to see the trucks at 10,000 miles to look at and grease the driveline, fifth wheel and other components to help make these pre-’04 tractors last longer. He admits longer PM cycles are a benefit to larger fleets, but believes the economy of scale doesn’t apply as much to a fleet his size... (Picture: Ians' pets on dogs who like to ride in his Western Star) Labels: trucking industry news USA
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