Penske Truck Leasing collects a vast amount of information from its vehicles, which can be used to help fleets improve fuel economy, properly spec vehicles, improve operations and shape driver behavior. The data comes directly from a heavy-duty truck’s engine control module (ECM), and Penske executives have verified its accuracy.
Improve Fuel Economy
The reports Penske compiles include several line items that provide insight into fuel economy. Those data points include the gear in which drivers operate as well as how often the driver uses cruise control, which can result in better fuel economy.
Reduce Idling
Penske tracks the percentage of idle time, which wastes fuel. By capturing information on idling, fleets can work with drivers who have a high idle time to change driver behavior.
Improve Safety
Penske’s reports provide information on speeding, and fleets can create the bands they want to monitor. Drivers exceeding those bands could benefit from individual coaching.
The reports also capture information on hard braking, which most OEMs consider a deceleration rate of seven miles-per-hour per second, and use the information to coach drivers.
Spec the Right Vehicle
Improve Utilization
Data on engine utilization provides insight into the duration of the trip and the amount of time the vehicle was active. The information could help uncover inefficiencies and offer insight into whether the asset was being used to the best of its ability.
By digging into the data, a private fleet could uncover, for example, if a driver was delayed when stopping for fuel at a truck stop. If that is the case, Penske customers could choose to fuel at Penske locations.
Schedule Maintenance
The engines in Class 8 tractors can have as many as 1,000 fault codes, but only a fraction of them are mission critical. Capturing and deciphering the fault codes can allow Penske and its customers to schedule repairs to maximize uptime and keep trucks moving.