Volvo Trucks conducts Fuel Watch 2014
The fifth installment of Volvo Trucks India Fuel Watch competition witnessed R. Satyanarayana of BGR Mining & Infra Pvt. Ltd emerging as the winner followed by J. Sampath Raju of SV Constructions and Sudharshan Dhal of Montecarlo Limited.
The Volvo Trucks Fuel Watch 2014 competition was held on June 11th and 12th, 2014 to educate drivers, fleet managers, customers and other stakeholders on the importance of good driving practices to improve fuel efficiency and reduce costs. After the preliminary selection, a group of 24 truck drivers were taken to a coal mining site in Manuguru, near Kothagudem in Telegana. Each driver drove the Volvo FMX truck which comes with a manual transmission on a 3.3 kilometer track at the mining site. The participants drove four laps out of which 2 rounds had them lugging around fully-loaded rears. The winner managed 18 per cent better fuel efficiency compared to the driver with the lowest fuel efficiency. The winners were declared by closely monitoring the fuel consumption, use of engine and transmission, time taken for the run and accuracy in following rules along with their attitude towards the safety norms.
Speaking to the media, Philippe Divry, Senior Vice President, AB Volvo & VECV board member said, “Fuel efficiency and vehicle productivity are critical aspects of truck mining operations. We are the undisputed leader in this market. Thanks to our world class technologies and our focus on the combined performance of man and machine together”. He also added that the Volvo Trucks is the first CV manufacturer to setup a Driver Training Center in India.
The trucks had an electronic management system that record trip data and fuel consumption. The process was closely monitored with electronic devices and the information was recorded without human intervention to aid accuracy. The competition was conducted by the Volvo Driver Training Centre. The training centre has trained over 50,000 drivers so far. The winner of the Volvo Trucks India Fuel Watch 2014 will now compete in the Asia Fuel Watch competition.
Featured image: From left to right: Rama Rao A S, SVP, Sales, Marketing and Aftermarket Volvo Trucks, VECV, Philippe Divry, President, Volvo India, Senior Vice President, Volvo Group and Vinod Agarwal, CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd
