CUTTING COSTS: $4 Gas: What You Can Do

The $4 gallon of gas is here. The stark reality is the world’s oil supplies are being used up and it’s likely the price of fuel will continue to rise. Knowing this, it’s time to face the reality of the situation and act. No degree of complaining about the prices will change anything. Therefore, it’s time to consider practical ways to conserve fuel in your companies, if you aren’t already. It is my belief, if the subject is taken seriously, there are considerable savings to be realized, and these savings can be applied to offset the new higher prices and keep your company on budget.

1. Rally the Troops. After the Fourth of July when the “100 days of hell” have passed, set regular meetings with your leadership to brainstorm and discuss the subject of higher fuel costs. Once your discussions are complete, set an action plan for implementation and ask that someone on your staff champion each initiative, monitor the progress and report results.

2. Right sizing. In observing landscape companies around the country, I notice many are using the wrong size trucks for various types of work. It appears there is little consideration for how much these trucks will cost to operate when it comes to fuel consumption. For example, I see six-wheel gas dump trucks hauling very heavy loads when a much larger diesel truck would be preferable. Gas consumption is usually in the single digits when pulling these types of loads. Or I see salespeople, designers and owners routinely driving heavy-duty, four-wheel-drive pickup trucks for transportation while visiting customers and doing errands. Can they downsize to smaller vehicles, possibly even hybrids? Take a close look at every vehicle in your fleet and see if it is being used efficiently.

3. “Clunkers.” Most all companies have “clunkers” – old trucks that are paid for and considered “semi-retired.” They seem to run fairly well and everyone just thinks it’s a shame to get rid of them. After all, they’re paid for. In reality, for various circumstances, these old “clunkers” are used quite often. Do they burn much gas? Yes.  Are they well maintained? No, you don’t want to put money into that old “clunker,” do you? These old “clunkers” don’t look good, are sometimes unsafe, burn an exorbitant amount of fuel and should just be retired for good. Look around, do you have one or more of these? Maybe it’s time to replace them.

4. Proper Maintenance. One of the keys to good maintenance is clean air filters. Whether car, truck, 2- or 4-cycle engines, when they are clean, there is optimum fuel economy. But when they are dirty, you waste energy and dollars. The principle is simple – a dirty filter restricts the flow of air into the engine, which makes the engine work harder and hampers performance. Simple? Yes. But we often overlook this little task.
 
Some schools of thought suggest using a “permanent” filter that’s cleaned and reused rather than the throw-away filters. The feeling is they are not only better for the environment because they aren’t discarded, but cheaper in the long run. Regardless of your feeling, the key is to keep them clean. When I owned my company our rule was no mower or blower went longer than two days without cleaning the filter, and then they were replaced on a regularly scheduled basis. With our vehicles, we cleaned the air filters with every oil change and installed a new filter once each year. If you don’t have a definite cleaning and replacement schedule, put one in place as part of your new energy-saving program.

5. Tire Pressure. Tire pressure is one area I have found that most drivers and mechanics have a tendency to completely neglect. Some years ago I engaged the services of a fleet consultant. At one point in his career, he was in charge of the entire UPS fleet, a total of 200,000 trucks worldwide, so he knew what he was talking about. One of the areas he made us aware of was tire pressure. He first counseled us on making sure we had metal caps and not plastic ones on the air-fill tips. He told us the plastic ones allow air to escape.
 
Secondly, he advised we check the air on all tires every time the vehicle “saw the shop.” He suggested every truck have a reliable tire gauge and the drivers also check the pressure on a regular basis. Why? Simple. Over-inflated tires cause excessive wear. This often occurs because driving the vehicle warms up the tires and the air inside increases pressure. Therefore, the air should be checked when the tires are cold. The proper pressures are either in the vehicle manual or on a data plate on the driver’s side door jamb.
 
Under-inflated tires cause “drag” and decrease miles per gallon. So, whether your motive is to increase your vehicles’ tire life or maintain optimum fuel efficiency, maintaining the optimum level of air is necessary.

6. Idling. At gas stations, landscape crews routinely leave vehicles idling anywhere from five to 10 minutes while drivers fuel up and get snacks. Think of how much fuel that adds up to over the course of the year. Consider instituting a “no idling policy” that gives drivers guidelines to follow, so they know when to turn off the engine. 

7. Don’t  Tailgate. Not only is tailgating illegal, annoying and extremely dangerous, it contributes to excessive brake wear and lower fuel economy. Constant braking followed by constant acceleration increases fuel consumption. To break your drivers of this bad habit, implement the 20-foot rule. Keep at least a 20-foot distance between you and the car in front of you for every 10 miles per hour you are traveling. Remember, that rule of thumb is for perfect driving conditions – increase the distance when the road is wet or icy.

8. Aggressive vs. Moderate Driving. Tests show that drivers control much of the fuel savings based on the way they drive. In fact, in tests conducted by auto information site www.edmunds.com in California under real-world conditions, there were massive gains or losses in fuel consumption based on driving habits. If you don’t mash the gas pedal when you take off and brake easy in stops, the amounts of fuel you can save are unbelievable.
 
Their tests demonstrated that the moderate driver who accelerated smoothly from zero to 60 miles per hour in 15 seconds,  and when braking anticipated the stop and began decelerating, coming to a moderate stop, saved between 31 to 37 percent of fuel compared to those who drove more aggressively. That’s an incredible fuel savings.

9. Cruise Control. Most vehicles are equipped with cruise control. When practical, use it. Tests show that vehicles save up to 14 percent, with average savings being 12 percent, when using this feature.

10. Slow Down. As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially. It is a good practice, especially when driving a larger vehicle, to keep the speed down, not only is it safer but you will avoid traffic tickets and save fuel.  PLD

Ed Laflamme is a consultant, speaker and author working with green industry companies nationally. Reach him at 203/858-4696 or via harvestlandscapeconsulting.com.