Crown Touts Benefits of Anti-Idling Program

Crown Uniform and Linen Service, Nashua, NH, teamed up last March with Sustainable America to slash fleet fuel costs. By implementing the nonprofit’s “Idle-Free Fleet Program,” Crown has reduced its daily idling time from 70 minutes per driver down to seven minutes.

“Idling reduction has always been important to Crown, but the company has had limited success with idling programs in the past,” said Dave Hardy, Crown’s fleet supervisor. “Earlier this year, we really wanted to try it again.”

With 30 Freightliner MT45 step vans traveling approximately 100 to 150 miles daily across four states – each fleet vehicle makes 30 to 40 stops per day – fuel costs add up for Crown Uniform. To date, they have saved between $1,500-$2,000 per month. That’s a significant fuel savings, said George Spilios, Crown’s regional manager.

With Sustainable America’s help, Hardy started tracking each step van’s idling time with Geotab’s telematics software. He went back a couple of months to calculate an idling baseline, then created a daily report for location managers. Hardy set a goal of 10 minutes of idling per route per day. That report showed how long each vehicle had been idling, which drivers idled over 10 minutes and pointed out specific problem areas.

In turn, location managers filtered the information down to their drivers to train them and eliminate any bad habits: each manager would speak to the drivers individually and correct their actions. The daily communication helped to retrain drivers on the importance of shutting off the vehicle engine between stops, according to Hardy.

The program has been so successful that Crown plans to extend the program to its sales team, which drives about 15,000 to 20,000 miles per vehicle per year. “We have developed a culture of anti-idling at Crown,” said Hardy.

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