Fuel for Thought

Gas prices are on everyone’s minds, and while it may feel as if there is little anyone can do but watch as they continue to sky rocket, information destruction companies can take steps to improve their fleets’ fuel economy and to manage fuel costs.

There is some debate about how efficient alternative fuels such as B5 biodiesel are at improving fuel economy. However, the fuel economy of a shred truck can be affected by several factors other than fuel, including the weight of the truck, route management, driving habits and proper maintenance.

Shred truck manufacturers and fleet operators cite several fairly simple ways to keep more money out of the fuel tank.
 

Lighten Up
It is better to unload payloads regularly than to drive around town with less-than-a-full load of paper, Kim James, marketing communications director for Vecoplan LLC, Archdale, N.C., says.

James says Vecoplan has addressed the weight of its trucks when empty or with less-than-a-full payload by “constructing their truck bodies of a specialized fiber composite.” The material is designed to be puncture resistant.

The idea behind Vecoplan’s VST-32 Shorty model is that a shred truck with less weight will use less fuel. Vecoplan’s Department of Transportation-certified bodies house the loading, shredding, payload and discharge equipment. In addition the VNZ-80 shredder, employed on the Shorty, was specifically designed to maximize throughput while minimizing weight, the company says.

Guy Wakutz, senior account manager for Alpine Shredders, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, also advises against driving around with extra weight on the truck during lighter days. Off-loading the payload at a recycler or the shredding company’s facility on a regular basis can reduce fuel consumption, he says. In addition to weight considerations, drivers will want to avoid needlessly idling their trucks, Joe Mitchell of Altruck/Kirby International, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, says. “It wastes fuel,” he says.

The soot produced by idling also can get trapped in the truck’s diesel particulate filter (DPF). “All modern diesels have them. This soot is ‘cleaned’ from the DPF by exhaust heat—high heat—and idling a diesel doesn’t generate the kind of heat required, so all of these engines have a dosing system to spray $4-a-gallon diesel fuel into the exhaust system to burn the DPF out,” Mitchell says. “When you are not shredding or driving, shut the truck off, even curbside. It’s law in many jurisdictions now anyway. Besides, the old wives’ tale that leaving diesels running was better for them never really was true.”

Most shred tucks use a power take-off (PTO) from the transmission to power the shredder, meaning the trucks’ engine must be running for the shredder to operate. Joe Roberto, vice president of sales and marketing for Shred-Tech, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, says, “If a shredding truck is parked all day and shredding, it is going to consume more fuel per hour than if it were on the highway; but, that is when the truck is creating revenue. Most people don’t complain under those circumstances.”

In an effort to combat unnecessary fuel consumption while a shred truck is parked and shredding, Roberto says Shred-Tech began using what the company calls predictive idle. “One of the biggest opportunities to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption is not running the engine and the shredder when there is no paper in the shredder,” he says.

Roberto offers a scenario in which a shred truck operator brings carts of paper out to the vehicle in several trips, encountering additional time delays such as waiting for the freight elevator, potentially leaving the truck running without paper in the shredder for some time. This is a waste of diesel fuel and creates unnecessary wear on the shredder, he says.

Shred-Tech’s predictive idle feature initiates a shutdown sequence when it detects that the pressure in the shredder has dropped, indicating that there is no longer paper present. “It lowers the idle of the engine, disengages the PTO and shuts the truck engine off,” Roberto says.

When the operator comes back to the truck, he or she can turn the ignition on the side of the truck without having to climb back into the cab. It could save a document destruction company as much as an hour of unnecessary engine and shredder running time, Roberto says of the feature.

Beyond mechanics, Mitchell says he has found that a driver can affect a vehicle’s fuel economy by as much as 35 percent. “Reducing speed even as little as 5 mph can result in a 15 percent reduction [in fuel consumption]. So slow down and save,” he says.

He also advises drivers to anticipate road speed changes to avoid breaking and fast accelerations. Additionally, he says it is wise to keep revolutions per minute (rpm) low. “You’ll find the sweet spot between rpm and using torque, not horsepower, to do the work.”
 

Required Maintenance
“A lot of what the automobile manufacturers preach to us about our cars is also true with our trucks,” Roberto says.

Shred truck manufactures, like their automobile manufacturer counterparts, say it is best to perform maintenance as outlined in a vehicle’s maintenance manual.

James says shred trucks need regular air filter and oil checks, wheel alignments and tire pressure checks to achieve optimal fuel economy. Engine and transmission maintenance also should not be overlooked.

Rocky Rajewski, president and owner of ShredSupply Inc., Spokane, Wa., says companies that do not use a preventive maintenance program “might overlook items that could cause progressive damage to the vehicle and ultimately cost more money for repair.”

He suggests that companies implement vehicle oil sampling, which can ensure proper lubrication viscosities and that oil additives are with in the OEM’s specifications. Rajewski also recommends taking a trip to the truck dealership’s service department to learn more about proper maintenance.

Alpine’s Wakutz says that following the service schedule provided with each truck makes sense all the way around. “All major trucking fleets try to minimize unscheduled maintenance. They make every attempt to maintain their vehicles in a manner that minimizes mechanical breakdown surprises. These breakdowns cost them money in tow trucks, emergency repairs and downtime. So, they try to minimize these problems with faithful routine maintenance. It makes financial sense,” he says.

A driver’s route also can influence the amount of fuel consumed. Mitchell says planning routes ahead of time could lead to huge savings by avoiding congested traffic and longer routes. Shred truck manufacturers say software is available to help with routing.

Some shred truck manufacturers also offer hardware solutions designed to help their customers track fuel consumption in addition to other metrics.

“We’ve just introduced a new hardware solution called Shred-View. It’s a GPS-/ GSM- (global system for mobile communications-) based service that combines telemetrics from key functions of our truck with a typical GPS system,” Roberto says. Systems such as Shred-Tech’s Shred-View are designed to track fuel consumption, routes, speed limits and what the truck is doing while the shredder is running.

James also recommends looking into improving the aerodynamics of the vehicle by adding a roof air deflector to the top of the truck.

The use of synthetic oils and lubricants as well as simple changes, such as not using the air conditioner while shredding, also can help with fuel economy, sources say.

“While each of these things produce relatively small changes by themselves, together the savings they deliver are


Proper Fuel
Shred truck operations considering a switch to alternative fuels should use low number biofuels, such as B5 (which contains 5 percent biofuel), if possible, Mitchell says. He adds that higher number biofuels can add organic material to the truck’s fuel system if not handled properly.

Shred truck manufacturers say they have doubts about how effective biofuels are at increasing fuel economy, however.

Additionally, Mitchell says the use of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), which retail gasoline outlets in the U.S. were mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin offering as of late 2010, has not negatively affected shred truck performance.

“I know there was a lot of worry about the lower Cetane rating and lower lubricity from the removal of the sulfur in diesel fuel,” he says. “But I asked around, and nobody I talked to has seen any failures they could conclusively attribute to the use of USLD,” he says.

Diesel vehicles sold in the U.S. for highway use beginning in 2007 are required to use ULSD. Mitchell cautions, “If your truck calls for USLD, you must use it. Using regular low-sulfur diesel (LSD) will drastically shorten the life of your DPF, and they are about $5,000 [each].

He adds, “Buy clean fuel and change your filters at the manufacturers recommended interval.”

The author is assistant editor of Storage & Destruction Business magazine and can be contacted at kstoklosa@gie.net.