Vinci Park installs Schlumberger centralisation programs...

The PC-based programs will help the operator manage the maintenance of the machines, to ensure that it complies with the strict terms of its contract with the Council, whilst also maintaining parking revenues and an efficient service for drivers.

At the same as the most recent P&D machines have been installed for MKC, Vinci Park has also provided a further 26 Stelio terminals at Xscape, the town’s privately-operated leisure complex which includes the UK’s first indoor wet snow ski run. By opting for the same type of machines found in the town centre, Vinci Park has been able to supply the owners, Xscape Ltd., with an efficient and cost-effective parking control scheme with which local drivers will be very familiar.

The centralisation system will link the Council’s P&D terminals, via the Transcomm wireless data network, to a PC in the Parking Shop which Vinci operates in the centre of Milton Keynes. Parkfolio Supervision software from Schlumberger will generate warnings and alarms from the terminals, “With another 100 terminals added this year, we felt that it was no longer an option for maintenance to be managed on an ad-hoc basis. The system generates considerable revenues and the Council has laid-down very strict conditions on the level of machine downtimes which it will tolerate. So, effective maintenance is very important to us”, explained Philip Young, Senior Contracts Manager at Vinci Park.

All the Stelio terminals installed in Milton Keynes, including those at Xscape, are solar-powered. Vinci Park reports that they are particularly easy to install, as excavations are minimal. This saves time and money, as well as simplifying future relocations. Meanwhile, the Council appreciates the environmental benefits derived from using a sustainable energy source.

“The addition of centralised control to different models, commissioned over a number of years, highlights the success of our modular design in enabling operators to develop and expand their parking control schemes by simply upgrading their existing equipment,” noted Arthur Crossley, UK Sales Manager – Parking at Schlumberger e-City. “This protects their initial investment and makes our systems virtually future-proof.”
The centralisation system has spare capacity to allow further terminals to be added to the scheme.

All of the P&D terminals in Milton Keynes are colour coded according to their location and the scale of parking charges in the related area. P&D parking zones include Premium, Standard, Long-Term and Xscape. The colours of the printed parking receipts match those of the terminals.

Schlumberger e-City is a world leader in on-street parking solutions. Globally, its systems control more than 2.6 million parking spaces in more than 3,000 cities and 40 countries.

About Schlumberger e-City

Schlumberger e-City is a business segment of Schlumberger Limited, a global technology services company. With more than 60,000 employees serving customers in 65 countries, Schlumberger aggregates IT consulting, systems integration, managed services and related products to the oil and gas, telecommunications, energy and utilities, finance, transport and public sector markets. Leveraging the Schlumberger DeXa* Suite of Services, it also provides IP network connectivity, information security solutions, distributed computing support services and data centre hosting services. In 2001, Schlumberger revenues were $13.7 billion. For more information, visit www.slb.com

Parkfolio and Stelio are marks of Schlumberger. Excel is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.

Schlumberger e-City, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7PP, U.K.
Tel: 01202 850927 Fax: 01202 850903

About Transcomm

Transcomm plc owns and operates the UK network for business critical wireless data solutions. The Transcomm Network is a proven, reliable and cost-efficient network for business to business wireless data applications that require levels of reliability and integrity not available from consumer oriented voice-centric GSM mobile networks. The network is a packet switched wireless data network built specifically with data in mind covering 95% of the UK population and delivering 99.9% network availability.

Through its business partnerships, Transcomm provides a wide range of wireless data applications to help organisations run their businesses more profitability and efficiently – making up-to-the–minute information available whenever and wherever it is needed, securely and reliably. Transcomm provides the network for business on the move across the emergency services, transport, telemetry, local authority and mobile worker markets.

Transcomm (UK:TRC) is a UK company listed on the UK Alternative Investment Market (AIM). It was established in 2000 to include the RAM Mobile Data network business which has been providing wireless data services since 1991.

Further information can be found at the company’s Web site, www.transcomm.uk.com