The PedalCoach app shows drivers a fuel efficiency score at the end of every trip.Efforts to improve fuel economy have traditionally been met with fierce headwinds. One reason is that drivers lose interest if they feel penalized by factors out of their control like load weight, weather and topography.
Russell Smith, a driver for Transport Distribution Company (TDC) in Joplin, Mo., has a different sentiment. The fuel bonus at TDC is “a family affair,” he says.
“We don’t look at ourselves as drivers. We look at us as family members. If I can help another family member get a bonus, I’m doing my job. I feel a whole lot more involved in the company,” he says.
TDC uses a mobile app from PedalCoach to help drivers achieve the bonus, he says. The bonus is paid out every 18,000 miles or approximately 2.5 months. PedalCoach gives instantaneous feedback on throttle input through its user interface that resembles a digital gauge.
The gauge has three zones: green, yellow and red. A needle represents the flow rate of fuel to the engine. Drivers strive to keep the needle in the green zone, the fuel target, which is calculated instantaneously using engine data and external inputs like temperature.
“If you’re giving (the engine) way more fuel than it needs, you see that,” Smith says. “(PedalCoach) is the best thing I’ve ever seen for fuel mileage.”
With PedalCoach, Smith has increased his own fuel economy from 7.5 to a consistent 8.5 mpg and earns a bonus between $300 and $400 each period.
“The way I look at it is if I’m getting a bonus, the company is making money. That is the main thing right there,” he says.
He also enjoys playing the game. After each trip (ignition on/off event), PedalCoach displays his fuel efficiency score and ranking in the fleet.
“It’s fun to razz the other drivers. A lot of them razz me too,” he says of the leaderboard.
PedalCoach has an online management portal for driver fuel performance. Managers contact drivers if they dip in performance, he says. He also is contacted periodically by experts at LinkeDrive, the parent company of PedalCoach, who look at the data and offer drivers tips to improve.
Smith says the technology is a big reason why he works for TDC.
ZFuel from Zonar takes a deep dive into fuel performance data.“They are offering us the tools we need to succeed. Other companies will go get you the freight and then you’re on your own. (TDC) is involved. They spend the money and invest in things to help us out. It shows me that I want to work for someone like that.”
Zonar Systems recently created a fuel efficiency application called ZFuel. The app calculates a score for each driver that shows, at a glance, how they performed given the circumstances. ZFuel also shows the amount of money drivers could have saved each trip (each ignition on/off event) if they had optimized the factors they do control like speed, shifting and idling.
The ZFuel application is an option for Zonar’s fleet management system which comes with a ruggedized Android tablet display called 2020; an onboard computer, V3; and an online management portal, Ground Traffic Control.
Businesses often use loyalty programs to influence their customers’ buying behaviors. Some in the transportation industry use similar programs to increase driver engagement.
Carriers are using the amount of data they have available on driver performance to create sophisticated performance-based pay packages. These efforts are a way to increase engagement by putting drivers’ income in their own hands.
For fleets, one of the advantages of Android and Apple devices is that most drivers — and especially the younger generation — are already familiar with the technology and appreciate the many conveniences provides.
Perhaps one of the most tangible benefits that fleets can offer their drivers is same-day pay. Mobile apps that capture images and integrate with payroll and billing systems in the back office have become essential to make this a reality.
