Idealease revolutionizes fleet operations with ELEVATE®, our proprietary Driver Performance System that improves driver safety and saves fleets millions of dollars in annual operating costs.

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If you have a question or a topic you would like covered in a future ELEVATE Question/Tip of the Week, email ELEVATE@Idealease.com.

Find a complete list of ELEVATE topics below.

Q:

A significant sum of our idle accumulation occurs during deliveries. How can we minimize those accumulations?

A:

Idle reduction is about changing driver habits. When a driver arrives at their delivery destination, this is an opportunity to lower idle. Below are common behaviors that can be approved upon.

  • When your driver pulls in and parks, do they shut off the vehicle immediately? Many drivers apply the parking brake, grab their delivery information [to review] and other activities, all while leaving the truck running. This can cost anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple minutes of idle.

  • When a driver (let’s call him Driver A) pulls in and every delivery bay is full, does Driver A turn off the vehicle to wait, or does he or she keep the truck running until a bay is available? Often times while waiting, the arriving driver (Driver A) sees another driver (Driver B) walking to their truck and assumes that Driver B will be leaving immediately or shortly. Driver B then takes their sweet time in the truck, preparing for his or her next delivery. Driver A is now idling for a prolonged period of time before the bay is available for him or her to proceed with their delivery. Driver A’s assumptions about Driver B and his or her urgency cost Driver A several minutes of useless idle time.

Simply put, right when your driver gets to their destination, they should shut off the vehicle. Even a couple of minutes can make a significant difference over multiple deliveries per day and over the course of a month.

Next week, we’ll provide tips on how to reduce idle once the delivery is completed.