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RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

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Andyblue
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RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by Andyblue »

with such a surge of media on the benefits of adopting electro vehicles (perhaps even some hybrids), I/m looking to see what and how companies have adapted their occupational road risks to accommodate this type of vehicle - probably more about dealing with the journey being more than the charge capacity, running out of charge in awkward places etc.
Has anyone got a sample RA and procedures that they would like to share on the matter?
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bernicarey
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Re: RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by bernicarey »

I don't see it as a specific issue.
Running out of battery juice is no different than running out of liquid fuel or gas.
Journeys should be planned accordingly.
OK, so it's easy to get a 5L can to top up if you run out of petrol/Diesel, but you can't do that for LPG.

Be interesting to see what others think.
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Re: RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by Andyblue »

Thanks Bernicarey - some to the things additional or different to our typical vehicle I've encountered and heard about are - getting to a charging site and having to wait in turn to get charged causing extended work times (by several hours in some instances), 3 hrs by ICE may be 5-6 if charging doesn't go to plan and how it managed / planned for, caught out on jams or other delays resulting in zero power and the recovery consequences.
Not massive issues but ones I was interested to hear if it has been identified by users and how it is managed.
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Re: RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by bernicarey »

True enough.
I was thinking of a dedicated fleet with it's own charging facilities at company locations. I guess you're thinking of more public locations.
Good discussion point, though I don't see waiting for charging as being an H&S issue.

As to being caught in jams, if it ain't moving, it shouldn't be using any juice. Unlike the clouds of pollution emitting from idling liquid fuel vehicles. ;)
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Re: RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by abarnett »

bernicarey wrote: Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:52 am

As to being caught in jams, if it ain't moving, it shouldn't be using any juice. Unlike the clouds of pollution emitting from idling liquid fuel vehicles. ;)
Unless lights / heaters / air con are on...
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Re: RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by Andyblue »

bernicarey wrote: Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:52 am True enough.
I was thinking of a dedicated fleet with it's own charging facilities at company locations. I guess you're thinking of more public locations.
Good discussion point, though I don't see waiting for charging as being an H&S issue.

As to being caught in jams, if it ain't moving, it shouldn't be using any juice. Unlike the clouds of pollution emitting from idling liquid fuel vehicles. ;)
The variance of using EVs came up in a discussion and where managing the H&S of breaking down for a typical ICE vehicle is considered, I was interested in views on how ~EVs are/ may be managed differently or are they even considered (Assuming they are in the fleet / grey fleet). Access to charging comes in, especially for those who end up having their journey time change from 2-3 hrs to 6-8 hrs or significant changes to their planned days that might otherwise not apply to our ICE vehicles.
So the challenge that was posed was - EV pulls into motorway services to recharge as part of the journey plan. The chargers are broken. Its is questionable if the EV will reach the next motorway exit and get to the next charge point. Whilst at the services, it has not broken down so we cannot use a recovery vehicle. The only alternative is to set off along the motorway with the known expectation of breaking down at the roadside, at which point a recovery vehicle can be used.
If all the plans come together the journey would have been fine, however its those small nibbles (set off with less than full charge, need to use more juice enrolee, delays etc etc) along the way that lead to a challenging situation.
This came to light with a vehicle having an intermittent error where the capacity gauge gave false readings - Yes an ICE can breakdown, but here we have a different dilemma of setting off with the expectation of breaking down!
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Re: RAs, procedures and Elec vehicles

Post by bernicarey »

Well at least I've learned what you call an 'ICE vehicle' is, having looked it up. :lol:

As far as I'm concerned, this is an ICE Vehicle....
snow-cat.jpg
Personally, I would not consider EVs for long-haul journeys yet, because I don't believe we have sufficient public infrastructure in place.
What's the point of having a handful of charging points at a Motorway Services that has 500 parking slots?
I would err on recharging whenever below 50%, not pushing it to the manufacture's alleged range limits, to operate with a sufficient safety margin.

I think EVs should only be used for City Runabouts until there is a dramatic increase in public charging points; the exception being large organisations that can commute between company sites around the country.
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