![Cartrack Engine Hours](https://cartrack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Engine-Hours-1024x512.png)
How to Track Engine Hours and Why They’re Crucial for Your Fleet
Every minute counts when it comes to fleet operations. Keeping track of time-based fleet metrics is crucial for success. One of these metrics is engine hours.
Your engine hours can tell a dozen stories; when vehicle maintenance is needed, when it’s the perfect time for fleet upgrades, and when your drivers aren’t being as efficient as they should.
How can you calculate this, and how can these insights improve your fleet?
Let’s find out.
In this article, you will:
Learn what engine hours are
Find out how engine hours are calculated
Discover how engine hours can impact your fleet’s efficiency
Explore how a fleet management system can simplify measuring engine hours
Delve into Cartrack’s advanced solutions for measuring engine hours
What are engine hours?
Engine hours refer to how long an engine has been running throughout its lifespan or during a specific operation. It is a crucial metric used in various industries relying on machinery and heavy equipment. This metric is important to help you accurately determine your vehicle or equipment usage.
How are engine hours calculated?
Engine hours are calculated based on the number of hours an engine has been running, whether the vehicle is in motion or not. This usage time is typically measured using an engine hour metre. This metre connects to the engine’s ignition system and begins counting hours as soon as the driver turns on the engine.
However, it is important to know that when it comes to engine hours, an hour doesn’t necessarily equate to 60 minutes. An engine hour is determined by a count of the engine crankshaft rotations, which is known as tach time. This means that depending on the engine’s RPM (revolutions per minute), one engine hour can last longer or shorter than a clock hour.
Let’s look at how total engine hours are calculated with an hour metre:
1. Record the starting reading:
Record the hour metre reading at the beginning of your vehicle’s most recent operating period. For example, if the starting reading is 3,421 hours, this is the number used as the initial number of engine hours at the start of the monitoring period.
2. Record the ending reading:
Record the hour metre reading at the end of your vehicle’s operating period. For example, if the reading at the end of your trip is 3,524 hours, this is the number used as the final number of engine hours at the end of the monitoring period.
3. Calculate engine hours for the last drive:
Use the data recorded from the start and end readings to calculate the total engine hours for that specific trip or period. With the above examples, the calculation would be 3,524 hours – 3,421 hours = 103 hours for that specific period.
Are engine hours similar or related to idle hours?
Both engine and idle hours can seem a bit similar, and while these two metrics are very important for understanding a vehicle’s usage, they do have key differences.
Engine hours are used to indicate how long a vehicle’s engine has been running, and whether the vehicle itself is moving or not. This means that engine hours are a measure of the overall running time of the engine, while idle hours only account for the number of hours a vehicle’s engine has been running while the vehicle itself is not moving.
It’s important to note that depending on how drivers operate, along with road conditions, a vehicle’s idle hours will typically be higher than its engine hours.
![Engine Hours 2](https://cartrack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Engine-Hours-2-1024x512.jpg)
Why is measuring engine hours so important?
Monitoring engine hours isn’t just another admin task to add to your fleet management list of responsibilities. These measurements play a significant role in the following:
- Maintenance planning:
- Cost savings:
- Optimising vehicle usage:
- Making informed fleet upgrade decisions:
- Providing accurate engine logs:
- Resale value:
Four different types of engine hour metres
There isn’t one single way to calculate engine hours. Here are four of the most common engine hour metres used for this:
- GPS Management:
- Hour metre:
- Electronic logging devices:
- Odometers:
What affects engine hours?
There’s a range of factors that can have an impact on your vehicle’s engine hours. These include:
- Engine usage:
- Cargo load:
- Maintenance:
- Engine age:
- Environment:
- Vehicle type:
It is important to note that the type of vehicle being used can have a significant impact on the lifespan of its engine. For example, a heavy-duty truck engine may not last as long as smaller cars due to the increased stress and workload they experience.
How long should an engine typically last?
The average lifespan of a vehicle’s engine has increased in recent years due to improved technology, improved designs, and enhanced maintenance practices. However, the following insights provide an overview of the typical longevity of vehicle engines:
In the past, the average lifespan of a car’s engine was around eight years or about 241,401 km. However, with advancements in maintenance standards, the average lifespan increased to around 10 years or 321,868 km. On average, a well-maintained petrol-powered truck engine can last about 10-15 years, travelling between 321,868.8 km and 482,803.2 km.
Things to take into consideration with engine hours
When you’re trying to calculate your vehicle’s engine hours, it is important to take the following two factors into consideration:
- Mileage:
- Idling time:
All of this can sound like a lot of work to do, but it doesn’t have to be. The solution to obtaining accurate engine hour recordings for your fleet is a fleet management system.
What is a fleet management system?
Fleet management is a general term for all the tasks that are crucial to the seamless running of a fleet. These activities include keeping vehicles well maintained, keeping an eye on drivers and vehicles at all times, and keeping track of fleet costs. This can sound like a lot of admin, but that’s where a fleet management system comes in. This system is designed to streamline all these processes, making managing a fleet as simple as tapping your laptop keypad.
![Engine Hours 3](https://cartrack.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Engine-Hours-3-1024x512.jpg)
Benefits of a fleet management system
A few of the benefits of a fleet management system include:
- Extending vehicle health: Vehicle health is important for fleet success and longevity, whether you have 1 or 100 vehicles. A fleet management system helps you keep an eye on all your vehicle’s health, helping you spot when they need to undergo maintenance before unplanned breakdowns occur.
- Reduced operational costs: By providing real-time data and analytics, a fleet management system enables efficient cost analysis, which enables data-driven decision-making
- Increased profitability: Fleet management systems help ensure that your fleet is running like a well-oiled machine. This directly translates to an improved bottom line.
- Improved service delivery: A fleet management system ensures that your fleet delivers orders and services on time, giving your customers a positive experience that leaves a lasting impact on your business.
- Improved driver safety: A fleet management system allows you to keep an eye on driver behaviour. By alerting you and them of any dangerous or distracted driving, the likelihood of accidents is reduced, and driver behaviour is significantly improved.
- Fuel consumption monitoring: A fleet management system allows you to closely monitor how much fuel your vehicles are consuming, which helps you spot potential fuel theft and fuel wastage in real time.
Gain accurate insight into your fleet’s engine hours with Cartrack’s solutions
Cartrack is an industry leader when it comes to fleet management, and our solutions are the key you need to unlock full insight into engine hours. Equip you and your business with:
- GPS Tracking: Know exactly how your vehicles have been utilised with Cartrack’s GPS tracking. Real-time GPS tracking can help you monitor vehicle usage by providing up-to-the-minute location updates. Our solution provides you with real-time visibility and total control of your fleet, allowing you to know exactly how long your vehicle was used for, and how effectively it was used. Our GPS tracking also provides you with key performance metrics such as kilometres travelled and idle time. By knowing how much time your vehicles spend idling, you can accurately determine engine hours.
- Preventative maintenance: Keep track of your vehicle’s engine hours with Cartrack’s preventative maintenance. Our platform automates maintenance schedules for vehicles by making use of utilisation hours, engine hours, and the time of the last service. Receive real-time alerts of all engine faults, which helps you pre-empt when your vehicle will need servicing. This means you can keep track of engine hours and use these accurate measurements to set up preventative maintenance schedules, helping you prolong your fleet’s lifespan and keep it functioning at its optimum.
- Fuel monitoring: Monitor how much fuel your fleet vehicles are consuming with Cartrack’s fuel monitoring software. An overworked engine has been shown to use more fuel. A fuel monitoring system can help you identify any sudden spikes in fuel consumption. The overworking of an engine can have several impacts on fuel efficiency, including increased fuel consumption, decreased mileage, and unnecessary fuel wastage. Our system provides real-time data on fuel consumption, which allows you to closely monitor fuel usage and identify inefficiencies. It also provides contextualised metrics on fuel consumption per kilometre travelled and per job completed, which helps you correct any inefficiencies.
- Driver scorecards: Ensure your drivers are operating as safely as possible with Cartrack’s driver scorecards. Studies have shown that harsh driving behaviour not only wastes fuel but also increases wear and tear on engine components. Some examples of driver behaviours that negatively impact engine usage include harsh acceleration and cornering, sudden braking, speeding and prolonged idling. These behaviours lead to premature strain being placed on your engine, making it wear out sooner than expected. With our driver scorecards, you can determine how safely your drivers drive while they’re behind the wheel. This is done by keeping track of any high-risk behaviours such as excessive idling and speeding, and harsh braking and acceleration.
Solutions that are backed up by evidence
Cartrack’s solutions go beyond vehicle tracking, and a prime example of this is how we helped Concord Cranes, a company that specialises in crane hire solutions.
With over 180 cranes across their 15 branches, Concord Cranes found it difficult to accurately record the usage hours of each crane, which made maintaining and delivering them to clients on time a challenge. But with our IoT tracking device, preventative maintenance, and fleet management system, we were able to help them achieve full visibility of their equipment usage.
Concord Cranes operations manager, Gareth Langley, had this to say:
“Using Cartrack’s advanced fleet management, we have been able to increase our operational efficiency to deliver a better service to our customers, as well as effortlessly establish a maintenance cycle that reduces our costs and increases our fleet longevity.”