5 benefits of an integrated outdoor and indoor parking guidance system

Very few companies offer a complete, fully integrated, overall parking solution for all areas of a parking lot. To achieve this kind of integration, the indoor and outdoor guidance systems, indicator panels, parking lot security cameras and all elements forming part of the solution must all communicate in a clear, organized way via a single parking management platform that centralizes and interrelates all the information from the devices.

It is really convenient for those operating a parking lot to have complete information on the facilities and to be able to carry out easy overall monitoring. Having all the data provided by the devices on a computer screen helps operators make better decisions so that profit from the parking lot can be maximized. However, what are the real benefits of having the indoor and outdoor parking guidance system integrated on the same platform? Here, we list some examples of what it means to have a single parking management software to monitor and manage the entire parking lot.

1. All parking lot information is available on a single parking management software

This may seem simple and obvious, but having absolutely all parking data available requires the latest parking management technology, such as the BirdWatch parking suite, and devices that can be 100 percent integrated with the platform. A user-friendly platform making it possible to jointly interpret the information from all devices in real time and make strategic decisions, and which can also be used for marketing to parking lot users, is essential. 

License plate recognition in each parking space, which forms part of the SC Indoor guidance system, provides an added value that non-camera-based parking solutions do not. The information on which parking space is chosen, how long a vehicle spends in the parking lot and the movements it makes is extremely valuable. Overall, it is very important to know the situation in the parking lot at any time: the statistics for each parking space, access, occupancy, rotation, stay times... and much more!

The information from the indoor and exterior areas is on the same platform, so it can be interpreted jointly. Ultimately, the use of the entire facility can be centralized and analyzed from a single platform like BirdWatch.

2. An overall parking solution for all areas with a consistent parking system

All this data obtained by parking sensors indoors and cameras outdoors – as well as data from video surveillance cameras and license plate readers at entrances and exits – must be managed and stored in a consistent parking system with sufficient capacity for the optimal operation and use of the parking system software.

Quercus Technologies' SC Indoor sensors are All-in-One, which means any system failure outside the parking solution would not affect the availability indications of the camera-based sensors, and the user experience would not be affected. This is because they can detect vehicles and change their color autonomously.

3. Detailed security in each indoor parking space 

For a smooth, comfortable user experience, the parking lot facilities must be equipped with maximum-security measures. CCTV cameras recording the aisles inside the parking lot are not enough for this purpose, as the viewpoint can make it difficult to detect incidents and crime in some cases. With Quercus Technologies' global parking solution, all movements occurring in and around each parking space are recorded on video, with several spaces monitored by each sensor's side camera. 

This detailed video surveillance makes it possible to identify violations, incidents, attempted theft, false claims, etc. in detail. In this way, it is also possible to monitor parking spaces and time-restricted areas and to detect over-staying in certain areas or spaces. Image capture every two spaces is much more specific than if we placed a CCTV camera at the beginning of the aisle. The video recording of each parking space guarantees security both for the operator and for drivers accessing the facilities. 

4. Zonal or overall parking statistics in all areas of the facilities

If it is possible to extract statistics and reports from an indoor area using the parking management platform, an overall parking lot solution must also include the extraction of reports from the outdoor areas. That is why BirdWatch makes it possible to centralize information from all areas of the parking lot – indoors and outdoors – and to generate overall and absolute statistics for it: valuable information for taking into account the use drivers make of the facilities as a whole.

BirdWatch can generate reports on outside parking areas including the average occupancy of the facilities, peak occupancy, stays by time of entry or type of exit, turnover, and turnover and occupancy maps.

This data, combined with the data extracted from inside the parking lot and the access and exit lanes, allows complete synchronization of parking lot information. This centralization makes it possible to achieve dynamic pricing, implement marketing strategies for certain customers, users or subscribers, allow automatic access, etc.

5. Expansion of existing facilities possible with outdoor guidance systems

Last but not least, another benefit is the scalability of the system: the fact that existing parking facilities can be expanded with the SC Outdoor guidance system. If an indoor parking guidance system is already in place, it is essential that the outdoor parking solution be fully complementary to it. With this system, it is not necessary to start from scratch and install new indoor and outdoor solutions from the company. It is part of a scalable product you can always come back to.