TMWSuite Basic Trailer Wash Tool

The Basic Trailer Wash Tool helps you choose an optimal trailer wash facility, based on cost effectiveness, commodity, and the quality of service recorded for various wash facilities. The best choice of wash facility depends on such factors as distance between a given facility and the consignee location, distance between a facility and next stop, and the qualification of facilities to wash trailers that have hauled certain commodities. To perform its function, the Basic Trailer Wash Tool accesses information from a variety of system areas, and updates some of these areas as a trip progresses:

  • Trailer profile

  • Planning Worksheet

  • Quick Find Trailers scroll window

  • Invoicing (applicable only for the Trailer Wash event)

  • Settlements

This topic describes system applications and areas that interact with the Basic Trailer Wash Tool.

For information on setting up this feature, see Setting up the Basic Trailer Wash Tool in the TMWSuite System Administration online help.

For more details on how to use this feature once setup is complete, see Using the Basic Trailer Wash Tool to locate a trailer wash facility in the TMWSuite Dispatch online help.

The Basic Trailer Wash Tool features are a subset of those available in the enhanced Trailer Wash Tool, which is available with the TMWSuite Purchased Services add-on module. For more information, see Trailer Wash Tool feature in the TMWSuite Optional Modules online help.

Viewing a trailer’s wash status and commodity history

You can view the wash status and/or commodity information for a trailer in the Trailer File Maintenance window, in the Trailer scroll window, and in the Dispatch Trip Folder or Planning Worksheet. The Trailer File Maintenance window also enables you to change a trailer’s wash status, although the status is updated automatically as a trailer is put into service and then washed.

With some commodities, the nature of the commodity affects the urgency of having the trailer washed after the commodity is delivered. The Basic Trailer Wash Tool lets you assign standard and seasonal wash priorities on a commodity-by-commodity basis.

On the Trailer File Maintenance screen, there is a Wash Status field in the Status area. Settings are Yes (trailer has been washed) or No (trailer has not been washed).

On a trip, if you mark a Trailer Wash event or a Drop Trailer for Wash event as complete (actual), the system automatically sets the Wash Status flag on the trailer to Yes. The next time the trailer is used on a trip, the trailer’s Wash Status flag automatically gets set to No as soon as the first pickup is marked as complete. The flag remains set to No until the next time a trailer wash event is completed.

For information on viewing commodity history, see "Viewing a trailer’s wash status and commodity history" in TMWSuite Basic Trailer Wash Tool in the TMWSuite Dispatch online help.