Fleet maintenance using a tool like EasyMaint is crucial for mitigating one of the highest operational costs for companies using a fleet, whether for product distribution, service delivery, or employee transportation. Fuel consumption is the largest business expense after tire costs and labor for all organizations involved in transportation and logistics, among others.

How to Reduce Fuel Consumption in Fleets

Fleet maintenance using a tool like EasyMaint is crucial for mitigating one of the highest operational costs for companies using a fleet, whether for product distribution, service delivery, or employee transportation. Fuel consumption is the largest business expense after tire costs and labor for all organizations involved in transportation and logistics, among others.

Based on experience, here are ten ways to reduce fuel consumption and help companies control their costs:

1. Train and Educate Drivers: Proper training can significantly improve fuel efficiency. Eco-driving techniques and saving strategies make a big difference in efficiency, economy, and emissions. Excessive acceleration, speeding, and idling are major causes of fuel wastage. Start a driver training program, reward participation and efficiency, and encourage periodic involvement.
2. Reduce Idling: Keeping the engine running while the vehicle is stationary for more than three minutes can cause costly damage that affects efficiency, shortens engine life, and increases maintenance costs. Idling also rapidly depletes the fuel allocated for a route. Excessive idling can increase fuel costs by 50% and reduce engine oil life by 5%. Launch a campaign to reduce idling and reward employees who participate. When using the truck's power on-site, consider alternatives like drawing power from the grid, using generators, and inverters.
3. Start Slow, Don’t Rush: The first vehicle in line pays significantly more for fuel. Numerous studies by universities, road authorities, and engine manufacturers confirm this. Rushing saves less than three minutes in a 60-minute journey but uses 40% more fuel and increases toxic emissions by 400%.
4. Reduce Speed: Excessive speed is not only dangerous but also increases fuel wastage. Speeds above 100 km/h dramatically impact fuel efficiency—vehicles traveling at 120 km/h instead of 100 km/h use 20% more fuel for the same distance. Trucks traveling at 120 km/h instead of 100 km/h use 50% more fuel and emit 100% more carbon monoxide, 50% more hydrocarbons, and 31% more nitrogen oxides. Consider not only the risk of accidents but also the increase in toxic emissions.
5. Decrease Weight: Carrying excess weight puts unnecessary strain on the vehicle’s engine and affects fuel efficiency. Removing just 100 pounds from the vehicle’s load can improve mileage.
6. Use a Fuel Management System: Fuel management systems are one of the most powerful ways to reduce fuel costs and increase fleet productivity. These systems range from on-site refueling (saving up to 20 minutes per day per vehicle) to automated fuel tracking (detailed logs of every liter pumped, including date, time, amount, and type of fuel) to telematics, which measures overall fuel efficiency and vehicle performance, tracks idling waste, speeding, etc., and identifies critical areas to improve efficiency and reduce fuel costs and emissions.
7. Update Your Fleet: Whenever possible, invest in modern, fuel-efficient vehicles. Today’s advanced diesel engines are much more efficient and perform better with current fuels like ultra-low sulfur diesel and biodiesel. While the capital cost of new vehicles may seem to increase overall costs, fleets that have upgraded to new diesel vehicles report savings of thousands of dollars in maintenance, fuel, and productivity per vehicle.
8. Regularly Tune Vehicles: Ensure vehicles are frequently tuned. Well-maintained vehicles perform better on the road, lower maintenance costs, and improve fuel efficiency.
9. Properly Inflate Tires: Properly inflated tires not only improve fuel mileage (saving up to two weeks of fuel per year) but also offer other benefits, including better braking performance and increased tire lifespan.
10. Implement Advanced Technology for Mobile Asset Management: Advanced mobile asset management can help you "take control" of your fleet and gather valuable performance information, including total kilometers traveled, average speed, and engine performance. This advanced technology can also assist drivers and operators in optimizing routes through itinerary planning and mapping software. This can help eliminate thousands of unnecessary kilometers per week. Less time on the road ultimately translates to reduced wear and tear on vehicles, lower fuel consumption, decreased expenses, and increased productivity.