Research
May 1, 2009 by Brian Butler | Filed under: The EM Role in Greening Transportation
The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) program began in 1997 with a partnership between the British Government and the Cold Storage and Distribution Federation over a concern that just-in-time delivery program would adversely affect utilization of refrigeration trucks. The government was operating a best practice program to improve fuel efficiency and the start of the KPI program. Program objectives included promotion of standard methods of performance management in road transport, provide the government with information of a range of transport variables, and calculation of the potential for improving energy efficiency across industry sectors. These studies continue to be performed over 48 hour time frames to minimize market effect and focus on vehicle fill, empty running, fuel consumption (motor power and refrigeration), vehicle time utilization, and deviations from delivery schedule. The results from the study are reported on a government best practice website and have indicated good potential for cutting energy use in transport, utilization affects fuel efficiency, and efficiency can be affected by the delivery schedule. This article provides a good basis for completing similar partnership studies with a goal of generating and distributing best practices that can be adopted by businesses and organizations.