As on-highway fleets transition from traditional diesel and compressed natural gas, to ultimately electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles, maintenance procedures and technicians will need to keep up with the changes.
Early hype and buzz around the development of alternative vehicles and fuels has often centered around asset procurement, vehicle performance, grid infrastructure, and the truck driver experience. But how can maintenance and operations teams prepare for the future of alternative vehicles? We’re here to help you with a comprehensive guide.
The influx of new alternative vehicles will also bring along with it more and different types of data for fleet managers and management systems to analyze. For fleet managers to gain a clear view of their assets, they will need a standard and automated way to track operations in real-time.
While many fleet managers have some degree of fleet visibility today, this data is often marked by inconsistencies between vehicle makes, models, nomenclature, and specs. Problems arise with inconsistent data. Utilizing alternative energy vehicles can help trucking companies get a handle on their data management practices.
A Lack of Proper Expertise
With the nascent development of alternative fuel vehicles, many organizations simply lack the range of in-house expertise necessary to maintain these types of technologies, especially as fleets expand. The commercial motor vehicles themselves, for their part, have various maintenance concerns, procedures, nomenclature, and specifications that are particular to their make and model.
And with many motor carriers still running traditional internal combustion engines, change will come slowly. For many, mixed-asset fleet management that includes alternative fuel vehicles may seem like solution to a problem they hadn’t considered much of.
The good news? New vehicle types bring a welcome familiarity to the transportation and logistics industry — data, and lots of it. With alternative fuel vehicles, fleets will already have the data necessary to cost-effectively maintain and ensure the availability of their assets.
The history of advanced analytics across heavy industries, including in on-highway fleets, will help guide motor carriers as they shift to new energy sources. Through the combination of telematics, ELD usage, and predictive analytics, fleets can equip themselves with the digital tools to manage mixed fleets in a more sustainable future.
Lower Maintenance Costs in the Long Run
Electric vehicles will save fleets big money on maintenance costs. As compared with Class 8 diesel trucks, in which fuel costs equal half the total cost of ownership, powering alternative fuel vehicles will free up significant value for fleets. It should also be noted that electricity prices are much more stable than fossil fuels, meaning operation costs should be more predictable. This should provide fleets with a good way to keep track of expenses.
Without those familiar components, the maintenance of electric vehicles presents new problems for fleets to deal with. So does data acquisition and advanced diagnostics. For one, electric and alternative fuel vehicles report data differently than standard internal combustion vehicles. There is not a common industry standard or regulation about data availability or access from EVs to ICE vehicles. Nor are there common interoperability protocols.
For example, there is no commonly accepted requirement around having an OBD II diagnostic port. That difference between EVs creates a varied pricing model, data acquisition, and management for diagnostics, depending on the OEM, before the mechanic even may see the vehicle in the shop. These represent big differences that diesel mechanics must keep in mind.
Getting Ahead of the Alternative Fuel Revolution
Many say the transition to alternative fuel vehicles is still years or even decades away, yet we believe they are likely incorrect. Trucking companies need to prepare for a future where alternative fuels are more in use than traditional fuels.
Motor carriers should take decisive steps today to prepare for the influx of new vehicle types. With the aid of advanced analytics, fleet managers can accurately address the concerns around the cost and operational range of alternative fuel vehicles while leveraging existing investments in technology and vehicles. And there is no better time than now to make that transition.
For one, fuel consumption readings can optimize your fuel savings calculations and increase the accuracy of the financial model for alternative fuel vehicles. As the market for alternative trucks matures, motor carrier intelligence about the varying performance of different alternative models can inform their procurement decisions. This will happen more and more as trucking companies clock more experience with alternative fuel vehicles.
Even when making procurement decisions, the aggregation of daily driving distance readings and maintenance expense, compared against the real-world range of electric and alternative fuel vehicles available in the market, give fleets direction on profitability and sustainability. And that’s exactly what fleets look for when they make these decisions.
Mixed Fleet Best Practices
In preparing for alternative vehicles, trucking companies should utilize best practices for mixed-asset fleet management. This will be the best way to bring the total cost of ownership on these vehicles under control.
The transition to alternative vehicles won’t happen all at once. Fleets will transition to alternative vehicles in phases. It will all depend on the type of routes that a fleet is running, the technology they use, and the specific total cost of ownership associated with using those vehicles along certain routes.
Trucking companies have plenty of options at their disposal when it comes to running a more cost-effective and reliable route network. For example, battery electric vehicles may perform best with fixed, shorter routes, where limited range isn’t that much of an issue. It is critical that fleets properly evaluate their dispatch and routing to take advantage of alternative fuel savings.
This use case is in action already for many of the step-vans that large consumer-facing carriers have, where the total cost of ownership is lower than diesel. For long-haul routes, internal combustion engine vehicles are likely to remain the most competitive option over the next decade. Even with Nikola and Tesla working on long-haul big rigs, don’t expect to see them hit the scene in the serious away over the next few years.
Using Utilities for Charging
Fleets should also look to charging to raise the stakes for mixed-asset fleet management. Just as with an issue on a vehicle that may not make sense to fix as soon as possible, charging does not have to occur as soon as an electric vehicle rolls into the lot or as quickly as possible. Smart charging is a term for optimizing the charging process. It involves scheduling your EVs to charge during specific times.
Many electric utility companies offer better rates when there is less demand on the grid. By setting your EVs to charge during these off-peak hours, a fleet can further reduce their “fuel” costs. This represents a big advantage over traditional diesel fuel vehicles.
Smart charging also reduces the amount of charging stations fleets must rely on. With the latest charging stations and throughput capabilities, EVs can fully charge in a few hours with a level 2 charger. This means that multiple vehicles could be charged using the same equipment when scheduled properly, based on dwell times and duty cycles. Electric vehicle charging should not be viewed as an issue. It can be used to a fleet’s advantage.
While there are important new tools today that offer some degree of visibility into managed charging, this software will become increasingly important. Mainly, it gives real-time information on real-time charging and schedule tracking, fuel cost per time period, and maintenance schedules.
Getting Prepped for a Green Future
All signs point green, and sooner rather than later. By eliminating low-value repairs, mitigating the risk of roadside breakdown, enhancing vehicle reliability, and planning spare parts inventory, shop managers can organize a more cost-effective approach to vehicle health.
Across the entire fleet, optimized maintenance results in maximized driver earnings, more efficient technicians, and a greater ability to meet delivery obligations. Before alternative vehicle adoption picks up in earnest for fleets of all sizes, optimized shop operations can ready maintenance teams for the transition
OEMs, motor carriers, regulators and inspectors, legislators, investors, and consumers have each paved the way for the more widespread approval and uptake of alternative fuel vehicles. It will be up to operations and maintenance to keep the green vision, once realized, a reality. Will your trucking company be ready when the green revolution arrives?