Tag Archives: COVID-19

Before You Repurpose Parking for COVID-19: Important Safety Information

March 31, 2020 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

By John Purinton

As healthcare workers man the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the challenges they’re forced to confront is how—and where—to manage the dramatic increase in patient volume. This unprecedented demand for additional beds and space to treat patients has resulted in some hospitals seeking to repurpose unused parking garage floors as temporary treatment centers. However, if you are considering using structured parking to manage this overflow, there are important safety considerations to be aware of.

Parking structures are designed for much lower structural loads than hospitals, offices, and residential buildings.

While it may seem counter-intuitive, the average weight of a car relative to its footprint is much lighter than that of a human being. Therefore, the floor of a parking structure is only designed to support 40 pounds per square foot. While this is more than sufficient for vehicles, human use is a different matter. In addition to a much greater weight density per square foot, human uses also typically mean heavy equipment and furniture that contributes to higher live loads.

Therefore, if you:

Are managing parking at a healthcare facility and considering using your parking structure for patient overflow, contact the structural engineer of record to determine whether or not this is a safe and viable option.
Know anyone who is managing healthcare or other essential services that are considering using parking garage floors for human uses, please ensure that they are aware of this important information.

Thank you to all who are going above and beyond to help us through this global crisis. Your safety is our top priority.

John Purinton is principal with Watry Design, Inc.

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: Propark Mobility Provides Non-Clinical Services During COVID-19 Health Crisis

March 30, 2020 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

Hartford, Connecticut – Propark Mobility announced today that the company is providing nonclinical services to healthcare organizations across the country, through its CleanCo division, in response to the COVID-19 global health crisis.

“CleanCo has been providing cleaning and maintenance services to the parking industry for decades,” explained John Schmid, Propark’s Chief Executive Officer. “During these challenging times, we felt that it was important for us to step up as a company to help in the fight against coronavirus, specifically when it comes to hospitals and healthcare facilities.”

By providing important non-clinical services such as supplemental cleaning and sanitization, environmental services, internal patient transport, concierge services, and more, Propark and CleanCo are able to alleviate that responsibility from healthcare workers, allowing them to provide better care for their patients. Additionally, the company offers traffic and transportation control, to include congestion alleviation for COVID-19 testing facilities.

“We understand that each patient, visitor and healthcare worker is going through a personal journey in one way or another,” said John Reimers, Chief Operating Officer of Propark Mobility. “By leveraging our staff to support these non-clinical areas of importance, we’re helping to make our healthcare professionals more effective, in a time where there is so little bandwidth during this crisis. We feel that we bring a critical element that is needed right now at hospitals across the country.”

With services deployed within 48 hours, and no long-term commitment required, hospitals and healthcare facilities can get immediate support for their non-clinical needs by logging on to www.propark.com/cleanco.

About Propark Mobility Propark Mobility is one of the country’s largest privately-owned parking companies, providing full-service parking and mobility services for over 500 hospitality, healthcare, commercial and off-airport locations, in over 75 cities across the United States. For more information, please visit www.propark.com.

Media Contact:
Dennis Safford
dennis.safford@propark.com
(860) 856-4104

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security, Sustainability, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: JTA, Beep & NAVYA Autonomous Shuttles Help Transport COVID-19 Tests Collected at Mayo Clinic Drive-Thru Site in Jacksonville

March 30, 2020 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), Beep Inc. and NAVYA partner with Mayo Clinic to safely transport COVID-19 samples on their Jacksonville Campus

JACKSONVILLE, (APRIL 2, 2020) – For the first time in the United States, autonomous vehicles are being used to transport medical supplies and COVID-19 tests at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

At a time when healthcare resources and personnel are stretched thin, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) has partnered with Beep and NAVYA to use autonomous vehicles to facilitate the safe transport of COVID-19 tests collected at a drive-thru testing location at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

“This deployment is a historic moment for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority,” said JTA Chief Executive Officer Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. “Along with our partners Beep, NAVYA and Mayo Clinic, we are leveraging our learnings from three years of testing autonomous vehicles through our Ultimate Urban Circulator program. Our innovative team saw this as an opportunity to use technology to respond to this crisis in Northeast Florida and increase the safety of COVID-19 testing.”

On Monday, March 30, 2020, up to four autonomous vehicles began operating along an initial route, in full autonomous mode without attendants or other people onboard, to transport COVID-19 tests from a drive-thru testing site to a processing laboratory on Mayo Clinic campus. The COVID-19 test samples are placed in secure containers prior to Mayo Clinic healthcare professionals loading the samples onto the shuttle.

“During a time of rapid change and uncertainty, the ability to think innovatively alongside the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, NAVYA, and Beep during the pandemic has strengthened all of our teams through community collaboration,” said Kent Thielen, M.D., CEO, Mayo Clinic in Florida. “Using artificial intelligence enables us to protect staff from exposure to this contagious virus by using cutting edge autonomous vehicle technology, and frees up staff time that can be dedicated to direct treatment and care for patients. We are grateful to JTA, Beep, and NAVYA for their partnership in these challenging times.”

The JTA, Beep, NAVYA and Bestmile teams partnered to create, test and deploy the routes for the autonomous vehicles at Mayo Clinic in Florida to address the fluid developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. The routes are isolated from pedestrians, traffic and staff. Beep, Mayo Clinic and the JTA will closely monitor the service from a mobile command center to maintain safe operation.

“Mayo Clinic is known as a leader in innovation and technology for providing world-class healthcare services to their patients in so many important areas of medicine,” said Joe Moye, CEO, Beep, Inc. “It is both humbling and exciting to partner with them in bringing this innovative solution to support such a critical challenge facing our country. We are equally as proud to work with our partners at the JTA, NAVYA and Bestmile, a fleet orchestration and optimization software company, in making this happen and doing our part to support this important cause.”

Beep, an autonomous shuttle fleet service provider, transported the shuttles through Eagle Express Inc. from Lake Nona, Florida, an innovation hub 150 miles away where the company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. An additional shuttle is being utilized from the JTA’s Ultimate Urban Circulator (U²C) program. The JTA has actively tested AV technology since 2017 to prepare for a conversion and expansion of its Skyway automated people mover in Downtown Jacksonville into a network powered by autonomous vehicles.

“The opportunity to work together with these organizations in an effort to provide a dedicated COVID-19 testing solution represents our goal as a company, and that’s to create a more accessible solution in the moments that matter, whether that be crisis, shortage in manpower and resources, or other areas we can provide aid in,” said Étienne Hermite, CEO of NAVYA.

The use of the autonomous vehicles to safely transport and handle the COVID-19 samples is another example how these vehicles can be repurposed in times of need. #

CONTACT:

ABOUT MAYO CLINIC:
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news and An Inside Look at Mayo Clinic for more information about Mayo.

Contact:
Tia R. Ford
Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
(904) 953-1419
Ford.Tia@mayo.edu

ABOUT BEEP:

Beep, Inc. (“Beep”) founded by experienced fleet managers and technology entrepreneurs, offers the next generation of transportation services for autonomous passenger mobility to fleet owners and operators in low speed environments?across the public and private sector, including transportation hubs, medical and university campuses,?residential communities, town centers, and more. Beep’s operations are headquartered in Lake Nona, Orlando. www.go-beep.com .

Contact:
Erica Olson
Beep Inc./Merit Mile
(763) 458-4435
Eolson@meritmile.com

ABOUT Jacksonville Transportation Authority:

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is an independent agency of the state of Florida, serving Duval County, with multi-modal responsibilities. The JTA designs and constructs bridges and highways and provides varied mass transit services. These include express and regular bus service, monorail, ferry and on-demand services. The JTA serves the largest city in the continental U.S. in terms of landmass. An integrated transportation network is a critical element in any community to properly manage growth, provide mobility and offer a good quality of life. Learn more at www.jtafla.com

Contact:
David Cawton II
Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA)
(904) 239-7989
dcawton@jtafla.com

ABOUT NAVYA:

NAVYA is a top French name in autonomous driving systems. With over 280 employees in France (Paris and Lyon) and in the United States (Saline, Michigan), NAVYA is a leading specialist in the supply of autonomous driving systems for passenger and goods transport. Since 2015, NAVYA has been the first to market and put into service autonomous mobility solutions in cities and private sites across the globe. For more information: www.navya.tech/en

Contact:
Travis Ockerman
NAVYA North America
(734) 787-0047
travis.ockerman@navya.tech

IPMI & Member News, Resources

Member News: Genetec releases access control feature to help organizations identify people who are at increased risk of being in contact with contaminants or contagious individuals

March 30, 2020 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

MONTRÉAL, April 2nd, 2020— Genetec Inc. (“Genetec”), a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions today announced that it has released a new reporting function for its Security Center Synergis™ (Synergis) access control system that is designed to help organizations find all people who went through a door in close proximity to someone thought to be contagious. It is conceivable that they may have contaminated the door handle or other surfaces or left aerosol contaminants in their passage. This report helps identify all people who are at increased risk of being in contact with contaminants or contagious individuals. This feature will be also useful for customers that handle dangerous substances and is made available to all Genetec Synergis Access Control customers at no cost.

Developed at the request of McCormick Place in Chicago, North America’s largest convention Center, the reporting function correlates physical proximity of an infected individual with other employees and badged visitors based on the use of the access control system. A report can quickly be generated to correlate access events by time window to identify people who are at increased risk of being in contact with contaminants or contagious individuals. This will allow enterprises to proactively advise individuals of their potential contamination and take the necessary hygienic precautions, as outlined by health and safety procedures and regulations.

“With Synergis, any organization can produce a detailed report that shows exposure metrics for employees and visitors utilizing existing access control data,” said Thibaut Louvet, Product Group Director, Access Control at Genetec. “It considers that if two people went through the same door in a short period of time, chances are high that they had some level of interaction. This forensic analysis can be extremely beneficial to organizations seeking to use technology they already have to better protect employees, visitors, and the broader community.”

“Our number one priority is to ensure the health and safety of our guests and staff, so we knew we needed to be prepared for any eventuality,” said McCormick Place Security Systems Coordinator Brett Zelnio. “In the fight against a contagion that can be spread easily through surfaces or proximity to infected individuals, knowledge is our best defense to stem the spread of these types of viruses. Being able to utilize technology to provide these additional metrics available through this system is a new and critical tool.”

“Only about half of Security Center features are a result of Genetec anticipating which technology will be useful for our customers. The other half are as a result of what our customers dream up. They regularly imagine clever and innovative ways to use the system and suggest useful new feature ideas. The Contagion/Contaminant Proximity Report is a case in point,” said Pierre Racz, President, Genetec Inc. “A clever member of the technical staff at one of our public infrastructure customers requested the Contagion/Contaminant Proximity Report and we were taken by its usefulness and brilliant simplicity – so we fast tracked its development.”

Existing Synergis customers who want to find out more about the Contagion/Contaminant Proximity Report can go to the Genetec Customer Portal or contact sales@genetec.com

“Contagion/Contaminant Proximity Report” available free of charge to any Genetec Security Center Synergis™ access control customers

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security

Member News: Frictionless Parking Promotes Public Health

March 30, 2020 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

Los Angeles, CA (March 30, 2020)—In this uncertain time of pandemic and public health crisis, we must find ways to minimize common touchpoints that could allow the Coronavirus and other viruses to spread more widely. SKIDATA, the leading provider of parking technology, urges parking owners, operators, and business owners with parking assets to look to frictionless parking to protect their staff and patrons, and promote public health.

“Frictionless parking was developed as a driver amenity, to make parking more convenient,” said Chris McKenty, SKIDATA Vice President. “No one foresaw that it could also promote public health, but that’s exactly what it’s doing. Owners and operators who already have frictionless technologies in place should encourage tenants and parking patrons to take advantage of the technology and create user accounts. And those who don’t should look into expanding their current equipment into frictionless technology suites.”

Frictionless parking suites combine several parking technologies, including Parking Access & Revenue Control Systems (PARCS), License Plate Recognition (LPR), and parking guidance technology to provide a completely touch-free parking experience. Parkers register their vehicles online and establish credit card payment credentials. When they drive to a frictionless parking facility, the LPR equipment recognizes the vehicle and permits entry; the parking guidance equipment directs them to an open space, and when they are ready to leave, the LPR again recognizes the vehicle and bills the associated credit card the appropriate fee. Some systems include pre-booking platforms that allow parkers to reserve and pay for parking in advance.

“Promoting public health isn’t just about the Coronavirus,” said McKenty. “Hopefully, this virus will be eradicated soon. But even if it is, we are still subjected to the flu and other viruses every year. The new reality of parking is that we need to eliminate as many common touchpoints as possible, and frictionless parking can be an important part of a parking public health strategy.”

About SKIDATA

SKIDATA is an international leader in the field of access solutions and their management. Almost 10,000 SKIDATA installations worldwide in ski resorts, stadiums, airports, shopping malls, cities, spa & wellness facilities, trade fairs and amusement parks provide secure and reliable access and entry control for people and vehicles. SKIDATA places great value in providing solutions that are intuitive, easy to use, and secure. The integrated concepts of SKIDATA solutions help clients optimize performance and maximize profits. SKIDATA Group (www.skidata.com) belongs to the publicly traded Swiss Kudelski Group (www.nagra.com), a leading provider of digital security solutions.

Contact:
Bill Smith
Smith Phillips
(603) 491-4280
bsmith@smith-phillips.com

IPMI Blog, Resources

Gathering Together Despite the Distance

March 30, 2020 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

man participating in an online shoptalk Several hundred parking and mobility professionals gathered together in two virtual IPMI Shoptalks last week, to talk about COVID-19 and operations: human resources challenges, shifting duties, curb management, revenue, garage management, and a host of other topics. They did it online during live, video-enabled events, and we invite you to join us for more.

Tomorrow, we’ll host two more events:

Free, online shoptalk for universities and campuses: COVID-19 and our industry’s response. Tuesday, March 31, noon Eastern.
Free, online shoptalk for airports: COVID-19 and our industry’s response. Tuesday, March 31, 2 p.m. Eastern.

These online Shoptalks are moderated by industry leaders and, just like in-person Shoptalks, are designed for conversation and idea/information exchange. They are free to all industry members; pre-registration is required (click here to register for this week’s events). Recordings are available, along with micro-learning sessions and other resources, on our YouTube channel. And more Shoptalks are planned for the future as we all navigate this challenging time together; get complete information on these and other resources here.

We hope you’ll join us for these events and that you’ll reach out if we can help you in any way. We’re going to stick together, as we always do. Brighter days are ahead.

IPMI Blog, Resources, Transportation & Mobility

Hospital Sets Up COVID-19 Assessment Station in Parking Garage

March 26, 2020 Rachel Yoka Leave a comment

You may have seen the photos circulating online—yes, those hospital beds in a parking garage at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are real.

Vanderbilt, like many hospitals, has set up a COVID-19 assessment area in its parking garage. Much like other hospitals using tents to assess and triage patients for possible COVID-19, Vanderbilt is using a section of its garage, which is out of the elements and relatively protected but outside the hospital itself; outside assessment areas help prevent the spread of the virus inside the hospital.

Read the whole story and watch a video here.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Unsung COVID-19 Hero: The Library Parking Lot

March 23, 2020 Kim Fernandez Leave a comment

woman typing on laptop in her car Children around the world are transferring from the classroom to online learning as the COVID-19 virus forces them to stay home, away from their teachers and classmates. And in some rural areas, that means they’re visiting the parking lot of their local library to get their homework finished.

For families without internet at home, the town library is where they go online. Now that libraries are closed, some are taking their laptops to those library parking lots, which are close enough that those laptops can pick up the buildings’ internet signals, letting kids get their assignments completed. In areas where closed libraries’ internet has stayed on, those parking lots are a lifeline to keep school going.

Read one story about it here. Happening where you are? Let us know.

Free Online Shoptalk for Airports: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response

Access the Recording here

Online Shoptalk for Airports: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response

Join IPMI for a free online shoptalk to discuss and collaborate about the effects of the COVID-19 virus and the industry’s response. Moderated by Dean Ahmad and David Wilson of Dallas Forth Worth International Airport, this hour-long discussion will provide insights, evolving best practices and ideas/solutions to help your organization cope with these challenges. We understand this is an extremely busy time and will record the online shoptalk and distribute to all members and colleagues. If you have a question or would like to share something that has worked for your organization in advance, please email Fernandez@parking-mobility.org.

Dean Ahmad, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW),Assistant Vice President. In his role, Mr. Ahmad oversees parking operations, ground transportation, landside construction projects and strategic planning efforts. Mr. Ahmad currently serves as the Immediate Past President for the Texas Parking and Transportation Association (TPTA). In addition, he is a Board member for the Greater Dallas Planning Council (GDPC). Prior to his career at the airport, Dean was a successful entrepreneur in the furniture and antique industry. Mr. Ahmad earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Baylor University and is currently pursuing his MBA from Columbia Southern University.

David Wilson, CAPP, is the Transportation Business Manager for DFW Airport. He earned his BBA from the University of North Texas. He has 38 years parking and transportation experience including 8 years as the Parking Revenue and Yield Management Manager. He was involved with the implementation of DFW’s AVI system and NTTA partnership and the Prepay booking system. Dave has presented to multiple parking and transportation groups including IPMI and served as an ACRP Topic Panel member.

Free Online Shoptalk on COVID-19 & Our Industry’s Response – Universities & Campuses

Access the Recording here

Online Shoptalk for Universities and Campuses: COVID-19 and Our Industry’s Response

Join IPMI for a free online shoptalk to discuss and collaborate about the effects of the COVID-19 virus and the industry’s response. Moderated by Kim Jackson, CAPP, former IPMI chair, this hour-long discussion will provide insights, evolving best practices and ideas/solutions to help your organization cope with these challenges. We understand this is an extremely busy time and will record the online shoptalk and distribute to all members and colleagues. If you have a question or would like to share something that has worked for your organization in advance, please email Fernandez@parking-mobility.org.

Moderator:

Kim Jackson, CAPP, provides leadership, expertise, and management for university transportation and parking operations, services, facilities, and programs. In 2008, she was hired as the first Director, Transportation & Parking Services for Princeton University. She was previously Executive Director of IPMI. She is a class of 2000 CAPP graduate and past chair of IPMI’s Board of Directors.