FEATURE BARRIER ACCESS CONTROL
Easy access or barrier to security?
BARRIERS CAN HELP COLLECT REVENUE AND DETER UNWANTED VISITORS BUT, AS JOHN OSBORNE EXPLAINS, OPERATORS ARE INCREASINGLY FACED WITH THE DILEMMA OF WHETHER TO PROTECT REVENUE OR CUSTOMERS
T
echnology in the form of ANPR (automatic number plate recognition)- linked access control systems is increasingly making it easier to trace customers who do not want to pay
for parking, and at the same time provide flexible tariffs that meet the needs of responsible town and city workers who do. Tere is arguably a strong case for installing more ANPR systems because manufacturers of such products claim these systems are so reliable that there is no need for barriers. Tese technologies have long- and short-ranges so adjustments to existing barriers are not necessary. However barriers can also be used to improve
security. Back in October, BBC News reported that a small bomb had been found inside a car at Belfast International airport. Police and army bomb experts were called to examine the suspicious vehicle, which had been discovered in the long-stay car park. According to the BBC, flights were not affected,
‘but some passengers were forced to spend the night in local hotels because they were unable to get home without their cars’. Such alarming discoveries may prompt discussion
about whether operators at airport car parks, where terrorism is usually considered a bigger threat than at other types of locations, could use access control and barriers to make it harder for bombs to be placed in car parks. Equipment could be installed at
28 DECEMBER 2010
OPERATORS AT AIRPORT CAR PARKS COULD USE ACCESS CONTROL AND BARRIERS TO MAKE IT HARDER FOR BOMBS TO BE PLACED IN CAR PARKS
barriers to detect explosives. However the very idea is considered so sensitive that no one was available at Belfast International airport to discuss the issue with Parking News.
The personal touch Instead of relying on equipment, it may be better to rely on trusted operatives who know their customers rather than go to the expense of installing equipment, which has be tested regularly and maintained. Some operators prefer the personal approach as they point out that parking is a service industry and knowing one’s customers is the key to the successful management of car parks. Tose considerations may restrict the scope
for product development and explain the current situation in this market. Jayne Diffin, product marketing manager, access control at ADT, a leading supplier of access control systems said in the last year: ‘New developments in parking systems have been limited. As a result, the industry is realising the functionality of existing technologies on the market, which are valuable additions to car park operators, simply through application suitability’. Diffin added that more and more existing access
control systems are being integrated with the vehicles themselves ‘allowing organisations or councils to leverage the infrastructure they already have in place. Tese systems can authorise the entry
www.britishparking.co.uk
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