On 1 June 2023, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) put the first version of the new goods traffic system Passar into operation. The launch was preceded by years of intensive preparation. We take a look behind the scenes and show you what happened in the days surrounding the launch of the new system.
21.06.2023, Alain Dulio, Yanis Gogniat, Eva Künzi und Nicolas Rion
This Friday is a dress rehearsal of sorts. We accompany Ines Gallotti, one of the Passar ambassadors who are assisting with the introduction of the new goods traffic system at the various local levels of Customs. "This is an important responsibility. Our role as a bridge between the system and employees is crucial," she explains. On this day in Stabio, six days before the launch of Passar 1.0, Ines Gallotti is in great demand. Some employees have already got used to the new arrangements. Even though Passar was not yet officially in operation, one of them even continued to work merrily with the new system all day after the demonstration by Ines Gallotti. Others are still a little unsure or have questions, which are discussed together. There is still a whole week to go. Plus, Passar will be rolled out in stages.
What was the biggest challenge? "To train the seventy or so employees at Mendrisio Customs while day-to-day operations continued uninterrupted." Passar ambassador Gallotti and her deputy, Roberto Borrello, first acquired the necessary knowledge in several workshops in Bern. They then organised several half-day courses on site in Stabio for their colleagues. Information events were also organised for the business partners of Customs, who are likewise preparing for the switch to the new system. "It took a considerable amount of time and energy, but it has enabled us to approach 1 June serenely," Ines and Roberto conclude with a smile.
Early in the morning at the border. At 4.30am at the Rheinfelden customs office, we meet Andrea Werder, group head and Passar ambassador for Aargau Customs. The first lorries are already waiting at the border crossing so that they can be let through at 5am sharp. One last briefing session is held with the staff in the elevated booths and the line managers, who did not want to miss out on the opportunity to be there for the first few minutes of Passar. And the first declarations are already being entered. Although the new system has been thoroughly tested, there is a certain sense of relief when the declarations can be entered into Passar without any problems.
At 6am, as the sun slowly climbs over the horizon and the initial rush is over, Andrea Werder states with a smile: "Everything seems to be working as planned. In actual fact, very little has changed for the employees, and the drivers should not notice anything about the changeover, except if they use the Activ app, in which case they can cross the border much more quickly."
There is a telephone conference with the other Aargau customs offices later in the morning, and a flying visit to the Stein/Bad Säckingen border crossing in the afternoon. We see across the board that the launch day was a complete success. Goods traffic is flowing smoothly and Andrea Werder can treat herself to a well-earned rest at the end of the day.
One week after the launch, goods traffic is moving as usual. Watching him in the elevated booth in Vallorbe, you would think the customs employee had been working with Passar all along: EETS:OK on the performance-related HVC monitor, flashing blue arrow on the Activ app on the driver's smartphone, a glance at Passar to confirm: "Everything's fine, thank you." The lorry barely stopped. It is the same for the next two vehicles, loaded with straw and gravel. They, too, are using a digital solution from Customs: the Periodic app.
By contrast, the next driver stops his vehicle, rummages around on the passenger seat and finally hands the employee four sheets of paper. "So, what do we have here?" After leafing through the documents, the customs employee stands up briefly to check the number plate, sits down again, enters a transport declaration in Passar and activates it manually: scan, click, scan, scan, click, click. When returning the sheets of paper to the driver, he adds a flyer: "Next time, phone and Activ, ok?"
"We have gone from 100 uses of the Activ app to 1,000 per week in just under two months," Sylvain Maudamey is pleased to say. "That is already more than 50% of transit traffic." Aside from the information campaign, word of mouth is also getting the message across. "I like this energy," continues Sylvain Maudamey, Passar ambassador for Vaud Customs. "A new system is being introduced and every day we are getting better at working with it."
An example? "After scanning their transit documents in Activ and parking their lorry, some drivers walked across the border to have a coffee. This caused the declarations to be activated. The Activ app then indicated a stop when they wanted to continue with their lorry. Within just ten minutes, we managed to adjust the activation geofence zones to avoid this problem."
What are the next steps? "1 June marked the start of the phased introduction of Passar. The first hurdle has been cleared, and now we are focusing on the next ones." Dominik Meier is in front of the long planning board. This is already his 20th time taking DaziT through the big, two-day PI planning event as Product Manager and Co-Programme Manager. The specialist representatives, architects, developers and testers have been working towards this for months. You can see a mixture of happiness, pride and relief on their faces. But there is no time to sit back and relax: it is necessary to proceed at full speed with the development work.
"The last elements for 1 October are being developed. In parallel, we are already working on Passar 2.0," explains Meier during the break. The new goods traffic system and most peripheral systems, such as ePortal, master data management and document management, have gone live. "We are now refining these and adding functionalities, and we will roll them out again in stages in coordination with the business community, just as before," concludes Meier.
