How To: Manage Truck Overloads

1.    Background

The Logger's Edge has the capability to track overloaded loads.  You can specify the maximum truck weight with the season, route and truck configuration attributes on the load.  For example, you can specify different summer versus winter maximum thresholds, and you can establish different thresholds by route (e.g., On versus Off Highway).  You can also establish different maximum weights for a truck depending on the type of truck configuration (e.g., number of axles) on the trailer it is pulling.

Other important comments about the overload feature include:
 

2. Setting up Maximum Weight Thresholds

In order to set up the maximum truck rate, navigate to Setup | Trucks/Equipment | Trucks | Truck Weights.  You will see a window like the following.  Note that the summer and winter maximum weights shown here refer to GROSS maximum thresholds.

Here you can add the summer and winter maximum weights for trucks by the routes and configuration (e.g., Truck 503 - summer maximum weight when making a delivery on Route = N with a SuperB configuration is 50,000).  You can have many maximum weights per truck varied by the routes and configurations.  “None” is used in places where the field is irrelevant for establishing the threshold.  For example, in row 11, “none” in the Route column means that this truck’s summer maximum weight is 45,000 regardless of the route it will take). 
If your system is configured to handle NET maximum thresholds, your maximum weight columns will look slightly different because the system is using max NET columns.



3. Establishing Seasons in the System

In the weight configuration grids above, you established summer versus winter thresholds.  Because “summer” and “winter” start dates do not follow a regular calendar, you must tell the system when your summer seasons versus winter seasons commence.  To do so, choose Setup | Accounting | Define Seasons from the main menu item, and you will see a grid like this:

Each user will need to set up the rows in this grid to match their own particular seasons.  Use any code that is descriptive to you, and be sure to check the “Winter?” column for those seasons that are winter seasons so that they system can make the relationship between the seasons you set up here, and the Winter versus Summer columns in the maximum weight setup grids.

4.    Flag the Destinations to Indicate If They’ll be Based on Net Weight Thresholds

Note: this step is relevant only for users who have been configured to use NET weights for their overloads.  If you are using gross weights, you can skip this section.

When the system is configured to work with Net Weights, the Setup | Destinations grid will have the two additional columns shown below.  The last column: “Overload Based on Net?” allows you to indicate on a destination-by-destination basis whether the overloads are based on net weight.  (Leave the column unchecked for any destinations whose overloads are based on gross thresholds.)

The column entitled “Deduct Overloads?” is only used by the system if your system is configured to Deduct trucker payments for the overload portion of the load.  (See the Basic Setup item described in the the technical configuration notes (item 6 below).  When the basic setup setting for deducting overloads is checked, the system uses the “Deduct Overloads” flag for each destination to know whether the basic setup setting applies for each destination.  For example, if you had one mill to which you delivered where you wanted to Track overloads based on the net weight, but you did NOT want to deduct the trucker’s payments for overloads delivered to that mill, you would leave the Deduct Overloads checkbox Unchecked for that destination, but would check the column saying “Overloads Based on Net?”


5.    Viewing Overloaded Loads

Overloads report

In The Logger’s Edge Reporter, navigate to Trucks | Overloads.

This report shows all the overloaded loads in the chosen time period.  Note that the display of loads in this report I independent of any calculators, so it can be run even before pay calculators have been run.  The report view shown above is based on a system where the Basic Setup item is set to track overloads, but not to deduct the overloaded weight from the pay basis.  The weight thresholds in the above window are based on NET weight, as you can see from the weight over column, which reflects the difference between the net weight and the max weight columns.

The following report view is taken from a system configured to deduct the overloaded weight from the pay basis.  Notice the extra column that shows the $ overload deduction amount.  If contract truckers are paid for these loads, this amount shows the deduction from their base pay.  If company-owned trucks are overloaded, this column shows the dollars deducted from the driver’s pay, assuming the driver was paid based on the loads, rather than hourly.  (Notice this rerort is from a configuration based on Gross allowable weights.)

Again, if the pay calculators have not been run successfully, overloaded loads will still appear in the overloads report.  The overload Ded $ column will, however, be $0 until the employee and/or vendor payments have been calculated successfully.

Truck Contractor Pay Report

For systems that have been configured to deduct the overloaded portion of the load from the pay basis for the trucking payment, the Truck Contractor payment report (Trucks | Truck Contractor Pay), will have three extra columns: Over? Wgt Over, and OW Ded.  This report shows all the truck payments, load-by-load, and indicates if the loads were overloaded (in the “Over?” column).  The report also shows the over weight for that load (Wgt Over column) and the over weight deduction amount (OW Ded column).

For users that prefer the crystal report vendor statements (found under the Statements menu item in the main program) rather than the Truck Contractor Pay grid report, overloaded loads with payment deducted are marked with an asterisk next to the ticket number.

6.    Technical Configuration Notes

Setting governing whether truck payments deduct the overload portion of a load

Basic Setup (Trucking Tab)

When checked, the system will deduct the overloaded weight from the total weight on the load for purposes of determining the “Pay Weight.” When UNCHECKED, the system will still track overloads, but only for reporting purposes.  The system will still pay any trucking payments based on the load’s FULL weight.
This field also enables the one extra column noted above in the Overloads report, and the three extra columns noted above for the Truck Contractor Pay.

 It also enables the use of the asterisk on overloaded loads in the crystal report vendor statements

Setting governing whether overloads are calculated based on Gross versus Net weight thresholds

Select File | Administrative Options | Edit Data Setup (while logged on with administrator privileges).

Step 1. Make the Destinations table consistent with the settings below.  (That is, be sure the last two fields entered in the Display Columns) side of the window.) This setting will ensure that the user can indicate in the Setup | Destinations interface window whether the overload is based on net or not.


 

Step 2. Make the Truck_Max_Weights table consistent with these settings.  (Note the summer_max_net and winter_max_net fields are in the Display Column list, and the summer_max and winter_max fields (which refer to Gross weights) are moved back to the Available Columns list.  This setting will ensure that the Truck Weights grid in the user interface has the net columns rather than the gross columns for allowable weights.


 

It should be possible to have both the gross and net max weight columns all displayed.  A configuration with all 4 columns displayed will permit a user to apply net weight thresholds to certain destinations, and gross thresholds to other destinations.
 


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