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Where the data you do not have to type comes from
| Source | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| Booking | vehicle, driver, carrier, dock, purpose of entry |
| Number plate reading | the vehicle and, through the history, its carrier |
| Entry history | details of a driver and vehicle that have been here before |
| Carrier record | company, contact, linked vehicles |
| Kiosk | everything the driver entered themselves before pulling up to the window |
The fastest registration is for a booked vehicle whose number plate has been read by the camera. The operator then just confirms the data suggested from the booking.
The entry registration form: keyboard, suggestions and required fields
A form operated from the keyboard shortens every entry: registration number, Tab, confirm. Reaching for the mouse at every field costs seconds that only show up over a whole day. Suggestions from part of the number save even more time: the operator types three characters and picks the vehicle from a list instead of typing it out in full. At a goods gate, setting the default entry type to delivery also helps, saving one click per vehicle.
Required fields where they are not needed do the most damage. The driver’s ID number may be needed for entry into the hall, but not for a delivery dropped at an outside dock. A field required for every entry type is the most common cause of made-up data in the register, because with a queue waiting someone will type anything just to move on.
What not to simplify in entry registration
Simplifying the form has its limit: you cannot cut data that will be needed later. A register without the carrier cannot answer questions about punctuality, and a register without the purpose of entry cannot answer any question at all.
Nor is there any point moving every field to the kiosk ‘because the driver has time there’, when the driver standing at the terminal has a queue behind them too.
How to speed up entry registration step by step
- Measure how long it takes today to register one vehicle and how many fields the form has.
- Check which fields get filled in with made-up data. Those fields are the first to be removed or made optional.
- Switch on suggestions from history and bookings.
- Only then consider number plate recognition. It shortens the moment of entry itself, which is the smallest part of the problem if the queue comes from gathering the data.
What the form will not do for the operator
Suggestions work from history, so TraxSystem cannot guess data that nobody has ever provided. Nor will it block a made-up entry: it sees that the field has been filled in, but it cannot check whether what was entered is true. Which fields are needed is decided by the site, ideally together with the person who works at that gate, and the system cannot make that decision for you.
Questions and answers
Can different fields be set for different gates?
Yes, through entry types. The set of fields follows from the entry type, and entry types are assigned to gates.
How many fields is too many?
There is no universal threshold. It is too many when any field gets filled in with a random string of characters.
Can the operator finish the entry later?
Yes, an entry can be completed after the event. Gaps are visible in the register, so they do not get lost.
Is number plate recognition included in the base?
Yes, plate reading is part of the base package and does not require a separate module. Cameras are hardware priced separately; they are described on the supported hardware page.
Does the entry log require an additional module?
No. The entry log is part of the base system, and the pricing configurator will work out its price for your number of gates and workstations.
See also: Truck queues at the gate: where they come from and how to clear them · Drivers check themselves in: how a gate kiosk works · What is ANPR: number plate recognition explained