Timber Ops: Laravel PWA for Lumber Fleet & Mill Tracking
Softlimes developed Timber Ops, a Laravel Progressive Web Application (PWA) built for timber and lumber transportation crews to log truck dispatches, load times, driver assignments, and mill deliveries from mobile browsers.
Timber and lumber hauling happens in remote harvesting sites and mill yards where cell coverage is weak and drivers do not have time to tap through complicated desktop software.
Before Timber Ops, foremen and dispatchers tracked truck loads, turnaround times, and mill deliveries using paper tickets, text messages, and end-of-week spreadsheets.
We built a mobile-first Progressive Web App in Laravel that runs directly on drivers’ and foremen’s phones without requiring App Store approvals, complete with role hierarchies and real-time dispatch dashboards.
Challenge:
Tracking trucks, foremen, and mill loads in the field
Field logistics teams needed a system that matched how crews actually operate on the ground:
- Paper ticket delays: Management could not see daily load counts or mill deliveries until paper tickets were collected days later.
- Crew hierarchy management: Each foreman oversees a specific group of drivers, trucks, and trackers, requiring strict visibility rules.
- Harsh mobile conditions: Screens needed large tap targets, fast load times, and resilient form handling on weak mobile connections.
They needed one system that worked on a phone in the cab and on a wide monitor in the dispatch office.
Our solution:
A mobile-first Laravel PWA with foreman-to-driver hierarchies
We engineered Timber Ops around three core operational modules:
- One-tap dispatch & load logging: Drivers and trackers log departure, loading, transit, and mill drop-off timestamps from a simplified mobile screen.
- Foreman crew hierarchy: Foremen assign drivers to trucks, monitor active hauls for their crew, and verify completed mill loads.
- Central mill & fleet analytics: Office administrators track turnaround times per mill, daily tonnage/load volume, and truck utilization in real time.
Before
- Paper haul tickets and text messages that took days to reconcile.
- No live view of which trucks were loading, in transit, or waiting at a mill.
- Foremen had no mobile dashboard to manage their assigned drivers.
- Manual spreadsheet math to calculate mill load totals and driver trips.
- App Store update delays whenever an operational field needed adjustment.
After
- Digital load and dispatch logging straight from any iOS or Android phone.
- Live fleet status board showing every active truck and mill delivery.
- Role-based foreman views scoped to their exact crew and equipment.
- Instant daily and weekly reports by truck, driver, foreman, and lumber mill.
- Instant PWA updates deployed centrally from the Laravel server.
Technologies used
Built with tools the client team can maintain and expand:
- Core Platform: Laravel, PHP 8.x, Progressive Web App (PWA) Service Workers & Manifest
- Data & Permissions: MySQL, Hierarchical Role Policies (Admin, Foreman, Driver, Tracker)
- Mobile Interface: High-Contrast Mobile UI, Large Touch Targets, Resilient Form Queueing
Client feedback:
Fleet Operations Manager
Timber Ops Logistics
“Our foremen and drivers open Timber Ops right from their phone home screen. We can see mill loads and truck turnaround times the same day instead of waiting for paper tickets.”
Outcome:
Timber Ops replaced paper haul tickets with a mobile-ready Laravel PWA, giving foremen and office dispatchers same-day visibility into every truck, driver, and lumber mill load.