How Crown Uniform and Linen Service Cut Fleet Idling by 90% with Geotab

Crown Uniform and Linen Service's delivery drivers were idling an average of 70 minutes a day. A few months after the company started tracking fleet idling with Geotab, that number dropped to just 7 minutes, and fuel costs fell by $1,500 to $2,000 every month.

About Crown Uniform and Linen Service

Crown is a family-owned, fourth-generation uniform and linen supplier founded in Boston in 1914. It delivers to and picks up from businesses such as health care and food service providers every week.

• Five locations across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Virginia

• 30 Freightliner MT45 step vans, leased through local Ryder and Penske dealerships

• Each van covers roughly 100 to 150 miles a day across New England

• Each van makes 30 to 40 stops a day

The challenge: fuel burned while standing still

With dozens of stops per vehicle each day, fuel wasted on unnecessary idling added up fast. Reducing idling had always mattered to Crown, but earlier programs hadn't delivered much. According to fleet supervisor Dave Hardy, the company wanted to give it another serious try.

Crown partnered with Sustainable America, an environmental nonprofit focused on cutting oil consumption, and launched an idling reduction pilot using ideas from the nonprofit's IdleFree Fleet Program. Sustainable America estimates that idling wastes 3.8 million gallons of fuel in the U.S. every day.

Tracking fleet idling with Geotab

A Geotab device was installed in each step van to track location, mileage, maintenance and idling, recording every time the engine stopped and started. Hardy used that data to build the program step by step.

1. Set a baseline. Looking back over several months of data, Hardy found drivers were idling 70 minutes a day on average, and some were idling two to five hours on their routes.

2. Bring managers on board. Most location managers had no idea how much their drivers were idling until Hardy showed them the numbers.

3. Find the habits. Drivers were leaving engines running during deliveries, while fueling, going through the car wash and waiting at security gates, often simply out of habit.

4. Set a target. Hardy set a goal of no more than 10 minutes of idling per route per day.

5. Report daily. Every day, Hardy sent managers a report showing each vehicle's idling time, flagging drivers over 10 minutes and pinpointing problem stops.

6. Coach drivers one-on-one. Managers spoke with drivers individually, reinforcing the habit of shutting the engine off between stops.

The results

Within a few months, average idling fell from 70 minutes per driver per day to 7 minutes, a 90% reduction. Crown now saves between $1,500 and $2,000 a month on fuel.

The change went beyond the numbers. In Hardy's words, "We have developed a culture of anti-idling at Crown." Building on that success, Crown plans to extend the program to its sales team, whose vehicles each cover 15,000 to 20,000 miles a year.

Could your fleet cut idling too?

Idling is one of the easiest fuel costs to fix once you can see it. Can-Am Telematics and Wireless can help you set up Geotab to measure fleet idling, build reports for your managers and turn the data into real fuel savings. Contact our team to talk through your fleet.

Read the original success story and download the PDF on Geotab's site: Crown Uniform and Linen Service: Anti-idling slashes fleet's fuel costs.