Many fleet managers are not aware of the fuel savings that are possible in their fleets. They may understand that adding a certain aerodynamic device could provide a 5% fuel economy improvement. But what does that really mean?
The reality is fleet managers may not understand how a stated fuel economy improvement translates into real-world fuel savings. Real-world fuel savings is the amount of money a fleet will actually save if they spec’d the aero device that promised that 5% fuel savings on all their trucks.
Fuel economy testing is valuable whether it takes place on a test track or on the road. But no matter how accurate those tests are, they take place under certain conditions which may not reflect a given fleet’s own operation.
For fuel economy improvement data to be really useful, the fleet needs to determine what the actual savings will be in the real world given the terrain in which they operate, the weight of the loads, the number of stops, etc.
To determine your fleet’s real world fuel savings, you have to combine data from an unbiased fuel economy test with its own operational data, which include the speeds at which the vehicles travel, the number of miles the trucks drive in a year, the gross vehicle weight, the states in which you operate, the climate, etc.
Here’s an example:
Even within the same fleet, fuel savings of a technology can vary as a result of real-world conditions. For example, imagine two identical truck and trailer pairs departing the same terminal. One does a regional route with 15 stops and the other goes 500 miles at 65 MPH on the interstate. Equipped with the same aerodynamic package, fuel savings will vary significantly. Luckily, we can obtain exact answers scientifically with real-world analysis. It takes the guesswork out of the equation and enables fleets to make precise decisions and avoid lengthy debates internally.
Once you understand what the real-world fuel savings would be from a specific device, you can determine if adding that device across your entire fleet will have the payback you are looking for.
