Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

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Reaper
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Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by Reaper »

I've searched DT and have found many good ideas, and my team needs to put these all together. We need help finding the best / fastest way(s) to check-in a lot of cars . . . any ideas from the experts?? Who amongst us has experience checking in a lot of cars in a shortest possible time? Can anyone provide details on number of cars and time to check-in . . . at least ballpark figure??

My team is thinking of multiple well-trained scrutineers, manning multiple stations, with multiple check boxes and multiple calibrated scales (to reach the coveted 5.000). Thinking of assigning specific check-in times based on when the car was registered in an online system . . . a register earlier/check-in later type of arraignment. We are thinking we could have six stations, with two floating race officials to try to ensure consistency (originally thinking twelve - one for each point of the Scout Law - but that might be too many!).

Hoping for night before check-ins, but because of some of the distances being traveled, can’t really mandate this.

Working on the check-in now. We think we have the actual race operations covered . . . but maybe that's my next question!

Thanks for any ideas, comments, and suggestions!
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Stan Pope
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by Stan Pope »

How many is a "BUNCH?" And how long do you have available to complete the inspection?

Our district inspection line is expected to qualify at least 60 cars per hour. Stations along the inspection line have assigned responsiblities from the complete inspection procedure. Steps are divided so that each inspector has about 1 minute of work to qualify the car to the next station. Where a step doesn't break down to 1 minute or are possibly highly variable, multiple servers for that station may be assigned.
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PeterT
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by PeterT »

HOW MANY? ... this is truly the big question. We registered 72 cubs easily in a two hour period; our districts registered 71 (all but four different) cubs in a two hour period. Both had periods of longish lines - ten people or so, and both had periods of no one in line.

We thought about multiple lines, however that gives rise to the possibility of someone crying foul because something was allowed in one line which was not in another due to a)inconsistent rules interpretation b)inconsistent testing mechanisms, c) inconsistent training giving rise to (a) or (b).

I'll echo Stan's suggestion to break the process down into steps, that way EVERYONE gets more or less the exact same wheel inspection, the same calibrated scale, etc. Our district line even has a 5oz weight and if a car fails they show that it is in calibration right in front of the parent.

I've attached the list we give our registration judges below. Even though there are 8 steps we generally do this with 2-3 people and up to 5 during longer lines. Our biggest bottleneck is handling advanced registration, looking up the cub, getting their car sticker, etc. Get a derby car testing box and you can check h/w/l (dimensionality) in about 5 seconds. You only need ONE of each testing device when you only have one line. We also use car trays to move cars around during races, and since we have advance registration we use the same trays at that point.

Our registration judge list:

Code: Select all

REGISTRATION CHECKLIST
Registration
Equipment: roster, pen or pencil
1.	Ask the Scout his name
2.	Confirm his name is on the roster
3.	Locate the Cub’s “Car Inspection Sheet” and continue to Step 1
Step 1 – Weigh-In
Equipment: electronic scale, lifting block
1.	Have the scout place car on the scale
2.	If car is over 5oz, send the scout to the repair station
3.	Check box (1) and continue to Step 2
Step 2 – Measurements
Equipment: Measurement box (or Derby Rule)
1.	Check length to be 7” or less
2.	Check width to be 2¾” or less
3.	Check height to be 4¾” or less
4.	Check space between the wheels to be 1¾” or less
5.	Confirm under car clearance to be at least 3/8”
6.	Check that the wheelbase is 5-3/8”
7.	Confirm that no part of the car is beyond the starting pin
8.	Check box (2) and continue to Step 3
Step 3 – Wheels
1.	Confirm wheels are regulation issue with “BSA Pinewood Derby”
2.	Confirm wheels have original tread
3.	Confirm wheels are regulation width, and are not grooved H/V
4.	Check box (3) and continue to Step 4
Step 4 – Axles
1.	Inspect the axles and confirm they are original and in original slots
2.	Confirm that there are no bushings, bearings, springs, washers, etc. between the wheels and axle or body
3.	Check box (4) and continue to Step 5	
Step 5 – Construction
Equipment: paperclips
1.	Shake the car and listen for noise. Only the wheels should rattle
2.	Inspect the car to make sure there are no loose materials
3.	Inspect the front of the car to be sure there is no stickiness
4.	Test the front of the car with paperclips for no magnets
5.	Check box (5) and continue to Step 6
Step 6 – Lubrication
1.	Ensure only black graphite is used
2.	Turn the car upside down and make sure there is no liquid lubricant
3.	Make sure there is no oozing or dripping lubricant from around wheels
4.	In the event NO GRAPHITE IS VISIBLE contact the head judge for review
5.	Check box (6) and continue to Step 7
Step 7 - Number Assignment
Equipment: pack roster, pen or pencil, car stickers
1.	Locate the proper car number sticker and apply it to the top of the derby car
2.	Mark the Cub on the master Roster sheet as having passed registration
3.	Check box (7) and continue to Step 8
Step 8 - Photography
Equipment: digital camera
1.	Take a photo of the car at an angle from the front left of the car
2.	Check box (8)
3.	Deliver car to the Pit Area
4.	Deliver completed Inspection Sheet to the Race Manager
Obviously these guidelines conform to our ruleset so you would need to tweak. We also will be adding a new rule something along the line of: if there is a discrepancy between the registration judge guidelines and the main rule set, the main rule set wins. This is because our main rules say 5.00oz max, and this one says max 5 and someone argued the point this year. Thankfully one of our key main rules says the decision of the head judge (aka ME) is final and unappealable. :)

We use GPRM so the "check box #" refers to checking the boxes on our check in lists - which we tweaked in GPRM to match our needs.
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by Reaper »

Hi Stan, thanks for responding!

We will be checking-in 500 cars.

We realize this is a mammoth task which is why we’re seeking all input and best practices, especially from the experienced members of this forum!! We will have an experienced team of leaders and well-trained volunteers with simple checklists, but we want to have a great process and plan in place.

The assigned check-in time I described earlier is designed to try to alleviate people waiting in line too long. We’re thinking the earliest assigned times would be two hours before our start time; and this time would be assigned to the last people to register in our online system. There will be plenty of things (actually too much!) to keep people busy after their cars are put into the pit; everyone kinda already knows it will be an incredibly exciting, but fairly long, day (our little race is not the only thing going on). Also, some cars that live nearby may check-in the night before (just to keep from standing in line on the day of and hopefully lighten the load, at least a little).

In your District check-in, each official has a single job (check the wheels), then they pass the car on to the next official (check the length), right? Could one official (times six check-in stations) “do it all” with a check box and a scale in that minute . . . and still have a meaningful check? Maybe if there’s an issue, the official calls in a Race Committee Member. My queuing theory may be a bit rusty, but we’re thinking more stations rather than a linear process . . . whatcha think?
Last edited by Reaper on Wed Feb 15, 2012 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by mebetree »

I vote for an assembly line check in. Break it down into seperate jobs. Each person should need the car for all of 10 seconds each to check their particular area of expertise. That's 6 cars being fed into the line per minute which is 360 cars per hour. Waiting two hours to check in cars is reasonable for a group that size. The secret is to have them bounce any cars that don't pass to a seperate judge that will give a more detailed inspection of the car and explain to the racer what the problems are. That way you aren't slowing the line up at all when a car doesn't pass.

I would require everyone to pre-register in the computer so the end of the line just has one person marking the car as "passed" or not.
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by Darin McGrew »

A lot depends on the rules and the way your inspection crew is enforcing those rules. With mebetree's estimate of 10 seconds per car per inspector, you could do it in less than 2 hours. However, that assumes several things, incluing:
  • The inspectors can complete their inspection in 10 seconds.
  • The inspectors can keep up this pace for 2 hours.
  • No more than 20% of the cars need to repeat any one inspection station.
  • You can keep the pipeline full, so none of your inspectors are sitting idle waiting for cars to clear the previous inspection station.
Stan's estimate of 1 minute per car per inspector might be more accurate, especially once you take re-inspection, pipeline, and rest breaks into account. That stretches the inspection time to more than 8 hours.

At that point, I see two choices. Either create multiple inspection pipelines (2 pipelines => 4 hours, 4 pipelines => 2 hours, etc.), or divide the 8 hours into smaller windows and schedule everyone to come in for a specific window.

If you go with multiple inspection pipelines, then the individuals working any given stage need to coordinate with each other, so they all enforce the rule they are inspecting for in a consistent manner. This is less of an issue if each subgroup of cars is inspected by the same inspector.
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by Stan Pope »

Reaper wrote:Hi Stan, thanks for responding!

We will be checking-in 500 cars.
Okay. That is half the info I asked for. The other half is window length.

Are they racing by in the same classification? One big chart with 500 names?
This is nasty in so many ways! Folks faced with this try to break it down into finer groups somehow. If this is your case, let's talk about it some more, separately.

Or are they racing in groups, such as Tigers in one chart, and later Wolves in one chart, ... Then each group averages 100 racers, though the Bears will probably have 150 to 200!
In this case, you can overlap racing by one group with inspection for the next group. What this does is change the seemingly impossible job of inspecting 500 cars, then racing 500 cars into the more manageable job of inspecting then racing 120 cars.

500 is about half-again more than we've ever had to deal with, but it is "in the ballpark." We run by age group, so for any one race, the number to be inspected seldom reaches 100. Our goal is that inspection of one group requires about the same amount of time as it takes to race the prior group. (Or, if you have more than one racing venue, then the inspection venue needs to keep up with all of them. Then "stagger start" the racing venues so that inspection is dealing with one subgroup at a time.)

Multiple step inspection with "close calls" and "reinspections" handled "out of line" can do the job. The main inspection line step responsibility needs to be granulated so that cars pass through at the necessary rate and, at the end, cars either pass or go to an area that handles close calls and reinspections.
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by mebetree »

Yes, as Stan says, if there are five different groups that won't be racing against each other, you can set up five different inspection lines and not have to worry about inspection standards and scale calibration being different between the stations.

It also depends on how serious the inspection is going to be. Will the inspectors be looking at it with a fine tooth comb and testing the wheels with micrometers or is it just an eyeball inspection and a test box for dimension checks?

The other big factor is whether this is the first time these cars are racing or not. I spend the most time at inspections dealing with weight issues as the cars get weight taken off or added. If these are all cars that raced before, 99% of them should breeze through the scale. If not you are going to have a big backlog there as people have to adjust and re-weight over and over again.
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Re: Check-in of a BUNCH of Cars?

Post by gpraceman »

It can help if you have some people walking the line doing a preliminary inspection. They can spot key things that can be addressed before the racers make it to the check-in station. This reduces the number of repeat trips through check-in.
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