Heavy Duty Trucking, June 2018
ating costs down And there are other organizations dedicated solely to the adaptation and application of fuel efficient technology and procedures as well The North American Council for Freight Efficiency is one such group It was formed following a 2009 meeting with the Rocky Mountain Institute Meeting attendees representing a variety of industries determined that an unbiased comprehensive group would help the trucking industry navigate the large number of energy efficiency technologies and practices available Mike Roeth NACFEs executive director has a background in engineering and spent a good chunk of his early career working for a major North American truck OEM Under his guidance NACFE works to provide real world solutions to help fleets boost their fuel economy without degrading operational performance NAFCEs goal is clearly focused on efficiency and productivity Roeth and his team have been putting out a series of detailed analytical Confidence Reports on specific fuel economy technologies concepts and procedures for almost a decade now But last year the group embarked on its most ambitious project yet the Run On Less Fuel Economy challenge Organized by NACFE and Carbon War Room with title sponsors Shell and PepsiCo the Run on Less challenge was firmly rooted in real world fleet operations Seven fleets nationally recognized as fuel economy leaders hauled real freight from multiple locations around the United States for three weeks of evaluation runs that culminated at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta last September The participating fleets were Albert decade ago old school drivers and fleet managers snickered at concepts such as aerodynamic tractors trailer boattales wide based single tires and automated manual transmissions Fuel efficiency tools such as telematics based driver coaching 6x2 drivelines predictive cruise control economy coast modes and downsped powertrains were virtually unknown at the time Today all those tools are readily available for fleets focused on fuel economy And even better Theres help available today Lots of it Talk to any OEM industry supplier or dealership and they will have a host of fuel saving options and technology on hand to help you drive fuel efficiency up and operHDT JUNE 2018 48 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM A DEMONSTRATING ON THE ROAD REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS NACFEs Run on Less project reveals big fuel savings are possible By Jack Roberts Senior Editor jroberts@ truckinginfo com Trucks participating in the NACFE Run on Less Challenge were specd with production commercially available equipment and technology of the fleets choice No experimental or pre production technology or products were allowed on the vehicles during the duration of the challenge PHOTO SCHALLER LLC
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