Yard Management: Dropped Trailers, Spots and Yard Moves
Yard management is the work between the gate and the dock door: where each trailer is, whether it is loaded, and what has to move next. When it lives on a whiteboard, trailers get lost and docks sit empty while loaded trailers wait.
Updated 2026-10-17 · Depom Ltd
What goes wrong without a yard record
- A trailer is dropped and nobody writes down where.
- A booked truck is sent to a dock that a dropped trailer is already using.
- A loaded refrigerated trailer is parked on a spot with no power.
- A trailer stays for days and nobody notices until the carrier asks for it.
What a yard record needs
- Defined spots: parking, staging and powered spots for reefers.
- Each trailer with its plate, carrier, loaded or empty state and the booking that brought it.
- Yard moves as small jobs: requested, then confirmed done by whoever drives the shunter.
- Rules the system enforces rather than people remembering them.
How Log216 handles it
Warehouse administrators define yard spots, in bulk if needed (P1 to P20). Staff register a dropped trailer, optionally linked to the booking, and Log216 takes the carrier and reefer flag from it. A plate can be registered on site only once.
Log216 enforces the rules that cause problems: one trailer per spot and per dock, a trailer and a booked truck never share a dock, and a loaded reefer can only go to a powered spot or a dock. A move request is checked again when it is completed, because the spot may have been taken in the meantime.
When a dock is free and a loaded trailer has waited longest, Log216 suggests the move. A person opens the job and confirms it; nothing happens on its own.
Seeing it all together
The yard screen shows every spot, the open move jobs and how long each trailer has been on site, with trailers past the free period highlighted. The Orchestra view shows trucks against docks over time, so trailers and live bookings can be read side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use it without trailers?
Yes. The yard screen is optional; dock scheduling and the gate work without it.
How are long-stay trailers charged?
The detention report counts each started day beyond the free period at the daily rate you set.
