How to manage an Access Control gate using Ticketing (LPR)
Mandalay CS can allow a non weigh bridge access gate to be automated using License Plate Recognition (LPR) . The following article is targeted at weighbridge operators and provides instructions on how to use the Access Control console for a configured gate.
Access Control Console
The access control console can be activated from the System Menu (X button) within the Ticketing application.
The console, as shown below, can allow an operator to identify processing issues, control the boom gate and manage the gate manually if required.
When no vehicles are using the gate the system presents the following buttons:
- Open - This button controls the boom gate which will stay open after this button is pressed until the button is pressed again to close it.
- Pop - This button will temporarily trigger the gate to open. This is used in cased where an operator wants to allow a vehicle through the gate.
- Online - This button indicates the status of the system managing the gate. Pressing this button will turn off the LPR monitoring system and will require a user with Access Control Admin permissions to trigger this. An event response will also be required.
- Select Vehicle - This can be used to trigger an action in the gate without external input like Dallas tags or LPR.
Vehicle Processing
The function of the access control gate is it allow a vehicle to pass through a gate that are authorised to use it. Which vehicles are authorised will depend on the direction that gate controls, the settings for the a vehicle and the business rules configured into the gate.
Gate Direction
The direction a gate is set to control will determine if it access the following situation:
- Vehicles with a completed transactions within a pre-determined time frame.
- Vehicles that are allow to enter or exit a site without a transaction,
Entry Gates - Entry gates will only allow vehicles through the gate that either have the Allow Entry Without Transaction permission or are set for a full Access Control
Exit Gates - Exit gates will allow vehicles through that, have a completed transaction within a time frame, have the Allow Exit Without Transaction or are set to Full Access Control
See the Access Control Vehicle administration guide for more details on how to setup a vehicle to use an access control gate.
Authorised vehicles
When a vehicle is authorised to use a gate the boom gate will be triggered and a message will be displayed in the console that stating ' Waiting for Vehicle to Leave '. If they vehicle does not leave promptly the system may also detect that a vehicle has not left the gate and then trigger an alert in the console.
Unauthorised Vehicles
If the system detects a vehicle that is not authorised to use the gate it will present different messages in the console and which will be highlighted. As well as the message an alarm sound may also be triggered from the computer.
The following are the different messages provided along with possible resolution methods. The exact resolution methods may be specified as part of a specific business process.
Open Ticket
If the vehicle attempting to use an exit gate has an incomplete ticketing out standing an Open Ticket prompt is displayed. This will generally occur if they are a dual weigh transaction but have only had their first weigh collected.
The details of the transaction that triggered this can be viewed by clicking on the Current Txn button. This can then be used to determine the next action.
In these cases if there is no easy way for the vehicle to return to the out bridge then the driver will need to be informed to return to the out bridge and the boom gate popped.
Unauthorised Vehicle
If a vehicle attempts to use a gate and has no completed transaction within the time frame but is a registered vehicle in the system without permission to use the access control gate. The the system will display a message saying the the Vehicle is not Authorised.
In these cases the operator can decide to let the vehicle through and use the Pop boom gate button or select another vehicle from the Select Vehicle list to use for processing.
Unknown Vehicle
If the system is detecting a plate through that is providing a 5 star confidence but the system can not locate either a completed transaction or a registered vehicle for the plate then the system will present an Unknown Vehicle Detected message.
In these cases the operator can decide to let the vehicle through and use the Pop boom gate button or select another vehicle from the Select Vehicle list to use for processing. It may be necessary to select another vehicle if LPR is struggling to get a correct match for a plate. If the vehicle does not appear in the Select Vehicle list then the Other button can be used to select any registered vehicle.
Manual Boom Gate Control
If necessary an operator can trigger the boom gate to open manually by using either the Pop button for a temporary gate open and the Open button to force the gate to state open. In both pf these cases it may be necessary to present a reason for the gate being opened. These events can then be reported on for auditing purposes.
Open Button
The open button and the boom gate icon above will indicate the current state of the boom gate. When the gate is toggled to be open the pop button will no longer be available and the icon will change to an open gate.
The processing of vehicles will not stop while the gate has been set to be open. This means the alerts will still occur when the system detects unauthroised vehicles.
Manual Boom Gate Reason
The reasons displayed will be dependent on business processes developed by your site manager.
In some cases a note will also be required.
Gate Status Control
The current status of the access control system is displayed in the top right of the access control console. The system can be stopped if necessary by pressing this button.
When the system is offline, no vehicle processing will take place but its possible to still control the gate by pressing the Open or the Pop button.
To be able to control the gate status the operator will need to have the Access Control Admin permission or a user with the correct permission provides their credentials.
Other Messages
In some situations other messages may appear as alerts. These are generally just warnings and usually relate to the system detecting the same vehicle consecutively.
Consecutive Warning
This message will appear if the gate is configured to not allow consecutive processing of a vehicle. This is generally done to prevent processing a vehicle twice by mistake.
If this is a case where the same vehicle has access the gate consecutively and it is a legitimate access then the operator should pop the boom gate to allow the vehicle to pass. This message will continue to appear for this vehicle until another vehicle is processed through the gate.
Vehicle Not Clearing the Gate
If a vehicle stays at the gate the system will notice this and will alert that the vehicle has not cleared the gate yet. This alert can generally be ignored but may indicate problems with the vehicle.