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The Log Book: Field Operations Field Operations Supervisor Plays The Role of The Overall
The Log Book: Field Operations Field Operations Supervisor Plays The Role of The Overall
The Log Book: Field Operations Field Operations Supervisor Plays The Role of The Overall
In the Philippines, tour operators (TO) that do not own, operate, or manage land transportation equipment or
units normally ask the Philippine Association of Tourism Transport Operators (PATTO) to take care of their
transportation arrangements for their clients.
The Log Book, as defined above, is the basic working tool of field operations, containing an updated record of
all the activities and services (excluding optional tours unless availed by the clients) scheduled on a day-to-day
basis, including who should be responsible for the delivery of each activity and service. The main objective of
a log book is to help the field operations achieve the maximum utilization of the staff and the equipment to
be used. This is where everything that took place in field operations is recorded, planned, monitored, and
revised if need be.
If clients on a specific tour were handled by a local tour guide or a local ground handling company of a
particular destination, then that specific tour should only be written without including the name of their tour
guide. For example, a group flew to Laoag or Cebu that was handled by a local tour guide or local ground
handling company would be recorded as Laoag c/o STI Ilocos Heritage Tours.
Once the booking card for a tour has been completed by the reservations officer (person in charge of placing
the reservations), it goes to the field operations supervisor for recording of what happened to the activities
and services that were provided to the clients on a day-to-day basis in the log book which is still subjected for
revision and amendment if changes arise.
Preparing the log book include pages that contain essential information about a tour group according to its
booking card. The column titles that should be in the log book are as follows (Claravall, 2013):
1. DATE/DAY – is where the date and day of the week are indicated. The day of the week is very important
since the flow of traffic and availability of routes may vary during weekends, weekdays, and especially
holidays.
2. REF (Reference) – is where the assigned transaction number or tour file number in a booking card and
quotation letters is indicated. It is may either be expressed in alphanumeric characters or numbers.
3. GROUP NAME – is where the name of the group of travelers or the name of each passenger is
indicated.
4. PAX – is where the number of passengers or participants is indicated.
5. SERVICE/TRIP – is where the assigned/scheduled trip, service, or activity is indicated.
6. PLACE – is where the name of the accommodation establishment or the place where the clients are
to be picked up, is indicated.
7. P/TIME – is where the scheduled pick-up time of the clients is indicated.
8. FLIGHT – (if applicable) is where the airline code is indicated, as seen on that of a booking card.
9. ETA-ETD - is where the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and estimated time of departure (ETD) of the
clients’ flight or vessel are indicated. It is expressed in military time with 00:00 as 12AM and 24:00 as
12MN.
10. GUIDE – is where the name of the assigned tour guide for that specific service/trip is indicated.
11. COORD (Coordinator) – is where the name of the tour coordinator or airport representative for that
specific service/trip is indicated.
12. VEHICLE – is where the description or code of the type of land vehicle in use for that specific
service/trip is indicated.
The following table is a log book sample template used in field operations: *Please note that this may vary from a tour
operator to another. Thus, the table is for discussion purposes only.
DATE/DAY: FEBRUARY 28/FRIDAY
REF GROUP PAX SERVICE/TRIP PLACE P/TIME FLIGHT ETA- GUIDE COORD VEHICLE
NAME ETD
A1Z3 James 4 Arrival City of PAL027 1400H Melchor Anna UV1
Family Transfer from Dreams (Urvan
NAIA Terminal Manila 1)
1
A2R4 Swiss 23 Arrival Long Rapids AF192 1630H Angel Miguel B02
Nature +1 Transfer from Hotel (Bus
Explorers’ NAIA Terminal Number
Association 1 to 2)
Pagsanjan,
Laguna
Table 1. Sample accomplished log book
Source: Travel and tour operations in the Philippines 3rd ed., 2013, p. 324
The table above shows two (2) separate groups of travelers having the commencement of their tour on the
same day under one (1) tour operator. With the information found on a log book, the field operations
supervisor can plan, organize, and assign the respective tasks of tour guides (under GUIDE in the table) and
tour coordinators or airport representatives (under COORD in the table), as well as scheduling the vehicle/s to
be in use for its corresponding service/trip. The field operations supervisor is also the one (1) who places
reservations for meals taken outside the hotel and while the clients are on board the vehicle. While the tour
coordinator verifies it with the supplier prior to the arrival of the tour guide and his/her tour group.
Positioning Field Personnel, Equipment, and Other Service Providers
The field operations supervisor is responsible for positioning the field personnel (tour guides, tour
coordinators, airport representatives) on their respective tasks and duties. This also applies to the allocation
of the service/trip equipment or vehicles. Vehicle Assignment Sheet
(Tour Guide and Land
Booking Card The Log Book Transportation Driver)
(Reservations (Field Operations Tour Coordinator
Officer) Supervisor) Tour Guide Assignment Sheet
Tour Guide)
Figure 1. Field operations documentation
Source: Travel and tour operations in the Philippines 3rd ed., 2013, p. 324
The figure above shows the relationship of the reservations department and the field operations. Once the
booking card has been accomplished by the reservations officer, the booking card gets to be forwarded to the
field operations so the field operations supervisor can prepare the log book. It then serves as the basis before
the assignment sheets get to be assigned to the field personnel (tour coordinator, tour guide, etc.).
While reservations for travel components are the responsibility of the reservations department, it is the duty
of the field operations supervisor to reconfirm these at least a day prior to the arrival of the tour group. In
order to ensure that the tour/s that take place on day-to-day are closely monitored, there are other specific
sheets that the field operations fill out after the log book has been accomplished. These field operations sheets
are as follows:
• Vehicle Assignment Sheet – contains all the details pertaining to the service/trip vehicle (equipment).
It is where the specifications of the unit are detailed, such as the vehicle model type, plate number,
and the code number of the assigned service/trip vehicle. It also includes the name of the driver,
schedules that the assigned service/trip vehicle would be in use. The following are the sections that
need to be filled out in a vehicle assignment sheet (for in-house vehicles only):
1. Vehicle number refers to the specifications of the vehicle, such as the body (car, van, mini-bus, or
bus), plate number, and the code number (UV1), as seen on Tables 1 and 2.
2. Driver’s Name is where the name of the assigned driver is indicated.
3. Date & Day refers to the date and day of the assignment vehicle will be used for a service/trip.
4. Report Time is when the assigned vehicle must report on time, which is normally 30 minutes prior
to the commencement of the service/trip.
5. Depart Time is when the service/ trip is scheduled to depart or leave.
6. Pick-up Place is where the exact location the assigned vehicle needs to report to.
7. Flight & Time refers to the arrival or departure flight number, including time. This is only applicable
if the assigned vehicle will be used as a transfer service.
8. Pax refers to the name of the passengers and how many are the passengers of the assigned
vehicle.
9. Service/Trip refers to the assigned service or trip that the assigned vehicle would be in use.
10. Rep Name is the name of the assigned tour coordinator or airport representative.
11. Guide Name is the name of the assigned tour guide.
12. Prepared By is the name of the person who prepared the vehicle assignment sheet.
13. Date Prepared is the date when the vehicle assignments sheet was accomplished.
The following table is a sample of an accomplished vehicle assignment sheet:
Vehicle Number: UV1 Driver’s Name: George Date & Day: February 28 Friday
Cruz
Report Depart Pick-up Flight & Pax Service/Trip Rep Name Guide
Time Time Place Time Name
1300H 1400H NAIA PAL027 – James Transfer to Anna Melchor
Terminal 1 1400H Family (4) City of
Dreams
Manila
Prepared By: Mina Date Prepared: February 27 Thursday
Table 2. Sample accomplished vehicle assignment sheet
Source: Travel and tour operations in the Philippines 3rd ed., 2013, p. 331
The table above only applies to in-house vehicles and may vary from one (1) tour operator to another. This is
just for discussion purposes only and may not be used by some tour operators. If a tour operator does not
own the vehicles used, then that vehicle assignment sheet would be known as the Trip Ticket. This sheet, along
with the log book, are some of the ways to ensure that everything that takes place in field operations is closely
monitored and documented.
• Tour Guide Assignment Sheet is another form of field operations containing all the details related to
the management of a tour group assigned to a tour guide. It is divided into four (4) sections:
1. Arrival Section refers to all the scheduled activities (meeting, assisting, and checking-in the
guests) upon arrival. These also involve taking care of the guests’ hotel arrangements when
checking-in. The following are the pieces of information found in this section:
4. Optional Tours is only filled out if the guests availed of an optional tour. This includes the
optional tour inclusions, duration, rate, and date when it will take place. This section already
includes who prepared and approved the assignment.