Car parks go remote Author: Mathew Dunckley Date: 18/08/2006 Publication: The Financial Review
Security experts have voiced concerns about Australia's biggest car-park operator, Wilson Parking, replacing its on-site attendants with remote-controlled cameras, ticket machines, boom gates and intercoms.
Wilson has just spent $10 million on a network which relies on a state-of-the-art control centre in Melbourne to troubleshoot issues for its customers around Australia.
The system, which was developed in Europe, is a first for Australia. Chief executive Craig Smith said it allowed Wilson to solve problems faster and more cheaply than employing staff on-site.
The vast majority of operational issues could be resolved in the control room, including opening boom gates and issuing new tickets, he said.
"A customer needing assistance in a car park in Brisbane or Perth need only press a button and immediately they are on screen in our control room, talking to one of our staff," he said.
"There is no delay, no phoning of an after-hours paging service. This is live," Mr Smith said.
Only 0.04 per cent of the 700 callers a day required assistance from the company's roaming managers, he said.
But security expert Geoff Harris said removing people from car parks could increase the risk of theft from cars and also the susceptibility to car-borne bombs in a terrorist attack. "I'm concerned about this, particularly for car parks in [central business district] buildings," he said.
"In higher-risk CBD buildings, if there are no site arrangements or resources provided by building owners, then it creates a security void, especially in car parks open to the public."
Mr Harris said surveillance by people on the ground was superior to cameras and also provided a better response in emergencies such as a fire.
Ken Ogden, general manager of public policy at Victorian motorist body RACV, also said he had concerns about unstaffed car parks.
"If you have parking garages that are known to be unstaffed that would raise a security issue," Dr Ogden said.
He also said any technology that improved service was welcome and should be encouraged.
"We hope they will reduce their charges as a result of the savings they are making," he said.
Detective Senior Sergeant John Roger, head of the Melbourne Criminal Investigation Unit, said any extra security, including staff roaming through a car park, played a role in reducing the likelihood of theft, but people leaving less in their cars was just as important. "If you don't leave it in the car, then it can't get stolen," he said.
Mr Smith said the opinions showed more "education work" needed to be done. Out of 8.5 million cars parked in Wilson facilities last year, not one was stolen.
"The old method didn't provide any security because the staff were sitting in a booth in an exit lane and were completely oblivious to what was happening in those car parks," he said.
Wilson also employed security guards in locations where security risks might be higher, such as 24-hour car parks in nightclub districts, he said.
Mr Smith said the company had not had to use redundancies to cut its workforce because of the high turnover of parking attendant staff.
Instead, it had not replaced people when they left the company.
After a pilot the system was live in 50 Wilson carparks and had also been taken on by ANZ Banking Group and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, he said.
The savings for the car park operator were substantial. Mr Smith said introducing the system at the Sydney Opera House had delivered savings of $300,000.
The company has also recently introduced a parking card which allows motorists to swipe into a number of car parks. They are sent a bill at the end of each month.
KEY POINTS
? Wilson Parking has replaced attendants with one nationwide network control centre.
? The $10 million centre is based in Melbourne.