Which trailer is at the Daventry site?
The planner needs an empty curtain-sider for a load out of Northampton tomorrow. The whiteboard says there are two at the customer's site in Daventry. The customer's yard manager says there is one, and it is loaded. Another trailer that should be in your own yard has not been seen since it went to a cross dock on Tuesday.
So the day starts with phone calls to drivers and yard managers, and ends with hiring a trailer you probably did not need.
Why trailers drift off the board
Tractor units are tracked and have a driver attached. Trailers do not. They are dropped, coupled to other trucks, parked at sites you do not control, and loaded by customers while you are not there.
- Not every trailer has a tracker, and older ones rarely do.
- Drops and collections are recorded on the plan, but real life differs from the plan.
- Trailer status, loaded or empty, is only known by whoever last saw it.
- Customer sites load or move trailers without telling you.
- The whiteboard is updated when someone remembers.
The cost of lost trailers
You end up with more trailers than you need because you cannot rely on the ones you have. Trailers sit at customer sites for weeks, sometimes used as free storage, without anyone noticing or charging for it. Planners spend the first hour of the day finding equipment. And a trailer that has been parked for a long time may be overdue an inspection, which nobody noticed because nobody knew where it was. When a customer asks you to account for trailers on their site at the end of a contract, the answer should not depend on a yard walk.
The trailer board we build
- We read trailer tracker positions where you have them, through the tracker provider's data feed.
- Drop and collect events are read from your plan, so each trailer's expected location is known.
- Drivers tap to record coupling and uncoupling in the driver app, scanning a code on the trailer, which gives a location and time even for untracked trailers.
- Each trailer shows its last known location, how that was known (tracker, driver tap or plan), loaded or empty, and how long it has been there.
- Rules you set flag trailers that have sat at one site too long, trailers where the plan and the tracker disagree, and trailers approaching an inspection date.
- The board is searchable by area, type and status, so the planner can find an empty trailer near tomorrow's collection in seconds.
| Question | Answered today by | Trailer board |
|---|---|---|
| Where is trailer 212? | Phone calls | Last position and how it is known |
| Is it loaded? | Ask the site | Status from the last event |
| How long has it been there? | Nobody knows | Days at location, flagged when too long |
| Nearest empty trailer? | Whiteboard and memory | Search by area and type |
The planner's morning afterwards
The first hour goes on planning, not searching. Trailers that have been sitting at a customer's site are visible, which gives you a basis for asking for them back or discussing a charge. You can make better decisions about whether you need more trailers or just need to use the ones you have. And maintenance can find a trailer when its inspection is due, without a planner having to remember where it was last dropped. Over a few months, the board also tells you how your trailer pool is really used: which types are always short, which sit idle, and which customers keep them longest.
Recognise these?
- Planners ring customers to ask if your trailer is there.
- Trailers turn up after weeks at a site you forgot about.
- You hire trailers while your own sit idle somewhere.
- Only some trailers are tracked.
- The whiteboard and reality rarely match.