Overview The Gate To Yard and [Yard To Gate](YardToGate.html)are required interfaces for a gate model. They are used to establish travel times for trucks entering or leaving a yard. These objects can also be used to abstract the yard in a gate only model. Properties  Always Use Defined Travel Times- This checkbox determines if trucks entering the yard will use pre-defined travel times or travel times established by the layout of the yard. If this box is checked, trucks will use pre-defined travel times as specified in the three edit boxes that follow. If this box is unchecked, trucks will travel according to their speed and the road system of the yard. You should check this box if you are abstracting the yard or if your yard does not have roads. You should uncheck this box if you have a defined yard with roads. Pickup Travel Time- This value determines the travel time of the truck when performing a pickup operation. The travel time is the time it takes the truck to travel from the gate to yard object to a container, pick up a container, and travel back to the gate to yard object. The time can be constant (e.g., 5) or a distribution (e.g., triangular(2,5,3). Time units are determined by the [Model Units window](Model_Units.html). Dropoff Travel Time- This value determines the travel time of the truck when performing a dropoff operation. The travel time is the time it takes the truck to travel from the gate to yard object to a yard block, drop off a container, and travel back to the gate to yard object. The time can be constant (e.g., 5) or a distribution (e.g., triangular(2,5,3). Time units are determined by the [Model Units window](Model_Units.html). Dual Transaction Travel Time- This value determines the travel time of the truck when performing a dropoff operation followed by a pickup operation. The travel time is the time it takes the truck to travel from the gate to yard object to a yard block, dropoff a container,聽travel to the location of another container, pick up the container, and travel back to the gate to yard object. The time can be constant (e.g., 5) or a distribution (e.g., triangular(3,8,5). The dual transaction travel time should be longer than the pickup or dropoff travel times, since the truck is doing more work. Time units are determined by the [Model Units window](Model_Units.html). Limit Number of Trucks- This dropdown box allows you to potentially limit the number of trucks that can be in the yard at any given time. Options include: - "No Limit" - The gate to yard object will not throttle the number of trucks entering the yard. However, if there is a defined yard with a road system, the trucks may still be limited by the roads getting backed up. - "Between GateToYard and First Node" - The gate to yard object will limit the number of trucks between itself and the first network node of the yard's road system. This option should only be used with a defined yard with a road system. - "Between GateToYard and In-Yard Destination" - The gate to yard object will limit the number of trucks between itself and the location of the container the truck is picking up or dropping off. This option should only be used with a defined yard with a road system. - "Between GateToYard and YardToGate" - The gate to yard object will limit the number of trucks between itself and the corresponding yard to gate object. This option is best when abstracting a yard because it can simulate the real-life experience of trucks getting backed up in the yard. In this way, the abstract yard can properly affect the productivity of the gate. Truck Limit- This value is the number of trucks that are allowed in between the two points selected in the previous dropdown box. If "No Limit" is selected in the dropdown box then this number is not used. Send to Port- This picklist option determines which yard to gate object the trucks should go to when they leave the yard since a yard may have multiple exit points. Trucks can be routed to different yard to gate objects through various means. As an example, if the yard exits onto two different roads, you can use "By Percentage" to route 80% of the traffic to the north-bound road and 20% of the traffic to the west-bound road. If the yard has only a single gate to yard object, this option does not need to be changed. Custom Transaction Trigger聽- This trigger allows custom control over the default logic for gate trucks.聽 This will allow for user defined, custom transactions of gate trucks as they enter the yard.聽 Instead of traveling to a block, a gate truck can be sent to a holding area, a transfer area, or to any other object.聽 There is sample custom code to send a gate truck directly to the gate sink object.聽 The code written here will depend on custom written task sequences and various FlexTerm commands.聽 Please read the FlexSim help section on task sequences to get help writing the logic for custom transactions.聽 In addition, there are several FlexTerm commands that will prove useful such as containerstackbytruck(), containerunstackbytruck(), getcontainerstat(), and getgatetruckstat().聽 More information on these commands are located in the FlexTerm Command Help, accessible through the Help menu. 聽You may also need to write additional logic in the yard stack/unstack trigger to coordinate with the logic in the custom transaction trigger.