The 80/20 idle rule by Ross Johnson, one of our company founders.
5 years ago when engaged in a presentation we spent the majority of our time describing the atrocities of an idling engine, in the light, med, and heavy duty vehicle space. 30 minutes and 3 peer reviewed journals later we would segway over to what our mission was as a company, and then finally on to how our product addresses the problem.
In my past experience I have found the following to be a universal truth. Once a person knows they have a flat tire, paying money to fix the tire is imminent. It’s tough for us to charge someone to fix a problem that they don’t know exists, or better yet, know they have. Flash forward to present day, we now find ourselves in an educated market that is beginning to understand their needs and thus are more apt to accepting our product as a solution.
Fortunately for us, much of the ambiguity of the idle reduction space has been removed. The past 5 years have been marked by declarations from regulatory bodies nationwide, that we (industry folks) knew, idling is an issue that is rampant across fleets of every sector. As our customers wrestle with the impact of this to their respective fleet, we are positioned to solve the gamut of issues.
80/20-
The 80/20 concept is used in the industry to describe the idling problem that many of our customers are experiencing.
80 percent of the engine hours logged on a particular vehicle are in park idling
20 percent of the hours the vehicle is being driven.
We could refer to this as the idle to drive ratio. Let’s try not to over simplify this. Of course not every vehicle in the fleet has a similar job/application and therefore this is a sliding scale. However if you can diagnose one of these high idle/run vehicles, and appropriately size one of our products it is a sure home run. In essence if we can figure out how to enable them to do an equal amount of work on site, without the primary engaged we can realize real benefits immediately.
From GPS studies to anecdotal indicators such as fuel consumption, the market has settled on one consistent message idling is an issue. Now the amount, the effect, the reason, “the existence”(a select few deny that they ever idle, as its against city policy) are not as consistent. Despite the reason, we can all concur, using an engine capable of producing 200-700 horsepower, that consumes from .8 gallons-2 gallons per hour (typical sedan to heavy duty bucket truck) is not the most efficient way to power the electrical loads of the respective vehicles while at the job site, traffic stop, or power pole.
As we embark on the utility market in 2012 the 80/20 rule should resonate for this new consumer base. Electric Utilities unlike many other fleet subsectors that run bucket trucks, use their buckets for the majority of their day. As opposed to most telecommunications companies who may only utilize the bucket a few times a week or maybe even less. It seems like common sense, but many times it is overlooked as the customer may not be educated on the product well enough to know his own limitation. Matching our solution to the correct application is paramount over all other factors. A perfectly functioning HD9, on a bucket truck that only makes 5 lifts a year will not have a return on investment, conversely one matched appropriately that is used for 5 hrs a day will realize a ROI in its first year in operation.
We have a unique product, a unique opportunity and a unique challenge. Our customers many times don’t know what they don’t know. It is up to us to understand the market well enough, size equipment accordingly and lead these stakeholders down the path of the most efficient solution for the application at hand.
Ross Johnson, VP of Product Development at Energy Xtreme.
