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Basic terms and first steps
If the subject is new to you, start with these articles.
What is a yard management system (YMS)
What a YMS (yard management system) is: software for vehicle traffic on site, from the gate to the dock and out again, and how it differs from a WMS and a TMS.
What is delivery booking
A delivery booking announces an arrival with a time, a dock and vehicle details. What it contains, who makes it, why and how it differs from a simple notice.
Vehicle entry control at a manufacturing plant: where to start
Vehicle entry control at a manufacturing plant: where to start implementing a gate system, in what order to add modules and what to check before signing.
How many people are on site right now
A list of people on site stops adding up because exits go unrecorded. How to bring employees, visitors, subcontractors and drivers into one register.
The gate, the entry log and number plate recognition
Truck queues at the gate: where they come from and how to clear them
Where truck queues at a plant gate come from and how to clear them with bookings, a self check-in kiosk and text messages. An example from a three-gate plant.
Entry registration without a mouse: logging the hundredth vehicle of the day
Fast entry registration at the gatehouse at a hundred vehicles a day: suggestions from bookings and history, keyboard-only operation and fewer required fields.
Controlling vehicle dwell time on site
How to control vehicle dwell time on site: a threshold, an alert when a vehicle overstays and automatic closing of visits that never had an exit recorded.
Drivers check themselves in: how a gate kiosk works
Self check-in kiosk for drivers at the gate: check-in, safety induction and signature without the gatehouse. The steps, the site’s settings and the limits.
What is ANPR: number plate recognition explained
ANPR is automatic number plate recognition from a camera image. How plate reading works, what its accuracy depends on and what ANPR does not do.
Edge vs cloud ANPR: what is the difference
Edge vs cloud ANPR: a plate can be read on a device at the gate or on a server. How they differ in bandwidth, latency and gate behaviour in a network outage.
Do you need new barriers and cameras to implement the system
Replacing barriers and cameras to implement an entry control system is rarely needed. When it is necessary and how to check compatibility before signing.
Speed limits on site: can they be monitored
Measuring speed on an industrial site: what can be recorded over the section between two points and what that data may be used for on private property.
Random vehicle checks: how they work and what they are for
Random vehicle checks at the gate: how random exit inspections work, how to set the percentage and why exemptions from inspection weaken the whole mechanism.
Delivery booking, docks and carriers
What is a dock time slot
A time slot is a period reserved for one delivery at a loading dock. What it is made up of, how long it should last and what happens when a vehicle is late.
How to organise time slots at your loading docks
How to organise dock time slots: slot length by type of transport, time before and after each delivery, tolerance for late arrivals and bookings nobody uses.
Delivery bookings in a spreadsheet: what breaks at twenty deliveries a day
Dock bookings in Excel or a system: a spreadsheet copes with a few deliveries a day, but at twenty it misses the lorry at the gate and allows double bookings.
Time slot calendar vs yard management system: what is the difference
Time slot calendar vs YMS: the difference shows when a vehicle pulls up at the gate. A feature comparison, how each is priced and when a calendar is enough.
Who should plan the docks: warehouse, logistics or the gate
Who plans the loading docks: logistics sets the plan, the warehouse sets capacity and the gate adjusts during the day. Sharing responsibility for the schedule.
‘What time should I be there?’ calls: how to stop taking them
A carrier portal: booking delivery slots without phoning the logistics team. What the carrier sees, what it cannot see and what the portal will not do.
No-show bookings: how to stop a vehicle that won’t come from blocking a dock
No-show bookings occupy a dock just like a real delivery. Where empty bookings come from, how to set the release threshold and what the automation won’t do.
How to choose a dock scheduling system: seven questions to ask the supplier
How to choose a dock scheduling system: seven questions for the supplier that separate a time slot calendar from a system that controls entry to your site.
People access control, working time and health and safety
Time and attendance vs access control: what is the difference
Time and attendance vs access control: how the two differ even though both use the same reader, and what to ask the supplier before you buy.
Permissions vs data visibility scope: what is the difference
Permissions vs data scope: a permission says what a user can do, the scope says whose records they see. How to set up roles so that the reports add up.
Health and safety induction for drivers who don’t speak Polish
H&S induction for foreign drivers on a terminal at the gate: content in their own language, a signature on screen and a validity record instead of hand signals.
Health and safety induction on a terminal, without tying up staff
Safety induction for drivers on a terminal: the flow from choosing a language to signing, what the safety officer sets up and when a person is still needed.
A driver on site without a safety induction: whose risk is it
Safety induction for visiting drivers: why an incident involving them happens on your site, what to document before entry and what a signature won’t settle.
The evacuation list: how to get it in three minutes
A site evacuation list has to be ready before the alarm. What it should contain, how to set up the muster procedure and who a list of people on site will miss.
What an evacuation list will not show
The limits of an evacuation list: doors without readers, tailgating, a driver in the cab and people who leave without swiping out, and how to plan the muster.
A site ban for a driver: how to actually enforce it
Banning a driver from your site: how a list of banned people works, the warning shown when an entry is registered, and why a ban does not close the barrier.
Site bans bypassed by changing employer
A site ban bypassed by changing employer: why a ban on the carrier or vehicle stops working when the driver moves company, and how to assign it to the person.
Contractor crews on site: letting them in without a signing-in book
Contractor access without a signing-in book: a named work list, cards from a separate pool, split pass office and reception roles, and getting the cards back.
Meeting rooms, guest rooms and guesthouses
A meeting room booking that opens the door itself
Meeting room booking with door access: attendees get in with their own card, a visitor gets a code, and both permissions expire when the meeting ends.
Guest rooms on site: who is staying overnight and who knows about it
Booking on-site guest rooms: stays for engineers, drivers and visitors counted in nights, door access for the whole stay and changeover days without clashes.
A guesthouse without a staffed reception: who lets the guest in at 11 pm
Guesthouse with no staffed reception: access comes from the booking. The number plate lifts the barrier, a code opens the room, and it all expires at checkout.
Site security and lone working
What is a security duty log
A security duty log, also called a shift log, is the chronological record of duty at a guard post. What an entry contains and what the electronic version adds.
Guard tour checkpoints: patrol records you don’t have to take on trust
Guard tour control: what is recorded at a checkpoint, how to place checkpoints on a patrol route and what a checkpoint confirmation cannot prove.
Incident documentation is created on the spot or not at all
Incident records are made on the spot: the time, a point on the site map, photos and a signature. Why a note from memory or a private phone photo falls short.
Lone working on site: the employer’s duties and how to meet them
Lone working and employer duties: how to make sure a worker alone at a post can call for help and that a missed check-in always gets a response.
Post check-ins: how monitoring a lone worker works in practice
A post check-in is a regular confirmation that someone working alone is all right. How the schedule, the tolerance window and the missed check-in alert work.
A worker missed a check-in: what should happen next
Missed lone worker check-in: how to build an escalation procedure from a reminder, through an alert to the duty officer, to a post check, without false alarms.
Software for a security company guarding a site: what is really needed
Software for a security company guarding a site: what the guard post and the coordinator need, what the security firm should see and who the data controller is.
Patrolling where there is no signal: how the security terminal works
An offline security terminal: how a patrol with no signal stores checkpoints, photos and a GPS trace on the device and what it uploads once the network is back.
Weighbridges and weighbridge tickets
Two-stage weighing: net weight without subtracting by hand
Two-stage vehicle weighing: one weighing on entry, one on exit, and the goods weight is the difference. Where errors creep in and what goes on the ticket.
A weighbridge without an operator: when automatic weighing pays off
Unattended automatic weighing pays off with repeat traffic and several dozen weighings a day. What the weighbridge needs and when to keep an operator on it.
Weighbridge tickets: what they must contain and how to issue them automatically
A weighbridge ticket: what data it must contain, why writing it out by hand leads to disputes and how it is produced automatically when the weighing is done.
What to do when the weighbridge stops working
Weighbridge failure: how to tell a faulty indicator from a broken link to the system, when to switch to manual weighing and what to agree before it happens.
Railway sidings and wagons
A plant with a railway siding: why road traffic systems don’t handle wagons
Railway siding software has to know the wagon by its UIC number, the train and the track. Why a YMS built for trucks cannot, and how TraxSystem handles it.
UIC wagon numbers: what they mean and how to keep a wagon list
A UIC wagon number is a twelve-digit identifier in which every group of digits means something. How to read it and keep a wagon list without retyping it.
Rail delivery booking: a portal for the rail carrier
Rail delivery booking: advance notice of a train due on a siding track, with its wagon list. How it differs from road booking and what a carrier portal adds.
Logistics parks and company cars
A logistics park with tenants: how to separate traffic and data between companies
A logistics park with tenants: how one entry control system separates traffic and data, so each tenant sees only its own and the park operator sees everything.
Who is responsible for entry control in a logistics park
Entry control in a logistics park: what the park operator and the tenants are each responsible for, who controls driver data and what to write into the lease.
Company car log: who had the car on Friday
Company car records: how to keep a log of vehicle issues and returns so that after a fine or damage you can check in a minute who was using the company car.
Inspection reminders for company vehicles
Company car inspection reminders: which roadworthiness test, insurance and lease dates to track for a fleet, and how to set up notifications people act on.
Cost, implementation and technical matters
How much does a vehicle entry control system cost
Entry control system pricing: a base priced by gates and workstations, plus modules with limits. What the base covers and why hardware is priced separately.
How much does a dock scheduling system cost
What a dock scheduling system costs: a base with the entry log plus a module priced per dock, paid as a subscription or one-off licence, with hardware extra.
How to estimate the cost of a dock scheduling system before you talk to a vendor
How to estimate and compare dock scheduling system prices: which numbers to write down, what to ask each vendor and how to work out an offer’s three-year cost.
Perpetual licence or subscription: which works out cheaper
Perpetual licence or subscription: costs break even after 24 months, and after five years buying is about 38 per cent cheaper. When a subscription still wins.
How long does it take to implement a vehicle entry control system
Implementing a vehicle entry control system takes one to three months from signing. What the time covers, what stretches it and what you can see before buying.
An access control system contract: what to look out for
An access control system contract: what to check before signing, from what happens when payments stop and data protection roles to exit terms and acceptance.
On-premises or cloud: choosing a server for vehicle entry control
On-premises or cloud for access and entry control: who maintains the server, who is responsible for personal data and what happens when the connection fails.
ERP integration: what to require from an entry control system vendor
Integrating vehicle entry control with your ERP: what to ask the vendor about the API, ready-made connectors and maintenance, and how to spot an empty promise.
Devices that call the server themselves: the pull model at the gate
How barrier and access controllers connect to the server: devices behind NAT poll the server themselves, with no inbound ports opened. What that changes for IT.
Why a site needs its own SMS gateway
An SMS gateway for your site: text notifications to drivers about entry approval and dock changes, kiosk codes, lone worker check-ins and replies coming back.
Personal data and GDPR
The entry log and GDPR: who in the company may see driver data
The entry log and GDPR: how permissions and visibility scope decide who in the company sees a driver’s personal data, and what an access audit is for.
Driver data at the gatehouse: how long to keep it and what to delete
Driver data retention and GDPR: who sets how long the entry log is kept, how deletion differs from anonymisation and what the system does automatically.
The articles on cost describe what the bill is made up of. The pricing configurator calculates the actual amounts for your configuration.
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