In a first for the Australian events industry, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre has designed an online traffic management system for its exhibition hall loading docks.

The move is part of the Centre’s ongoing program to boost operational efficiency and recognises the high level of demand put on the Centre’s six exhibition halls, which are the busiest in the country.

The new system enables a central traffic controller to log all truck arrivals online, and advise waiting drivers by SMS when it is their turn to move to the loading dock to offload or collect exhibition material.

The system also allows exhibition organisers to easily review the flow of traffic during their event, while freight companies can access the system to assess waiting times for their vehicles.

Chief Executive Ton van Amerongen said the Centre’s security team had studied venue traffic management methods worldwide before partnering with a company to tailor-make its own system, which breaks new ground.

“No other venue in Australia has an online management system and whilst some international venues use them, we discovered that none of them offered the detail we need so we decided to create our own,” Mr van Amerongen said.

“The new system is premised on the need for efficiency and safety on the loading docks.  Not only does it reduce the waiting time for trucks, it keeps all the key players in the loop during the crucial days spent setting up and dismantling an exhibition.”

Mr van Amerongen said the program also provided post-event reports which could be used by organisers to assist planning for future events.