TMW Systems, Beachwood, Ohio, has added a new feature to its TMWSuite enterprise software to track detention time

, alert dispatch and customers to the possibility of detention billing and to automatically generate detention bills when apprpriate.
According to TMW, the detention element will help customers cope with the impact of new hours of service rules by encouraging shippers to expedite loading and unloading.
The detention notification system is automated for TMW customers using TotalMail, a messaging system within TMWSuite.
When a driver sends a TotalMail macro saying he/she has arrived at a stop location, the system begins tracking the time spent at the stop. If the driver does not send a departure macro within the time frame allowed for that customer, dispatchers are notified immediately that the detention time has exceeded the tolerance.
If the customer contract includes detention charges, the system can determine automatically when a detention charge is warranted, and create an invoice detail for it. The system can handle different detention tolerances for pickup and drop locations.
The system uses the arrival and departure times. When the departure time is recorded, the system compares the number of minutes between the arrival and the departure with the number of minutes allowed for that stop type for that customer. If the number of minutes the driver spent at the stop is greater than the number allowed, the system automatically creates an invoice detail for detention.
Automatic detention billing does not require TotalMail. If TotalMail is not in use, the system compares the arrival and departure times that the dispatcher records manually for a stop.