Design a green fleet maintenance shop

Design a green fleet maintenance shop

Designing an environmentally-friendly shop saves green in many ways, and fleets are recognizing that big results can be seen with relatively little effort.

sults, according to Altrichter, have been nothing short of amazing. “We worked with the OE engine manufacturer, the oil company and our filter manufacturer. We did oil analysis and tore engines down over time. By carefully continuing regular 18,000 mile preventive maintenance, we were able to move our 36,000-mile oil drain and filter change interval out to 72,000 miles. We still see the trucks on a regular basis, but we’re not dropping oil in every time.”

In 2008 alone, GTI was able to reduce oil usage and waste oil by 27,000 gallons and reduce filter usage and waste by 4,000 filters. “And I’m sure it’s saved us even more as we’ve grown,” Altrichter says.

Even more savings have been realized with the simple process of saving the fuel from each fuel filter or fuel-water separator change. “It’s only about a half-pint, so it’s not a lot, but one of our guys suggested saving the fuel, filtering it and putting it back in the tractors. It’s amazing how quickly that adds up,” says Altrichter.

Old Dominion’s Newby explains that attention to fluid distribution has made a difference with his employees, as well. “Just simple things like dispensing units for oil and other vehicle fluids have made our drivers happier and the technicians really like the oil drain system that we’ve built. But the real benefits have been that we’ve been able to create a better working environment along with a more environmentally friendly one.”

He encourages fleet managers to look at the simple things first—the “low-hanging fruit,” so to speak— when moving to a more environmentally friendly business model. “How do you dispose of oil, filters, fluids and trash? If you get these things headed in the right direction, everything else is pretty elementary. Once you’ve got the basics down, your cleanup’s easier, you’re doing the right things and it all just picks up from there. Then you put good programs into place to take care of these things.”

He says “It’s not rocket science. There are things you’ve been doing for years that, when you think about it, are basic green activities. We’ve been working on load averaging for years—that’s part of being green because you’re making fewer trips and producing less emissions, with fewer tires on the road…pretty common stuff, really, that you’ve had to do to grow a business.”

It’s the little things that save money, Altrichter explains. “It’s small things like not buying glass cleaner in spray cans, using rechargeable batteries in our equipment instead of alkalines, cleaning off sensors on outdoor lighting and using fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent. I don’t recall implementing anything the last couple of years that’s been earth shattering—most of them are a couple of bucks here and there. But after a while, that all starts adding up.”

So if being green is so simple, why does it seem like such an innovative concept? Both Newby and Altrichter agree that it’s more challenging to rethink what’s possible than to retrain technicians to follow green procedures. And one of the key challenges is getting buy-in from all levels.

“As with anything in a corporate setting, you’re looking at payback or ROI to determine whether or not it makes sense to do it. In all cases, anything under three years, I think, is a no-brainer,” says Altrichter. “But in some cases you have to spend money to save money.”

Newby agrees. “The one thing that’s most important is to have the participation of ALL your people. The top end of the corporate ladder is harder to convince, I think, because every technician out there wants as clean and long-lasting an environment to help him fulfill his work duties.”

Altrichter reminds us that anything your shop can do to take cost out can go back into the business. “It might not be big money at first, but over time it all adds up, resulting in better facilities, better pay, better benefits and a better chance to stay in business. We’ve found that when you invest money to save money, it generally pays off.”


Going green, the good, the bad, the ugly

Today, everybody uses “Going Green” as a catch phrase to say, “look at me, I’m doing something good.” Well, in many cases that may be true, but when it comes to fuel, be careful. While the move to “bio-fuels,” in many instances, is a good thing—lessening foreign dependence on oil and providing renewable fuels, lower emissions (not always), new jobs and, more importantly, new industries—there is another side to the picture.

These fuels are not “plug and play” as was originally advertised. There are quality control issues, compatibility issues, use issues, storage issues and general product problems that were unknown at the time everyone joined the “green” wave.

For the most part, biodiesel does not store well, it does not like any yellow metal such as copper, really doesn’t like cold weather, and is finicky when it comes to production quality. So what does this all mean to the user?

Be aware. Use the proper surveillance tools, know the weaknesses of the products you use and check them religiously using the proper tests or paperwork provided by the suppliers and know the specifications required for each type of fuel. Does this mean you won’t have problems? Unfortunately, no. But it can reduce the ones you can control, such as biological attacks, long-term storage and out of spec product. Don’t wait until you see contamination. Learn how to be proactive in the prevention and make “going green” the good thing it was meant to be, not the nightmare it can become.

Comments by Howard L. Chesneau, Fuel Quality Services Inc.

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