FPInnovations’ Performance Innovation Transport (PIT) is in the midst of an aggressive expansion campaign on both sides of the border. The organization conducts the twice-yearly Energotest trials, which measure the performance of fuel-saving devices and technologies using the most stringent TMC/SAE protocols. It then shares those results with its member fleets.

Sometimes we find out about them too, because a positive test is one that’s worth bragging about, and a supplier or manufacturer will happily share with us the results of their evaluation. We don’t often hear about the products that didn’t fare well, but PIT members do. They see it all – the good and the bad.

I for one, and grateful for PIT’s existence for the same reason carriers should be. Like you guys, I’m constantly being approached by suppliers of purported fuel-saving products who hope I’ll write about them. Sometimes they come armed with convincing testimonials from recognizable fleets but there has never been a way for a magazine editor, or fleet manager, to inexpensively validate whether or not the products work. Now, PIT does all this for us.

If a supplier comes to me with a product they say will save X% of a fleet’s fuel bill, I direct them to PIT. Some will complain that the cost of testing (about $20K) is too rich for them. Not to be rude, but if they can’t shell out $20K to validate their product, do they really have a hope? And how committed are they to the business? PIT currently has more than 50 member fleets. It would like to bring on more. One fleet member is Bison Transport and it is appealing to its industry peers to get on-board.

“Leveraging the disciplined PIT testing protocols allows member carriers to focus our efforts on core competencies, including managing our fleet operations,” said Chris Trajkovski, vice-president, fleet maintenance with Bison. “Without internal engineering expertise, fleets cannot effectively determine the merits or quantify the net impact of fuel efficiency technology claims on fleet performance. If you have not yet been involved as a member fleet of PIT, I strongly encourage you to consider the benefits it would bring to your operation.”