The monthly report
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• ERF's Fleet Management Centre produces a monthly fleet summary report based on the information downloaded from Road Relay. Transferring the basic information is Impressively quick—we saw a printed summary from one truck produced in about a minute—but the reports that are sent to customers are much more valuable.
These include basic information on average fleet fuel consumption with useful data on other aspects of driving, including: • Use of cruise control—the amount of time spent using cruise control, particularly in top gear; • Idle time—the amount of time spent with the engine idling; • Braking—the number of service brake applications per 1,000 miles; • Panic braking—the number of instances of panic braking (more than 9mph per second, or 0.4g) per 1,000 miles;
• Time in top gear;
• lime spent coasting; • Sweet spot time—the time spent with the engine in the rev-counter green band; • Average engine load, giving an indication of the severity of a route.
This data is summarised, emphasising the best and worst performers and relating changes in the statistics to differences in fuel economy. One report we saw said: "Fuel consumption has improved due to a marginal decrease in the idle time, an increase in the average use of top gear and Improved use of coasting."
Specific recommendations might include encouraging the regular use of cruise control and looking at a driver's braking history to see if further training is required. If necessary a different rear axle ratio might be recommended, or an Individual engine could be re-rated (see main text).
Fleet reports could be useful in other ways. Operators could point to the average fuel consumption achieved by a specific truck when it came time to sell it; drivers could offer reports as evidence of fuel-efficient driving habits.