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The appointment is printed. The arrival time is what you write. You scrawl the timestamp in blue ballpoint directly next to the pre-printed 9 a.m. slot, the ink smudging a little where the paper’s damp from the rain blowing under the dock overhang. A spot of mud splatters the edge of the sheet as the driver slams their cab door shut and walks toward you, holding their own copy of the shipping manifest. You tuck your phone back in your work vest pocket before leaning down to grab your clipboard off the dock edge, no need to check notifications right now when this timing discrepancy is already 47 minutes off the scheduled window.
What this dock arrival log documents
This is the exact sheet you hold in your hand right now, pre-printed with every scheduled delivery and pickup appointment for your shift, with blank lines next to each slot for you to record the actual time a truck first checks in at the dock. It is the primary official record of carrier arrival timestamps for your site, separate from logs that track when a unit backs into a bay, when unloading starts, or when a load is signed off as complete. You only record the moment the driver confirms their load matches the scheduled appointment and presents their paperwork to you, not the time they spent waiting in the yard queue or circling the facility looking for the correct entrance. If you need to validate a timestamp later, you can cross-reference your entry with gate security camera footage, but your handwritten entry is the first source of truth for all scheduling related to that load.
How you flag gaps between scheduled and actual arrival
Any gap between the printed appointment time and your written arrival time that exceeds 15 minutes gets a clear circle around both timestamps, followed by your initials directly next to the circle. If the driver offers a specific, verifiable reason for the delay, you add a 1-2 word note next to your initials—for example, “weather,” “flat tire,” or “dispatch mix-up”—and avoid adding any guesswork or assumptions about causes the driver does not explicitly state. For gaps of 15 minutes or less, no flag is required, unless the receiver for that specific load requests a note to reconcile their own receiving timelines. You never alter the pre-printed appointment time for any reason, even if a driver says they rescheduled with the front office, unless you receive a direct, timestamped email or text confirmation from your operations manager approving the change. If that confirmation arrives, you write the updated appointment time in the wide left margin next to the original printed slot, initial that change, then record the actual arrival time as normal next to the original printed slot to keep a clear record of both the original and adjusted scheduling terms.
Timing variance reference for common on-site scenarios
You can use the reference table below to standardize your actions for any arrival variance you encounter during your shift, so all entries across every shift at the site are consistent. If you choose to log these variances digitally later, you can input the matching details into Dock Tally to align the physical and digital records.
Illustrative example: A truck scheduled for 11 a.m. arrives at 12:48 p.m., which falls into the highest variance window, so you note the driver’s stated cause of “dispatch error” and alert the operations lead before assigning the unit to an open bay.
| Variance Window | Most Common Verified Causes | Required Action |
|---|---|---|
| 0-15 minutes | Pre-trip inspection delay, minor surface street traffic, or wrong turn within 1 mile of the facility | No flag needed; record arrival time as written and direct the driver to their assigned bay if space is available |
| 16-60 minutes | Local weather event, temporary highway closure, or minor equipment failure that was resolved en route | Circle both the printed appointment and handwritten arrival time, add a 1-word cause note from the driver, and initial next to the entry |
| 61+ minutes | Dispatch scheduling error, missed pickup window at the origin facility, or unreported re-route to another drop-off before arriving at your site | Circle both times, add the driver’s stated cause, flag the entry to the operations lead immediately, and hold the driver at the gate until you receive confirmation they can be assigned a bay |
You don’t deviate from these actions unless the operations manager gives you explicit, written direction to do so for a specific scheduled load.
Why you avoid adjusting entries after you sign the log
Once you sign the bottom of this log sheet at the end of your shift, you never go back to cross out, erase, amend, or add to any entries you made, even if a carrier reaches out to you directly saying their arrival time was logged incorrectly. All requests for changes to log entries go through the operations team, who review gate security footage, gate access timestamps, and driver check-in records to validate the request before any official changes are made. Any approved amendments are added to a separate addendum sheet attached to the original log, not written over your original entry, so there is a clear paper trail of all changes and who approved them. This protects you from being held responsible for discrepancies that pop up after your shift ends, and keeps the log a neutral, unaltered record of exactly what you observed at the time of each check-in. You never agree to verbally confirm a different arrival time for a driver if they ask you to adjust an entry after they have already checked in, even if they say the change will help them avoid a fee from their dispatch team. Your only responsibility is to record what you see when the driver first arrives, with no retroactive adjustments for any reason.
When you pull this log back up for follow-up checks
The next time you open this exact log page is 72 hours from now, when the operations team pulls all dock arrival logs from the past week to reconcile load scheduling efficiency and identify any recurring patterns of delayed arrivals from specific carriers or dispatch teams. You will be asked to initial any flagged entries you wrote during your shift, to confirm that the timestamps and notes are accurate to what you observed when the truck arrived. You don’t need to keep a personal copy of this log, as the operations team files the physical copy in the on-site records cabinet and scans a digital copy to the shared company drive for long-term storage. If there are any questions about an entry you made, you can reference the scanned digital copy to jog your memory of that day’s check-ins, but your initial signature next to the arrival time is considered sufficient confirmation of the entry’s accuracy for most scheduling and reconciliation purposes. If you notice a pattern of three or more 60+ minute delays from the same carrier in a single week when you review the logs, you can flag that pattern to the operations team so they can follow up with the carrier’s dispatch team to adjust future scheduling windows as needed to reduce congestion at the dock.