EOH Intelligent Infrastructure has secured the exclusive rights to represent the global leader in intelligent parking, Germany’s Scheidt & Bachmann in South Africa.
Scheidt & Bachmann was founded in 1872 as a mechanical engineering company. In 1966, the company moved into the production of parking control equipment as the first forays into automated parking management began. The company focuses on off-street parking, such as mall and multi-story parking lots.
Thomas Dibbern, director of international operations at Scheidt & Bachmann says the company was among the first to recognise the potential of what was then new microprocessor technology in automated systems. Since then it has expanded its parking solutions globally and is today the leader in this field in over 50 countries.
Dibbern stresses that Scheidt & Bachmann does not focus on ’pay and display’ or ‘pay on foot’ solutions, of which there are many solutions available. The solutions the company develops will include these options, but are combined with high quality, innovative hardware and software products designed and manufactured in Germany.
Innovative solutions
“The parking industry has moved from simple ticket dispensing and barrier-based hardware products to include more intricate and innovative software solutions,” explains Dibbern. “As such, we have developed intuitive interface displays, including mobile apps for innovative parking applications.”
With the software solutions it has on offer, Dibbern says it can provide local companies with integrated parking solutions that go beyond opening and closing barriers. The company’s systems are designed to integrate with existing business systems, such as SAP ERP applications, retail loyalty programmes, CCTV operations and more.
This provides valuable business intelligence as well as operational information to companies. Dibbern offers the example of a car hitting a parking barrier. Automated alarms in Scheidt & Bachmann’s system will alert a control room as soon as the accident occurs, displaying and saving the video footage to ensure the company concerned will have clear evidence of the event, including the activity immediately before and after the accident.
Loyalty and validation programmes in retail operations can also be integrated with the system, allowing retailers to reward or discount loyal customers automatically without requiring any additional administrative work.
The ticketing systems Scheidt & Bachmann supports include the popular magnetic stripe tickets, but also those with barcode as well as chip or coin tickets, which save money and support the environment through reduced printing and maintenance costs.
“We are also able to empower clients to manage multiple dispersed car parks from a central control room in real time,” adds Dibbern. “We currently have a customer in the UK managing 25 car parks across the country from one control room. From there operators can manage all the company’s operations and dispatch guards or maintenance technicians as soon as a problem is detected.”
Local focus
Scheidt & Bachmann is now focusing on the South African market where it sees great potential for intelligent parking applications. Dibbern says the time is right to transform the South African parking industry into an intelligent parking industry with integrated solutions that deliver real business value.
The company selected EOH Intelligent Infrastructure as its South African partner because of its long history in the access control market, as well as its reputation as a systems integrator of choice. This means that not only can EOHii deliver Scheidt & Bachmann’s intelligent parking solutions, but can also call on its years of experience in integrating these with various business systems, even assisting in the development of new applications.
“Scheidt & Bachmann is the perfect choice for EOH Intelligent Infrastructure as well as our IT partners in the EOH group,” says EOHii’s Michael Labuschagne, who will be driving the intelligent parking division within the group. Labuschagne has years of experience in the intelligent parking environment and is already talking to and quoting local customers on the Scheidt & Bachmann solutions that are available from Stanley.
For more information, contact Michael Labuschagne, +27 (0)11 844 3200, [email protected]
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