FleetSmart Profiles: Highway Trucking

Bison Transport – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Bison Transport is a rapidly growing truckload carrier headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with terminals in Calgary, Alberta, and Mississauga, Ontario. In Canada, Bison operates from Québec to British Columbia. It also operates in each of the 48 continental U.S. states. It currently has a fleet of 550 power units and a trailer fleet of 1100 fifty-three-foot trailers, including air-ride and logistics vans, heated trailers and regular dry vans.

Bison currently employs 700 drivers and 1000 people in total. The company has expanded rapidly over the past several years; in 1991, the company had a fleet of 18 tractors with 32 employees. Bison also operates over 37 160 m² (400 000 square feet) of warehouse and distribution space in Winnipeg.

In 2001, the company was chosen as one of Canada's top 50 best-managed private companies, making it a repeat winner of this award. In 2000, Bison Transport received the National Fleet Safety Award and the Fleet Management Award from Natural Resources Canada's FleetSmart for its energy management and greenhouse gas emissions reduction program.

Fuel economy has long been a priority with Bison. Its current fuel economy is 36.7 litres per 100 km (7.7 mpg), making it one of the top fleets for fuel economy in the country.

Fuel economy program

Downloading engine reports, reviewing results with drivers and posting the results for drivers to see have been an integral part of Bison's fuel economy program for several years. Specific areas for improvement were also reviewed with the drivers. During their four-day orientation program, drivers receive two hours of training on fuel-efficient driving techniques using the Natural Resources Canada's SmartDriver program. Further individual coaching has been provided as required for drivers with lower fuel economy. Over the past several years, all new tractors have been spec'ed with in-dash fuel economy readouts so drivers can note their fuel economy instantaneously as they are driving. Drivers have found this real-time report of fuel economy to be a useful tool for improving their fuel economy.

About two years ago, the company pilot tested in-cab heaters. The pilot test showed that the heaters would have a payback period of two years on fuel savings alone, not including savings on engine life and maintenance costs. The company now has in-cab heaters installed in all of its trucks. Although specific numbers are not available, fleet idling time has reduced considerably since the addition of the heaters. Drivers are allowed to idle their engines overnight when the temperature drops to –20°C or lower. Jon Sigurdson, Fuel Manager at Bison, explains, "We don't want to take a chance on the truck not starting."

Satellite communications

To further improve its operating efficiency and customer service, the company recently added satellite communication and on-board computer capabilities to each power unit. This has allowed Bison to improve the accuracy and timeliness of its fuel economy data. Mr. Sigurdson notes, "We were not in a position to download engines on some of our units on a frequent basis. Some units could only be downloaded every second or third month. With the new system, we download every unit weekly. As a result, our fuel economy reports for each month truly reflect that month's results, not a mixture of results from several months."

Many other efficiencies have been realized with the satellite tracking. Mike Ludwick, Vice-President Information Systems, notes that satellite tracking has reduced the time that drivers need to spend on the phone to provide routine information such as location, logbook hours and basic dispatch information (clients address, spelling names, how to get there, etc.). This saves a lot of time for both the driver and the fleet coordinator. That time is now spent on managing people. For example, more time can now be spent interacting with drivers in setting up loads, home time, hours of service, etc.

Mr. Ludwick notes other benefits from the system. "Driver retention has improved and vehicle use is up. Our long distance phone bills have been reduced. Overall, our operation is more efficient. Customer service has improved. In fact, our clients can now go to our Web site to determine the exact status of any of their shipments. Going without the satellite system is simply not an option for us any more."

The computer system has been combined with the Bison Web site to improve customer service. Bison's latest on-line tool is i-View, a system that allows clients to view on-line PODs (proof of delivery) and other shipping documents for their shipments. Bison scans the documents into the system, and it is immediately available for clients to view, print, e-mail, etc.

Fuel economy goals

Not resting on its laurels, Bison is now focusing on improving its fuel economy. Mr. Sigurdson, who has five years of experience with the company, was recently appointed to the newly created position of Fuel Manager. The company has also formed a fuel management committee that includes members of the executive and management teams. This committee meets once a month. A smaller working committee, which includes the Vice-President Finance and Administration, the Vice-President Information Systems and Mr. Sigurdson, meets once a week.

Mr. Sigurdson's first priority was fuel purchasing. He set up a fuelling network in the United Sates and Canada under a card lock program that allows the drivers to fuel up at strategic locations. Before, the driver could fuel up anywhere. "This program is saving us a lot of money," he notes. "We buy 40 million litres of fuel a year, even a saving of one cent per litre means a saving of $400,000 annually."

Even with the improvements in operating efficiency and fuel economy that the company has achieved in recent years, it is looking for further improvement. "Each improvement of 0.5 litres per 100 km (0.1 mpg) reduces our fuel bill by about $280,000 a year," notes Mr. Sigurdson. "That is a strong incentive to improve fuel economy. We believe we can improve our fleet fuel economy by at least another 2.2 litres per 100 km (0.5 mpg)."

This will be accomplished through a number of initiatives. A new fuel economy reporting system, developed by Mr. Sigurdson, provides a monthly summary of fuel use by vehicle including fuel economy, total fuel consumed, fuel consumed while idling, cost of fuel consumed while idling and average vehicle speed. He reviews these reports carefully to determine where improvements can be made. This information can also be used to guide vehicle purchasing as the most fuel-efficient vehicle types for Bison's operations are identified. They can also be used as input for developing company programs aimed at improving fuel economy, such as an idle-free program. For example, Mr. Sigurdson is aware that a large portion of Bison's idling time occurs in the summer, when the engine idles to keep the cab air conditioned. He is now beginning to look at in-cab cooling systems.

Fuel economy incentive program

As another initiative, the company is now completing the successful pilot testing of a fuel economy incentive program that it expects to have fully operational in early 2002. The on-board computer and satellite communication system makes such a program feasible for Bison as it provides the data necessary to drive the available program on a timely and accurate basis. The on-board system tracks by driver. This is a critical point for Bison because it does a lot of slip seat operations, which means more than one driver uses a specific truck. With the new system, it can pinpoint a driver's performance no matter what unit the driver operates or who else operates it.

Using historical fuel economy data, the company has established a fuel efficiency benchmark for each of the five tractor types in its fleet. If drivers exceed this target for a three-month period, they receive a financial bonus. The more they exceed the target, the larger the bonus. Every driver is eligible for the bonus as long as the target is met. The target has been set so that a certain percentage of drivers already exceed the benchmark.

"We pay the bonus every three months. This allows the variations in fuel economy due to weather, load factors and routes to even out somewhat," explains Mr. Sigurdson. He also notes a change in driver attitude with the pilot incentive program. Drivers are now asking how they are doing because the program gives them the motivation to improve.

Driver training

Bison is also sharpening its focus on improved driver training in fuel-efficient driving techniques. "While components of SmartDriver will continue to be used, the training will also include vehicle specific instructions in maximizing fuel economy. Our driver training will now be specific to each of our truck types. For example, instruction will now cover proper shift points for each type of truck we have in the fleet," notes Mr. Sigurdson. Fuel economy tips are now being included with pay envelopes. At present, these are general tips that apply to each vehicle type. In the future, he hopes these tips will be specific for each driver.

As with most fleets, Bison experiences a difference of up to 12 litres per 100 kilometres (23.5 mpg) between its most and least fuel-efficient drivers. Mr. Sigurdson wants to reduce this gap. As a result, increased training and coaching efforts are being concentrated on the one third of drivers who have the poorest fuel economy. He is personally coaching about 35 drivers and meeting with them at least once per month to review their fuel economy and vehicle performance reports. Before meeting with a driver, he is careful to make sure that a lower fuel economy is not due to a mechanical problem.

One of the key reports that Mr. Sigurdson uses to review fuel economy performance with a driver is a standard output from the on-board computer system. This report identifies the amount of time a driver spends at combinations of vehicle speed and engine rpm levels. The report quickly identifies idle time and if a driver is revving the engine too high for the vehicle speed and therefore adversely affecting fuel economy.

The bottom line

For Bison Transport, improving fuel economy is good for the company's bottom line and the environment. The targeted improvement of 2.2 litres per 100 kilometres (0.5 mpg) in fuel economy would save the company buying 2.7 million litres of fuel a year, reducing the company fuel bill about $1.4 million. Greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by about 7000 tonnes a year.

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