Drivers check themselves in: how a gate kiosk works

A gate kiosk is a self-service terminal where drivers check themselves in: they enter the vehicle and carrier details, go through the induction in their own language, sign it on screen and get a pass. Data entry moves from the gatehouse to the person who actually knows the data. Security no longer copies anything from a registration document through the window, and at twenty vehicles a day it stops being a bottleneck.

Kiosk check-in step by step

At a TraxSystem kiosk, check-in goes like this:

1. On the first screen the driver chooses one of eighteen languages.
2. They report their arrival with the registration number or the booking number. If a booking exists, the rest of the details fill themselves in.
3. They complete the driver and vehicle details. The site decides which fields appear, and every extra field lengthens the process, so the fields need reviewing before go-live.
4. They confirm their phone number with an SMS code, if the site requires it.
5. They go through the health and safety induction in the chosen language and sign it on screen.
6. They scan documents, if the entry type requires it.
7. They get a pass: a printout or a code, depending on the configuration.

The order of the steps matters: the induction is completed before entry, and the signature goes into the system instead of onto a sheet of paper that someone later puts in a lever-arch file.

Kiosk settings on the site’s side

The site decides the form fields. The fewer fields, the faster the process, and the full set of data is often needed only for some entry types. Requiring an SMS code confirms that the phone number is real, which matters for notifications. The entry type also determines how many scans are required before the driver can continue, and the scope of the induction is set separately for suppliers, for service engineers and for visitors.

When the kiosk is not enough

The kiosk won’t replace a person in unusual cases. A driver without documents, a vehicle under a ban, a booking for a different day: in situations like these the operator has to decide, and a well-designed flow sends them to the operator instead of trapping the driver in a loop on the screen.

On a first entry, check-in at the kiosk takes longer than at the gatehouse, and it only gets shorter on later visits, when the details are filled in from history. Warn security about this, because the first week decides whether the staff see the kiosk as a help or a hindrance.

What the kiosk does not do

The TraxSystem kiosk doesn’t open the barrier by itself. It shows the check-in to the operator, and the decision is made by a person or an access rule. Nor does it verify identity: it checks what the driver enters and the document scan, if one is required, so it doesn’t replace a document check.

Without a network the kiosk doesn’t work, because the terminal is only a window onto the system. The induction at the kiosk is for a driver or visitor entering the site and doesn’t replace an employee’s periodic training.

Questions and answers

See also: Health and safety induction for drivers who don’t speak Polish · Truck queues at the gate: where they come from and how to clear them · Health and safety induction on a terminal, without tying up staff