Keeping Your Fleet Eco-Friendly, According to a Truck Repair Shop
With increased exposure in the news and a slowly rising unease amongst large portions of the UK public, it’s pretty likely that you’ve at least heard about the burgeoning climate issue. Indeed, there have been a host of articles, stories and academic papers highlighting the catastrophic realities that await us in the future if we don’t start making big changes to our daily lives.
Because of this, it’s only natural that many are becoming anxious about the subject. In a bid to tackle the issue of climate change and the destruction of the environment, people are getting involved and doing their bit, whether it’s cycling to work or ensuring they’re recycling their rubbish properly. The government is also looking for ways to cut its emissions and has given itself a target of reducing CO2 levels by 80 percent by the year 2050.
However, waste and emissions can come from a variety of sources and, as someone who may own a fleet of vehicles, you may be wondering how you can strike a positive balance between improving your eco-friendly credentials and remaining profitable.
Vehicle fleets, especially trucks, vans and lorries are an essential component to the UK’s economy, providing countless clients with an efficient service. However, with so many vehicles on the road, it cannot be denied that there are environmental concerns being raised, so how can you reduce your impact?
As truck engineering and repair specialists, we at Transcare understand how important it is to get this balance right. With this in mind, we decided to offer up some handy tips to help your fleet become environmentally friendly.
Regular truck maintenance
As the owner of a busy fleet, it’s likely that your vehicles are going to run into faults at some point. As time goes on, all vehicles can end up with issues, however, if you allow these issues to get worse, you’re not only going to end up forking out more money in the long run, you will be more likely to increase your carbon footprint.
Even minor issues such as a low tyre pressure can have a significant effect on your fleet’s productivity, meaning that your journeys will be longer and less efficient. This will inevitably lead to an increased carbon footprint.
With this in mind, it really is essential to keep up to date with your maintenance checks. While nothing beats taking your fleet to a truck repairs and maintenance service in order to keep your vehicles running at optimum efficiency, there are a few checks that you can carry out yourself to minimise any adverse effects to the environment.
Check engine performance
Your engine is the beating heart of your vehicle, so if it isn’t working properly, it’s inevitably going to have an environmental impact. In order to counteract this, make sure to carry out regular oil changes and fluid level checks, as specified in your vehicle manual, and consider replacing the air filter and inspecting the battery for excess corrosion or damage.
Pressure tyre and alignment
Tyre pressure is essential to reducing your environmental impact, as your engine will have to work harder if the pressure is too low. This will end up causing you to use more petrol and produce more emissions as a result so make sure to check your tyre’s PSI regularly.
Whilst on the subject of tyres and wheels, consider checking your alignment to ensure they’re running straight. Misaligned tyres will wear much quicker, meaning that you’re more likely to have to have them replaced so always remember to carry out inspections.
Proper disposal techniques
If you’re happy to make minor maintenance checks and repairs to your fleet, make sure that you’re also disposing of any waste parts responsibly. Components such as batteries and fluids like antifreeze and oil can have severe effects on the local environment if not disposed of properly, so take the time to ensure they’re dealt with in an ethical manner.
Get in touch with a professional
While it’s important to carry out regular checks on your fleet yourself, regular servicing will always be the best way to ensure your vehicles are running as sustainably as they possibly can. By enlisting the help of a truck fleet repair specialist like Transcare, you can benefit from the expertise and cutting edge technology of a professional maintenance team.
Sustainable truck fleet management
While keeping on top of your maintenance and repair responsibilities is a large part of running a sustainable fleet, proper management techniques are equally important in minimising emissions and environmental impact. The following tips are just some of the ways you can keep your impact low whilst having a minimal effect on productivity.
Managing mileage and fuel
Keeping on top of fuel and mileage management is fundamental if you want to have a more sustainable operation. To begin with, it’s important to monitor mileage patterns of your fleet in order to give you an idea of underused vehicles and high mileage operators, meaning you can begin to paint a picture of your overall output.
Next, monitoring fuel consumption with two main factors being kept in mind: distance travelled and volume of fuel used, is vital. By monitoring both your fuel and mileage, you can finally look to create comprehensive improvement targets for you and your team.
Effective packing
In much the same way as a misaligned tyre putting strain on your engine, ineffective packing of your vehicles can lead to an unproductive drive and can even end up increasing the number of trips required to finish the job. With this in mind, it’s important to optimise the space inside vehicles by packing just the right amount, without under or over-storing.
This will mean that you can keep repeat trips to a minimum whilst not guzzling too much fuel from excess loads.
Proper training
No matter how well you manage and maintain your fleet, if your team isn’t properly trained in sustainable, fuel efficient driving, all of your work will have been for nought. As we’ve already mentioned, monitoring mileage and fuel consumption can help you to set targets, but in order to reach those targets, your drivers need to know how to minimise their environmental impact when on the road.
Luckily, thanks to the interest in ‘eco-driving’ there are a range of tips that can be incorporated into your training in order to create a more sustainable fleet, these include:
- Minimise idling your vehicles
- Driving smoothly
- Only use the accelerator when required
- Making gear shifts at the appropriate times
- Stick to the speed limit
There are also a host of handy documents and courses online specifically designed for fleet operators looking to better train their staff so it’s always worth having a look in order to boost your eco-knowledge.
Ensure your fleet is running efficiently and sustainably with Transcare
Reducing your impact on the environment is essential for any fleet looking towards the future of the industry, which is why it’s so important to have your truck repairs carried out by an expert team. Here at Transcare, we cover a complete variety of truck and trailer services, ranging from in-depth servicing and maintenance support to more specialist solutions, including on site repair to fleet vehicle support, all of which can help you to drastically reduce your emissions output.
With over two decades worth of experience, Transcare has become a tried and trusted name in the truck repair and maintenance industry, offering countless customers throughout the Derbyshire area a service that is second to none.
If you’re looking for a qualified repair team in Derbyshire that you can trust, get in touch with Transcare today at either our Alfreton or Ilkeston branches, or visit our website to learn more about our great offers.