Fleet FYIs: A Podcast by Utilimarc

The Utility Expo in Louisville, Kentucky is finally upon us! Join Gretchen and Michael at the conference by following along with their 'daily recaps' of each day during the three-day expo. Day one saw a mass of new technology, visiting some familiar Fleet FYIs guests in their respective booths and sending Michael up in a ReachMaster Aerial Lift - the highest one in the country. ---------...

Low emission zones are designated areas, commonly the greater area surrounding a dense city center, where polluting vehicles (more often than not, internal combustion engines) are restricted or entirely prohibited. These areas allow access only to vehicles that meet set emission standards, such as electric, hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.   Vehicles that don’t meet these requirements will be...

The internal combustion engine and use of fossil fuels undoubtedly transformed the way that humans lived. It’s primarily because of inexpensive, accessible electricity and fuel-run transportation that our society has been able to achieve the level of innovation that it has today.   Still, as I’m sure you all know by now, there is a growing concern about climate change that is forcing us to rethink...

It’s been a bit of a blustery one in Minnesota today – torrential rainstorms and even a severe thunderstorm warning earlier in the day. It’s actually rather fitting I think – especially for today’s episode. My guest today is coming to us all the way from the UK, David Savage. And we all know that the UK is certainly famous for its rain, amongst many other things of course. Now, David is the VP of...

We all know that fuel is key to modern society – we fuel our vehicles, we fuel our bodies, we fuel our minds. But the key to fuel is allowing it to modernize with society as it evolves – especially if you’re a company in which fuel (or fueling equipment) is one of your primary offerings. But the question is, how do you transition from a world so reliant on petrol and diesel fuels to a world headed...

When you think about it – it’s not just time that’s been moving quickly these days – but technology and driving innovation too. If we were to look at electric vehicles again – yes again, we all know that I love exploring all facets of the term “sustainability” on this show, the timeframe for electric vehicle technology, infrastructure and innovation has shortened dramatically. It went from a span...

Sustainability isn’t just about who can electrify first. It’s not about who can decarbonize their electric grid the fastest. Heck, it’s not even about alternative fuels. What it is about, is prolonging the longevity of your organization from the ground up - and for some that may be through electrification, green energy, alternative fuels and resource conservation. For others it may be by simply ma...

We speak a lot, and I mean a lot, about data on this podcast. As we should - working with data is Utilimarc’s bread and butter, the core of what we do here. We’ve been working with one of our partners, GEOTAB, to be able to “unlock” so speak, a certain type of data that historically has been harder to access. I mean, you can access it, but it may not give you everything you need until you jump thr...

Getting data where it needs to be continues to prove to be a challenge for many organizations today – especially when it comes to streamlining and effectively optimizing operational strategies. Today, Gretchen is "virtually" sitting down with Sean Killen, the Vice President for Global Business Development and Vice President of Latin America for GEOTAB to delve further into the topics of...

Today, Utilimarc senior analyst, Paul Milner, and I sit down to talk success metrics for fleet management. We all know about cost per mile - right? At least, it seems pretty self-explanatory. But as fleets become more sophisticated with the addition of new technology, the need for metrics to evolve also remains consistent. We're starting with the basics: cost per mile and cost per gallon. Wha...

In theory, the development of eFuels can be a huge opportunity for fleets of vehicles, aircrafts and even ships. Fleet managers are exploring various alternatives to their current practices, and there can be great potential if biofuels are integrated into their climate change strategies. The advent of these fuels will be especially beneficial to fleets who are not ready to get rid of their ICE veh...

Trends are always interesting to watch - coming out of a year past, perhaps seeing if your predictions were correct, so on, so forth. If you remember, not too long ago – I say not too long ago, it was actually pretty soon after season two of Fleet FYIs launched, I was able to sit down with Dave Meisel, virtually, to record a three-part mini-series. And if you remember that series, you’ll know that...

This week, I’m sitting down *virtually of course* with Jack Johnson from Volta Power Systems. I’m sure most of you will remember the previous episode that we recorded – focusing on EV sustainability and hybridization. We’ve received so much positive feedback from that episode, that we brought Jack back again to delve deeper into the conversation surrounding electric vehicle sustainability – in par...

This week's episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast is another edition of our monthly round-up series, The Fleet FYIs Monthly Hotlist. We're breaking down what's making waves and revving engines this month in the fleet industry, as well as adding a bit of perspective from our analysts. The Monthly Hotlist will air during the last week of every month, making sure you're caught up on t...

Carbon neutrality and low-emission pledges are something that you’ll see more and more companies announcing, left, right and center. And this comes as we’re seeing climate movements scale to new heights, bringing everyday consumers to make more sustainable choices in their lives – and that includes what they use to fuel their vehicles.  Everyone is talking about EVs and sustainable technology righ...

We’re back yet again with another episode about turning to your data before you begin to expand your fleet. We all know that understanding your fleet’s data is vital. Especially so as new technologies emerge, and you’re looking to either improve cost efficiencies or implement new programs of acquisition and adoption. The question is – where do you even begin? ----- Show notes for this episode can...

This week on the Fleet FYIs Podcast, I got to sit down for a chat with none other than the Utilimarc Director of Analytics, Mike Huhn, for a catch-up on all things analytics. Today’s episode is focusing on analytics for your fleet – more specifically, taking a deeper dive into the Utilimarc Fleet Analytics application and also how you can utilize analytics to better optimize your fleet management...

This week's episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast is another edition of our monthly round-up series, The Fleet FYIs Monthly Hotlist. We're breaking down what's making waves and revving engines this month in the fleet industry, as well as adding a bit of perspective from our analysts. The Monthly Hotlist will air during the last week of every month, making sure you're caught up on t...

This week's episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast is introducing a new guest to the show, CTO and co-founder of Volta Power Systems, Jack Johnson. We're breaking down sustainability from a new angle - focusing on what exactly makes this new technology sustainable, and whether or not the hunt for materials used to create batteries is as sustainable as you might think. Jack also touches on the...

This week's episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast is seeing the beginning of a new monthly round-up series, The Fleet FYIs Monthly Hotlist. We're breaking down what's making waves and revving engines this month in the fleet industry, as well as adding a bit of perspective from our analysts. The Monthly Hotlist will air during the last week of every month, making sure you're caught...

In today's episode of the Fleet FYIs Podcast, Gretchen is joined once again by the EVP of Operations for Quanta Services, INC., Dave Meisel. This week, Dave wraps up this three-part mini-series with a candid discussion on asset management, data management platforms and why sometimes outsourcing data management can be one of the best things you can do for your fleet management strategy. -----...

We’re back with part two of the new series I’d introduced last week with Dave Meisel, the EVP of Operations with Quanta Services. Last week, Dave spoke about sustainability and some of the consequences that many people – including myself – don’t always think about when it comes to the push to electrify a fleet. This week Dave is back to speak about what we can look forward to in fleet - from elect...

You may know that electrification is not a “jump-two-feet-in-immediately” technology. There are a lot of pros and cons to weigh out – whether or not it works for the type of work your fleet does on a daily basis, if your region is suited to hosting an electric fleet (with its current infrastructure) and whether or not your organization is willing to do a deep dive into it’s data to ensure the retu...

Welcome back to the Fleet FYIs Podcast for the first episode of Season 2. In this episode, Gretchen is joined by the Fleet Manager of the Year Award Winner for 2020, Mark Stevens - also known as the fleet manager for the City of Sacramento. Mark and Gretchen begin to break down what exactly it is that fleets can begin to do if they want to become more sustainable now - even if fleet electrificatio...

The future of fleet networking is heading to digital platforms whether we like it or not. COVID-19 forced our hands this year to pivot previously in-person experiences to digital connection, and there's a feeling in the air that says online networking won't slow down in 2021. To help us dig into this topic a little further, host Gretchen Reese is joined by the Electric Utility Fleet Mana...