A security guard's daily workflow on the parking station app

Sol26 Parking has two applications: a station application for security guards and a central application for managers. Guards work mainly on the station application, which sits in the guard house next to the lanes.

This post describes a shift in the order the work happens, from logging in to the visits that need manual handling, so operators understand the guard's role before deployment.

Start of shift: log in and check the lanes

The guard logs in with a role-based account issued by the administrator. Accounts belong to individuals, so every approval or rejection during the shift is recorded against the right person.

The software controls several lanes from one computer and shows the entry and exit status of each lane. If a camera fails or cannot recognise plates, the screen shows an alert so the guard can report it to technical staff.

When a vehicle enters

The software shows the plate and vehicle image automatically. The entry record holds the plate, front image, entry time, and the driver's image and name. For card users, the screen shows the card owner's details alongside the plate so the guard can compare them.

• Residents and staff use short-range cards, resident cars use long-range UHF tags
• Visitors receive a card at the station
• Visitor cars are not issued a card, and the entry is recorded by plate and image
• The software alerts if the plate duplicates a vehicle already inside or the car park is over capacity

When a vehicle exits

The software recognises the plate as the vehicle leaves, matches it against the entry plate and shows the entry photo again. If one owner has several vehicles, it reconciles against the owner's vehicle list automatically.

For visitor cars, the application shows the total fee for the visit on exit. The visitor pays the guard directly, and the visit is stored in the history for revenue reconciliation.

Handling unusual visits

When plates do not match or the system finds no data, the visit moves to manual handling. The guard follows these steps.

1. 1Review the entry photo and plate shown on screen
2. 2Search the car park by plate when there is no matching data
3. 3Check the visit details: images, plate, time, driver
4. 4Accept or reject the exit according to the case

The software also alerts when a vehicle is not recorded inside at check-out and when a vehicle has left through manual handling. These alerts let managers review manual decisions after the shift.

Searching and resolving from the history

The parking history on the station application shows the In or Out status, time and images of each visit. Guards check and resolve cases manually from the history screen without switching to another view.

Roles: guards and administrators

Administrators log in to the central application to add, edit, activate or deactivate guard accounts. Traffic and revenue statistics by period, and the full history with approvers, are viewed in the central application.

Frequently asked questions

Do guards have to type in the plate for every vehicle?

No. The plate and images appear automatically on entry and exit. Guards only act when there is an alert or a plate mismatch.

What happens to the account when a guard leaves?

The administrator deactivates it in the central application. The history of visits that guard approved is kept.

How do visitor cars pay?

Visitor cars are not issued a card. On exit, the application shows the total fee and the visitor pays the guard directly.