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You took a photo of the stack. It is not with the tally.
You tap the side of your tablet twice, swiping back through your camera roll to locate the blip of the shot you snapped three minutes earlier, when the driver was still leaning against their cab scrolling through their own dispatch app. The stack in question is 17 pallets of shrink-wrapped electrical components, two of which have punctured wrap you caught right as the lift operator set the last load on the pavement. You can hear the lift operator idling a few feet away, waiting for your go-ahead to move the stack into the storage bay, so you don’t have much time to locate and attach the photo before you need to clear the dock for the next incoming load.
Why this freight document requires that specific photo
This document tracks every observable condition of the load at the time it crosses the threshold of the dock, so there are no gaps between what you observe on the ground and what is logged for official records. The photo you snapped captures the exact placement of the two damaged pallets at the rear of the stack, as well as the yellow DOT label stuck to the top right corner of the topmost pallet that confirms the load passed pre-shipping inspection at the originating facility. Without this photo attached, the document does not carry sufficient context to validate the condition you noted in the damage field, even if you type out a full description of the punctures and their location. Dock Tally syncs this data directly to the shipper’s portal the second you save the entry, so attaching the photo now removes the need for follow-up emails later that take time away from your other dock duties for the shift. You also avoid having to track down the driver after they leave the facility to confirm they saw the damaged wrap, since the photo acts as a shared record of the load’s condition when it arrived.
What details the embedded photo field pulls for your records
When you upload the photo to the designated field on this document, the system automatically tags it with the exact geolocation of the dock, the timestamp of the upload, and the unique load ID assigned to this shipment. It also pulls the driver’s name, license number, and carrier ID that you entered 10 minutes earlier, so the photo is permanently linked to the specific party that transported the load to your location, as well as the specific load itself. You do not have to add any of these details manually, though you can add a 140-character caption if you want to call out specific damage you want to highlight for the receiving team that will unpack the pallets later this shift. Illustrative example: A caption that reads “2 rear pallets have 3-inch punctures in left-side shrink wrap, no visible product damage” gives the unpack team a clear heads up to check those pallets first for hidden dents or moisture exposure when they break down the stack. You can also add multiple captions if you want to call out multiple small issues you spotted during your initial walkaround of the load.
How to upload the shot without exiting the current entry screen
You don’t have to close out of the open freight document to locate and attach the photo, which saves you the time of re-entering any data you already filled out. Follow these steps to complete the upload in less than 30 seconds:
- Tap the paperclip icon in the top right corner of the document screen, directly to the left of the save button, to pull up your device’s photo gallery without closing the open freight document.
- Select the photo of the stack from the top of your recent images; you can zoom in on the thumbnail to confirm it shows the full stack and the damaged pallets before you select it.
- Tap the “attach to document” prompt that pops up at the bottom of your screen, and wait two seconds for the system to process the image and generate a small preview in the photo field.
- Hover over the preview with your stylus or finger to pull up the alt text prompt, and type a short description of the image if you want to make the record accessible for team members who use screen reading software.
If you select the wrong photo by mistake, you can tap the X in the top right corner of the preview to delete it and select the correct image before you save the document. No changes are permanently logged until you hit the save button, so you can test the upload process without worrying about adding incorrect information to the official record.
Which markers on the stack the system flags for cross-reference
When the photo processes, the system automatically scans for three specific markers on the stack to confirm it matches the load you are logging in this document: the yellow DOT inspection label on the top pallet, the blue shipping label with the scannable QR code on the front of the 8th pallet from the top, and the handwritten red X you marked on the two damaged pallets when you first inspected the stack. If any of these markers are missing from the photo, the system will display a small yellow warning banner at the top of the screen to alert you that the image may not match the load, so you can double check that you selected the correct photo before you save. You do not have to adjust the photo if the warning pops up due to glare or a blocked label; you can simply dismiss the warning and proceed with the upload if you confirm the image is correct. The cross-reference scan is just a built-in check to reduce human error, not a requirement to proceed with saving your entry.
Where to log a note if the photo fails to attach after three attempts
Sometimes poor cell service on the dock can cause uploads to time out, even if you have a strong Wi-Fi signal paired to your tablet. If you try to attach the photo three times and the system still does not generate a preview in the photo field, navigate to the “additional notes” section at the bottom of the document, located directly below the driver signature field. Type a clear note that you have the photo saved to your device, list the timestamp of the photo, and note the specific damage you observed on the stack, so anyone reviewing the document later knows the photo exists and can follow up to get it added if needed. You can also send a copy of the photo directly to the receiving supervisor via your team’s internal chat app, so they have a copy on hand if they need to reference it before you get back to a spot with stronger service. You do not have to delay moving the stack into the bay or clearing the dock for the next load if the upload fails; you can always come back to the document later to attach the photo when service improves.
When you revisit this entry to confirm the load departs without issue
You will open this exact document page again at the end of your shift, after the receiving team has broken down the stack and confirmed no product damage is present under the punctured shrink wrap, and the driver has signed off on the load receipt to confirm they agree with the condition notes you logged. At that point, you will double check that the photo is attached to the document, or add it if you were unable to upload it earlier due to poor service, before you mark the entry as finalized and sync it to the shipper’s portal. You do not need to add any additional notes at that point unless the receiving team finds hidden damage to the products inside the damaged pallets, in which case you can add a second note with details of what they found and attach additional photos if you take them. You will also send a copy of the finalized document to the driver before they leave the facility, so they have a record of the load condition for their own carrier’s files. This step takes less than 90 seconds to complete, and it eliminates almost all follow-up requests from the shipper or carrier for additional information about the load’s condition when it arrived at your dock. You can also flag the entry as high-priority if the receiving team does find damage, so the operations team can address it before the next shipment of electrical components arrives the following morning.