Bison Transport

One of the biggest challenges in tackling carbon dioxide emissions and reducing energy use is being faced by the transportation industry. According to Natural Resources Canada, the transportation sector is responsible for nearly a third of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.

Bison Transport is attempting to tackle the challenges of emissions reduction head-on. When the transportation industry was deregulated in the late 1980s, Bison began to expand its operations substantially. In 1992 it had 18 power units on the road, and in 2001 it had more than 500. In the mid-1990s, the company directors examined their operations from social and environmental perspectives. When the number-crunching was finished, the results made an impact.

Instead of ignoring the figures and waiting for government to regulate, Bison has taken a more pro-active approach. The first step was to identify and establish the tools needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This gave Bison a baseline against which to begin its calculations.

Bison Transport is a signatory to the Voluntary Challenge and Registry, a key element in Canada's national plan on climate change. Currently there are more than 850 companies registered which have agreed to voluntarily limit their greenhouse gas emissions. Participants represent 70% of business and industrial greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

While the quick and easy solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport industry - such as reduced engine horsepower and lower speeds - may seem straightforward, the reality is more complicated. In order to attract and retain experienced drivers, operators of trucking fleets have to meet the drivers' needs as well

Itamar Levine, director of maintenance at Bison, explains: 'Things that really attract drivers are fleets that allow their drivers to drive at posted highway speeds, which in the US means 75 to 80 miles per hour. Trucks with 500 and 600 horsepower engines tend to attract drivers. If there were two fleets, one of which can give the guy a truck with 500 horsepower that can travel 80mph and the other which will give him a truck with 300 horsepower that can make 60mph, then 90% cent of drivers are going to drift to those bigger trucks.'

If you are trying to run a growing trucking business and to attract experienced drivers, while at the same time ensure responsible corporate citizenship, what do you do?

Bison has been recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Private Companies, because of its exceptional customer loyalty and its continual recruitment of skilled drivers. Levine explains that Bison is meeting its emissions reduction targets using a combination of new equipment, driver training and driver performance feedback.

'I am ashamed to admit this, but we have increased our road speeds and increased our engine horsepower, just for the purpose of attracting and maintaining drivers,' Levine says. 'But we have made some huge gains on the fuel consumption side through training programs, and through improvements in equipment.'

Bison has invested in fleet improvement in several different ways. It has ordered 160 new Volvo tractor units, which are aerodynamic, safe and comfortable. Their fuel-efficient engines produce 425 horsepower with a displacement of 12 litres, compared with the industry average of 14 or 15 litres for comparable horsepower.

The exterior design of the trucks is aerodynamic, with lightweight fibreglass skirting fitted to reduce the drag co-efficient as much as possible.

Special lightweight trailers have also been ordered. These help reduce the fuel demands on the engine while hauling. Both the truck and the trailer feature aluminium rims for further weight reduction, and tires that have a low rolling resistance.

Inside the truck are two more pieces of technology that help curb fuel consumption. The first is a small diesel cab heater for use in the winter, allowing the truck's engine to be switched off. These consume four litres of diesel every 20 hours. (In a single eight-hour rest period, an idling 425 horsepower engine will use 32 litres of fuel.)

This opportunity to reduce fuel consumption is exceptional. 'Realistically, 40 per cent of engine running time is going to be idling, and that's a tremendous amount of fuel wasted,' says Levine. 'We have decided to install this device in every truck we purchase, and to retrofit the existing fleet.'

The second device is a computerized information centre which gives the driver real-time data on fuel consumption, driving habits and performance on individual trip legs. All new trucks delivered to Bison come with a digital display installed in the dashboard.

The drivers are using this information to modify their driving habits. Levine explains: 'They are genuinely concerned, and want to produce good numbers. If you had asked me six months ago, I would have thought drivers would have had very little interest in this kind of information.'

Every month the trucks are ranked from 1 to 350 by their fuel economy performance. This information is posted in the drivers' lounge, and provides a clear indication of driver performance. It used to be that only company managers had access to this information. However, since the figures have been posted, the drivers have taken a special interest in improving their driving habits.

Levine believes that much of the improvement in fuel efficiency is the direct result of feeding this information back to the drivers. Being more fuel-efficient also makes Bison Transport more competitive. 'Fuel is a major part of our operating expenses,' he points out. 'If we are fuel-efficient, we are directly impacting our bottom line.'

As a result of these initiatives, Bison has achgieved a reduction of almost 20 per cent in its fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. While this improvement is due partly to new equipment, the participation of the drivers was also an important factor.