Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/215766
technology technology To determine a vehicle's fueling target, PedalCoach connects to the J1939 databus to perform instantaneous calculations using ECM data. The fueling target is dynamic, but the green area on the gauge stays static. Keeping it in the green In-cab 'coach' helps TDC boost mpg T his past spring, an experienced driver at Transport Distribution Co. noticed that his fuel performance scores was improving every day. A few weeks earlier, Steve Page, vice president of safety for the Joplin, Mo.-based company, had placed in the driver's truck an Android device loaded with the PedalCoach application. All Page gave the driver was a simple instruction: "Keep this thing in the green." The "thing" is a needle that represents the rate of fuel flow to the engine. The "green" is an area on the PedalCoach gauge, below the yellow and red areas, that represents the fueling target – the appropriate amount of fuel to give the truck at any given moment based on real-time operating conditions. To determine a vehicle's fueling target, PedalCoach connects to the J1939 databus to perform instantaneous calculations using electronic control module (ECM) data. The fueling target is dynamic, but the green area on the gauge stays static. PedalCoach's patent-pending algorithms can infer a lot about the truck, starting with the first acceleration event; it knows if the truck is pulling a trailer and how much it weighs. "The driver can feel how much he's got, and so can we," says Jeff Baer, founder and chief executive officer of LinkeDrive, the developer of PedalCoach. Baer, a mechanical and systems engineer, once was the engine calibrator for Ford Motor Co. MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF Baer says the green zone, or fuel target, works according to the laws of physics and chemistry; "staying in the green" is a way to create and preserve momentum efficiently. "The green zone represents the equilibrium between drivability and fuel economy," he says. While driving, drivers can see the needle and hear audible alerts from PedalCoach; for every mile driven in the green zone, PedalCoach makes the "cha-ching" sound of a cash register. At the end of each trip when the ignition is turned off, drivers see their score on a scale of 0 to 100. The score answers the question: "Did you do the best you could with what you had?" Before using PedalCoach, the TDC driver was averaging 5.8 mpg with a 14-liter engine. Within a few weeks, he was getting 6.8 mpg, Page says. After six months of using PedalCoach with a variety of drivers, TDC saw a 12 percent mpg improvement. "Keeping it in the green" turned out to be an enlightening experience for the driver. "He was trying to sell me on what he was doing to change the NOT A REAL-TIME VIEW: TDC used score," Page says. "The to print infrequent mpg reports to things he was trying review with drivers. to sell me on were the things we've been FUELING TARGET: PedalCoach depreaching all along. termines the right amount of fuel the truck needs at any given moment. He calls it 'learn to feather the pedal.' We PEER COMPARISON: Drivers always call it 'reduce rpms.' " are aware of their performance and Real-time adaptive how it compares with others. fuel coaching is a paradigm shift for TDC. Before PedalCoach, TDC was training drivers by downloading data from ECMs. Page would review ECM reports with drivers to reinforce positive behaviors such as progressive shifting and "time in top gear." He also pointed out negative behaviors like hard braking and speeding. The ECM reports were run once every 18,000 to 19,000 miles during service intervals. "By then, drivers didn't remember what they did wrong," Page says. With PedalCoach, drivers always are aware of their performance and how it compares with others in the fleet. "You start learning how to drive that truck," he says. AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (801) 754-4296. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2013 33