Vnomics Corp., a provider of onboard fuel optimization solutions that combine real-time driver coaching and detailed fuel-efficiency insights, announced that by using its True Fuel technology Valley Farms driver Larry Gardner is saving the company 1,400 gallons of fuel annually. Valley Farms, based in Williamsport, Pa., is a part of the Upstate Niagara Cooperative, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the U.S. 

“By using the coaching capabilities of True Fuel from Vnomics on his 300-mile daily delivery route, Larry Gardner raised his fuel efficiency score to 99.99% during the first eight months of this year,” said John Dunn, senior distribution manager at Upstate Niagara Cooperative. “The savings he has generated for Valley Farms averages 1,400 gallons annually, lowering our fuel cost by more than $4,000.”

The provider of fresh milk to customers in Pennsylvania and New York, Valley Farms operates 46 tractors, 56 refrigerated trailers and ten refrigerated trucks. Gardner, a tractor-trailer driver who covers 300 miles daily, makes direct store deliveries in eastern Pennsylvania.

Valley Farms, along with other Upstate Niagara operations, uses True Fuel to identify and quantify a driver’s impact on fuel savings and coach them to change behaviors that waste fuel. The Vnomics True Fuel solution is also being used at Valley Farms to provide incentives to drivers based on their fuel savings, and to foster competition among drivers to save fuel.

With True Fuel in the entire Valley Farms fleet, which travels 1.3 million miles annually, overall savings of 10% to 12% in fuel use is being realized. Across the operation, the company reports that drivers are steadily improving their efficiency scores with others approaching Larry’s near perfect performance. With those savings, Valley Farms has realized a return on its investment in True Fuel in less than one year.

The Vnomics True Fuel optimization solution calculates a truck’s potential fuel economy (i.e., what mpg should be achieved) given its route, load and other external factors, and then identifies any fuel waste caused by inefficient driving practices. The system also coaches drivers where it matters most – in the cab, in real-time –and provides a fair assessment of their fuel efficiency performance after the trip. True Fuel targets only those aspects that a driver can control, such as engine speed, idling and highway speeding, while automatically normalizing factors such as payload weight, route, and weather and truck configuration. True Fuel also provides fleet managers with metrics to account for fuel use.