Instead of simply requiring a key to open a door at a business premises, these days, many will have integrated access control systems that require a passcode, keyfob or ID card in order to allow access.
Shopping Center Parking System for the Quays
Electro Automation has completed the installation of the new parking system at The Quays Shopping Centre in Newry, meeting some challenging technical demands along the way. The client required that civil works costs and traffic disruption were kept to a minimum and that the anchor tenant, Sainsburys, was able to ensure their customers could be rewarded if they spent money in their store.
The most significant challenge was to minimise costs and eliminate traffic disruption associated with digging up the car park to install cable ducts for data transmission, voice and video communications. The Zeag Orion XR parking system allows transactional data to be transmitted by Internet Protocol (IP) back to the Zeag Management Station in the Central Control Room. Similarly, a Commend intercom system was installed to ensure that “Voice over Internet Protocol” (VoIP) was possible.
To meet the challenge, solution provided by Electro Automation included the installation of a wireless Internet Protocol (IP) network allowing the data, voice and video to be transmitted wirelessly from the stations out in the car park, back to the main building.
With Sainsburys as a major tenant at The Quays, it was an important consideration for the parking system to be able to handle shopping in a way that rewarded them for visiting the store. It was decided to implement a barcode validation system whereby, when a spend limit is reached, a barcode is printed at the check-out, the shopper takes the barcode to the reader in the automatic payment station to avail of a parking discount and pays the balance due, if any.
Cathal Austin, Centre Manager expressed his delight with the lack of disruption during the transformation of the car park into a fully controlled parking facility. He also stated “the barcode solution provided was essential in order to satisfy the requirements of our anchor tenant and the ability to accept payment in Sterling and Euro coins and notes at automatic payment stations has proved to be a significant customer service benefit, due to the high number of Euro shoppers using the Centre."