Businesses transporting hazardous goods are required to produce an accurate manifest that shows what – and how much – they’re carrying onboard, at all times.  

To stay compliant with these strict U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements, drivers loading their trucks each morning typically print out a physical copy of their manifest before they head out on the road. As they deliver assets to customers or pick up empty containers, it’s their responsibility to manually update the manifest to keep track of everything. 

It can be a bit of a headache, and mistakes can easily be made. 

Simplifying Real-Time Tracking

Rather than falling foul of the authorities, TrackAbout is now pleased to offer its new Mobile Manifest tool that automatically makes all of those calculations for you – updating inventories at every stage of a journey, whenever goods are loaded or offloaded.  

Drivers can now access accurate, real-time inventory on both Android and iOS devices and conveniently reprint updated manifests throughout the day using an Android device and a mobile printer—eliminating the need for a standard computer.

The new add-on is available now and is fully integrated into TrackAbout’s popular Truck Reconciliation & Manifest module.

“As we move further towards a more digital society, tools like this will become invaluable,” says Liz Schurdak, Product Manager at TrackAbout. “At any time, users can see – even down to the barcode level – what is sitting on their truck. If, for some reason, there's ever a discrepancy between what is physically on the truck and what’s listed in this inventory, there’s now a mechanism in place to help them correct it.” 

Ensuring manifests are fully up to date is essential for companies transporting hazardous materials, continues Schurdak. Real time tracking and digital documentation also means mistakes are caught as they happen, before they result in potentially costly customer disputes and lost revenues. 

“It takes away all those potential inaccuracies or having to try to read someone’s handwriting,” she says, “and even if the device is offline, it will update. Ultimately, what matters is the numbers are correct on the manifest.”  

If ever a container is scanned incorrectly or there is a discrepancy, the Amend Truckload option lets you add and/or subtract a quantity of a product to ensure the manifest is always accurate. The actual scans of the assets will be taken care of when the truck returns to the branch and its load is reconciled. 

The key benefits of the new Mobile Manifest tool include: 

• Simplified reporting so you can always meet DOT requirements 

  Seamless tracking provides transparency and full traceability to companies managing hazardous cargoes, so they can always stay compliant. Drivers are able to produce accurate, up-to-date versions of their manifest whenever requested.

•  Automatically update and edit inventory levels 

  Cargo totals are instantly calculated and updated as soon as assets are loaded, delivered, and unloaded. There’s no need to rely on manual calculations. When an item is scanned and moved, the system automatically adjusts the manifest so it’s always accurate. 

  Users can also easily adjust the inventory for a manifest without needing to scan all the assets again by manually changing the number of items in the manifest. They can also add new items to the manifest. 

• Eliminate human error and improve accuracy

  Rather than relying on a heavily edited manifest covered in scratch outs, documentation is in a cleaner, more consistent form and stored digitally. By reducing your reliance on physical paperwork, you’ll improve accuracy and accountability with everything saved securely to a cloud-based server. Simply tapping a button on your device now provides access to all the information you need, right down to the barcode and lot number. Without confusion over poor handwriting or transposed digits, miscalculations can now be easily avoided.  

If you'd like to learn more about how effectively managing returnable assets can help boost business efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce regulatory risk, get in touch with our team of experts.