Smart Parking: Technological And Professional Opportunities

Smart Parking, Let’s start with the contents for dummies dedicated to sectoral installations, dealing with the integrated protection of car parks. A sector with a particularly high criminal risk during the night hours, where the crimes that are consumed within them range from petty thefts to acts of vandalism, from robberies to violent attacks. How, then, are these infrastructures protected? Here two actors come into play in a perfect combination: technology and the professional.

If technology, in continuous evolution, constantly modifies the analytical approach ( risk analysis ) and the modus operandi of many operators in the security sector (exploiting the potential of artificial intelligence that allows complex algorithms to perform a much more effective job in video analysis ), professionals, carefully analyzing every single basic vulnerability, design – supported by the technologies themselves – performing security systems to minimize risk exposure.

Three stages

Now, to plan a functional system, at least three phases are fundamental: risk analysis, feasibility design study, and final countermeasures; but to achieve this, it will be essential that these analyzes, and certain choices, are always carried out by professionals specialized in the security sector, with solid experience and the right technical-regulatory know-how. Moreover, the topic of physical security in parking areas (where several daily crimes occur) is not trivial since these infrastructures are often already neglected in public and private urban planning. 

Best practice

Below are the main best practices for developing a correct integrated safety system in parking areas. These are important indications because they characterize the fundamental part of the design feasibility study, which – together with the specific design elements – will support the creation of a safe and protected environment, discouraging criminals and making them feel trapped, out of place, and exposed to technological monitoring.

Emergency situations

When customers in a parking area, often large and isolated, feel threatened, they seek immediate help, but it is not unusual for the mobile phone and data service not to work quickly indoors, for example, behind thick concrete walls, in upper or underground levels, as well as in outdoor areas. It is, therefore, necessary to think of Rx-Tx signal networks, made up of local repeater stations, both in the mobile network and in the data network (VoIP transmissions), as well as the SOS columns (buttons) for geo-referenced alarm launch with the video surveillance systems, which provide security officers with additional information on the location and facts, to take the correct countermeasures.

Access control

An access control system provides all operators with an intrinsic view of security at the entrances/exits, both from the point of security and from that of safety. Users will perceive a reassuring sensation upon entering a protected and controlled structure, and operators will have a more detailed view (how many and which vehicle and how many people – vital data for correctly directing rescue teams in case of emergency). Adding intercom systems, video messaging, and public address systems (Evac) closes the circle of protection, providing a two-way audio/video communication channel essential for customer assistance during the crisis management phases.

Video surveillance

In Building Automation, real-time video analysis of monitored infrastructures is a great support to security services because it allows all security personnel to identify and intervene promptly to solve potential problems before they become unmanageable. However, it is necessary to choose the right video technologies, with powerful video analysis software, and to correctly size a good lighting system in all areas exposed to risk.

The correct lighting engineering dimensioning of the parking areas must be combined with a redundant power source on standby to keep the lighting systems always active and the primary power supplies of the gates always operational, even in the event of faults and/or sabotage of the primary network. 

In conclusion

The smart parking market offers interesting opportunities and mature products with attractive profits; it is, after all, a safety area that is not yet so inflated and where the client not only pays attention to the construction costs but also looks carefully at the choice of functional and reliable systems.

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