A trailer that carried raw meat, now booked for ready-to-eat
Trailers move between customers and product types. Some customers require a washout before their load, some require a particular type of clean after certain products, and some want to see evidence at their goods-in.
At the wash bay, the operative cleans the trailer and ticks a sheet. Sometimes. When the trailer goes to collection, the driver has no way of knowing when it was last cleaned or what it last carried. When a customer's auditor asks for the cleaning record for a trailer on a date, it is in a folder, or nowhere.
Why cleaning records are weak
Cleaning is done, usually carefully. Recording it properly, and linking it to what the trailer carries next, is the part that slips.
- Wash bay records are on paper, not linked to the trailer's loads.
- Customers' cleaning requirements differ and are held in someone's head.
- The planner cannot see when a trailer was last cleaned.
- Drivers have no way to check before loading.
- Photos of the clean are rarely taken.
What weak records cost
A load put into a trailer that did not meet the customer's cleaning requirement can be rejected, or worse. Customer audits find gaps. Trailers are sometimes washed twice because nobody knew the first clean happened, which wastes time at the bay.
How we record and check washouts
- Each trailer's recent loads are known from your transport system, including the product type where customers provide it.
- At the wash bay, the operative scans the trailer, records the type of clean done according to your procedures, and takes photos of the interior.
- Customers' cleaning requirements are set up as rules, such as a clean required before their loads or after certain product types.
- When a trailer is planned for a load, the system checks its last clean and last load against the rule and flags any gap to the planner.
- The driver sees the trailer's clean status on the app before loading and can confirm the interior with a photo.
- Cleaning records are searchable by trailer and date, and can be included in audit packs or sent to customers.
| Check | When |
|---|---|
| Clean recorded with photos | At the wash bay |
| Clean meets next load's rule | At planning |
| Driver confirms interior | Before loading |
| Record available | For audits and customer requests |
What counts as an adequate clean, and when one is required, is set by your procedures and your customers' requirements. We record against them.
What the yard looks like after
Planners see each trailer's clean status alongside its location and unit status. Drivers do not load into a trailer that needs cleaning. Wash bay staff know which trailers need which clean. Auditors get records in minutes.
The wash bay can plan its own day as well. It sees which trailers are due back, what they carried and what their next loads need, so the cleans that matter most are done first and trailers are not washed twice by mistake.
Are your washout records on paper?
- Wash bay records are paper sheets or missing.
- Planners cannot see when a trailer was last cleaned.
- Customers' cleaning rules are not written down centrally.
- Drivers cannot check the clean status before loading.
- Auditors have found gaps in cleaning records.