Agility Training 101: How to Stay Quick on Your Feet with Your Smart Parking Solutions
In limbo between “business as usual” and a complete halt of operations, the parking industry is in a weird place right now.
But this uncertain time is a great opportunity to do some agility training in relation to your parking management system so that when things ramp up again, you’re ready to hit the ground running.
At Flash, we’re doing some agility training (or as CEO Dan Sharplin likes to call it, “squats in January”) of our own: testing system security and reliability, putting new development projects to the test, and sitting in on training sessions with our most knowledgeable team members.
As a technology provider, Flash is committed to giving you the right resources at the right time. That’s why we’ve put together some agility training, relating to your smart parking solutions, for you to try out. From strategy exercises to hands-on activities, there’s so much you can do to be more agile for the uncertainties in the world that’s ahead.
“You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless.” —Charles De Gaulle
Service
This is a great time to check live equipment monitors and do any routine maintenance or repairs so that you can achieve uninterrupted uptime as soon as occupancy starts spiking again. Activities like wiping down equipment with optical scanners (barcode readers) and replacing printer paper take just minutes to do — but can cause detrimental delays in entry lanes if neglected.
To prevent future downtime and avoid revenue loss, this is also a great time to put together plans for repairing or replacing components with your on-site staff. Getting comfortable with equipment can help you remove that step of calling in for repairs and waiting for a local servicer – a hassle that can cost hundreds in lost revenue.
Learn more about how Flash uses real-time equipment monitoring, a nationwide network of servicers that always have your back (just in case), and 99.9% system uptime to keep locations operational 24/7.
Security
The past few months have put safety at the front of everyone’s mind. So, security is a place to focus your attention right now. Do you know how current your system is when it comes to PCI DSS standards or even in terms of physical security?
The days when cars aren’t constantly going in and out of gates and using kiosk is the best time to check those physical equipment pieces. As a Level 1 Service provider, Flash takes 99% of the responsibility for maintaining your PCI compliance. That 1% simply requires you – or your staff – to go around and tug on card readers each month, making sure no skimmers have been placed on top of them.
On the back end, we’re busy running security updates and pushing them to your system within minutes. This part is so seamless you probably don’t even know it’s happening. With other service providers, performing these basic (and mandatory) software updates can cost tens of thousands of dollars and days of on-site work.
Another great exercise to get your staff on board with is routinely circling garages, especially when they sit empty. Making sure doors are closed and locked, equipment is securely fastened to the ground, and that gates are in good condition. This is a simple task with fewer moving parts, like in cloud-based systems that rely on software over hardware.
Scale
With a wealth of information at our fingertips every second of every, demand has never been more dynamic. The 24-hour news cycle is also more powerful than ever and can reflect in your occupancy numbers almost immediately. That’s why being able to scale in real-time is so essential.
Pricing dynamically to keep pace with evolving demand, leveraging real-time software updates to accommodate new consumer expectations, and even introducing new physical features for solutions like touchless access — these are all ways to scale with the world around you.
Right now, when things are slow, it’s the best time to develop dynamic pricing strategies to keep up with changing demand.
You can also take the time to look more closely at your market: who is parking right now and who will be parking in the next few months. Will touchless features attract more users and keep your current customers safe? Investing in contactless payments and touchless access right now could be the huge differentiator that pays off in the next few months.
Amid so much uncertainty, there’s one thing we know for sure: agility training is what will keep us quick on our feet for whatever life throws at us next. Training yourself and your team in the off season is what pays off when it’s finally game time.
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