
Sharing Excellence in Parking & Mobility Management
Island Syndrome
Blurred Lines: Will You Soon Be Managing Your Facility via Parking Guidance, Cellphone Apps, or LPR?
Just a decade or two ago, nearly every sophisticated parking facility sported a software-heavy Facility Management System (FMS) mounted on a desktop computer. From that desktop, a facility manager could track facility revenue and occupancy.
This was made possible by harnessing input from fee computers, access card readers and in-lane, vehicle detection systems powered by old-fashioned, magnetic induction.
Behind the Closed Door
These inputs were usually captured in a “closed architecture” environment. In this paradigm, the FMS manufacturer coded all data exchanges between input devices and the FMS via proprietary encryption.
Unless an individual device spoke the language of the FMS, it simply could not communicate with the software platform. FMS providers zealously guarded these data exchange “protocols” and with good reason.
Foremost, they sought to ensure the system worked as promised by ensuring the compatibility of all peripheral devices and subsystems. Of course, providers also aspired to charge a premium for their software and sell those peripheral devices and subsystems.
After all, a closed ecosystem is usually more profitable than an open one.
FMS Still Rules the Roost
Make no mistake, the FMS still rules the roost today. A new generation of computing power stokes a late-model FMS into…Continue reading
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Parking Penguins
The coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdowns and social distancing has encouraged normally reticent wildlife to explore human space.
Here, from USA Today:
An African Penguin walks in the parking lot of an empty restaurant, close to popular Boulders Beach, in Simonstown on April 14, 2020, in Cape Town, South Africa. This beach is closed due to the continuing lockdown across South Africa, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. South African President Cyril Ramaphos prolonged by a further 14 days a three-week national lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Perhaps he’s interested in some striping work?
(Image credit: RODGER BOSCH, AFP VIA USA TODAY & GETTY IMAGES)