Tag Archives: education

Education & Training, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

Unleashing the Beast

Leave a comment

by Vanessa R. Cummings, CAPP, M.Div.

Bringing the BEAST to customer service.

The beast is a process for you to put into practice every day, especially in difficult or unusual situations or when someone tries to take you over the limit. tpp-2016-6-unleash-the-beast_page_1

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN PUSHED TO YOUR PARKING LIMIT?

Have you had customers call you by a name other than your own? Have you felt the need to snap some parking sense into a customer? Customer service is one of the key complaints received about parking, and feedback ranges from courteous and professional to rude and inconsiderate. Excellent customer service is key to building positive relationships with our customers. Realizing that many negative comments stem from face-to-face interactions with parking professionals, it is important that those interactions be good ones.

This is true whether you work in the office or in the field. Customer interactions run the gamut from visitors needing directions, to drivers who need motorist assistance, to those who have received tickets. It is important not to jump to conclusions that everyone out there is “up against” you. If you are predisposed to that mindset, your interaction will start that way, primarily because you approached it on the defense. However, if your mind is focused on the fact that every interaction is an opportunity to serve, you will naturally be more kind, listen more, and respond with a positive tone.

When interactions are headed the wrong direction and not going well, you need a resource to call upon. Enter the parking beast! Yes, I said beast. Next time someone tries to take you to your frustration limit, you give them the customer service BEAST.

Who or what is this beast? The beast is a process for you to put into practice every day, especially in difficult or unusual situations or when someone tries to take you over your limit. The beast is nothing for you or your customers to fear; it brings a higher level of customer service to those customers on whom you may initially want to breathe fire. You will find that the beast should keep you from escalating the situation, help you de-escalate it, and show the customer that you know how to stay calm, even in stressful situations.

Breathe in.
Slowly take a deep, therapeutic breath in. This allows you to gather yourself, suck it up, and begin to clear your mind. Think about when people have pushed you to your limit—your breathing usually changes, and as a result, you may find yourself tensing up and breathing rapidly. A slow, deep breath will allow you to begin to control your breathing and may prevent your blood pressure from making a quick rise. It also occurs as a natural result because when you are about to lose your temper, you often take a quick deep breath so you can say everything you want (or sometimes just feel the need) to say. However, the slower you inhale, the more control you gain of yourself because you are focusing on your breathing and not what just occurred or was just said.

Breathing in is directly related to the next point that goes hand-in-hand with your survival and your health.

Exhale slowly.
Exhaling slowly only occurs when you take control and pay attention to how you are breathing. Slow exhalation allows you to cleanse the negative energy and thoughts and release the stressors you just inhaled. Slow breathing should reduce the rapid-fire,
knee-jerk response and allow you to begin calming yourself. As you are exhaling, begin to focus on a solution to the situation at hand and not the person or words spoken.

You may end up with the BEBEBEAST because you may have to do the first two steps two or three times. Repeat the first two steps as many times as you need to so you know you are in control of your breathing, and then move on to “A.” Introducing the BEAST

Adjust your attitude and perspective.
When someone has said or done something that does not sit well with you, your first response is often not the best response. Adjusting your attitude and perspective allows you to focus on problem resolution and not the person or his or her issue. There are people who will try to get a negative reaction from you to use against you to try to avoid responsibility for their actions. Remember, you are the parking professional so you are held to a higher standard. “Professional” means you maintain a level of maturity and respect even when disagreements and conflicts arise.

Adjusting your attitude and perspective requires you to consider: What if you were in the customer’s situation? How would you feel or react? Was the signage clear? What did he or she just say to you? Did the person try to do the right thing? Was he or she truly confused? What if that customer was your spouse or child? How would you want him or her to be addressed?

These questions should provide a reality check and open your mind to viewing the situation from a different perspective. That view should also result in an attitude adjustment (if you were headed the wrong way). The right attitude and perspective should
provide you with an appropriate response that will educate and uplift, not hurt. If you want to snap back, you should reassess and come up with a courteous response that could also help the customer to learn how to avoid the negative situation or adjust his or her attitude the next time.

Smile internally.
Before you speak, put a smile in your mind and a pleasant look on your face and remove any scowls or frowns. By smiling internally, what you say and how you say it should be much kinder than if you appear indifferent. Typically, a smile will alter the tone and tenor of what you say. Do not smile at the person as if you are happy to hand him or her a $100 ticket or look as if he or she should be happy to get a ticket. Remember to imagine yourself or your family member on the other end of the interaction.

A sincere facial effect conveys to the receiver that you are concerned about him or her and his or her situation, that you take him or her seriously; and it conveys respect. Respect goes a long way in customer service.

Talk to the Person.
Talk to the person, not at the person. Some people who have been mistreated by customers perceive situations as what they are up against. If your mindset is that you are up against people and situations, you will address those situations more defensively. Those who are up against something feel a need to rebel, respond, and take charge of
the situation.

As a parking professional, you should not approach the situation as being up against anyone. You provide a service to people who have chosen to use the service. If you want them to return and do things right the next time, you should talk to them in a manner that is welcoming, even when you may have to tell them “no” to cancelling their ticket or allowing them to park illegally. Again, place yourself on the receiving end of the interaction and how you would like to be addressed.

Breathe in.

Exhale slowly.

Adjust your attitude and perspective.

Smile internally.

Talk to the person, not at the person.

As you begin to think about bringing the BEAST, remember that customer service is just that: service. To serve implies doing something good to aid someone else. Writing tickets may not initially be understood as something good to the recipients, but those whose opportunities to find parking are improved appreciate the services provided.

Most people who have contact with parking professionals have questions and need information; they are not coming to complain or ask for favors. When that perspective is realized, the parking professional should bring a different and more positive approach to parking. If that is done, then your approach to those who are less than happy should reflect the parking beast and not a frustrated parking professional.

Imagine your staff wearing shirts that say, “Ask Me about the Parking BEAST!” It will provide a great opportunity to talk positively about parking and teach folks the rules before they park. Now, take the parking BEAST (or, if necessary the BEBEBEAST), with you, and enjoy your job and the people you serve!

TPP-2016-06-Unleashing the Beast

Education & Training, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

More Than Acronyms

Leave a comment

by Mark D. Napier, CAPP

Why parking professionals need to understand NIMS and ICS and what each can do in a disaster.tpp-2016-05-more-than-acronyms_page_1

It is important for all parking professionals to understand the basic tenants of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS). The fundamentals of each are relevant to the parking industry, and the implementation of NIMS or the activation of an ICS structure are not limited to large-scale crisis events such as terrorism or natural disasters.

The terms NIMS and ICS are often incorrectly used interchangeably. ICS is in fact a component of NIMS. So what does each do, and how are they relevant to parking professionals? Read on.

NIMS

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 increased our awareness that we needed to focus on improving our emergency management, incident coordination, and our capabilities across a full spectrum of potential incidents. We needed to put in place a national framework to prevent and handle significant events that potentially involve cross-jurisdictional government resources and participation by many other stakeholders. NIMS arose out of that need and establishes a national-approach framework.

NIMS provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment. While it is true that perhaps only the federal government could design such a run-on sentence as a statement of purpose, we should find instructive what it indicates. NIMS’ intent is not to be limited only to government agencies and is not designed to be only reactive. NIMS also speaks to the need for multiple stakeholders to work together to reduce critical incidents and be able to effectively respond to them.

NIMS is comprised of four components that work together in a flexible and systematic manner:

1. Preparedness. This involves a host of activities conducted on an ongoing basis in advance of any potential incident—training, planning, establishing procedures, examining personnel qualifications, maintaining an inventory of equipment resources, and completing a scan of the environment to determine potential vulnerabilities. A parking professional should address at a minimum the following with respect to preparedness:

  • What are your total personnel resources?
  • Are your personnel ready to respond to a significant event?
  • Do you have an accurate inventory of your equipment resources?
  • Do you have up-to-date policies and procedures for handling significant events?
  • Have you conducted an assessment of potential vulnerabilities or other factors in the environment of your operation that could pose a threat (weather, nearby targets, etc.)?
  • Have you conducted exercises/drills to test your preparedness?

2. Communications and information management. Emergency management and incident response rely on the ability to communicate and access information systems. We need to assess in advance of an incident our capabilities with respect to this component. The significant error is to not consider the failure of systems during a significant event—it is probable that many of the systems relied upon during normal business would be dysfunctional. Consider what alternatives or potentials for redundancy might be available given a wide array of system compromises. The end result should be the development of reliable and scalable alternatives.

3. Resource management. This component involves two distinct facets: First, what are your current resources, and where are the gaps in what might be required to address a significant event? This includes both personnel and physical resources. Second, in a
significant event, how would resources be mobilized, tracked, and recovered? In a recent significant event, a parking operator felt comfortable that available cones and barricades were sufficient until he realized that there was no reliable system to transport them from a remote site to where they were needed. During Hurricane Katrina, dozens of New Orleans school buses sat in flooded parking lots after failing to be deployed to assist with evacuations.

4. Command and management. This component involves the ability to effectively and efficiently manage incidents through a standardized incident management structure—the Incident Command System (ICS). The preceding three steps should occur before an incident. This one ensures that we can appropriately respond when there is an incident.

5. Ongoing management and maintenance. We can think of this component as how we stay ready and prepared. Too often, we get excited about a new concept or program and then steadily lose interest over time. Unfortunately, this can lead to tragic results when we finally need to respond to significant event. We cannot look at NIMS as a one-and-done project. NIMS has to become a part of how we do business and something that is revisited and refreshed on a regular basis. This can be done through exercises, drills, refresher training, and effective debriefing of incidents when they occur. Another effective technique is reviewing critical events that happened in other locations, assessing how your operation would have responded under similar circumstances, and embracing a lessons-learned mindset.

Remember that the first three components are important. These are components that you must engage before an incident occurs. No matter how skilled you are at ICS or capable you might be with respect to command and management, you simply will fail if you have not paid attention to preparedness, communication and information management, and resource management ahead of an event.

There are tremendous resources and information under the “independent study” tab at training.fema.gov/is/. They are free of charge and content-rich.

ICS
There is a huge misconception in our industry that ICS only applies to first responders and extremely large crisis events. This is simply not the case. The parking professional needs to understand the fundamentals of ICS for two reasons: Our operations might be affected by the implementation of ICS during a significant event. Parking operations are not located in the middle of empty cornfields. Parking exists in congested areas, central business districts, college campuses, airports, and around critical infrastructure. All of these areas are prime locations for producing significant events.

There is also a great likelihood that parking operations will become part of the implementation of ICS activation. A knowledgeable parking professional can be an asset to handling the event instead of an uninformed bystander, or worse, an impediment to operations.

ICS as a structure is scalable and adaptable to address events from the relatively small to the catastrophic and highly relevant to the unique structure of parking. Using ICS for every incident, planned or unplanned, helps hone and maintain the skills needed for addressing large-scale and serious incidents.

Incident Command Structure
Structure and the integrity of structure are important elements to the successful implementation of ICS. For ICS implementation to lead to the successful handling of an incident, each member in the structure must understand his/her roles and responsibilities and have the discipline to stay within his or her confines. This often takes a much higher level of discipline than is present in our day-to-day operations and may be something many team members are entirely unaccustomed to.

The Incident Commander
When an incident spans only a single jurisdictional or operational area, there should be only one incident commander (IC). When an incident is so large as to span multiple jurisdictions or several operational areas, you might establish an incident management team (IMT) that is comprised of ICs from each jurisdiction or operational area. Most often, there will be a single IC who will assume responsibility over an incident, develop incident objectives, and serve as the central decision-maker for action plan implementation.

The IC should be the person with the greatest understanding of the incident, the incident environment, and the available resources. This person might also be selected based on training and supervisory/command abilities:

  • A command staff supporting the IC is comprised of a public information officer, a safety officer, and a liaison officer. The IC alone gives direction to his or her command staff.
  • The public information officer is responsible for interfacing with the media, public, and outside agencies with incident-related information.
  • The safety officer monitors the incident operations and notifies the IC of any health/safety issues that might affect incident personnel.
  • The liaison officer is the IC’s point of contact for representatives of other agencies and organizations that might support incident operations or be affected by them.

ICS General Staff
The operations section is responsible for carrying out the activities directed by the incident objectives at the direction of the IC. It does not freelance its activities. Any activity engaged in is at the expressed direction of the IC unless there exists an immediate unanticipated threat to life or property. The operations section may be subdivided to branches based on function or geographic disbursement.

The planning section is responsible for the collection and dissemination of incident situation information and intelligence to the IC. This section may compile status reports, display situation information, and prepare other documentation with input from the operations section chief for the IC. The planning section is further divided into support sections that report directly to the planning section chief:

  • Resources unit. Responsible for recording the status of resources committed to the incident. This unit also evaluates resources committed currently to the incident, the effects additional responding resources will have on the incident, and anticipated resource needs.
  • Situation unit. Responsible for the collection, organization, and analysis of incident status information and for analysis of the situation as it progresses.
  • Demobilization unit. Responsible for ensuring orderly, safe, and efficient demobilization of incident resources.
  • Documentation unit. Responsible for collecting, recording, and safeguarding all documents relevant to the incident.
  • Technical specialists. Personnel with special skills that can be used anywhere within the ICS organization.

The logistics section is responsible for all service support requirements needed to facilitate effective incident management. This section also provides facilities, transportation, supplies, equipment, and all other resources required to address the incident. In the activation of ICS, parking resources would most likely fall in the logistics section.

The logistics section is further divided into support sections:

  • Supply unit. Orders, receives, stores, and processes all incident-related resources, personnel, and supplies.
  • Ground support unit. Provides all ground transportation during an incident; also responsible for maintaining and supplying vehicles, keeping usage records, and developing incident traffic plans.
  • Facilities unit. Sets up, maintains, and demobilizes all facilities used in support of incident operations. The unit also provides facility maintenance and security services required to support incident operations.
  • Food unit. Determines food and water requirements, plans menus, orders food, provides cooking facilities, cooks, serves, maintains food service areas, and manages food security and safety concerns.
  • Communications unit. Major responsibilities include effective communications planning as well as acquiring, setting up, maintaining, and accounting for communications equipment.
  • Medical unit. Responsible for the effective and efficient provision of medical services to incident personnel.

The finance/administration section is only activated when the incident management is of such a scale as to require incident specific finance or administrative support.

ICS Implementation
It is easy to see that the ICS structure provides a comprehensive approach to handling significant incidents. However, to limit it to only those events is a lost opportunity to improve performance. How often have you approached a problem or challenge occurring in your parking operation to wonder if the right hand knows what the left hand is doing? ICS implementation clarifies roles and responsibilities while providing a structure that ensures coordination, communication, and a comprehensive approach. You need not implement every element of the ICS structure to derive significant benefit from it as a tool. Moreover, using it for smaller challenges or minor events is excellent practice for a major event.

Many forward-thinking parking professionals understand the power of ICS and do not wait for an incident or challenge to occur. They have regular tabletop exercises to simulate ICS implementation at a significant event. Some have gone as far as to have a topic presented for brief discussion at every weekly staff meeting. The more we practice with ICS, the more it becomes a part of how we operate and the more skilled we become at its implementation. Ideally, it should be second nature. You simply cannot wait until a significant event occurs and then hope for the best.

Additional ICS Considerations
Your parking operation may become part of the incident environment of an outside entity’s ICS activation. Being educated in ICS, you will better understand where your operation might fit in the incident environment and how decisions are made in the structure.

Recently, a large campus’ university police department got a call of a possible active shooter near the center of campus. Police activated ICS, and the IC decided that while the area search was conducted by operations, all personnel in the area should shelter in place. The supervisor of a parking garage in the area made the decision to open all the garage gates so people could escape the area. This interjected congestion into the area and caused people following the shelter-in-place order to believe there was a change and leave shelter. This could have led to tragic results. The parking professional needs to be aware of ICS and where decision-making resides during significant incidents.

A fundamental aspect of ICS implementation is the requirement for a debriefing. A debriefing allows us to reflect on performance and identify areas for improvement. Rank and organizational status must be left at the door for these to be effective. A debriefing should allow for very frank and direct conversations. The best of these can be incredibly uncomfortable. Remember, that practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.

Finally, parking leadership should meet regularly with law enforcement and first responders in their area. We can be viewed as a valued partner because of the assets, both in terms of facilities and personnel, we can bring to an ICS activation. We should request to be included in exercises and drills. This connects us to the logistics section and identifies our resources under NIMS. We also will develop lines of communications and professional relationships that have meaningful value should we need assistance in addressing a significant event localized to our operations.

Back to NIMS
ICS is how we respond to incidents. NIMS is the global way we prepare for incidents, with ICS being one component thereof. Do not neglect the other components of NIMS.

We need to put the tools of NIMS and ICS in our toolbox but ensure they do not rust there. Conduct exercises and implement ICS on small events and for challenges that are more typical. When a major incident occurs, we should hope our people fall into the ICS structure with calm professional demeanor, without being prompting, and bring credit to our industry through competent incident resolution and valued collaboration with local first responders.

MARK D. NAPIER, CAPP, is associate director, parking and transportation services, at the
University of Arizona. He can be reached at mnapier@email.

TPP-2016-05-More than Acronyms

Education & Training, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

Parking Safety by Design

Leave a comment

by Khurshid Hoda

Crime prevention through environmental design boosts safety with relatively easy steps for both new builds and existing-structure retrofits.tpp-2016-05-parking-safety-by-design_page_1

SAFETY AND SECURITY are important aspects of operating a successful parking structure. Part of developing an effective parking structure includes helping ensure that design elements support a safe and secure environment for patrons and their vehicles. Promoting a safe and secure environment is important for the businesses within the facility and the future success of the parking facility.

If the facility should experience criminal activities, the negative effect on the business and its patrons can greatly damage the parking organization’s reputation. Once a negative impression is publicly released in the media, it is difficult to reverse its effect on the businesses and gain back the trust of parking patrons.

Parking facilities, especially multi-level structures, encompass large land areas but have a low activity level compared to the businesses they support. Typically, the building and the businesses within the building are where patrons congregate, and there is a small percentage of individuals in the parking facility compared to those inside the building. Although there are various factors to consider, such as location, parking facilities can often be at risk for “opportunity” crime, given the relatively low occupancy. A non-scientific review of crime data shows that among all types of real estate (excluding residential), parking facilities can be prone to larceny and violent crimes. The data also show that a majority of individuals assaulted in parking structures are women walking alone to their vehicles.

Inherent Challenges
There are some characteristics inherent in parking facilities that make ensuring safety and security for parking patrons and their vehicles a challenge. A criminal’s vehicle looks like nearly every other vehicle so it would likely not be noticed in a parking facility. Additionally, blind corners, sightline obstructions, and parked vehicles can provide a hiding place for a criminal and potentially block the lighting in the area where a criminal could hide.

Often, a parking patron’s ability to see and be seen is reduced because parking structures are partially or fully enclosed, elevated, have multiple levels, or include ramps that provide vehicular access to multiple floors of the facility. Although there is no one perfect solution when determining how to address the security of a parking structure, providing reasonable safety and security in the parking facility is in the best interest of the owner and the traveling public. Reasonable security measures will help to deter and prevent criminal activity.

For a security measure to be a deterrent, it has to have a psychological effect on a criminal. It should discourage potential criminals from committing a criminal act. Examples of deterrence are adequate lighting, closed-circuit TV (CCTV) monitoring, and signs posted indicating security patrols within and around the facility.

The opportunities for criminal activity in a parking facility can be significantly reduced by properly planning and implementing security measures in the design and construction of the parking facility. The security measures should seek to affect both the psyche of the criminal mind and the parking patron, as well as improve the physical conditions within the facility with proven security enhancements.

By Design
Incorporating security features in the design of a parking structure is one of the best examples of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). This approach deters criminals by making them feel trapped, out of place, exposed, and concerned that others inside and are many design elements that enhance the CPTED approach—we’ll discuss them shortly.

Any measure or technique not requiring human interaction or response, including lighting, glass-backed elevators, open or glass-enclosed stairs, etc., is defined as passive security. Passive security features also can be referred to as security-by-design. This approach refers to specific parking facility design elements, features, materials, and systems that can enhance the overall security of the facility without active human interaction. Passive security measures are cost-effective and last the life of the parking facility. If these measures are implemented and maintained well, they significantly contribute to patrons’ feeling of safety and comfort within the parking facility.

Based on input received from various owners, parking consultants, and this author’s experience, the following five passive security features have a significant positive effect on parking structure security:

1. Lighting Design. Parking and security consultants strongly agree that adequate and uniform lighting is the first line of defense and most effective deterrent against criminal activities in parking facilities. Several studies have been conducted by security experts that prove sufficient lighting has reduced crime in an area.

Eliminating dark areas deters crime, promotes enhanced user comfort, and improves the overall perception of safety. Ample lighting helps encourage safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles within the parking facility and improves internal wayfinding.

Lighting levels are generally not mandated by building codes, other than certain minimum levels required for emergency egress. The industry guidelines for parking facility lighting are established by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). These guidelines are not legal building codes, but failure to comply with IESNA recommendations does carry significant liability risks.

For improved safety and increased customer security in parking facilities, it is suggested that these lighting levels be increased by 50 percent and motion-sensor controlled lighting be installed. The security experts agree that motion-sensor systems will further enhance patrons’ safety and reduce energy costs. In high-crime areas, some security experts suggest increasing the IESNA light levels by 100 percent. Of course, these suggestions are based on the understanding that the project budget could support the cost of higher light levels (first and operating and maintenance [O&M] costs). However, with advancements in energy-saving light fixtures and building management systems, it is expected the O&M costs would be significantly lower than those of older fixtures and systems.

Lighting fixtures should be paired in each parking bay. The paired-fixture approach improves lighting uniformity and provides a certain level of redundancy should a single lamp failure occur. Additionally, this will minimize shadows created by parked vehicles, as well as reduce the lighting glare in the drive aisles. The paired fixture approach is also beneficial if a CCTV system is used.

Staining ceiling and beams of parking facilities is a way of increasing reflectance of concrete surfaces, thus increasing overall brightness and improving overall parking environment. This approach also improves overall lighting uniformity because stained concrete uniformly reflects light on the driving surface. Staining or painting walls may encourage graffiti and will become a regular maintenance issue. Therefore, wall staining is not recommended.

2. Clear-Span Construction. Clear-span construction technique reduces the number of columns within the parking facility, creating an open environment, better visibility, and minimizing potential hiding places.

One of the factors that should be evaluated is the structural system. Structural beams in cast-in-place (CIP) systems are generally located at more than 25 feet apart. The wider span provides for a higher ceiling perception, which provides more open space, better lighting from fewer fixtures, and better visibility of signage. All these factors improve visibility, thus enhancing the safety of patrons and their vehicles.

3. Glass-backed elevators and open stairs. The more open and visible parking areas can be made, the better they are for passive security purposes. The theory behind this is that criminals are less likely to assault a parking patron in front of a clear glass window or open stairs than in an enclosed area. Therefore, it is recommended that parking structures have glass-backed elevators and open stairs.

4. Landscape design. Almost all parking structure projects include some level of landscape design. Inappropriate placement of shrubbery, hedges, and trees can restrict line of sight for pedestrian and vehicular traffic and may negatively affect parking safety and security. Therefore, landscaping should be kept low to the ground to minimize potential hiding places around the parking facility. It is important to properly maintain landscaping elements because if they are allowed to grow too tall, they may cause safety and security concerns.

5. Human activity. Legitimate human activity in any parking facility improves the safety and security of patrons and their vehicles. However, it is difficult to establish appropriate and legitimate human activity in a parking structure. To some extent, locating a parking office in a parking facility achieves this purpose. Additionally, providing pedestrian access to mixed-use elements (if available) through the parking structure, without sacrificing pedestrian safety, may also achieve human activity in parking structures. These features will assist in improving patron and vehicle safety.

Other Security Enhancements
Depending on the use and type of parking structures, the following measures may be implemented to further enhance parking security:

  • The addition of escalators (generally used in parking structures at airports and large malls) provides vertical movement for pedestrians with a high visibility, which is an excellent passive security feature inside a parking structure.
  • Security screens protect potential hiding places, such as areas below the first flight of stairs.
  • The addition of convex mirrors in elevator cabs allows patrons to see if anyone is hiding inside the cab before they enter.
  • Glass panels in stairwell doors improve visibility.
  • Curbs and wheel-stops should be minimized as they are potential trip hazards. For enhanced visibility, faces and tops of curbs/ wheel stops should be painted yellow.
  • Signs should not impede drivers’ vision or create hiding places for intruders.

The above discussion and suggestions are by no means a complete list of measures for all parking structures. For each parking structure, a site-specific safety and security evaluation should be conducted, and appropriate measures should be implemented including “active” security measures (if needed) during design and construction phases.

KHURSHID HODA is a parking practice builder with Kimley-Horn and Associates. He can be reached at khurshid.hoda@kimley-horn.com.

TPP-2016-05-Parking Safety by Design

Education & Training, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

Big Events Big Challenges

Leave a comment

How sport safety and security are greatly enhanced by parking and now, by IPI.tpp-2016-05-big-events-big-challenges_page_1

SOME OF THE BIGGEST SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE WORLD HAPPEN IN SPORTS, and perhaps nowhere are there more people parking in a compact area at a single time. Sporting events bring unique security challenges, and many start right in the parking area.

The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi supports the advancement of sports safety and security through training, professional development, academic programs, and research. The organization works with professional leagues, collegiate athletics, and professional associations, private firms, and government agencies to promote special-event security.

NCS4’s director, Lou Marciani, is the principal investigator in more than $9.4 million in externally funded grants through the  Mississippi Office of Homeland Security and U.S Department of Education. He has an extensive background in sports management, was executive director of two sports governing bodies for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and is an expert in sports event safety and security. He recently talked with The Parking Professional about security at sporting events and the critical role played by parking and IPI.

The Parking Professional: How did NCS4 get its start?
Lou Marciani: In 2005, faculty members initiated research in sport security. We began with grants from the Office of Mississippi Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to study risk assessment, simulation modeling for evacuations, and training. As a result of our research, The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security was established in 2006. The purpose of the national center is to support the advancement of sport safety and security through training, professional development, academic programs, and research. NCS4 collaborates with professional leagues, open-access events, intercollegiate and interscholastic athletics, along with professional associations, private-sector firms, and government agencies.

TPP: What are some of the safety concerns NCS4 has dealt with?
LM: Since 2006, we have worked with the sport industry assisting with their safety and security issues for stadiums, arenas, and outdoor events. The emphasis has been on terrorist activity. Research has indicated many common vulnerabilities in terrorist activities as well as all-hazard incidents. To protect facilities against threats and to mitigate the effect of an attack, we have been assisting sport organizations with the following countermeasures:

  • Planning and preparedness.
  • Personnel development and training.
  • Access control strategies.
  • Barrier protection.
  • Communication and notification.
  • Monitoring, surveillance, and inspection.
  • Infrastructure interdependencies.
  • Cybersecurity.
  • Incident response.

TPP: What obstacles do sports venue have to implementing certain safety solutions?
LM: The No. 1 obstacle is funding for physical security measures that include equipment, personnel, and procedures. In addition, educating administrations on the importance of enhancing security measures can be a challenge.

TPP: How has event safety evolved over the years?
LM: Event safety and security has evolved since 9/11. Providing a safe and secure environment is a priority for all stakeholders involved in delivering a sporting event. The increasing profile of sport and event properties has resulted in increased exposure to risks that affect spectators, participants, and other entities. High-profile sport events provide a perfect target for terrorists. It is important for sport managers responsible for safety and security planning to be able to detect, deter, respond to, and recover from a catastrophic incident, be it natural or man-made.

TPP: What effect does parking have in providing a safe environment at sporting events?
LM: Parking plays a much greater role today than in the past. We have seen a dramatic change in parking at sport centers. Both on the collegiate and professional levels, parking is a place for congregation before and after contests or events. We have witnessed an increase in tailgating that’s put additional importance on securing these parking lots. These congregations create additional safety and security issues such as alcohol, pedestrian/vehicular traffic, and ingress/egress issues.

TPP: What role can a parking professional have in providing a safe environment at sporting events?
LM: At most events, the parking attendant is the first person to greet the customer. In order to enhance the safety and security for customers, it’s very important to have good perimeter protection. Thanks to a new collaboration, the sports industry has an opportunity to reach out to the International Parking Institute. The entire sports industry will benefit from IPI’s members, manufacturers, and suppliers of products and equipment, as well as professional planners and consultants, architects, and engineers to provide insight into creating more enhanced safe environments.

TPP: What do you hope will come from a relationship with IPI?
LM: With major sporting events bringing together tens of thousands of spectators in a confined space, security challenges can be daunting. NCS4 has developed industryleading programs to ensure high levels of security at such events, while IPI’s members, manufacturers and suppliers of products and equipment, as well as professional planners and consultants, architects, and engineers, continuously strive to provide safe environments for their customers. We hope to address the unique security challenges through information sharing, support of each other’s programs, and interaction between the organizations’ respective members.

NCS4 and IPI members share the common goal of protecting spectators and employees at sport centers from crime and terrorist attack. Both organizations are committed to developing clear channels of communication between their members that will educate to mitigate risk and to enhance response. We hope to promote collaboration between the organizations to address the unique security challenges facing sport centers.

TPP: Is training a core component of NCS4?
LM: Yes, NCS4 offers comprehensive sports safety and security training focused on building capabilities for multi-agency collaboration pertaining to risk management, incident management, evacuation training and exercise, and crisis management. The intact security teams from professional programs, intercollegiate, and interscholastic athletics, as well as open-access events, learn the concepts relative to planning, training and exercise, and recovery/business continuity through scenario-based training modules. Training is delivered by specialists from law enforcement, facility management, event management, emergency management, fire/hazmat, emergency medical/health services, and public relations.

TPP: Can a person earn a degree in sport safety and security?
LM: Yes. There is a master of business administration degree with an emphasis in sport security management program. As the only program of its kind in the U.S., the University of Southern Mississippi College of Business and the NCS4 are proud to offer this new program, designed for those who currently work (or aspire to work) in management or leadership positions in the sport safety and security industry in a face-to-face or online format.

Today, it is essential for individuals seeking top management positions in the sport security industry to possess the business knowledge needed to manage operations, including the ability to present a business case for return on investment for security and management solutions. By supplementing the MBA with an emphasis in sport security management, graduates will be able to differentiate themselves by gaining the standard principles of business in conjunction with real-world experience necessary for security practitioners.

TPP: Does NCS4 offer certifications?
LM: Yes, NCS4 offers certifications to ensure individuals responsible for the secure and safe
operations of sport venues have the adequate knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform duties. NCS4 offers two certifications: Certified Sport Venue Staff (CSVS) and Certified Sport Security Professional (CSSP).

CSVS is designed for an organization’s front-line staff. The targeted roles are ushers, ticket takers, gate security, concession staff, retail associates, parking attendants, guest services, and cleaning attendants. The candidates receive fundamental basic and role-specific
competencies as well as background screening.

The CSSP certification program is designed to establish standardized competencies among individuals holding leadership positions in the sports security industry and to ensure that the most current techniques, strategies, and solutions are used to mitigate safety and security risks inherent to spectator sport venues. The CSSP certification focuses on advancing the sports safety and security industry by addressing the competency
requirements of current security professionals and those related professionals.

TPP: Does NCS4 offer risk management assessments?
LM: Yes, NCS4 offers a security management assessment process designed to promote a standardized methodology for security planning at sporting venues and events. The goal of Sport Event Security Aware (SESA) is to provide a tool to facilitate a comprehensive approach to security planning, management, and operations. A SESA designation recognizes organizations that have embarked on a process to provide a safe and secure facility/event environment based on research, current best practices, and lessons learned.

TPP: Tell us about NCS4’s National Sport Security Laboratory?
LM: The goals of the laboratory are to offer opportunism for security observation and practice; technology tests and experimentation; and investigations of feasible robust security solutions applicable to sports venue operations. The primary mission is to advance global sports security by serving as the epicenter for the enhancement of technology, training, and research.

TPP: What does NCS4 offer in other professional development areas?
LM: NCS4 works very closely with professional leagues, open-access events, intercollegiate and interscholastic athletics, and professional associations, private sector firms, and government agencies in providing a platform to gather knowledge, technology, and strategies to deal with today’s sports safety and security challenges and solutions.

On an annual basis, NCS4 sponsors the National Sports Safety and Security Conference. The conference is the gathering of top professionals in the field to provide a wholesome environment dedicated to security/safety technologies, products, services, and education for safeguarding the assets and spectators we are charged to protect.

The target audience consists of sports venue and event operators, managers, security and safety staff, first responders, and law enforcement. These are representatives from the following levels: professional leagues, intercollegiate athletics, interscholastic athletics, and marathon/endurance events.

NCS4 also conducts four Annual Summits: Intercollegiate Athletics, Interscholastic Athletics, Professional Sport Facilities, and Marathons. The main objective of these summits is to address the critical safety and security challenges facing these sport organizations that results in enhancing or modifying their current national safety
and security best practices.

TPP-2016-05-Big Events Big Challenges

Education & Training, Frontline, Management & Human Resources, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Recognition & Awards, Resources

Wow Your Customers

Leave a comment

tpp-2016-04-wow-your-customersBy Dennis Snow

Three keys for delivering great service. 

The term “customer service” evokes different images in people’s minds. One image could be that of friendly, smiling, helpful employees who go out of their way to serve you. Or it could be the opposite—indifferent, unfriendly employees who can’t wait for you to leave or hang up the phone.

Most people can recall many examples of poor customer service. Whether it’s the help desk employee who puts you on
hold for 20 minutes or the store cashier who engages in a personal conversation instead of ringing up your purchase, poor
customer service can make people feel frustrated and vow never to do business with that company again.

On the other hand, great service feels like a gift. It makes us want to continue to do business with an organization for the long haul. And that alone is the secret to business success—retaining customers by providing great customer service. With so much competition out there, customer loyalty is the single most important attribute your business can have. You achieve loyalty by doing the little things that make customers want to deal with you again and again and recommend you to their friends. The real difference is how a business makes its customers feel. If customers feel valued, most will remain loyal. If they feel under-valued, sooner or later, they will defect to a competitor.

Why They Leave
Several reasons exist for why customers defect from a company. They may move away, a competitor may lure them away, or they may leave because they are unhappy with the product. However, a recent study found that a whopping 68 percent of customers who defect do so because of poor service. That’s a sobering statistic. The study further noted how customers defined poor service: “an attitude of indifference on the part of employees.” So while bad service certainly causes customers to leave, indifferent service can be just as detrimental.

Nurturing Loyalty
With two out of every three customers citing poor customer service as a reason for leaving, what can your company do to achieve customer loyalty? Assuming your products and prices are competitive, you need to focus on providing superior customer service. To do that, here are three simple steps to help you make sure your customers stay with your company:

1. Look through the lens of the customer.
No matter what industry you’re in, chances are that you interact with customers at some level. Realize that customers can be drivers who want to park their cars, shoppers at a store, patrons at a bank, patients of a doctor, clients of a law firm, etc. Because customers have their choice of where to obtain goods or services, the business has to convince the customer that it truly cares. An engaged, caring employee raises the customer’s confidence that the business is looking out for the customer’s interests. When that employee suggests a new product or service, the customer trusts that his or her best interest is at heart. On the flip side, if the customer senses a lack of caring, he or she will question the motives behind any recommendations.

Every business has its jargon, so be careful to speak in a language customers understand. Successful businesses speak the language of the customer, not the language of their own industry. Take, for example, the banking industry. Would a young couple buying their first house be looking through the same lens as a customer who buys and sells real estate for a living? Of course not. That young couple purchasing their first house is excited and nervous—that is the lens with which they are experiencing this purchase. Therefore, they need loan officers who are excited for them, who explain the terms in everyday language, and
who provide information that will make their buying experience easier. A bank that shows that level of care is likely to earn that young couple’s ongoing business.

The same applies for customer complaints, which can be frustrating for customers and employees alike. As employees, we often can’t understand why a customer is making such a big deal about a particular issue. Didn’t the customer read the contract? (Probably not.) Doesn’t the customer understand that researching a problem takes time? (No.) Remember, it’s not the customer’s job to see through the business’s lens; it’s the business’s job to see through the customer’s lens and show an understanding
of the customer’s frustration.

Next time you are working with a customer, stop and ask yourself: “Am I seeing this experience through the customer’s lens?”

2. When it comes to a company’s environment, recognize that everything speaks.
Imagine visiting a fine-dining restaurant for a special occasion. You’ve been looking forward to the meal, and you’ve heard good things about the restaurant. Then imagine noticing something crusty dried to your silverware and old lipstick marks on your water glass. Wouldn’t you begin worrying about the cleanliness and quality of everything else in the restaurant? Everything speaks!

Now imagine a customer entering a place of business. She notices trash in the parking lot. When she enters the reception area, she sees delivery boxes stacked by the receptionist’s desk. She sees employees standing around eating and having personal conversations. All of this detracts from your business’s image. Consciously or unconsciously, the customer’s antenna goes up and
makes him or her question, “Do I really want to spend my money here?”

The “everything speaks” philosophy means all employees understand that even the little things count. So pay attention to everything, including whether the physical environment is neat and clean, whether all necessary supplies are available, whether
employees are dressed appropriately, etc. Anything that sticks out as wrong becomes an intrusion on the customer experience. These intrusions add up and result in customer concern. On the other hand, when customers sense an atmosphere of professionalism, care, and order, they feel a sense of confidence.

How many times have you seen employees in a business walk right past trash on the floor or a display that has been bumped
out of alignment? Employees who understand that everything speaks will take a moment to pick up some wadded paper
and straighten the display because they know such behaviors have a direct impact on the customer experience.

Take a moment to think about your company’s environment. Because everything speaks, what are the details saying about
your organization?

3. Create customer “wow”s.
Small gestures can create customer wows. Consider the housekeepers working in the hotels at Walt Disney World. Housekeepers have a tough job. Cleaning up after people on vacation is a challenge. Even in such a challenging job, Disney’s housekeepers will do little things that make guests say “wow.” For example, while spending a day in the Magic Kingdom, children will often leave their stuffed Disney characters in their hotel room. Housekeepers have been known to position the characters with playing cards in their hands or tuck the characters into the children’s bed to create a moment of magic.

Employees can do many things to create wows. Remembering a customer’s name is a huge wow, creating a feeling of family. Letting a customer know that another product may better meet their needs is another wow. Sending a goody basket with a handwritten note to that young couple who just took out their first mortgage is a wow. Some wows are small, and some are large, but make no mistake about it—wows add up.

One of the most powerful ways to create wows is to share best practices with fellow employees. Hold a company meeting so employees can share things that they have done that dazzled customers. Just talking about these behaviors increases the likelihood
that others will adopt some of the practices or create new ones of their own. It is also likely that some wows can become standard procedure, whether it’s a grocery store bakery handing out fresh-baked cookies to children or salespeople escorting customers to a product rather than simply pointing.

Next time you’re helping a customer, ask yourself, “Will my behaviors make this customer say or think ‘wow’?”

Take Action Now
Excellent service is not about policy manuals. Excellent service is about excellent behaviors. When employees focus on excellent service, the results can be magical. Customers are happy, employees are happy, and shareholders are happy. Everyone wins. The key is to make service excellence a habit. Encourage every employee to internalize the above steps so they become habits. When employees focus on these principles, your company will achieve the most powerful result of all—intense customer loyalty.

 

DENNIS SNOW is a speaker, consultant, and author of two books, “Lessons from the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life” and “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service.” He can be reached at dennis@snowassociates.com or 407.294.1855.

TPP-2016-04 Wow Your Customers

Education & Training, Management & Human Resources, Operations, Parking & Mobility Article, Recognition & Awards, Resources, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

IPI Rocks Music City

Leave a comment
tpp-2016-04-ipi-rocks-music-city
IPI Rocks Music City with biggest conference and expo than ever before

By Kim Fernandez

This May, the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo offers more than ever before.

Nobody knows more about staying in tune than the people of Nashville, Tenn.—Music City, USA. And nobody knows more about staying in tune with parking than IPI, the biggest association of professionals in the industry. Put the two together, and it’s an unforgettable and invaluable experience, and it’s coming up next month. The 2016 IPI Conference & Expo, May 17–20, brings the most education and networking, the largest Expo in parking and transportation, and a complete professional tune-up for parking professionals to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center. You’ll harmonize with more than 3,500 peers from around the world (they’re coming from 45 countries!) and strike a chord while learning from industry leaders, engaging in high-energy sessions and roundtables, and soaking in real-world ideas and lessons you’ll take home to put to work for your organization and your career.

All of this is set against the remarkable background of Nashville, whose rich history and lively culture offer a visiting experience like no other city in the world. Ready for the parking event of the year? Read on for more information on this year’s plans, exciting events, and registration information. It’s time to tune up!

More Than Ever Before
The 2016 IPI Conference & Expo offers something for parking professionals in every segment of the industry. Whether you work in operations, management, planning and design, sustainability, or enforcement, you’ll find tremendous value in this year’s event. More than 45 education sessions in five tracks, inspiring keynotes that hit all the right notes, and the biggest parking-specific Expo in the world all combine with countless networking events to offer an invaluable experience.

Education
No matter your industry experience or expertise, you’ll find lots of new ideas in Nashville next month, organized into five unique tracks of formal education:

  • Personal Development. Set your personal or professional goals, and understand the difference between book smarts and street smarts.
  • Technology & Innovation. If it’s new or coming down the pike, it’s here. Learn about the innovations and improvements that will affect your operation.
  • Finance & Auditing. By the numbers—if it’s part of your spreadsheets or bottom line, it’s part of this track.
  • Mobility & Alternative Transportation. Learn where you and your business fit into the new mobility equation and how to make the most of these trends.
  • Planning, Design, & Construction. Explore best practices and take a deeper dive into more complex topics that will help you plan, build, and maintain your facilities.

Specialize in one track for in-depth education, or pick and choose for a broader experience. And don’t miss the high-energy IGNITE session, where speakers deliver their messages in rapid-fire tempo for presentations that are concise and entertaining. Looking for more? Register for one of two in-depth, pre-Conference programs and learn to become either a Green Garage Assessor or APO Site Reviewer.

All IPI Conference education sessions offer CAPP points, and candidates can also register for two multi-day CAPP courses (University of Virginia Business Management and Behind the Fine Print: A Blueprint to Parking Management, Operations, and Regulations) offered on-site. Visit ipiconference.parking.org for registration information and details.

Keynote
IPI keynote sessions are educational, inspiring, and high-energy, and this year is no exception. Meet Dennis Snow, a 20-year veteran of the Walt Disney Company, who has a passion for service excellence. Who in parking doesn’t want to provide the best customer experience possible? Snow presents “Learning a Culture of Service Excellence,” focusing on developing a service excellence strategy, executing it, cultivating buy-in and dedication from employees, and highlighting specific leadership behaviors that help hardwire excellence into an organization’s culture (see p. 26 for more).

Jump into the Park Tank™
Did you catch last year’s IPI Park Tank competition? Based on television’s popular “Shark Tank,” this is where entrepreneurs and innovators face tough parking “sharks” to try and get their dreams off the ground. This year, it’s a General Session, and you won’t want to miss the excitement! Last year’s contestants say Park Tank gave their companies huge boosts (See p. 44 in the February issue of The Parking Professional for more), and this year’s expect even more. The competition is fierce, and it’s going to be exhilarating.

The Networking!
IPI Conference & Expo veterans know there’s no networking like IPI networking—where else are the industry’s top leaders, biggest innovators, and most connected professionals together in one place, ready for a conversation day or night? This year’s event promises even more unparalleled opportunities to get to know your peers from around the world and tap into their expertise in structured events, outdoor activities, or casually walking in the halls. A few highlights:

  • A day of fun and introduction awaits you Tuesday, May 17, from golf to walking/running to Nashville tours (even on Segways!) and paddleboarding or ziplining.
  • First-time attendees and new IPI members can get to know each other on Wednesdsay, May 18, and Thursday, May 19, in casual events designed to get you oriented to the Conference and introduce you to new friends.
  • A Taste of Nashville, this year’s opening welcome event, takes you to the Grand Ole Opry for a reception and show like no other city can deliver (this is a two-part event; the second half at the Opry requires separate ticketing).
  • IPI’s Young Professionals in Parking (YPIP) will enjoy a special mixer, Beer, Ball, & BBQ, complete with a baseball game!
  • State & Regional Associations welcome their friends to a beer garden mixer that kicks off the Nashville experience in great style at a fabulous downtown location.

Be sure to make time to connect with new and old friends from parking at these events and lots more opportunities for networking. This is real value-added, and it’s only at IPI.

The Expo
It’s the biggest and best parking Expo in the world, and this year offers more exhibitors, products, services, innovations, technologies, and ideas than ever before, all in one massive 170,000-square-foot space (bigger than the famous Ryman Auditorium!).

Going green? It’s easy to find Green Star program exhibitors, featuring sustainable products and services, by looking for special markers on the show floor, right in front of designated booths.

Looking for in-depth insight? That’s easy too. TECHtalks are 45-minute-long presentations on the show floor that will explain different technologies and the best ways to implement them in your operations for the biggest bang.

This is that huge show your colleagues use to improve their businesses, customer service, and the bottom line. It’s the best place to see everything new under one roof, and with more than 12 hours of Expo time, you’ll be able to fully explore any future purchasing decisions. See p. 38 for a complete listing of this year’s exhibitors and to start planning your experience.

Spotlighting the Brightest
Need more inspiration? Join IPI in recognizing this year’s CAPP graduating class, Awards of Excellence, Professional Recognition Program awards, and Marketing & Communications Awards winners in presentations that will warm your heart and give you some great ideas you can put to work at home. This year, Certified Green Garage and Accredited Parking Organization (APO) leaders will also be highlighted—you’ll definitely find new ideas here.

Music City
As always, the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo takes place in a vibrant city—Nashville, Tenn., birthplace of so much of your favorite music and an experience unto itself. With fantastic restaurants, an unbelievable music scene for both up-and-comers and already-famous singers and songwriters, and charming shops and historical attractions, Nashville has something for everyone.

Did you Know:

  • Nashville’s United Records is one of only four remaining vinyl record manufacturers in the U.S.
  • The Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, is widely considered the best theater in the nation.
  • Jazz and rock play a huge part of Nashville’s music history. Greats that include Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Etta James, and B.B. King played in local clubs.
  • Oprah Winfrey was raised in Nashville.
  • Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union during the Civil War and the first to be readmitted when fighting ended.
  • Three Presidents—Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Andrew Johnson—were from Tennessee.
  • Goo Goo Clusters, considered the nation’s oldest combination candy bar and a Southern icon, are produced by the Standard Candy Company, which can make 20,000 every hour.
  • The Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s home, has a driveway in the shape of a guitar.
  • The Parthenon in Centennial Park is the world’s only exact replica of its famous Greek namesake.
  • The radio program now known as the Grand Ole Opry was founded in 1925 by the National Life & Accident Insurance Company.

Elvis Presley recorded more than 250 songs at RCA’s Studio B on Nashville’s Music Row. The red, blue, and green lights still in the studio were left over from one of his Christmas albums—the crew installed them and cranked the air conditioning as low as it would go to
get the famous musician in the holiday spirit when recording in July.

The Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center contains nine acres of indoor gardens, complete with a 44-foot waterfall, and is the largest non-gaming property in the U.S.

Nashville has more than 120 live-music venues. Those that play music four or more nights a week have guitarpick-shaped “Live Music Venue” signs.

Ready for the single best parking event of the year? Don’t miss the 2016 IPI Conference & Expo—we’ve only scraped the surface of all the excitement and value. For more information, Conference registration, and everything you need to reserve your room at the Gaylord Opryland, visit IPIConference.parking.org—don’t wait! We can’t wait to welcome you to Nashville!

KIM FERNANDEZ is editor of The Parking Professional. She can be reached at fernandez@parking.org.

TPP-2016-04 IPI Rocks Music City

 

Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

UP TO SPEED

Leave a comment

UP TO SPEED

Garage designers are embracing new door designs, for good reason.

As parking professionals know, during the past several decades parking structures have become a major design consideration for architects. Though many facilities are freestanding, a large number of parking garages are attached to buildings in urban areas, the suburbs, or exurbia, prompting designers to give these structures more style.

One iconic example is the 65-story Bertrand Goldberg–designed Marina City Towers in Chicago, Ill., shown in the opening to the 1970s “The Bob Newhart Show.” The building’s 19 floors of exposed spiral parking are clearly visible and integrated into the building’s twin cylindrical design.

For some time, parking structures were seen as minimal stand-alone buildings without human, aesthetic, or integrative considerations, giving parking a poor public perception and frequently disrupting the existing urban fabric. Today, however, many architects, engineers,and planners envision and construct far more attractive facilities that integrate structures better with their surroundings and serve the needs of their users.

The idea behind attaching a parking structure to a building is to provide convenience and security to tenants, employees, and visitors. Though not all buildings offer valet parking—an amenity of the Marina City Towers—an increasing number of parking structures are installing high-speed doors to improve security and convenience and to take advantage of other benefits these doors offer.

Today’s imaginative designs include attention to the doors that provide vehicle access to the building. While barrier gates are common for controlling access to a parking structure, building management for security and sustainability purposes are increasingly considering solid-panel doors, whose speed can fulfill both missions.

In today’s fast-paced world, everyone expects to move faster, and this includes when people want to get in and out of parking structures through the doorway. To hurry people along, high-speed metal slat doors and fabric panel doors are replacing slow solid-panel and rolling-grill doors. Though slower versions are still in use because of their lower cost, designers are discovering the advantages of high-performance, high-speed doors.

High-speed doors can open up to five times faster than conventional doors—some models as fast as 100 inches per second. This speed can have significant effect on a number of parking structure access issues.

Security
Parking structures can be more vulnerable to crime than other sorts of buildings. Their low foot-traffic areas, cars, pillars, and recessed areas provide hiding places and offer temptation for those with crime on their mind.

Garage entrance piggybacking can be a problem, enabling intruders to slip into the building behind an authorized vehicle. A slowly operating door adds to the temptation. The longer the door takes to close, the bigger the window of opportunity for unauthorized entrance. Slow doors can be open for many seconds after an authorized vehicle has passed.

Depending on the speed of an entering vehicle and the size of the opening, a high-speed door can be open for just seconds. When the vehicle is clear of the doorway, the building is completely secure. Many high-speed solid panel doors have latching mechanisms at the bottom for an extra measure of security.

Jim Zemski, principal with ZCA Residential, says, “Our firm recommends high-speed overhead doors on all of our urban/residential multifamily garages. This dictates that a high level of security is provided, which is solved by the rapid speed that prevents piggybacking and unauthorized pedestrians from entering the secure garage.”

Sustainability
In Northern-tier states and Canada, a number of attached parking structures provide heating during cold months. At an area of 8 by 10 feet or larger, the doorway provides an ample hole in the wall for air infiltration and costly energy loss. Both parking door speed and design can significantly reduce energy costs. A recent study conducted by the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association found that high-speed doors that are accessed frequently would save more energy than heavily insulated doors operating at slower speeds. By cycling in brief seconds, high-speed doors can significantly reduce the loss of heated air.

Once closed, high-speed doors tightly seal the doorway. Doors with anodized aluminum slats have a rubber membrane that covers the connecting hinges; together with a rubber weather seal, this keeps out the elements. This protection combines the seals around the full perimeter of the door, including the door guides that fully enclose the panel’s vertical edges, brush gaskets along the header, and floor-hugging gaskets on the bottom.

Convenience
Americans are always racing to beat the clock, especially in recent years as more demands are placed on their time. People hate to wait to pick up a morning coffee or to get into a parking facility. For people in a hurry, waiting for a slow door to open so they can get into or out of a garage can seem like an eternity. The slow-moving doors at workplace parking facilities can translate into decreased employee productivity. High-speed doors convey a respect for drivers’ time, which adds to the satisfaction with the facility and the business, building owner, or institution associated with it.

Maintenance
Door speed has a significant effect on the door’s useful life and repair costs. The slow speed of conventional doors invites collisions because impatient drivers can rush through the half-opened doorway and clip the bottom of a door that’s not yet fully open. These accidents can
take a door out of action, and worse, damage the car, leading to a very unhappy tenant.

At 60 inches per second or faster, a high-speed dooris too fast for a vehicle to catch up with. At facilities where a driver uses a keypad code and a security card for doorway access, the door is generally fully opened beforethe driver’s foot moves from brake pedal to gas pedal.

Though most high-speed parking garage doors have rigid slats, some facilities are using fabric-panel doors. The fabric-panel doors used at the GID Sovereign at Regent Square project, according to Robert Tullis, vice president and director of design for GID Development, “offer easy repair if they should ever get hit and knocked out of their tracks.”

He notes that his facility maintenance staff can put the fabric doors back in service by simply opening and closing the door, which rethreads the door into its guides. There is no need to call the door repair company, and there are no bent parts to replace. Advanced door controller technology and variable frequency drives on newer doors generate an energyefficient speed curve for smooth motion, soft starting, and soft stopping. These controllers continuously monitor all door activity and cycles and have self-diagnostic capabilities to simplify troubleshooting.

Very few people give much thought to the doors as they enter a parking facility until something goes wrong, either from a security incident or poor door performance. According to Josh Landry with Gables Residential, a developer of high-end multi-unit complexes, “Doors on the parking facility are one of the many items that tenants and owners don’t necessarily think about, but they can be part of the overall positive experience for both tenants and customers.”

MICHAEL WATKINS is vice president of marketing with Rytec Corporation. He can be reached at mwatkins@rytecdoors.com  

TPP-2016-10-Up to Speed

 

Parking & Mobility Article, Resources

A SOARING SUCCESS

Leave a comment

A SOARING SUCCESS

Passengers and staff enjoy a state-of-the-art new parking structure at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal E Enhanced Parking Structure (EPS) project is a complete update and replacement of existing parking facilities. The new structure was designed to bring aesthetic improvements to an aging infrastructure and increase parking availability, while improving both the overall experience of passengers and operational efficiency of the airlines. Substantial renovations and improvements inside the terminal have been scheduled to accompany the two-year phased EPS project. With a record 64 million passengers in 2015 and a track record for exemplary customer service, the airport challenged project planners to maintain terminal operations and passenger flow during construction.

The project goals were:

  • Provide passengers with a modern and rewarding travel experience. Replace two aging, low-clearance, dimly lit garages with one large, well-lit, and efficient modern parking structure.
  • Utilize the latest parking technology to improve terminal operational efficiency.
  • Optimize passengers’ time spent searching for available parking.
  • Create a safe public space through the use of lighting, technology, and a fire protection system that’s easily accessible to DFW emergency personnel.
  • Minimize impact to terminal operations and passenger flow during construction.

Challenges and Solutions
The first challenge faced was limited site access with public traffic operating on all four sides of the construction site, 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Solutions implemented were:

  • Round-the-clock demolition and haul-off, with work adjacent to roadways occurring during a three-hour nightshift window.
  • Use of soil nail wall excavations to prevent public roadway closures.
  • Off-site staging and just-in-time delivery of materials.
  • Tower cranes with the capacity to reach over adjoining roadways and pick materials from off-site yard and off-load trucks directly from the active roadway shoulder.
  • Extensive traffic control planning, including coordination with multiple contractors and airport departments involved in separate terminal renovation projects to properly prepare for thousands of deliveries, crane lifts, and concrete pours while minimizing disturbance to public traffic.

The project required extensive site soil conditioning to bring subgrade to acceptable building standards, including:

  • Removal and remediation of old asbestos-containing drainage piping.
  • Electrochemical soil injection of native clays over 130,000 square feet to a depth of 10 feet.
  • Import, spread, and compaction of more than 20,000 cubic yards of special-fill material.

The project incorporated phased construction and owner occupancy orchestrated with interior terminal improvements, including matching aesthetics/architectural features of adjoining scopes of work. Completion of the first half (Phase 1) of the EPS was concurrent with terminal renovations of corresponding airline gates served by Phase 1 parking area. This ensured that passengers could still park adjacent to their active terminal gates.Phase 1 turnover resulted in increased parking revenue generated mid-project for DFW International Airport during construction of Phase 2. This netted a 12-month head start on parking revenue for the owner.

Innovative Practices
The new garage is state-of-the-art and features multiple innovative features and practices, including a double-helix access ramp between levels. A challenging structural element to construct, the helix access ramp system has proven to be one of the most efficient design features of the EPS. Comprised of two five-story, cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete ramps that intertwine (one for ascending traffic and one for descending traffic), the helix structure is essentially a series of three-dimensional traffic circles, with vehicles yielding to ramp traffic at each level before entering the helix to access another level of the EPS. This design limits the vertical pathway for vehicles to a much smaller footprint than conventional parking garage ramps that often run the entire length of the garage and have a tendency to get backed up as vehicles attempt to make hairpin turns at switchback locations. The use of the helix system ensures a steady flow of passenger traffic and eliminates traffic jams within the EPS.

The EPS features a parking guidance system that assists passengers in quickly identifying and navigating to available parking spaces after entering the garage. A collaborative network of overhead indicator lights and digital signage directs vehicles to the closest available space (including standard, one-hour, and accessible parking).

As soon as vehicles enter the parking garage, drivers are met with a large digital sign providing accurate and to-the-second counts of available parking spaces on every level of the garage. Within seconds of entering, drivers know whether they should travel to a different level of the garage to find a spot. As vehicles move through the garage, additional digital signs, posted at drive aisle intersections, provide counts of available spaces down each row of parking. Once a vehicle has been directed to a row, its driver can use the overhead LEDs to determine the precise location of an available space.

Each parking space has on overhead sensor that determines if a space is occupied or available. In addition, an LED light is located over each space (at the tail end, adjacent to the drive aisle, so as to be visible to anyone peeking down a row) that switches from green (available) to red (occupied) when activated by the overhead sensor. This provides an extremely efficient tool for passengers to find an open spot and get on with their travels.

One of the most exciting applications of the parking guidance system is the ability to use data collected from the overhead sensors and EPS capacity counts to enhance operational efficiency inside the terminal. A feedback loop between the PGS sensors and passenger ticketing kiosks inside the terminal can assist airlines and the Transportation Security Administration by predicting staffing requirements.

A Unique Partnership
DFW International Airport partnered with the North Texas Tollway Authority to equip the airport with overhead and turnstile tolling to charge passengers for daily parking at various terminals. Implemented in late 2013, this system utilizes two plazas—one each at the north and south end of the airport—that act as access gates to the entire airport facility. Passengers take a ticket on the way in or have their TollTag scanned overhead as they pass through the parking plaza.

Once inside the airport, passengers can park in any terminal parking facility they choose. This appears to be a convenient way to pay for parking, but the ingenuity behind the system is much more subtle. When it comes time for passengers to leave the airport, they are able to pull directly out of any of the terminal parking garages, merge with traffic, and exit through either the north or south parking plaza using the overhead or turnstile payment. This means passengers aren’t getting clogged up attempting to exit a parking garage by inserting tickets and credit cards, which is a frequent issue with parking facilities on large campuses with high parking turnover rates. Instead, the point of transaction is moved to the plazas, which have upwards of 18 exit lanes each. The result is a flawless and efficient movement of passengers in and out of the airport’s parking structures.

MIKE ULDRICH, is a project director with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. He can be reached at muldrich@mccarthy.com  

TPP-2016-10-A Soaring Success