Switching from barriers to a parking system with plate recognition
The barrier is usually there because it has always been there. If it is to be replaced, the question is what actually has to be done, what can be reused, and how long the site is out of service. Short version: less than most people expect.
When the switch pays off — and when the barrier should stay
Barriers and plate recognition do not solve the same problem. A barrier physically closes. Plate recognition identifies the car and lets the rules do the rest. If the main pain is entry queues, service calls to the pay machine or residents losing cards, free-flow is right. If the site genuinely has to be lockable — a closed garage with one shared gate, say — keep the barrier and let the system control it.
What you can reuse from today's setup
A barrier setup usually already has the expensive part in place: power run to the entrance, cable trenching and a foundation. That noticeably lowers the cost of switching, because the camera can often go on the existing post or mast.
- Power and foundation at the entrance: reused almost every time.
- Barrier and barrier control: can be kept and driven from the parking system.
- Signage: usually has to be replaced, because the terms change when the ticket disappears.
- Pay machine: can be phased out, or left as a fallback payment channel.
How a switch runs, step by step
- 1. Site survey: we check the line of sight to the plate, power, connectivity and current signage.
- 2. Rules: you set zones, prices, guest quotas and who parks where.
- 3. Installation: cameras go up, usually one day per entrance, without closing the site.
- 4. Test period: the system reads and logs without enforcing, so readings and rules are checked against reality.
- 5. Communication: residents and employees register their plate in Sesam App & Web before the change.
- 6. Live: enforcement is switched on, and the barrier is removed or locked open.
What people worry about during the switch
The two most common questions are whether the camera reads plates in snow and darkness, and what happens to guests without an app. For the first: the cameras use infrared illumination and read in darkness and precipitation; snow covering the plate itself is the driver's responsibility, exactly as today. For the second: guests are either registered by the person they are visiting, or pay online — with nothing to download.