The Hypothesis: Tiny improvements in the efficiency, especially when you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, translate to huge savings overall — this led U.P.S. to believe that they should reduce the number of left-hand turns its drivers make as sitting in the left lane, engine idling, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can make a left-hand turn, is minutely wasteful — of time and peace of mind, for sure, but also of gas and therefore money.
The Solution: Mapping out routes for all its drivers, drastically reducing the number of left-hand turns they make.
The Result: UPS shaved 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly three million gallons of gas and has reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons.
