Allison Transmission and Biffa, a UK sustainable waste management company, were recognized with the Best Fleet Management, Private Sector Award at the 2023 Fleet Vision International Awards in London. The annual awards recognize excellence in the fleet and logistics industry and honor organizations that have achieved the most notable results regarding improvements in air quality and effective fleet management strategy, Allison Transmission said.
“We are honored to be recognized for our collaborative work with Biffa to reduce the fuel consumption in their vehicles to support their emissions reduction initiatives,” said Kevin Kluemper, executive director, customer integration engineering, Allison Transmission. “Allison’s previous research has indicated that the driveline of a vehicle, including the axle, is a key area of focus when optimizing a vehicle for the ideal blend of fuel economy and performance. This is what drives us to work closely with our OEM and fleet customers, including Biffa, to determine the ideal axle ratio for their unique needs rather than simply implementing standard axle ratios that are routinely offered on new vehicles.”
Through its customer integration and validation process, Allison partnered with Biffa to determine optimal axle settings for Mercedes-Benz Econic refuse collection trucks. By running simulations on its iSCAAN (internet System for Computerized Application Analysis) program, Allison identified that switching these trucks from the standard 6.84:1 axle ratio to a shallower 6.0:1 ratio could reduce fuel consumption by up to 3%, as well as lower cab noise. With Allison’s Continuous Power Technology, which nearly doubles engine torque at launch while delivering power to the wheels without interruption when shifting, vehicle performance was not impacted, the company said.
Allison leverages system integration software and modeling tools including its iSCAAN software program to optimize vehicle configurations, evaluate vehicle acceptability and predict vehicle performance. Through matrix analysis, iSCAAN quickly evaluates changes to driveline ratios and shift calibration features. In addition, through software simulation, iSCAAN is capable of evaluating the performance and fuel economy tradeoff of Allison products, such as different transmission gear ratios and various FuelSense 2.0 features, such as Acceleration Rate Management, Allison Transmission said.
