The Learning Lab focused on applying game day best practices to campus-wide events. Moderated by Drew Lee (JustPark), the session featured Brian Riggs (University of Notre Dame) and Brett Litterell (Ohio State/CampusParc), who shared insights from managing large-scale concerts and third-party events. They emphasized key differences from football operations, including a higher volume of first-time visitors at concerts. Discussion topics included real-time data management, pre-event communication, and coordinating simultaneous events across campus. The panel also covered challenges like parking capacity, cashless payments, traffic control, and integrating platforms such as JustPark and Ticketmaster, along with considerations for towing, rideshare, and medical staffing.

I like to think I’m tech savvy. I love geeking out on systems thinking, automation, and leveraging technology to work smarter. In many ways, I’m very excited about what AI can do. At the same time, the proliferation of AI slop, occasionally frustrating shortcomings of the tools, and the sheer ubiquity of the topic in our personal and professional lives sometimes leaves me thinking “enough with the AI already…”.

IPMI’s Professional Recognition Awards acknowledge professionals and organizations that operate, maintain, and manage parking and mobility operations at extraordinary levels. The awards celebrate the individuals who elevate the industry through their outstanding careers and professional achievements. Award winners are nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of judges.

I’ve stood in poorly lit parking garages on both sides of the Atlantic, and the feeling is exactly the same. That instinctive shift in awareness — keys ready, pace quickened, a quick text to let someone know you’ve arrived safely. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in a UK multi-storey or a parking garage Stateside. The experience is universal.

Workplace accidents are very common, even in the parking industry. But should it be? Workplace injuries are in the tens of thousands each year. Economically, over 50 billion dollars is lost each year in accidents. Human factors are the cause in a vast majority of cases. But often there is a connection between human factors and other causes. Understanding how people work and creating safeguards (rules, safety plans and supervision) can go a long way to prevent deaths and injuries if applied correctly.