As well as providing traditional security monitoring capabilities, the Hikvision solution makes it fast and easy to find available spaces, and helps customers locate their cars in the large parking lot. The system also displays the fastest walking route to customers’ cars, helping them minimize their exposure to Oman’s high daytime temperatures.

For retailers, managing and securing the parking lots is critical for protecting visitors’ property. However, monitoring and securing parking areas 24/7 can be a major challenge – especially for large retail destinations with expansive parking areas, and thousands of individual parking spaces.

These were some of the challenges facing Barka Grand Center, which covers an area of 40,000 square metres. Humanshu Mahopatra, Managing Director, Barka Grand Center, says, “To provide the best services, we need to protect customers’ cars, but it doesn’t end there. We also need to ensure they can find available parking spaces quickly, and return to their cars quickly and easily when they finish shopping.”

Smart parking solution

The new smart parking solution from Hikvision incorporates high-resolution cameras that detect suspicious activity and potential security breaches across the entire parking lot, minimizing the risk of vehicle theft and protecting customers’ cars.

In addition to security monitoring, Hikvision cameras detect where parking spaces are available and send the information to displays located at main parking lot intersections. “The Hikvision solution allows mall visitors to quickly see where there is space to park and where accessible spaces and VIP spaces are available,” says Mr. Mahopatra. “This saves them time and improves their satisfaction when visiting us.”

To find their car, or to calculate the quickest route to their car, customers can enter the first digits of their license plate on kiosk touchscreens. The Hikvision solution then locates their vehicle and calculates the shortest route back to it, reducing the time they spend walking in the hot sun.

The smart Hikvision cameras, which cover from 2 to 6 parking spaces each, are connected to parking guidance terminals. These provide power and network access for up to 32 cameras, along with edge storage for video footage and images for review by the security team. All data is backed up locally and stored offline to ensure optimal system reliability.

A variety of benefits 

The Hikvision solution provides a range of business benefits for the Barka Grand Center mall, above and beyond parking security. “As well as protecting customers’ cars, the Hikvision solution helps us to optimise our customers’ shopping experiences, which is a major factor in achieving repeat business and growing our business sustainably,” says Mr. Mahopatra. Customer convenience is a major feature, from the ability to find a parking space quickly and easily, to smart vehicle location to ensure customers never lose their cars in our large parking area.”

The solution is helping to cement the mall’s reputation for excellent customer care and supporting the location’s ambitious expansion plans. “The popularity of our mall is a combination of the top-flight retail brands we offer and the high quality of our facilities and services,” says Mr. Mahopatra. “The Hikvision solution is also driving our success by improving our customer experiences in a real and significant way.”