PharmaFleet Blog

How has the economy impacted your fleet’s environmental initiatives?

By Karen Healey
Director, Product Management, PHH Arval

PHH recently announced the results of our annual survey on fleet environmental issues. For a full copy of the survey go to: www.phharval.com/greensurvey2009. One of the most telling responses was the answer to the question, “What impact has the current economic climate had on your fleet environmental goals?”  Two-thirds of the respondents said that it had not had any impact on their initiatives. We know that for some companies the complete answer was probably, “We didn’t focus on the environmental impact of the fleet before the current economic slowdown, and we still don’t – so no change.”  However, 21% of companies said the economic environment has actually caused them to accelerate their greening initiatives. That’s great news.

What this tells me is that a good number of fleet managers understand that environmental and financial benefits can go hand-in-hand.  It also tells me that these fleet managers are using tough economic times to uncover opportunities and look at alternatives that may have been off the table a year ago. We hear from people in the industry every day about the things they are doing, large and small, to move forward on their environmental initiatives.  Tell us what you are doing (or not doing) around “greening” your fleet.

Is MPG the best way to measure fuel efficiency?

By Karen Healey
Director, Product Management, PHH Arval

PharmaFleets: Is MPG the best way to measure fuel efficiency?

On a recent business trip, I caught up on some reading and came across an interesting article in the magazine Good.  I had never heard of this magazine, but a colleague passed it on to me because this particular issue focused on transportation topics.  If this issue is any indication, it is an interesting magazine with a lot of great information.

Anyway….one article that caught my eye was an interesting discussion that suggests that MPG is misleading and does not help drivers (or fleet managers) understand how much gas they are using. A couple of brain teasers discussed in the article:

• Which change saves more gas:  Moving from a car that gets 25 miles per gallon to one that gets 50 miles per gallon, or moving from a car that gets 10 miles per gallon to one that gets 20 miles per gallon
• Imagine you are driving uphill for 100 miles and you get 10 miles/gallon. Then you driver down hill for 100 miles and you get 100 miles/gallon.  What is your average MPG for the 200 miles?

Check out the article: http://www.good.is/post/gallons-to-go/

PHH wins more awards!

PHH just got the news today that the PHH InterActive Community is a Finalist in the Stevie Awards! The judges seem to like the fact that this is the fleet management industry’s first and only social networking capability within a secure site. The final winners will be announced on June 22, so keep your fingers crossed.

This is especially exciting because last week PHH won the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Operational & Technology Excellence Award for work done through the R2R process improvement program. ELFA is a huge trade association that represents over 700 companies in the $650 billion equipment finance sector, so this is a tremendous honor.

Take our survey on “green fleet” initiatives and enter to win a Flip Mino video camera!

By Karen Healey
Director of Product Management, PHH Arval

For the past three years, PHH has surveyed fleet managers on the challenges and opportunities they face in trying to reduce the environmental impact of the fleet. This year has certainly given all of us lots of challenges, and we want to know how this has impacted fleet “greening" especially in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

Even if environment is not a priority for your pharma/healthcare fleet (although for most pharma companies it is), we want your opinion. Click on the link below to take our quick (5 minute!) survey: 

http://www.fleetsurveys.net/se.ashx?s=494072C12A7FC70C

To thank you for your participation, we are giving away a Flip Mino Camera. These are the coolest, smallest video cameras. Yahoo calls it the “world’s simplest video camera.”  If you have never seen one, check out the reviews (and pictures) in Time and Business Week.

But you can’t win if you don’t take the survey – so take 5 minutes and respond today!

Will you shift your focus to vehicle safety this year?

By Karen Healey
Director Product Management, PHH Arval

Did you know that vehicle crashes are the number one cause of work-related deaths (source: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-119/pdfs/2003-119.pdf)?

What can you do to reduce the number of accidents in your fleet?  The answer depends on your fleet and what programs you currently have in place. 

The first thing to do is check your drivers’ Motor Vehicle Records.  Many companies, when they first start a program to check MVRs, find they have some drivers who are operating a vehicle without a valid license.  What if that driver got in an accident and the company ended up in court? Not a position that any of us want to be in and easily avoidable.

Next, look to develop a safety training program.  There are lots of different approaches, from behind the wheel to internet training.  A good, comprehensive program can have incredible results as proven by a small pharma company that was able to reduce their accident rates by 40%. 

View case study

To get these results, they made a real commitment to safety, integrating it throughout their corporate culture. What is holding you back from making a larger commitment to driver safety?

Northeast states to develop a “low carbon fuel standard”

By Karen Healey
Director of Product Management, PHH Arval

Eleven states are working to develop a low carbon fuel standard. What does this mean for fleet?  Not clear yet, but it could be quite exciting.  Here’s the concept: the states require that the fuel in their state use less carbon (and thus have less global warming potential). The fuel companies can use a variety of ways to achieve this new standard. California adopted a low carbon fuel standard in 2007. The Northeast states include: Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The three factors that contribute to greenhouse gas emission from vehicles are fuel economy, miles traveled, and the carbon content of the fuel.  Fleets have the power to work on the first two, and now there looks like there will be some movement on the third.

Learn about best practices for greening your fleet

By Karen Healey
Director, Product Management at PHH

Interested in developing a fleet environmental program, but don't know where to start? Check out the new Environmental Defense Fund report, Greening Fleets, A Roadmap to Lower Costs and Cleaner Corporate Fleets. This report outlines the best practices developed as the result of a partnership between PHH and EDF and provides some specific case studies of companies that have reduced fleet emissions and lowered costs.

In addition, EDF will be holding a conference call on Wednesday, January 14 (1 to 2pm ET) to answer any questions companies may have about applying these best practices to their own fleet. To sign-up for the call, please email EDF at greenfleet@edf.org.

U.S. - IRS announces 2009 standard mileage reimbursement rate

Nov-25-2008
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the standard mileage reimbursement rate for 2009. Starting January 1, 2009, the new rate is 55.0¢ per mile.

For more information, please see the following IRS press release.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=200505,00.html

Working on your 2009 fleet budget?

By Greg Corrigan
VP, Business Analytics
PHH

Yes, it's that time of year - the time when you need to prepare your budget and present variances from last year's budget to your finance and budgeting departments. It's no small task, and that's why the PHH Business Analytics team has developed a white paper titled, "Budgeting for fleet in tough economic times" to guide you through the process. The white paper focuses on external and internal cost factors, as well as recommendations to control costs in each area through best-in-class policies and practices.

To request your copy, please visit www.phharval.com/budget2009 or contact your PHH Account Team.

Hurricane preparation

By: Greg Corrigan
Vice President
PHH Business Analytics team

Hurricane Gustav is in the news: Current computer models show the storm gaining strength through Friday, entering the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. Projections are for a category 3-4 hurricane by weekend. Landfall is uncertain, but computer models show it may land anywhere from the Florida panhandle to Houston, Texas. The hurricane could cause disruptions in oil production in the Gulf, causing short-term spikes in crude oil prices. Gasoline shortages could emerge if oil production delays are prolonged, or if refineries are impacted for any length of time, as was the case with Hurricane Katrina. Shortages would mostly be felt in the southeast to mid-Atlantic states, as well as Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.

While no one knows exactly what will be happening by this weekend, it never hurts to be prepared. Following are some PHH recommendations to communicate with your drivers:

·         Advise your drivers in the Gulf region to think safety first.

·      Have them top off their fuel tanks by the end of the week and over the weekend and keep them topped off.

·      PHH’s customer service representatives stand by 24x7 to help your drivers in the event the storm impacts them, and as we get more information, we will staff up our call centers as needed.

·      PHH’s used vehicle managers are already looking at anticipated resale volumes in the region and are making plans in the event of hurricane landfall.