// Case Study
Henkel – Truck dwell time monitoring
More effective use of logistics areas.
82 truck parking spaces are digitally monitored with real-time dwell data. This creates transparency about waiting times, decoupled traffic and long-term parking – as a basis for more efficient logistics and area management.
- Industry: Consumer goods / industry (chemicals)
- Use case: Digital truck dwell time monitoring on plant parking areas
- Area type: Waiting areas, trailer parking & truck zone in front of central warehouse
- Technology: NB-IoT ground sensors, dashboard & TicketPilot app
- Volume: >700 truck registrations per day, 82 waiting spaces & additional truck bays
// Overview
Initial situation & objectives.
Henkel is globally active with leading brands and technologies in the areas of Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care, and Laundry & Home Care. Hundreds of trucks arrive at the site every day.
Every day, more than 700 trucks register to access the plant premises – with a limited number of waiting areas. These areas should be used as efficiently as possible, breaks in the waiting zones avoided and traffic flows optimized. At the same time, there was no consistent data basis to make the utilization of the different truck parking zones transparent and to analyze waiting times.
Project challenges.
- More than 700 incoming trucks per day but only 82 waiting spaces – dwell times should be minimized and breaks in the waiting area avoided.
- Another area was used for handling decoupled traffic (trailers without tractor units); here there was previously no overview of actual utilization.
- In front of the central warehouse for Laundry & Home Care there are 50 waiting spaces and 22 ramps; in peak situations additional trucks must be held back already at registration.
- A solution was needed that digitally maps all logistics parking areas without requiring extensive infrastructure work.
// Solution & implementation
Digital truck dwell time monitoring.
With NB-IoT ground sensors and a browser-based dashboard, all relevant truck parking spaces are captured in real time – without complex infrastructure work.
- Equipping waiting areas, trailer parking areas and the waiting zone in front of the central warehouse with ground sensors.
- Automatic detection of occupancy / vacancy and calculation of dwell times per parking space.
- Real-time visualization of occupancy in the dashboard – as a digital representation of the logistics areas.
- Use of the TicketPilot app to address drivers specifically when dwell times are exceeded.
Implementation & rollout.
The solution was implemented so that it fits directly into day-to-day logistics operations – with clear dashboards and sensors that can be installed decentrally.
- Analysis of the three main areas: waiting zone, area for decoupled traffic and parking in front of the central warehouse.
- Definition of sensor positions and parking space logic in close coordination with plant logistics.
- Decentralized installation of sensors without extensive ground works and without additional local infrastructure.
- Rollout of the dashboard in the control center and training of staff for daily use.
// Results & transformation
Data-driven logistics control at a glance.
Digital dwell time monitoring provides KPIs on utilization, waiting times and throughput of truck areas. This enables targeted control of traffic flows and faster identification of long-term parkers.
Transparent utilization
Utilization of waiting areas, trailer parking areas and the truck zone in front of the central warehouse is visible at all times – including peak periods and bottlenecks.
Dwell time KPIs
Average dwell times, arrival and departure patterns, and time spent per area can be evaluated and used as performance indicators.
More efficient control
Long-term parkers are identified more quickly, trucks can be held back in overload situations, and logistics processes can be better aligned with the high-bay warehouse.
// Statement from practice
Henkel’s perspective from the field.
The dashboard digitally maps the logistics areas and shows the current situation at a glance – for real-time operational decisions.
Smart City System provides a browser-based application that works on all platforms and represents the logistics areas digitally in a way that reflects reality. Installation is decentralized and requires no extensive infrastructure measures on the plant premises.
Stefan Pins
Henkel
// Project video
Truck dwell time monitoring at Henkel – in video.
The project video shows how parking sensors, dashboard and TicketPilot app work together to make truck dwell times on the plant premises transparent and to optimize logistics processes.
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More Information// Technical details
Project parameters at a glance.
Project scope
- Truck dwell time monitoring on several logistics areas on the Henkel plant site.
- Waiting areas with 82 spaces for incoming trucks.
- Additional area for decoupled traffic (trailers without tractor unit).
- Waiting zone in front of the central warehouse with 50 waiting spaces and 22 ramps.
Technology
- NB-IoT ground sensors from Smart City System.
- Data transmission via mobile network / NB-IoT to the cloud.
- Browser-based dashboard for visualizing truck dwell times.
- TicketPilot app to address drivers when dwell times are exceeded.
Want to make truck dwell times transparent?
You want to digitalize waiting areas, trailer parking or logistics zones and evaluate dwell times in real time? We support you from area analysis and sensor technology all the way to the dashboard and integration into your logistics processes.
// Contact & demo