SmartWay
Partner:
Bison Transport Inc.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
BISON CARES…BECAUSE THEY ARE PEOPLE DRIVEN!
Background
Bison Transport is one of the largest transportation companies in Canada today, offering award-winning
transportation and solutions to the industry for 44 years. Recognized by the TCA (Truckload Carrier’s
Association) and the ATA (American Trucking Association) as North America’s Safest Fleet, Bison is a
high-service, dependable and value creating supply chain partner.
Bison offers Truckload Service, LTL Service, Asset-Based, Intermodal, Dedicated Fleet Operations, Yard
Management and Warehousing and Distribution. Bison is an active member of Natural Resources
Canada's FleetSmart Program and a SmartWay® Transport Partner, a national and voluntary partnership
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In Canada, Bison operates terminals in Langley, BC; Calgary and Edmonton, AB; Regina and Saskatoon, SK;
Mississauga, ON; and is headquartered out of Winnipeg, MB. It also operates in the continental United
States. It currently has a fleet of 1250 power units and a trailer fleet of 3,500 fifty-three-foot trailers,
including air-ride and vans, refrigerated trailers, heated trailers and regular dry vans backed by 1,600 full
time positions. Bison also operates over 37,160 m² (300,000 square feet) of warehouse, cross-dock and
distribution space in its facilities across the country.
In 1998, the company was chosen as one of Canada's top 50 best-managed private companies. They have
qualified for the 50 best awards every year since, and have received the top tier “Platinum Member”
designation. Bison Transport has been awarded the Truckload Carriers Association National Fleet Safety
Award for the past eight years, receiving the Grand Prize for six of those eight years. Bison was also
recognized with the Fleet Management Award from Natural Resources Canada's FleetSmart Program for its
energy management and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction programs.
Bison Transport’s fleet drives 200 million kilometers per year, which translates to $90 million plus in
annual fuel spent, representing one of Bison’s largest operating expenses. The SmartWay program
provides fuel and emissions standards that enable Bison to monitor its sustainability initiatives.
Sustainability Programs
As one of Canada's largest transportation companies, Bison Transport takes their responsibility to their
customers and society as a whole seriously when it comes to delivering environmentally conscious
transportation solutions. They have invested time and energy to become an industry leader in reducing
the greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere for every mile travelled.
The Bison management team follows a corporate-wide mandate based on 11 core values. One of these
values is protecting the environment. They believe, as a company and as individuals, that they have the
ability to significantly impact their environment and take ownership of their responsibility to ensure that
this impact is a positive one. Infusing this concept across the company has enabled a shift in corporate
culture from reactive to proactive, following the belief that accountability for environmental values
encompasses all members of their community.
Current Initiatives
"Improving fuel
economy is a front and
center priority. A
reduction of 2.9 liters
per 100 km would
reduce 5.7 million liters
of fuel consumption
annually, save millions
and significantly
reduce greenhouse
gas emissions!”
Trevor Batenchuk
Supervisor,
Corporate Services
Winnipeg, Manitoba
"We don’t just talk
about our passion for
environmental
protection – we live it
every day with full
accountability across
our community of
employees, customers
and partners.”
Garth Pitzel
Director,
Safety & Compliance
Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Customer Collaboration
Bison’s environmental priorities have led them to achieve close alignment with a major SmartWay
retail shipping partner. This alignment, which goes well beyond the shipper RFP weighting/selection
process, broke new ground in environmental partnership. It ensured that Bison was aligned with the
shipper’s own substantial environmental initiatives. Bison summarized their fuel economy initiatives
and produced a report for the shipper to validate Bison’s achievements through their SmartWay
participation in the following five key areas:
•
•
•
•
•
Long Combination Vehicles (LCV)
Aerodynamic Improvement strategies
Speed and Driver Management
Truck idling control strategies
Tire Efficiency
In addition, the report brought renewed focus to the objective
of Bison’s Fuel Management program to reduce greenhouse
C02 Reductions
gases in the future. The collaboration with their customer
3.00%
highlights Bison’s attention to the direct relationship between
KPL (Kilometers per Liter) and CO2 emissions, as
2.00%
every liter of fuel burned will release roughly the same amount
of C02. Bison measures KPL because of this relationship to CO2
%
1.00%
emissions, making KPL a visible metric to drivers and staff. It
also emphasizes the changes in the marketplace that shippers
0.00%
are demanding of their carriers. This report clearly identified
2012 2013 2014
Bison’s objectives and ensured that both Bison and the
customer’s SmartWay Partner initiatives were similarly aligned to set an aggressive goal of C02
reductions identified in the chart. Their goal is to reduce C02 emissions over a three year period by
6.55 %.
Fuel Economy Program
Since fuel is such a large operating expense, Bison has relied on technology and operational
innovation to manage and maintain this essential component of running its fleet. Downloadable
engine reports, in-dash fuel economy readouts and full collaboration with drivers over several years
has created a real-time awareness for conserving fuel. As highlighted by the alignment with a
SmartWay retail shipper, the battle to save fuel is fought on many fronts. Bison aggressively strives to
improve fuel economy year-over-year and tackles this by improving in equipment spec’s and
behavioural change.
Here are some of Bison’s strategic milestones:
Long Combination Vehicles (LCV): Bison is an industry leader in the use of LCVs and will focus on this
part of their business to run more LCV kilometers. Bison transport ran an impressive 37,940,220 LCV
kilometers in 2012, which is unprecedented in the industry. Their 2013 goal is to continue to grow this
part of their business and run even more of these kilometers. LCV kilometers simply make sense for the
business, their customers and the environment. Each LCV kilometer uses about one-third less fuel than
the conventional two tractor-trailer combo that would carry the same amount of freight. Bison suggests
that LCV kilometers are absolutely the way to go but it comes at a cost. Bison has invested heavily in a
dedicated team of LCV planners, drivers and infrastructure to execute on this initiative. Operational
excellence is required from all parties involved. Achieving successful execution on each kilometer run
requires more attention and effort than conventional single tractor and trailer.
Aerodynamic Improvement: Bison added aerodynamic features to their entire fleet such as belly skirts
and tractor-trailer gap fairings. Gap fairings reduce the gap between the tractor and trailer to lower
turbulence and can also lessen fuel consumption up to 2 %. Trailer side skirts minimize wind under the
trailer and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4 to 7 %. As has been the case in many equipment
spec innovations, Bison was an early adopter of both trailer side skirts and gap fairings. They are an
active member of PIT (Performance Innovation Transport), an organization focused on testing new
equipment in controlled environments and providing data to substantiate return on investment for new
technologies.
Speed and Driver Management: Speed not only impacts fuel efficiency but also has an impact on safety
and the vehicle's life cycle. Studies from heavy truck and tire manufacturers suggest that every kilometer
per hour increase above 80 kilometers reduces fuel consumption by .0354 KPL. Bison Transport has
activated speed limiters to 100 km/h, which can reduce GHG emissions by 2.7 million kg. Also, efficient
driving behaviours impact fuel consumption, improving fuel economy up to 2 %.
Idling Control: For additional savings and driver comfort the company pilot tested in-cab heaters several
years before they were in mainstream use. The pilot showed that the heaters would have a payback
period of two years on fuel savings alone, not including savings on engine life and maintenance costs.
Bison quickly expanded on this initiative and installed Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) in all of their highway
trucks. APUs provide power for a variety of comfort features that allow their drivers to reduce idling.
They provide heat, air conditioning and power for household electrical devices. Bison again built on this
innovation in the last 2 years by replacing the older diesel powered APUs with electric models. Seventy
per cent of the fleet is now implemented with electric units.
APUs have contributed significantly to Bison’s success in reducing idle time. Since implementation and
regular monitoring and driver coaching for improvement they have been able to decrease idle time yearover-year. In 2011, they averaged 321 hours of idle time per truck and in 2012 reduced this to 265 hours.
This is a 17 % reduction in idle time.
Tire Efficiency: Recent studies performed by manufacturers in
co-operation with Bison and third party evaluations have found
that low rolling resistance tires can help reduce a vehicle's fuel
consumption by 1.0 % to 4.5 %. Today Bison is actively installing
these onto their trucks and will continue to do so as new
equipment is introduced into the fleet. As part of this research
Bison has also decided to increase tire pressure across the fleet
by 10 PSI. The results are improved fuel efficiency, better tire
wear and tires that are more likely to be in better condition for
re-treading when required.
Continuous Improvement
Bison Transport prioritizes on-going improvement, training and education. Today all new drivers receive
training on fuel-efficient driving techniques by using the Natural Resources Canada’s SmartDriver program.
As with most fleets, Bison experiences a difference of up to 12 liters per 100 kilometers between their
most and least fuel-efficient drivers. In order to reduce this gap, increased training and coaching efforts
are being concentrated. Satellite communication in each power unit improves the accuracy and
timeliness of fuel economy data. The fuel economy data can then be referenced by their drivers and staff
to understand performance in fuel efficiencies.
Moving forward, Bison Transport will
continue to implement groundbreaking
innovation on fuel economy. Most
recently, Bison began running 15
liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tractors in
Alberta, partnering with Shell Canada
on a five-year fuel supply agreement.
Bison began taking delivery of
Peterbilt tractors using Westport HD
natural gas engines in November 2012.
The LNG heavy duty fleet went into
operation in January 2013. The use of
LNG in heavy duty applications has the
potential to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 20 %.
Summary
For Bison Transport, improving fuel
economy is good for the company's bottom line and for the environment. The targeted improvement of
2.9 liters per 100 kilometers in fuel economy would save Bison from purchasing 5.7 million liters of fuel a
year, reducing the company fuel bill by millions and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
These benefits are made possible not by the work and dedication of one company alone, but through cooperation with the standards provided by the SmartWay Transport partnership program and its community
of carriers and shippers.
For more information on fleet energy-saving opportunities, contact us at:
SmartWay Canada
Phone:
Website:
Email:
1-855-322-1564
www.smartway.canada.nrcan.gc.ca
[email protected]
Supply Chain Management Association
Phone:
Website:
Email:
1-888-799-0877
www.scmanational.ca
[email protected]
Bison Transport
Phone:
Website:
Email:
1-800-GO-BISON
www.bisontransport.com
[email protected]
This document, prepared through a case analysis provides insight into the history and benefits of a truck carrier
participating in the SmartWay® Partner Program.
This case study is made possible with financial support from Natural Resources Canada.
Created: Mar 2013. Copyright © 2013 by Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA).