Vehicle entry control at a manufacturing plant: where to start

The best way to start vehicle entry control at a manufacturing plant is with an entry log at one gate, adding automation at the very end. The most common mistake in a first implementation is buying everything at once: cameras for every gate, kiosks, a portal and integrations. Three months later half the functions sit unused, because the procedures haven’t caught up with them and the staff have lost heart. The reverse order works: record first, then automate whatever the records showed to be a burden.

An entry log at one gate

The first stage is the log: every entry and exit is recorded with the vehicle, driver, carrier and time, even by hand at first. After two weeks you have the data without which every further decision is guesswork: how many vehicles arrive a day, at what times, how many carriers there are and how long handling takes.

This stage is the most important and the most often skipped, because it doesn’t look impressive, yet it decides whether later investments hit the real problem. At this stage you pay only for the system’s base package for one gate, and the modules for later stages are added to it separately.

Drivers checking themselves in at a kiosk

At the second stage the driver checks in at a kiosk at the gate instead of going into the gatehouse: they enter their details, go through the induction in their own language and sign. Security then stops being a bottleneck, and at twenty vehicles a day that is the difference between smooth handling and a queue.

The kiosk belongs to the Bookings and warehouse module, and the induction with signature to the Health and safety inductions module. The hardware, meaning the terminal, the housing and installation, is priced separately.

Booking delivery times

Booking times is the third stage: each delivery has a time agreed in advance, planned by logistics or, if it has been given access to the portal, by the carrier itself. Traffic is then spread over the day, and it is this stage that gets rid of the queue. But it only works if the two previous stages work, because it needs discipline on both sides.

Bookings are handled by the Bookings and warehouse module, which is priced by the number of docks and added to the base package.

Automatic entry with number plate recognition

Automating entry comes last. The camera recognises the plate, the system checks the permission and the booking, and the operator decides with one click or the gate opens according to a rule. This shortens only the moment of entry, so it saves the least time of anything on the list: entry takes a minute, the queue an hour.

Number plate recognition is in the base package, while the cameras and barrier control are hardware, priced separately.

What to check before signing a contract

Whoever the supplier is, check these before signing a contract:

1. whether the existing barriers and cameras can be used (tested, not just claimed),
2. whether there is a network at every gate and of what quality, because that can be a bigger problem than the software,
3. who will be the administrator on the plant’s side, because a system without a named administrator falls out of use within a few months,
4. what is charged on top of the licence: hardware, implementation, support beyond the period covered by the price,
5. what happens when you stop paying and whether the licence can be bought outright,
6. how leaving the service works and in what form you get your data back,
7. who is responsible for drivers’ personal data and whether there is a template data processing agreement.

What a system implemented in stages costs

The bill is made up of the base package, priced by the number of gates and workstations, the modules switched on at each stage, and the add-on items: implementation (optional), annual prepayment with a discount, and support after the period covered by a one-off licence. A small site with one gate and two docks usually takes the Start base with the booking module, a typical plant with two gates the Standard base with five modules, and a large site with five gates the Extended base with the full scope.

You can work out the amount for your plant, with modules added stage by stage, in the pricing configurator. Hardware is always priced separately from the licence.

The cost of a subscription reaches the price of a one-off licence after 24 months. When a subscription ends the system stops working, while with a one-off licence it keeps running.

What not to expect from a vehicle entry control system

TraxSystem won’t block entry by itself. It shows the operator a missing booking, a ban or an out-of-date induction, and a person makes the decision.

Nor is it a warehouse management system (WMS) or an HR system, and it has no biometrics or facial recognition. There are no ready-made connectors for SAP or Oracle, so an API integration is a separate project.

Implementation alone won’t replace organisational decisions. The rule that unbooked deliveries are handled after booked ones has to be adopted by the plant, because the system won’t set it for you.

Questions and answers

See also: How much does a vehicle entry control system cost · Truck queues at the gate: where they come from and how to clear them · How long does it take to implement a vehicle entry control system · Do you need new barriers and cameras to implement the system