8/26/2013

Automated Parking Systems & Performance


Deadhead dead·head [ded-hed]
noun
  • person who attends a performance, sports event, etc., or travels on a train, airplane, etc., without having paid for a ticket, especially a person using a complimentary ticket or free pass.
  • an airplane, train, or other commercial vehicle operating empty, as when returning to a terminal.
  • a stupid or boring person; dullard.
  • a sunken or partially sunken log.

verb
  • to move (an empty commercial vehicle) along a route.
  • to remove faded blooms from (ornamental plants), to help continued blooming.
  • to travel without cargo or paying passengers

Strange as it may seem, deadheading, or “to deadhead”, is a critical concept for automated parking systems (APS). You see, deadheading is wasted motion. It’s motion that isn’t fulfilling the primary purpose of that motion. If an airline has to fly a plane with no passengers or cargo from one airport to another airport, that’s a significant expense, a waste of time, loss of productivity, etc. The waste of motion and time is something to be avoided, if possible.

In automated parking systems, deadheading is also wasted motion and frequently wasted time. It can occur in many ways but there is never an instance where deadheading has positive results.

Following are some different types of deadheading examples:
  • In APS using robotic arms to move cars from transport to parking space and vice versa, a portion of the robotic arm motion is deadheading. When the transport arrives at a parking space to retrieve a car, the robotic arm must extend itself to reach to or under the car in or to move the car to the transporter. The action of the robotic arm extending to the car is deadheading, wasting time and motion, since the arm is not moving a car. The same type of deadheading happens in reverse when the robotic arm moves a car off of the transporter.
  • APS systems using pallets may suffer from deadheading to manage the storage or distribution of empty pallets.
  • In small, semi-automated parking systems such as puzzle-parking and paternoster designs, deadheading is unavoidable. These designs require that some or all of the cars in a system must be moved in order to park or retrieve another car. This moving or rearranging of parked cars is another form of deadheading… wasting motion and time.

As car parking and retrieval times gain in importance, as in a very large APS application, deadheading becomes a critical issue. The time wasted by deadheading may be reduced by making the wasted motion take less time. However, deadheading cannot be eliminated entirely without a complete change of technology. Deadheading also unnecessarily increases operating and maintenance costs.

Contact your local Skyline representative to see how deadheading can be virtually eliminated. 

8/08/2013

Picture Perfect Car Parking


Do you see safety, security and sustainability for car parking in the pictures below? 















In case you missed something, we’ll help.

If you don’t recognize them, the two structures with the mesh doors and siding are the entrance and exit to an underground automated parking system…it doesn’t really matter where, they could be located almost anywhere. There could be dozens or hundreds of cars parked right below the grass and sidewalk. To use the automated parking system: just drive in, complete your transaction with the automatic system, step out of the enclosure and your car is whisked away to a secure, underground parking space.

Here’s what you can see in these pictures:

Safety
Your car is parked underground safe from weather and dings and dents caused by other drivers since there’s no driving in the underground parking area.
Sensors and interlocks in the automated system ensure that you are safe from moving parts or moving cars.

Security
Your personal security is the highest priority. The entrance and exit structures are well lighted, located in an open area and offer no hiding places to thieves or assailants…the same security techniques employed with ATMs. You are always in a high-traffic, high-visibility area whether parking your car or retrieving it.
Your car is also secure from theft and vandalism since there is no public access to the cars in the underground parking area.

Sustainability
Green grass…how lovely and sustainable. It minimizes storm water runoff. It cleans the air. It soothes the eyes and the mind. It provides a superior lifestyle and hides the cars parked below it.
There are no large, ugly structures to obscure sunlight, ruin the scenery or become a heat island.
The automated parking system reduces CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating the need to run your car’s engine while searching for a parking space, parking and exiting.

Automated parking systems are significantly less expensive to install underground than are conventional multi-story parking garages. And, the O&M costs are also substantially lower...saving money and resources and helping the planet.

Learn more about the picture perfect parking afforded by automated parking systems from your Skyline Parking Representative.