Independent Konecranes port and terminal equipment supplier Cooper SH has launched Eco Drive, which it says will save fleet managers "£11,000 in fuel costs by helping them to monitor driver behaviour".
According to David Cooper, managing director of Cooper SH, Eco Drive is part of Konecranes' mission to make heavy lifting machines more environmentally friendly.
Having covered all angles of machine specification to reduce CO2, the firm has turned its attention to driver behaviour.
"The operator is the most likely variable in machine environmental measurement," comments Cooper. "Operators believe that throttling the engine to maximum speed will gain optimum hydraulic performance. This practice actually sees slower working machines burning more fuel, which only amounts to larger fuel bills," he adds.
Eco Drive works via an onboard computer that provides real-time information on operator performance. It records driving time, use of hydraulics, number of lifts, idling time and fuel used, to give an overall picture.
"We have noticed an 8% improvement in a machine's fuel consumption, simply by introducing Eco Drive. This is 58 tonnes of reduced CO2 over the lifetime of one machine alone – a total cost saving of £11, 000," insists Cooper.
