The New Automated Parking Garage

With the rising number of vehicle registrations increasing due to rising populations and higher incomes, these vehicles need more parking options especially in landlocked areas.  Automation is a growing interest not only to the material handling industry but parking garage owners and developers as well. 

In this article by Justin Stoltzfus of Cheatsheet.com,  Westfalia's Joe DePoto, applications engineering manager, is interviewed about what it's going to take to be one of the few owners of the "new automated parking garage." DePoto provides the following tips about what it will take to design and build an automated system.

1. You should have a concrete idea of what the garage is intended for. Most automated parking garages are used for parking in land locked areas. 
2. What interface will operators use? The designer should have an understanding of how their customer will use the garage to park their car with minimal training.
3. A clear understanding of when the peak parking times are. DePoto provides an example where there are 100 commuters all going to work at 8 a.m. If you do not understand when your operation's peak times are, it could cause problems.
4. Safety precautions should always be put in place for car owners. There should be procedures in place with any automated parking system that checks with car owners to make sure people, valuables or pets are not left in a car before storing.
5. Being patient. The car owners need to understand that immediate gratification might come from knowing your car is safe and is being personally delivered to you but they might have to wait a couple of minutes.