The Ultimate Guide To Parking Technology

Figuring out the best way to manage employee parking lots has can be intimidating. But, trying to navigate your way through car parking technology can be even more of a minefield.

“There seems like so many different options from ANPR systems to access control systems, car park management apps to parking permit management software.”

Every company likes to think that its parking problem is unique. Before buying parking technology, it’s important to take a step back and consider what your problem is.

We’ve brought together decades of real estate experience to create this guide to smart parking technology. We’ve trawled through all the major technology and leading providers. Our mission is to help you to create a smart parking environment.

Every company likes to think that its parking problem is unique. Before buying parking technology, take a step back and consider what is your actual problem.

To help you, we’ve categorised parking problems in four key areas.

ACCESS

Access management, also known as parking access management or parking control management, has been around for years.

As many car parks struggle with rogue parkers who are parking without permission, when done right, access management can be a great addition.

Parking barriers and gates are common ways to control access.Key differences between solutions include the capacity to integrate with other technology like:

• ANPR (automatic number plate recognition, also known as LPR or licence plate recognition)
• Car park management systems
• Validator and encoding stations
• Pay stations
• Fee computers
• Parking sensors

Technology integrations are generally designed with commercial parking, such as shopping centres & multi-storey car parks in mind.

A good parking barrier system can perform up to 10,000 cycles a day. Yet, it is worth noting that the more cycles you need the more expensive a barrier will be.

Another key consideration is the speed of access, or how quickly you need your barrier lift to be.

More standard hardware units will perform this in 6 seconds.

The final key consideration for access management is the access method. There are now more systems than ever to control how motorists manage entry & exit:

Manual:

The age-old solution of having a person with a hut who controls the barrier going up and down. This can also be done remotely through camera technology.

Keypad:

A keypad is installed close to the entrance. Motorists punch in a code to gain access. There are security concerns involved in this method including staff sharing key codes with non-authorised people.

Access Card / Fobs:

This is the most popular solution. It allows employees to tag in and tag out as per their needs.

Access cards raise many security concerns, as well as being very inflexible.

Companies that need more fluid access tend to avoid this model. If you need different people to have access on different days or times, a more modern option is the best choice.

ANPR:

Automatic number plate recognition also known in certain places as licence plate recognition software is a growing area of parking technology. 

Upon arrival at a barrier the IOT-based parking management solution scans the licence plate of a car. In real-time, the license plate is run through a database of persons due access to the car park on that specific day. The barrier will then lift if it finds a match. 

“It works very well for companies who want to manage parking with minimal fuss. The technology is still quite new and as a result, is still very expensive.”

This is a premium experience for premium parking lots. There is also legal complexities which come with ANPR, which must be fully researched before implemented.

Phone:

A barrier can be opened by phone in many ways. However, the traditional method has often depended on Bluetooth and beacon technology.

A popular method is GSM gate openers where motorists open gates with phones on arrival.

GSM software ensures that only people who have been designated access can enter the car park, making it a very secure option.

Automated Barrier System:

This system means the barrier automatically opens for incoming traffic. Motorists then tag out using some sort of validation system.

This is most effective for companies that work in logistics and transportation.

ALLOCATION

Once you’ve kept unwanted motorists out of your car park, the next step is allocating spaces.

For some companies, this is a simple case of numbering a couple of spaces and telling your staff where to park.

For other companies, this is often a manual administration nightmare.

Parking permit policies are managed through a range of haphazard methods like spreadsheets, or even WhatsApp. A lack of a transparent allocation system can cause traffic chaos.

If you have hundreds or thousands of staff converging on a car park looking in a short space of time. Many of these motorists have no exact idea of where free spaces are.

As a result, drivers end up cruising around car parks looking for space. This causes congestion at entrance points with cars trying to access full car parks.

This is before you get into the employee satisfaction side of the equation.

“In the modern day, to compete for key talent parking is important. Companies need to be able to show that parking is allocated in a fair manner.” 

The good news is that there is a wide range of parking technology to manage the parking experience. There are two key strands of technology in this space; hardware and software.

Hardware

There are a couple of hardware solutions which make parking allocation easier. 

Parking Information Screens:

These digital screens are used at key access points to employee car parks. They notify motorists where there is still space available. 

Generally, these screens work in tandem with other pieces of hardware like IoT parking sensors placed at entrances to calculate occupancy. The parking sensor then feeds information into screens.

Parking information works well for enterprise companies who want to direct traffic effectively. As a standalone piece of technology, they are quite limited, as they do not provide information to motorists ahead of arrival. This means that motorists don’t have the information needed to alter their journey route.

Allocation Cameras:

Allocation cameras can be installed in your employee car park to track space usage. Cameras can cover up to 400 spaces each.

 By syncing cameras with other software, they provide real-time parking information. Companies use this to direct traffic to empty spaces.This can play a key role in avoiding congestion at peak times.

Companies need to have high poles to give cameras sufficient vantage points. If your car park is a large single-level surface car park this could provide value for you. Market leaders such as ParkingDetection.com are more appropriate for local governments.

German innovator SON AH is another option when considering allocation cameras for your car park.

Parking Sensors:

By installing a parking sensor for each parking space, companies are able to track real-time occupancy. 

Oftentimes, these sensor systems come with lighting systems to direct traffic to empty spaces, thus reducing cruise time & build up of traffic jams.

However, the market is now showing signs of moving away from this technology. It is expensive to install and every space needs a separate sensor. While upkeep costs can be high if sensors keep breaking down.

Software

The use of cutting edge software to manage employee parking allocation is growing. In a mere second, software can direct and manage thousands of motorists. This makes it a powerful tool for streamlining parking allocation.

There are two core functions to most parking allocation software.

Parking Allocation Management:

So you have thousands of staff looking for parking everyday and let’s say you only have 900 spaces. 

Many companies operate a first come first serve policy and hope for the best. Others operate a space designation policy resulting in large amounts of unused space.

The great news is that technology can now trim away all the inefficiencies. Parking Allocation Management software allows employees to flag their parking needs ahead of time.

But, how is this done?

“Cutting-edge algorithms work out how much space is available and what is needed by staff. Solutions then allocate the parking spaces based on demand.”

When demand outstrips demand, companies can rank staff on set criteria. For example seniority or distance to travel. The algorithms then calculate in real-time who gets what space and when.

Employees can then be directed to park in specific spaces or zones. This limits inefficient cruise time and congestion close to offices.

At Wayleadr, we helped Colliers International to create an allocation management system which saves them €15,000 a year!

Parking Information Management:

This is a more modern version of parking information screens. Parking information management software often lives side by side with allocation management solutions.

This software allows companies to communicate parking information in real-time remotely. 

For example, a motorist working in a large company in Silicon Valley needs a car for work. They can log onto the parking information software and check current availability.

Every day large amounts of traffic converge on their car parks which are already full. This technology diverts traffic away from pinch points into key overflow car parks.

This is important when companies have lots of space but employees prefer one car park.

“Parking information management gets really exciting when it matures. Once leading systems build up enough data they can start using predictive analytics.”

For example, if a motorist’s commute is due to take 30 minutes, predictive technology will be able to forecast the likelihood of space being available at their estimated time of arrival.

Choosing a Parking Allocation Software:

When choosing a parking allocation software, reflect on your company culture.

Do you want a system underpinned by booking management which optimises space? Or prefer to minimise congestion for motorists but still have some parking inefficiencies.

Whatever you’re looking for, at Wayleadr, we are here to help you develop a parking management system that works for you & your company through our innovative software.

MANAGEMENT

Anyone with oversight of a large employee car park knows that parking management can be a fool’s errand at the best of times. 

Some days it seems that everything that could possibly go wrong, does go wrong. Barrier systems break down, accidents happen and people park in the wrong place.

Parking management can be broken down into 3 key elements:

Administration

The average medium sized company spends up to 40 hours a month managing staff parking.

When something goes wrong in the employee car park it can be very challenging to figure out who owns the cars. 

Intelligent parking management systems allow companies to get a real-time list of everyone in the car park. They search for particular employees based on car licence plates. Even communicating with these people through internal messaging features when needed.

By embracing parking management software, companies free resources to focus on adding value.

Security

Security is a massive concern for most motorists. The bigger your company is the more likely that your staff have invested in expensive cars. 

Safe storage of their motors during the workday is of massive importance.

A strong and robust access control system is your core foundation here. Yet, this does not stop petty thieves from finding ways into your car park. There are many ways to mitigate risks in this area depending on company size and resources.

• Traditional Parking CCTV
• Monitored Parking CCTV
• Smart Parking CCTV

“Human error and a lack of respect for a company’s parking policy can lead to parking violations.”

Enforcement

Parking can be a sensitive subject.

Maybe an employee has double parked or parked in the wrong space. This often leads to irate phone calls from other employees who arrive at work to find their space in use.

This leaves the person responsible for the car park trying to contact the rogue parker.

When companies use Wayleadr, this problem disappears immediately. If an employee discovers an employee parking in their booked spot, they can use our nudge feature to send a notification to the offending person and relevant company admins to take action.

Occupancy

So maybe you have your car park running like clock-work. 

But, you only have one problem. 

Your car park always seems to be half empty. This is a very common problem, especially nowadays, with the rise of hybrid working.

Often where there are waiting lists of people looking to get parking access this doesn’t seem to make any sense. Getting a grasp of occupancy can be quite tough. Who is parking and when are they parking?

As a fail-safe, companies often resort to inefficient practices. These include designating parking spaces permanently, leading to massive demand alongside empty spaces in the car park.

To overcome these issues and manage occupancy more effectively companies are increasingly turning to software.

Parking Reservation Management

Using cutting edge parking management apps like Wayleadr, staff now book parking ahead of arrival. This can also be structured using the opt-out method. Staff are asked to indicate when they don’t need a parking space and their spaces are released.

This allows companies to forecast occupancy and demand on a daily basis. Maximise efficiency by integrating with allocation solutions.

Reporting

Automated parking management systems give companies access to valuable real-time and historic analytics. 

Want to figure out who rarely uses their space? Is your car park too big?

With a few clicks, all the information you need to make the key strategic decisions is available.

Revenue Management

A growing area of focus for employee car parks is revenue management. Some companies could be missing on 6-figures of revenue by not fully utilising their parking.

There are two types of companies looking at this area:

• Companies with too much parking demand who are looking to deter car usage
• Landlords with spare space looking to maximise the usage of their parking spaces.

Revenue management solutions for employee parking lots are integrated with booking management software. This allows companies and individuals to pay for available space at the office.

A key selling point is that these spaces are only made available to motorists who are already working in your building (either for your company or another tenant).

This ensures that there are no security concerns.

CHOOSING THE BEST PARKING TECHNOLOGY?

As you can see, technology is a massive disruptor when it comes to parking management. Whatever you need from your parking, whether it’s increased occupancy or greater security, Wayleadr can help you.

Wayleadr is trusted by world-leading employers like Uber, Universal Music, CBRE, eBay, Sanofi & Colliers International. Schedule a demo with Wayleadr.com today and solve your parking problems in the click of a button.