Dock Appointments and Detention Clock

In logistics and supply chain operations, distribution centers and cross-docks run on dock doors, and every truck that waits too long for one costs someone money. This MoveTheWheels concept illustrates a dock schedule that places each inbound and outbound appointment on its door lane, gives every truck a free-time clock based on the terms agreed with its carrier, and turns overruns into detention events backed by timestamps.

Detention disputes usually come down to whose clock is right. The carrier says the driver waited for hours, the warehouse says the truck was late, and neither side has the gate-in, door and release times in one place. At the same time, a supervisor facing a queue in the yard may not know whether the constraint is a broken door or a short crew.

The desktop illustration shows the schedule for one facility and date, with an inbound and outbound switch and tiles for trucks in the yard, average dwell, detention accruing and doors out of service. A timeline places appointments on door lanes against a Now marker: green while free time remains, amber as it runs short and red once detention has started. A Yard queue lists each load with its carrier, gate-in, appointment and free time left, and a Detention event card records gate-in, appointment, free time, door assignment and time accrued, with an Attach to shipment button designed to keep the event on the shipment record for freight audit. The mobile illustration gives the driver a Gate check-in screen with appointment and load details, a four-step progress of checked in, door assigned, unloading and released, a free-time countdown with the time detention starts, yard instructions and buttons to message the dock office or upload a seal photo.

Three other Burdenoff products appear on the board by design. A door with an open AssetHandler work order, here a dock leveler fault, is designed to show as out of service with the work order linked. The unload crew on shift is designed to come from CrewFoundry, showing how many of the scheduled crew are present. And a FluidGrids automation is designed to notify the shipper and carrier as a truck reaches its limit, noted on the detention event. Together they let a supervisor see whether the constraint is doors or people, while MoveTheWheels keeps the appointment, the timestamps and the detention record with the shipment.