Controlling your fuel consumption and reducing your carbon footprint
Meet the challenge of lowering CO₂ emissions by optimizing consumption, idle equipment rates, and field operations.
The observation is clear, and it’s above all alarming: the curve of CO₂ emissions in the construction industry is constantly climbing and these have reached “an unprecedented level,” according to the UN’s annual report in 2020 on the subject. The study carried out by the United Nations concerns both the energy used in the construction of buildings and that consumed by those already in existence. In total, the authors of the report estimate that in 2019, the sector emitted a whopping 10 billion tons of CO₂.
Construction equipment obviously has a huge impact: one third of total emissions are linked to fuel consumption. And even if the number of electrically powered machines grow, fuel will continue to dominate for some time to come.
Today, the carbon footprint has become an evaluation criterion and a major success factor for all players in the construction industry, large groups such as Bouygues Construction and Vinci as well as small companies. Reducing emissions is obviously the major weapon for improving carbon footprint, and construction players have no other solution than to reduce their fuel consumption if they want to have an impact on the CO₂ emitted.
The prerequisite for meeting the challenge of lowering emissions is the use of data from connected equipment:
The major players announce that they want to reduce their CO₂ emissions by 40% by 2030, but this goal cannot be achieved without knowledge of the actual carbon footprint. And this is within the reach of all equipment managers — thanks to data mining.
Charles Benard, CPO and co-founder of Hiboo
The information collected by the data first makes it possible to establish a perimeter of analysis, then to visualise and identify the potential for emissions reduction resulting from operational adjustments. Based on this data, it then becomes easier to define an action plan at all levels.
Equipment data not only provides a carbon view of the fleet, sites, or equipment, but also is key to optimizing equipment use and reducing their consumption… and therefore their emissions. In particular, it enables action in the following areas:
1. Reduce equipment idle rate
A high equipment idle rate of is the major cause of emissions, as revealed in a 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) case study of several construction sites.
On average, equipment remains idle 40% of the time, and this idle time consumes 4l/h of diesel. That’s 2,400l per year and per equipment!
The impact of reducing the idle rate from 40% to 30% results in savings of 600l/machine/year, or 1.9 tons of CO₂ less per machine/year. On a fleet of 1,000 pieces of equipment, this results in 1,900 tons of CO₂ less per year, along with fuel savings of €510,000 per year.
Reducing the idle rate also results in a large saving in fuel, a reduction in maintenance costs as well as an extension of equipment life, which is also in a way a saving in CO₂. Saving one year in the renewal of a machine allows smoothing out CO₂ emissions over one additional year. In the end, this represents the same weight of CO₂ emissions released into the atmosphere, but with the possibility of more easily meeting an annual CO₂ balance. And you can always do better, as Hiboo’s customer NGE has shown.
With Hiboo’s support, we’ve reduced our idle rate from 32% to 26% in six months, and we’re targeting 20% in the medium term.
Thierry Robert, Equipment Manager at NGE
Five solutions to reduce equipment idling
- Educate drivers in the field
- Training drivers to drive economically
- Turn off trucks that have to wait more than five minutes for loading or unloading
- Limit engine starts to 3–5 minutes each morning
- Favor equipment with “stop and start” systems
2. Monitor and optimize equipment consumption
Having the operating data of the equipment allows to improve productivity, reduce consumption and compare equipment models. By centralizing all sources of equipment data, an operations department can, for example, compare differences in equipment productivity and fuel savings on reports.
3. Making the most of your equipment
Operational data also allows the right equipment to be used for the right task.
Equipment that is too powerful, and therefore underutilized, will consume too much for the task it has to perform. Equipment that is too small will be at its maximum capacity and will not work at its optimum speed, as Gilles Rambaud explains in Le Moniteur.
A 30t excavator may be too powerful for the job, compared to a 20t excavator, which consumes less. It is therefore important to visualize and be alerted to over- or under-utilized equipment in order to take action in the field.
4. Optimize movement of equipment
Knowing the positions of your equipment allows you to better allocate it. When operations call for certain types of equipment, companies can quickly identify those that are available and closest. This saves on the price of transport while lowering CO₂ emissions. If in addition the actual use of the equipment is known, it is even possible to know which equipment is not actually used. More equipment then becomes available, even closer or even on the same construction site.
Go further…
- Carbon footprinting is not yet mandatory for SMEs, but it could happen quickly.
- Monitoring consumption is not only necessary for the environmental aspect, but in terms of costs as well, especially since the government has already approved the detaxation of RNG in its draft Finance Law 2020.
- The next step could be to go electric. Some manufacturers, such as Volvo, already offer electric excavators. The movement can only accelerate in the years to come.
- Innovations and startups in the construction sector are growing and have the know-how that the major construction companies rely on.
