A vehicle that spends two hours on a site has not necessarily spent two hours being loaded. It may have waited at the entrance, queued for a bay or remained after the work was complete. To investigate delivery delays, define the stages of the visit before deciding which camera or access events to connect.
Choose the milestones that matter
A useful sequence might include arrival at the entrance, permission to enter, arrival at a bay and departure. Your site may need different milestones. Describe what each timestamp means and which system can provide it. The interval between two recorded events is only as useful as the consistency of those definitions.
Where CCTV and ANPR can help
Where supported, number-plate and access events can help locate a vehicle movement. Relevant video gives the reviewer context around the event. Coverage, recognition quality, compatible interfaces and time synchronisation need assessment. A plate read alone does not establish whether loading started, whether paperwork was complete or why the vehicle was waiting.
Avoid misleading dwell-time figures
Decide how to handle repeat entries, trailers, unreadable plates, incomplete visits and vehicles that use different gates. Consider whether the vehicle can be linked consistently between the entrance and bay. If the available events cannot support a reliable match, label the record as incomplete rather than presenting a precise duration that hides uncertainty.
Investigate one bottleneck at a time
For a pilot, choose one lane, bay or delivery process. Review a representative sample of normal and delayed visits. Compare the recorded milestones with the available footage and the operations team’s records. Ask whether the delay occurred before clearance, before loading or afterwards. This helps direct attention to a workflow rather than assigning blame from a single long visit.
A practical measurement checklist
Agree:
- The start and end event for each duration.
- The sources of each timestamp.
- The rules for missing or duplicate events.
- The people authorised to review associated footage.
- The process for explaining exceptions.
- A baseline period and a comparable period after any change.
Use the findings to evaluate changes to arrival scheduling, documentation or bay allocation. No fixed reduction in turnaround time should be assumed.
Scope vehicle intelligence around operations
AI Monitor assesses vehicle events, access workflows and supported VMS connections. Explore ANPR and vehicle intelligence and event-linked video. To request an assessment, describe your entrances, loading areas, existing systems and the delay you want to understand.
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