February 2019 – LEAR Energy Scouts reorganize commuting

LEAR Corporation Czech Republic s.r.o. is an automotive supplier, manufacturing car seats for brands as Audi, BMW, and Porsche. The company is located in Western Bohemia and currently employs 795 persons. The region is characterized by full employment (unemployment rate below 2%) and therefore a shortage of skilled workers.

Competing for the best workforce, LEAR offers a daily shuttle service for employees from home to work and back. Furthermore, the company partially reimburses travel expenses when using a private car, which is widely used by the workers. Energy Scouts Kateřina Kleinová, Lucie Fialová and Vendula Vokrouhlíková took a closer look at this mobility concept.

Can we make commuting more efficient and environment-friendly?
As a part of the scouts’ efficiency project, two new shuttle lines have been tested. Due to good capacity utilization small shared shuttles with 6-8 seats were replaced by larger buses with up to 16 seats. To further motivate employees to use the shuttles instead of private cars, LEAR also adjusted the timing of the shifts to enable efficient arrival and departure times for as many employees as possible.

The logging and billing process of shuttle users is now organized via RFID transponders and a terminal at the plant entrance. This simplifies the accounting process for shuttle users and the transport company. The new concept was communicated internally and positively resonated with the workforce.

Hybrid or no hybrid?
The possibility to lease hybrid vehicles with low gasoline consumption and 4-5 seats as shuttle was considered but rejected due to the high costs and comparatively low CO2 savings.

As an overall result, the usage of individual cars and many collective taxis on the employees’ way to work could be reduced. At the same time, a small number of medium-sized buses with low CO2 emissions per passanger are operating at a better capacity.

The project achieved the savings of CZK 1.4 million (approx. € 55,000) in the fourth quarter of 2018 alone without any relevant investment costs. In addition, the parking situation at the growing plant could be also improved. Plans to construct new parking spaces are now temporarily postponed.

The project of the LEAR Energy Scouts convinced the Hungarian jury and won the national competition as best project in 2018.

Awareness

Mobility

Process Optimization

  • Industry sector: Automotive supplier
  • Energy source: Fuels (Petrol/Diesel)
  • Energy savings potential: Not quantified yet
  • CO2 savings potential: 145.8 t/a
  • Potential cost reduction: Approx. 5,000,000 CZK/a (approx. 196,000 €/a)
  • Investment costs: Low, not quantified
  • Payback time: Viable from day one
  • Company:
    Lear Corporation Czech Republic s.r.o.
    349 01 Stříbro
    Czech Republic
    www.lear.com
Kateřina Kleinová (3. f. r.) and Lucie Fialová (2. f.r.) accompanied by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce team (© CCI Tschechien)
Typical minibus with 9+ seats in use for the commuting workforce of LEAR. (©LEAR)
Minibus commuters use a RFID Terminal in the bus (©LEAR)
The three Energy Scouts from LEAR were honoured by the Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze and DIHK President Eric Schweitzer in summer 2019. (©DIHK/Schicke)