RCV SPOTLIGHT Cutting fuel consumption easy as EDA
Faun Zoeller has just launched the eco drive assistant (EDA), which is designed to fit to the chassis of an RCV. The idea is that the device will help local authority waste and recy- cling collection rounds become more efficient.
Councils have invested more heav- ily in recycling services and the number of collection rounds has swelled, says Faun Zoeller.
The eco drive assistant
Although increasing rounds is a commend- able initia- tive, in aiming to become green councils face a new
conundrum as more miles on the road means a rise in fuel consumption and emissions. Fuel usage is highest when a vehicle accelerates from standstill – which refuse collection vehicles do on a continual basis due to the stop-start nature of their rounds. With each council using RCVs to make thousands of collections every week it is easy to see how fuel expendi-
ture and CO2 emissions are soaring. Faun Zoeller says the EDA works by measuring road speed, engine revolu- tions and input from the acceleration pedal and then allows the vehicle to change gears sooner so acceleration is more efficient without unnecessary and fuel-wasting over-revving. The vehicle’s weight inclines in the road and driving conditions are moni-
tored in real-time to ensure the tech- nology adapts to each situation. A council in the northeast has tri- alled the device and, according to Faun Zoeller, found that it delivered both fuel consumption and carbon emission savings.
The company says that councils also need to look at complementary tech- nology that will help them become more eco-friendly and efficient – such as employing electric hybrid vehicles or ones with increased capacity. Installing EDA devices is among the low-cost ways that councils can offset their increase in fuel emissions while saving money at the same time, claims Faun Zoeller.
www.faun-zoeller.co.uk Fuel reporting is driving forward fleet
SITA UK, a provider of waste collec- tion and disposal services to around 12 million households and 40,000 busi- nesses, has incorporated 40 of its bulk storage tanks into a centralised fuel management strategy using the Merridale FuelFX monitoring and reporting system.
The company had previously har- monised its fuel supply by negotiating bulk supply prices with major oil com- panies and has now introduced a cross- company project to centralise moni- toring and stock management. This involves a major capital investment to upgrade existing depot tank facilities and implement a corporate fuel usage monitoring and reporting system. Merridale fuelling equipment and the associated FuelFX reporting system was chosen as the common IT platform since this was already being used suc- cessfully by a number of SITA depots. SITA UK’s use of the software high- lighted the need for a number of opera- tional changes, one of which was the importance of switching the location of its RCV fleet from the council depot that it was using to a nearby SITA site to access fuel directly from the com-
44 Local Authority Waste & Recycling March 2012
The Yate refuelling point
pany’s own fuelling point. This has resulted in significant savings. From the operational point of view the introduction of Merridale reporting software has eliminated the adminis- tration of cost accounting and reconcil- ing stock since this is all now being recorded automatically. At the SITA depot in Yate, Gloucestershire the upgrade has resulted in a larger capac- ity 26K litres tank, providing more flex- ibility in the event of any problems on the diesel supply.
Matt Canning, the contract general manager at Yate, said: “The implemen- tation went in very smoothly; there were no issues with it.
“Merridale is easy to use for dispens- ing and for reporting financially – when doing the month end returns – the reports that come through from fleet management are easy to understand and easy to work out how much fuel we have used.”
www.merridale.co.uk
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