Fleet to Fleet: Advice and Lessons Learned from Jerome Webber, AT&T VP of Fleet Operations
by Falana White, AFVi staff
“It’s the right thing to do,” asserts Jerome Webber, Vice President of Fleet Operations for AT&T Services Inc., on why fleets should use alternatively fueled vehicles. “This has got to be more than about a return on investment. It’s bigger than that. It’s about the environment. It’s about sustainability.” Mr. Webber used ‘sustainability’ often to describe AT&T’s vision and direction as a company.
In 2009, AT&T made a giant leap towards becoming a more sustainable company with the announcement that it is investing $565 million as part of its strategy to deploy more than 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles over the next 10 years. Over the next five years, $350 million will be used to purchase about 8,000 CNG vehicles. And, over the next ten years, $215 million will be used to replace 7,100 passenger vehicles. Initially passenger vehicles will be replaced with hybrids, but other alternative fuels and technologies will be considered as they evolve.
AT&T’s commitment didn’t happen overnight. “We spent a lot of time researching and exploring and trialing, trying to make sure that what we eventually chose was the best fit for AT&T,” said Webber. “We realized that there wasn’t any one silver bullet…that it would take somewhat of a mixed combination of technologies to really work at AT&T.” Starting with a trial fleet of four hybrids in 2007, AT&T began its foray into alternative fuel vehicles. In 2008, when oil prices sky-rocketed to almost $150 a barrel, AT&T saw the opportunity to expand its trial fleet to 105 vehicles, including 25 natural gas vehicles and 15 hybrid work trucks. “The trial was amazingly well received by our drivers and by the communities that we work, live and serve in.” This success allowed Webber to really get in front of the leadership at AT&T and they embraced these early efforts and encouraged the team to do more. Thus was born the $565 million and 15,100 alternative fuel vehicle commitment.
Webber encourages any company looking to delve into alternative fuel vehicles to “do their homework,” starting with understanding their fleet. “One of the most difficult things was trying to truly understand the composition of our fleet and the composition of the customers and clients that use those vehicles in order to do their everyday job,” explained Webber. To determine his fleet’s composition he answered the following questions: Do we have an over-the-road fleet – one that basically drives from one end of the United States to the other? Do we have a fleet that basically leaves a particular work center location within a city every morning, goes out and does their business and then eight hours later comes back and nests for the next 16 hours at a common location? Or do we have a fleet that goes out on the road and is taken home by the various drivers at the end of their shifts? The answers to these questions, allowed Webber to break down his nearly 80,000 vehicle fleet into several categories.
Once your fleet’s composition is understood, you can go on to determine which fuels and technologies might meet your needs. “Truly the biggest challenge for us, initially, was looking at what technologies were right for our company. There are a lot of different alternative fuel technologies out there, everything from ethanol to propane to biodiesel,” said Webber. It is important to educate yourself on the alternative fuels and technologies available. To accomplish this, Webber met with alternative fuel-related associations and attended conferences, including the Hybrid Truck Users Forum and the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo (hosted by AFVi). He also talked to other fleets. “We found a few key fleets that had gone down this road… We spent time talking to UPS, as well as other private fleets, to understand some of the road work that had been done in these particular areas and what worked and what didn’t work.”
Selecting hybrids for his passenger vehicles was simple, since he knew that these vehicles, mainly used by sales and marketing people, needed to be able to tolerate high mileage and have a readily available fuel source. “So a hybrid electric vehicle proved to be very beneficial. As a matter of fact, it was so convincing once we did our [trials] we made this a de facto standard within AT&T, that as passenger vehicles become outdated or need to be replaced or as we add passenger vehicles, those vehicles, as well, will be alternative fuel vehicles. We believe that’s the right choice,” concluded Webber.
Selecting a “right” fuel for his work vehicles presented more of a challenge, simply because there were very few alternative fuel work vehicles available. “The OEMS, the automakers, the manufacturers had not stepped up,” Webber said. “When you said ‘I need a full size van or a 16,000 gross vehicle weight aerial lift boom truck,’ you didn’t find many of those in the light-duty, medium-duty alternative fuels.” With the knowledge that CNG technology was available, AT&T decided to have domestically built chassis converted by a domestic supplier to run on CNG. The properties of natural gas are paramount to AT&T’s alternative fuel commitment, in that it is domestically abundant, cheaper and cleaner burning than diesel and gasoline. “From an emissions standpoint, it worked. From a bottom line perspective in lowering our operating costs, it worked. And, for lessening our dependence on stuff coming out of the Middle East…it definitely was a major, major positive,” Webber said of natural gas.
With AT&T's commitment to sustainability, getting his leadership on board with the alternative fuel vehicle program was relatively easy. Webber recognized that this may not be the case for every company, “I imagine that there are some companies where their leadership might not be so quick to embrace sustainability. It’s an opportunity, not a challenge, for those fleet managers to learn to be good pitch people and bring their leadership teams along the way.” Webber offered this advice, “My encouragement to [fleet managers] would be that the work they do today will pay dividends in the future. Stay the course. Obviously, do your homework and make sure you are prepared to answer the questions that leadership is going to have.”
Implementing an alternative fuel vehicle program isn’t the end of the process. Driver and mechanic support is key. “There’s some awareness and education that comes along with being sustainable. You have to take the time and the effort to make sure people understand how to maximize the vehicle or equipment that you’ve given them,” said Webber. AT&T conducts thorough driver orientation training, called “Drive Green. Drive Safe.” with every vehicle it introduces. “I think this is really important and I think it’s one of our successes in doing what we’re doing,” said Webber of the program. Driver training also benefits the program from a maintenance standpoint. “We don’t get a lot of false calls about something that’s going on, because once you explain the vehicle to them, they understand that although it might be slightly different than the last Chevrolet or Ford that they drove, [it] has something unique about it and it’s okay,” said Webber. When problems do occur, a well-trained mechanic work force helps to identify the problem and work with the manufacturer or supplier quickly to fix it. Webber is pleased to report that driver satisfaction has been great with his alternative fuel vehicles and maintenance has almost been a non-issue. “Overall the vehicles that we’ve deployed have served us extremely well… we’ve been extremely satisfied,” he said.
AT&T hopes that other companies will step up and join them in their quest for sustainability. “This has been a tremendous opportunity for AT&T. We are trying to encourage [others] by what we’ve done,” Webber said. “We don’t want to be a lone ranger.” Stressing the importance of fleets helping fleets as part of this strategy, he offered to “… make ourselves available to other fleets that want us to share with them how we might have been able to get to where we are, what does it take to get our leadership on board and the whole nine yards. So my door is open, my phone is available for any of them that want to have that discussion.” AFVi hopes you take him up on his offer.
Economic Health & Petroleum Reduction
By Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities Modified from its original version by Falana White, AFVi
This is part 2 in GLACC's series. Click here for Part 1.
Core to each Clean Cities Coalition's mission is an effort to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States. The mission of Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities (GLACC) focuses on the mid-Michigan area. Our aim is to advance energy, economic and environmental security on a local level. We promote alternative fuel and vehicle usage and fuel economy practices. It's easy to forget that what we do individually, as communities, and regionally impacts the nation as a whole. Our own and our region's dependence on petroleum has local implications, as well as national security consequences.
This issue of Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities’ Clean Transportation Awareness Campaign will give you some food for thought on how cleaner fuels and vehicles, as well as non-motorized transportation options, can improve our local and national economy. While some of the tenets are specific to Michigan, the lessons learned can be applied across the United States. In fact, they are being applied through your local Clean Cities Coalition. Click here to find your local Clean Cities Coalition.
LEARN MORE Where does the money we spend on gas and diesel go?
In 2008 the top suppliers of oil to the U.S. were Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria and Iraq. The year before, when oil prices were lower than in 2008, Michigan spent an estimated $20.4 billion on petroleum products. (Source: Moving Beyond Oil, 2009, Frontier Group, et al.)
Can Michigan and the rest of the United States support our own fuel demand?
Here in mid-Michigan we have an ethanol plant in our backyard. Woodbury Ethanol is up and running under new ownership. This facility uses locally grown corn, helping provide farmers with an additional source of income. The state also has biodiesel plants that produce biodiesel fuel blends. Michigan's biofuels plants currently have capacity to supply 311 million gallons per year (MGY) of ethanol and 111 MGY of biodiesel. Combined with conservation practices, Michigan can make strides toward supporting its own fuel demand. Click here to find out your state’s assessment for biomass resources on DOE’s website.
Aren't there problems with biofuels?
The main complaints related to biofuels production are related to land use, energy use and food costs. In short, sensitive lands should be protected from development - agricultural or otherwise - to avoid deforestation and endangering biodiversity and biofuels production facilities and crop growing practices should be as energy efficient as sustainable as can be. The move toward advanced biofuels (near commercialization) will reduce the need for feed or food crops used for biofuels. These concerns are all things that can be resolved. Government policies and industry practices are being developed to ensure that domestic fuels are more environmentally friendly and sustainable than petroleum. In fact, the federal government has just come out with clarification on the nation’s renewable fuel standards. Learn more at the EPA website.
How would domestic fuel production impact our economy? 349 MGY of biofuels can be produced in Michigan with current production facilities. Talk about green jobs! The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that for every one billion gallons of ethanol produced, 10,000 to 20,000 jobs will be added. A pilot scale cellulosic ethanol plant planned for Alpena, Michigan is expected to bring 160 local jobs.
Ok, but what about me?
Depending on out of state or out of country resources for our energy needs can increase our price at the pump or from the fuel supplier. The costs have a lot to do with how far the fuel is coming from, global demand for the same fuel and energy costs to extract and refine the fuel. Your household economy can benefit from reductions in fuel costs as domestic fuels become more widely available. Clean, domestic fuels can lead to related savings, too, like a healthier population through healthier air.
Why not drill for more domestic petroleum? The US Energy Information Administration shows US proven reserves of oil as of 2008 at about 19 billion gallons. This amount of domestic production would barely cover our own use at today's levels. Accounting for increased demand for fuel this supply would not meet transportation energy needs alone. Accessing offshore oil beneath the sea and shale oil is expensive and can be highly polluting and avoids the issue of reducing dependence on this limited resource.
What are the alternatives?
Many alternatives to petroleum for transportation exist or are under development including biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), hydrogen, electric vehicles and fuels like propane (liquefied for motor vehicle use) and compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas. The most accessible alternative is often overlooked, but very easy for most of us to implement - non-motorized transportation options, like walking and biking. Learn more about alternative fuels.
Is Michigan ready for domestic fuel? Our region is fast becoming a part of the solution, and we can do more. Michigan State University and Lansing Community College perform research to get alternatives to petroleum into the market, and train vehicle technicians to service advanced vehicles, like hybrid electric and natural gas vehicles. Area farmers have an opportunity to grow crops sustainably that can be used for biofuels, like switchgrass, soy and corn. Advanced biofuels you may have heard of, like cellulosic ethanol and biobutanol, are being developed by mid-Michigan groups like Working Bugs. And, folks like you are learning and applying ways to reduce personal petroleum use. Keep it up, mid-Michigan!
TIPS Be a Squeaky Wheel
We all know it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil (preferably bio-based oil). Encourage your fuel retailers, fuel purchasers, employers and companies you support to use domestic fuels. Be polite and persistent - it tends to take hearing about something up to seven times before a person is ready to act. Your suggestions and encouragement can make the difference.
Research: Where do you fuel up? Do they provide domestic fuel? Is there another station on your route or in your neighborhood that provides domestic fuel? Click here to find a domestic fuel station near you.
Ask: If your fuel stations don't provide domestic fuel ask the clerk or owner why not. Put them in touch with us, Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities or your local Clean Cities Coalition, if they have questions or want to learn more. If they do provide domestic fuel - thank them!
Buying a new (or used) vehicle? Look for vehicles that can run on domestic fuel, like Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) or diesel vehicles. FFVs can run on any blend of gasoline and ethanol fuel (up to 85% ethanol/15% gasoline). Diesel vehicles can run on biodiesel blends (up to 20% biodiesel/80% petro-diesel) without any need for special fuel system conversions. AFVi’s Buyers’ Guide can help.
Hydraulic Hybrids: Testing Underway, Commercialization Only a Few Years Away
Since 2004, UPS has partnered with Eaton and International under an EPA project to develop a series hydraulic hybrid technology for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. In November 2009, UPS launched the latest test fleet of two trucks in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are just in the preliminary stages of collecting data on these vehicles and therefore did not have any they were willing to report at this time. “They seem to be working fine for us so far,” said Robert Hall, UPS Director of Maintenance & Engineering Ground Fleet. “We’ve been working on these for over six years now. We’re close to a product that [Eaton] feels they will be commercializing…It’s probably three years away, I would guess, from commercialization.”
Due to the nature of hydraulic hybrids, UPS has targeted this trial on urban routes. Hall explains “It is where we think this will work the best even though the vehicle will run the speed limit. It is virtually a 2-speed vehicle, virtually a forward and a reverse. If you can keep them in urban areas, downtown areas, where there is no need to be accelerating to get on and off interstates and freeways, it’s just a much better application for them.”
The test will run throughout 2010 and possibly through the spring of 2011. During that time, they are monitoring miles per gallon, maintenance cost per mile and the entire maintenance operation as to what the system will require for weekly and monthly service intervals. All these factors will be compared against a conventional baseline vehicle (diesel). “Of course all of that has to part of the business case that you make to purchase these,” said Hall. “The key will be the acquisition costs. Of course we won’t know that for a couple of years until they’re ready to commercialize. Right now, we’re just a big part of trying to give them the data and look at the data ourselves to see how they perform head to head against a baseline conventional [vehicle].”
Eaton isn’t the only company in the race to get hydraulic hybrids developed and commercialized to bring to market. UPS is also working with Parker and will begin testing one of their vehicles later this year.
Bosch Rexroth Corporation is also developing its own hydraulic system. While Eaton’s system is a ‘series hybrid hydraulic,’ Bosch Rexroth is finalizing its ‘parallel hydrostatic regenerative breaking system (HRB)’ for commercialization. “It is an add-on system, added to the existing driveline,” said Michelle DuHadway with Bosch Rexroth Corporation’s Business Development. (They also have a series version that is still early in the research and development phase and will be designed for class 4-6 trucks.) Their HRB system is designed for class 7 and 8 trucks with the primary application being refuse trucks. “The HRB system will be available 4th quarter this year. We have 13 pre-production vehicles on the road today. By the time we’re in production, we will have 15 pre-production refuse trucks globally. By 4th quarter this year we’ll be in three different countries,” said DuHadway.They are currently field testing vehicles in the U.S., though DuHadway declined to comment specifically on those tests because the funding agencies don’t want to release data until the end of the test. She was able to talk about results with refuse vehicles in Germany which had confirmed fuel savings up to 20%.
If you happen to be attending the Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo, May 9-12 in Las Vegas, NV, Bosch Rexroth will have a HRB refuse truck available for a ride-along during the Conference’s Ride-n-Drive event. AFVi will be following up with both UPS and Bosch Rexroth early next year for the outcome of their test vehicles.
Click here to learn more about Hydraulic Hybrid technology.
Set up your account. Add a brief company description and contact info.
Start “following” people, i.e. people you hope will follow you in return for following them. Use Twitter’s Find People tool to find existing Twitter users or search your Gmail, Yahoo, or AOL to see if your contacts already have Twitter accounts. You can also invite your clients and prospects to join and follow you on Twitter via email through your Twitter account.
Start “tweeting”, i.e. messages of no more than 140 characters. Your “followers” will automatically receive your tweets in their personal Twitter account.
Tweeting tips:
Tweet at least once a day.
Listen to what others are saying (you can search on topics even if they aren’t following you. See hashtags below). And respond as appropriate.
It’s common courtesy to follow those that follow you, but you should consider “quality” of your followers over “quantity”
“Retweet” other’s posts (seen as RT @username). It’s flattering and a way to build relationships.
Use hashtags # to make searching easier for those following a particular topic (i.e. #fuel, #biodiesel, #ethanol, etc.)
Facebook –“Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.”
Create a free account at www.facebook.com. You can either create a personal page or a business page (use the "Create a Page” below the general Sign Up for a business page).
Provide information on your page like information about your company, photo albums, blogs or link to an existing blog.
Invite “Friends”: Use the Find Friends tool to search through your contacts including your Outlook or web-based mail like Hotmail contacts to invite people with existing Facebook accounts to become your Friend. You can also invite people to join via email through your Facebook account.
Once someone becomes your Friend they will have access to your page and you can send them messages, invite them to events and they can see your status updates and wall postings in their News Feed.
Facebook Tips:
Use your page to inform current clients, potential clients about company news, upcoming events, and product offerings.
Keep your page updated frequently to keep Friends engaged through status updates, posting pictures, linking to relevant content, starting a discussion.
Friends can communicate with you by posting to your Wall. Respond and keep the conversation growing.
LinkedIn – “Over 40 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.”
Create your page which is essentially a resume-like profile that includes your job history, education, interests.
Make“Connections” by adding your professional contacts and inviting them to join your network. Once they accept you will be automatically added to their connection list.
Create a group based on your profession or interest and invite others to join. Conversely, you can join groups by searching for groups with your professional interests and make connections that way.
LinkedIn Tips:
Go for quality of contact over quantity. LinkedIn boasts to have the most C-level managers and decision-makers of all the social media sites.
Engage with people by starting a discussion using tools like LinkedIn Answers.
Join industry-related groups.
Ask your connections to let their connections know about your company’s news, products and events.
Daily Industry News
Keep abreast of all the latest AFV industry news headlines with our daily news delivered each Tuesday and Thursday to your email inbox. Sign-up today.
World Biofuels Markets 2010
Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 15-17, 2010 www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com
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EVER Monaco 2010
Monte Carlo, Monaco
March 25-28, 2010 www.ever-monaco.com
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Green Fuels & Vehicles China 2010
Shanghai, China
April 8-9, 2010 www.greenfuels-vehicles.com
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National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo
Atlanta, Georgia
April 10-12, 2010 www.npgaexpo.com ---------------------------------
Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo 2010
Las Vegas, NV
May 9-12, 2010 www.afv2010.com
The Expo Hall is almost SOLD OUT! Don't miss out on your opportunity to be among the who's-who in the alternative fuel industry. Sign up now before your chance is gone!
Attention Exhibitors: Get the most out of your advertising money! Purchase an ad in the Conference Program in March and receive a 10% discount on a 1/4 page ad or a 20% discount on a 1/2 page ad.
To take advantage of these limited time opportunities, contact Kevin Colbert, Account Executive at 702-254-4180 or kcolbert@afvi.org.
Attention Attendees: The Rio All-Suites Hotel rate of $109 per night, plus taxes, has been indefinitely extended. Click here to take advantage of it TODAY to save money on your hotel reservations!
AFVi's own Leo Thomason is our resident natural gas expert. With over 20-years of experience, Leo has equipped more than 14,000 employees with the skills they need to safely implement, operate and maintain a NGV fleet. Four courses are currently open for registration, including:
CNG Fueling Station Operation & Maintenance Certification Course
March 23-24, 2010, Downey, CA
CNG Fueling Stations: A Project Manager’s Guide to Sizing, Design, Specifying, Permitting and Construction
May 9, 2010, Las Vegas, NV
NGV Driver and Mechanic Safety Training
May 25, 2010, Riverside, CA
CNG Fuel System Inspector Training
May 26-27, 2010, Riverside, CA
Click here for course descriptions and registration information.
“It’s the right thing to do,” asserts Jerome Webber, Vice President of Fleet Operations for AT&T Services Inc., on why fleets should use alternatively fueled vehicles. “This has got to be more than about a return on investment. It’s bigger than that. It’s about the environment. It’s about sustainability.” Mr. Webber used ‘sustainability’ often to describe AT&T’s vision and direction as a company. 
AT&T’s commitment didn’t happen overnight. “We spent a lot of time researching and exploring and trialing, trying to make sure that what we eventually chose was the best fit for AT&T,” said Webber. “We realized that there wasn’t any one silver bullet…that it would take somewhat of a mixed combination of technologies to really work at AT&T.” Starting with a trial fleet of four hybrids in 2007, AT&T began its foray into alternative fuel vehicles. In 2008, when oil prices sky-rocketed to almost $150 a barrel, AT&T saw the opportunity to expand its trial fleet to 105 vehicles, including 25 natural gas vehicles and 15 hybrid work trucks. “The trial was amazingly well received by our drivers and by the communities that we work, live and serve in.” This success allowed Webber to really get in front of the leadership at AT&T and they embraced these early efforts and encouraged the team to do more. Thus was born the $565 million and 15,100 alternative fuel vehicle commitment.
Selecting hybrids for his passenger vehicles was simple, since he knew that these vehicles, mainly used by sales and marketing people, needed to be able to tolerate high mileage and have a readily available fuel source. “So a hybrid electric vehicle proved to be very beneficial. As a matter of fact, it was so convincing once we did our [trials] we made this a de facto standard within AT&T, that as passenger vehicles become outdated or need to be replaced or as we add passenger vehicles, those vehicles, as well, will be alternative fuel vehicles. We believe that’s the right choice,” concluded Webber. 
Selecting a “right” fuel for his work vehicles presented more of a challenge, simply because there were very few alternative fuel work vehicles available. “The OEMS, the automakers, the manufacturers had not stepped up,” Webber said. “When you said ‘I need a full size van or a 16,000 gross vehicle weight aerial lift boom truck,’ you didn’t find many of those in the light-duty, medium-duty alternative fuels.” With the knowledge that CNG technology was available, AT&T decided to have domestically built chassis converted by a domestic supplier to run on CNG. The properties of natural gas are paramount to AT&T’s alternative fuel commitment, in that it is domestically abundant, cheaper and cleaner burning than diesel and gasoline. “From an emissions standpoint, it worked. From a bottom line perspective in lowering our operating costs, it worked. And, for lessening our dependence on stuff coming out of the Middle East…it definitely was a major, major positive,” Webber said of natural gas. 
Implementing an alternative fuel vehicle program isn’t the end of the process. Driver and mechanic support is key. “There’s some awareness and education that comes along with being sustainable. You have to take the time and the effort to make sure people understand how to maximize the vehicle or equipment that you’ve given them,” said Webber. AT&T conducts thorough driver orientation training, called “Drive Green. Drive Safe.” with every vehicle it introduces. “I think this is really important and I think it’s one of our successes in doing what we’re doing,” said Webber of the program. Driver training also benefits the program from a maintenance standpoint. “We don’t get a lot of false calls about something that’s going on, because once you explain the vehicle to them, they understand that although it might be slightly different than the last Chevrolet or Ford that they drove, [it] has something unique about it and it’s okay,” said Webber. When problems do occur, a well-trained mechanic work force helps to identify the problem and work with the manufacturer or supplier quickly to fix it. Webber is pleased to report that driver satisfaction has been great with his alternative fuel vehicles and maintenance has almost been a non-issue. “Overall the vehicles that we’ve deployed have served us extremely well… we’ve been extremely satisfied,” he said.
Since 2004, UPS has partnered with Eaton and International under an EPA project to develop a 
AFVi's own Leo Thomason is our resident natural gas expert. With over 20-years of experience, Leo has equipped more than 14,000 employees with the skills they need to safely implement, operate and maintain a NGV fleet. Four courses are currently open for registration, including: 
