Cutting empty miles without cutting corners

By Harriet Sloane · 2026-10-28 · Operations

The last return journey is usually agreed after everyone has stopped looking at the board. In the Hull desk's recent review of empty mile planning, the useful question was which decision the next shift could make with the information already available. We started with a small group of routine journeys rather than changing the entire weekly plan.

Mark the next available depot beside each return leg, then compare two nearby collections before accepting a detour. The duty planner owns the initial entry, while the receiving shift confirms the handover. Any correction stays beside the original reference so that the office and the yard can work from the same account of the journey.

Measure loaded distance and driver finish time together; a fuller trailer is a poor result if it breaks the next morning's start. We keep a short exception note for each sampled job, with a clear date and an owner. This makes the review a practical conversation about tomorrow's work instead of an argument over whose spreadsheet was most recently updated.

The change is ready to keep only after two full handovers work without extra explanation. Harriet Sloane recommends reviewing the routine after a quiet week as well as a busy one: a process that depends on one experienced dispatcher being present will not survive an ordinary holiday rota.

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