Download the PDF Case Study | As seen in Convene Magazine
Challenge
FABTECH is North’s America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event. In 2016, there were more than 31,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibitors. The show provides a convenient one-stop shop venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find tools to improve productivity, increase profits, and discover new solutions.
Managing registration with so many attendees is a major challenge. The goal was to reduce registration lines and quickly move attendees and exhibitors onto the show floor. With so many people needing their badges at the same time, strategies were needed to set up alternative check-in and registration areas.
Solutions
Convention Data Services (CDS) and FABTECH designed a registration and check-in plan to offer attendees and exhibitors quick, flexible, and efficient alternatives to traditional registration desks. Satellite locations for badge pick up and registration were set up. Using a variety of methods, onsite staff had many alternatives to reduce waiting time. In less than a minute, attendees moved through the line and had their badge in hand.
Results
Registration, self-check-in, and Line Busters areas were set up throughout the convention center and beyond, including the following locations:
- Main registration area
- Satellite lobby of convention center
- Shuttle bus drop off area
- Convention center concourse
Line Busters, created by CDS, is a registration check-in system that runs on smart phones, tablets, and handheld devices. Instead of being tied to a registration desk, this mobile solution allows for the ability to roam the registration area to assist with the badge printing and check-in process.
Onsite staff processed preregistered attendees and exhibitors, printing badges and saving time. Using Line Busters, onsite staff had the flexibility to react when lines formed.
Opening day for any show is a challenging time when registration desks are traditionally jammed because the majority of attendees show up in the same timeframe. Offering a variety of check-in options moved attendees and exhibitors quickly through the lines and onto the show floor. More than half of the attendees and exhibitors took advantage of the time-saving alternatives. Anyone who had preregistered for the show was eligible to take advantage of the alternative registration options. Line Busters gave onsite staff the flexibility to follow the traffic and eliminate wait time whenever delays occurred.
