Before Peripass: gatekeepers and bad visibility
At ZF Bouzonville, several issues needed to be addressed, so Laetitia Schad worked on setting up Peripass at their location.
“We don’t have a large waiting parking, and when there was a lot of traffic, it did happen that trucks lined up and blocked the roundabout outside.” In their previous set-up, ZF worked with an external security team, locally known as “the gatekeepers” to let the trucks on-site.
“Before Peripass was implemented, drivers all went through the guard post. Where we see the barrier, there sat the gatekeepers, who recorded all the drivers’ paperwork. They also called the forklift operators to know where to send the driver. Then the gatekeepers passed on the information of where a driver should present himself, at which dock, etc.”
Self-registration and quick movements
Now, they use two Peripass registration terminals. “The driver comes directly to this area, so he has access to these two terminals. All he needs to do is press the screen and follow the steps. It feels miraculous because our gatekeepers before didn’t speak 36 languages, whereas the Peripass terminal speaks nearly all of them.”
“The Peripass registration is very practical and intuitive.”
The added bonus of digital registration is that the logistics support teams now know if the loading trucks for customers or the unloading trucks of raw materials have arrived on time. Now it easier than ever to stay on top of the flow of traffic.
“The registration went very well. There is no problem. It’s quick, it’s efficient.”, said one of the ZF drivers.
Quicker shipping by empowering the forklift drivers
ZF Bouzonville works with a system where the loading crew, the forklift drivers, handle the dispatching of trucks. After all, they have the best insight in which dock will open up soon and what can be prepared in advance.
“On the screen, we see our queue here on the left. These trucks all need to be loaded by the shipping forklift operator. Once they get moved from the queue to the desired dock, the truck drivers get an SMS with all important information. So easy.”
The forklift drivers now have full control over the different trucks and their status. Whether they are waiting, or not yet arrived, they manage the flow. “Before, the gatekeepers had to call all forklift drivers to know which one was available, which meant a lot of phone calls that added no value.
To speed up the loading and unloading even more, the forklift drivers can use tablets on their forklifts to dispatch. When they have finished their active to do, they can see what is next, or summon a new truck to their dock.
“It allows him, once he has finished loading a truck, to see all information on the tablet and to be able to take into account the different tasks he still has to do.”
Support that makes a difference
“Today, my logistics support team in the offices can have a perfect view of the trucks, whether receiving raw materials, or shipping to customers, so we know if the trucks are loaded or not on time.”
Perfect visibility means that they can prioritise the right trucks. “When we have urgent transports, we prioritise those transports in Peripass. They will be loaded as a priority by the forklift operators down below, since they have the information directly.”
Support can be a lot more efficient that way. The team can communicate directly with the client, and pass along accurate information with a single glance.
Real traceability
This is a huge bonus for ZF at Bouzonville. “Knowing that we have real traceability, we know all the trucks that entered the plant and we know all the trucks that left the plant.”
“Whether it is the teams that handle receptionor shipping, we have a global view of all trucks that
are at the site at a given time.”
The teams at ZF can spreak the work load on the ground, since they know now the peaks. They know where there are a lot of trucks, where to redirect, and even how to diffuse conflict.
“With carriers, when we had a dispute, before Peripass, we worked from a paper record written by a gatekeeper from when the driver arrived at the gate. Today, with Peripass, there is no more discussion. Everything is recorded in the IT system. So, one screenshot and the carrier sees at what time the truck registered at the gate and when he left the site. Everything is transparent.”
