UPS built routing software that eliminates left turns. The result: 28.5 million fewer miles driven in a year, 3 million gallons of gas saved, and $7 to $9 million in cost cuts. A small fix with enormous system-wide payoff.
Hi, it's Tom. I'm reading today's Sunday New York Times Magazine, which today is their 7th annual Year in Ideas edition, and it's fascinating. There's all kinds of really interesting stuff in here, but there's one that really piqued my interest, and I wanted to tell you guys about it. It's a, it's a little item called left-hand turn elimination, and this This item really struck me because it is one of those examples of how tiny innovations can have huge impact on systems. Here's the situation. Here in the United States— sorry for you folks elsewhere— making a left-hand turn is frequently a slow process because you have to cross ongoing traffic. You know, in England you have to— I guess it's a right-hand turn that would do that. And what that does is it wastes a tremendous amount of gasoline. Think of all the times that you're sitting there waiting to make a left, and maybe you have to wait for the light to change once or twice before you can make a left. So, you know, most of us just sit there and suffer through it. But if you're United Parcel Service, UPS, What do you do? You think, "Gee, you know, if we could eliminate some of those left-hand turns that our truck drivers have to make, we would save a lot of gas." You save a lot of gas, all that money that you spend on gas goes right down to the bottom line as profit. So what did they do? They wrote a software package, a software application that they call Package Flow, which Routes sets out a route for their drivers which eliminates as many left-hand turns as possible without making the driver have to go crazy driving all over the place and therefore wasting more gasoline than they save by doing this. How much did they save? Oh, let's see. First of all, they took off last year 28.5 million miles, on their trucks, which, um, saved roughly 3 million gallons of gasoline. At current prices, that's at least, what, $7 million? Between $7 and $9 million? And reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons. Regardless of what you think about global warming, that's a good thing to reduce CO2 emissions, right? So, um, you know, There you go. Small innovation, very tiny in the, in concept, great execution, and terrific savings. So, you know, I'm always trying to think about new ways to do things, and for me, that's an inspiration. So take care. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. See you soon. Bye.
