Water Tanker Delivery: Directing Trucks to the Fill Point

A water tanker is the least forgiving delivery vehicle there is. It is heavy, wide and slow to turn, and a mistake is not a short walk back to the van. A driver who guesses the wrong lane may have to reverse a long way, or abandon the job because the customer's inlet is somewhere the truck cannot reach.

The problem

Customers in areas with irregular supply book tankers for homes, building compounds, farms, construction sites and small businesses. The place that needs water is rarely a tidy address. It might be a rooftop tank reached through a side gate, an underground sump behind a building, or a farm well down a track. Dispatchers often work from one phone call and a landmark.

How a code helps

A UPCS code is the exact location of the 3 m x 3 m cell the customer picked. If they choose the gate or the inlet point on the map, the driver arrives at that inlet, not just the general neighbourhood. Opening the code also gives Get Directions and the coordinates, which the dispatcher can use in route planning.

Using it

• Booking. The dispatcher picks the spot with the customer on a call and sends them the share link to confirm. Customers can also use the search box and map themselves.
• Saved customers. Compounds and societies order repeatedly; store their code so the next booking uses the same fill point.
• Websites. A tanker business with a WordPress site can use the [upcs_map] shortcode, and online booking forms can use the embeddable map. See the plugins.
• Custom systems. Pull coordinates and map links for a code with the REST API, as explained in the documentation.

Fill points and access

A tanker delivers by pumping or gravity through a hose to a tank inlet, so the truck has to stop within reach of that inlet. Gate width, overhead cables, soft ground and narrow bends decide whether a truck can actually get there, and customers do not always know what a large vehicle needs. Choosing the inlet or the gate as the coded point gives dispatchers a precise place to plan around, and noting the access limits beside the code gives the driver the rest of the story before the truck turns into the lane.

Practical tips

1. Pick where the hose should reach, not the front door.
2. Note access limits, such as a narrow gate or height restriction, as helpful extras next to the code.
3. For construction and farm sites, add a second code for the alternate gate.
4. Share the code in the booking confirmation.

See also construction sites and agriculture and farm plots.