14 May 2013
PILOT
PROJECT TO SAVE ON FUEL COSTS ONGOING
GPA Transportation
Division has been piloting an initiative to manage, track and reduce fuel usage
in the Authority’s fleet of 272 vehicles. The initiative began last
November as an effort aimed a reducing O&M (operations & maintenance)
costs related to fleet fuel expenses. GPA is a mobile organization
reliant on the availability of a transportation fleet which includes sedans,
utility trucks, and heavy equipment. The annual fuel budget is approximately
$330,000 for unleaded gasoline, and $187,000 for diesel fuel. This is a
significant part of the transportation division’s operating expenses.
“Just
like any cost conscious family concerned about finances, GPA is just as
concerned about its operating expenses,” stated Jimmy Pangelinan, Fleet
Services Manager, “Our focus is to refine this ongoing process to provide data to
managers on fuel consumption & vehicle utilization – from there, managers
can work with their operators to reduce fuel costs.”
Idling
of vehicles is a performance metric GPA aims to reduce. Idling accounts for
approximately 30% of fuel costs. This is one metric the Transportation
division uses to measure fleet efficiency. Other metrics include
travelling speed and fuel calibration of all vehicles.
“Ongoing
right now is the fuel calibration of all vehicles to accurately measure fuel
use and mpg (Miles Per Gallon),” remarked Pangelinan, “At the completion of
this phase of the initiative, GPA can project the amount of fuel used for
travel time, work and distance to the job site; this information will be used
to place better cost controls for managers to help reduce operating costs which
in turn provides savings to our customers.”
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