"Sands Shark" navigates in a sea of offenders.

Norfolk, Va. implements new, more efficient system to cite violators.

At the beginning of last year, issuing parking citations in Norfolk, Va., followed a pattern familiar to most drivers. What was not as obvious was the loss in revenue and productivity that the system entailed.

The typical paper-based ticketing process is as familiar as it is unpleasant to anyone who's ever pushed his parking luck or overstayed his welcome at a parking meter in a municipal area. Illegally parked cars were identified by officers in the field, and paper tickets were issued. One copy of each ticket was placed on a windshield. A second copy was kept by the officer and was later entered into a database. This is where the system slowed down.

Entering, tracking, and updating all these tickets became a burdensome task. At the end of a shift, all the ticketing officers--known as parking services agents (PSAs)--would deposit their tickets from that day in a bin which were then manually entered into a database. But each day, thousands of new tickets filled the bin faster than keypunch operators could enter the data. At times, drivers who received tickets would attempt to pay tickets that were not yet part of the system.

In addition, each stage of manual entry--writing the ticket by hand in the field, and typing the information into the database--produced errors. For instance, the letter X could be read as the number two. The number two could be read as the letter G. On average, 10% of all tickets were lost to manual errors from handwriting recognition or keypunch errors. With 300 to 500 manual tickets a day, that translated into at least 30 to 50 tickets each day that were lost to clerical error--at a cost of at least $15 and as much as $250 each.

Automated communications and computing capabilities improve every step of the process, from printing out the first ticket at the beginning of the day to uploading all the tickets at the end. These improvements reduce manual errors, but they also enhance productivity in ticket issuance, crack down on repeat offenders, and improve the collection of fees.

TAKING AUTOMATION IN HAND

Sands Management Systems owned by Vanguard Research of Fairfax, Va., manages the parking services for the city of Norfolk. The company--which is responsible for issuing tickets, processing the tickets, and collecting fines--began automating the back-end ticketing systems in February of 1998. Last August, the company put mobile devices from DataRover Mobile Systems, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., in the hands of each of the PSAs in the field.

The DataRover840's flexible software platform allowed Sands to partner with DataRover Mobile Systems to easily write a custom application that takes advantage of the DataRover840's built-in computing and communications capabilities. The result is a powerful and easy-to-use mobile-computing solution that offers increased productivity with minimal training time needed to deploy in the field. Once outfitted with Sands' custom software, the DataRover840 device is called the Sands Shark.

The Sands Shark acts as both a ticket-generator and as a mobile extension to the police database. In writing tickets, the Sands Shark has the ability to download information on previous violations that speed the process. Also, all new ticket information is later uploaded to the backend system for future updates.

SANDS SHARKS IN THE FIELD

Each morning, each PSA picks up a Sands Shark, authenticates to the unit with a password, and ensures that the date and the time are correct. Every device is loaded with up-to-date information, such as a list of street names, the license plate numbers of stolen cars, and information on repeat offenders culled from a master SCOFLAW database, a national database of stolen cars and outstanding violations.

Out on the streets, PSAs use the Sands Shark to create new tickets throughout their entire shift. The DataRover840 device is pen-based, which offers convenience in data entry and speed in processing tickets. Typically, PSAs simply touch the pen to the device's screen to select a field. This brings up an alphanumeric keyboard that allows them to accurately enter the plate number. The location of the citation is also keyboard-driven with auto-fill capabilities. For instance, selecting an M on the keyboard for Main Street brings up all the streets that begin with M. Other fields on the form are simple pop-up menus, such as a field for the state (which has a default for Virginia, but includes other states as options to select), and fields for the color and make of the car.

Once all the data is entered, it is automatically saved and prepared for printing. To print a ticket, PSAs point the device at the portable, battery-powered printer carried on their belt and press a button to print. The DataRover840, or Sands Shark, sends the ticket information to the printer via its wireless IrDA infrared port. Within seconds, the ticket is printed and ready to be placed on the windshield of the car.

At the same time it helps reduce errors, the data stored in the device also cracks down on repeat offenders. Each unit carries a daily updated list of cars that have been issued three or more tickets in a 30-day period. Cars on this list--known as the "boot list"--are subject to being towed for outstanding violations. Each car represents between $500 and $1,500 in potential municipal revenue. Before the Sands Shark, a printed "boot list"--which is the size of a small phonebook and not very up-to-date--had to be carried by each PSA.

Customized software also allows memos to be added to tickets. One type of memo is actually printed on the ticket--a notation such as, "The meter expired 15 minutes over the time limit." Another type of memo is not printed on the ticket, but later can be used to prepare a report for a court appearance--notations such as, "The person was rude and abusive."

INTEGRATING MOBILE DATA WITH THE BACK-END SYSTEM

Back at the office at the end of the shift, PSAs simply touch one button to upload all the stored ticket information to the back-end system for recording on the server. The DataRover840 connects to the office's network using a Bay Networks BayStack 650 wireless LAN card, which provides high-speed transfer without the hassle of Ethernet cables. All data is exchanged between the DataRover840 and the server's Microsoft Access database using standard HTTP transactions. Information in the Access database is formatted and transmitted to the main Oracle back-end database where the entire system is housed.

Although the Sands Shark application has a custom-designed front end, its underlying communication architecture mimics a Web browser's behavior. This allows the server software to be built from widely available and robust Internet technologies, such as Apache or Internet Information Server, for hosting the HTTP transactions and Perl for intelligent-information processing and exchange with the database.

Once the data has been transferred, Sands Shark units are prepared for the next day. The mobile devices used by Norfolk recharge overnight and, once completely charged, will last up to eight hours during continuous use. This ensures that PSAs will not be left stranded in the middle of their shift with a dead battery. Additionally, the unit is designed to use a typical camcorder battery--an easy and inexpensive accessory to replace, if necessary.

BARKING SHARKS THAT ARE EASY TO USE

DataRover840 devices also offer many features that benefit both the city of Norfolk and the PSAs who use them. The actual unit itself--which includes full communications capabilities--is smaller, lighter (about 7" long, weighing 18 oz.), and one-third to one-fifth the cost of a typical notebook computer.

Also, since the DataRover840 was designed to easily accommodate custom forms, the software on the Sands Shark uses menus that replicate the look and feel of a traditional parking-citation pad. This made adoption quick and easy. PSAs were given a day of training and another day of practice prior to implementation in August of last year. After that, ticket pads became relics of the past.

While the layout is similar to a physical ticket pad, automation makes the process simpler, faster, and more accurate. Programmed alerts ensure that all fields are completely filled in and popup menus automate repetitive data-collection tasks.

Pre-programming also alerts PSAs to frequent violators that may need to be towed. Using sound effects embedded in the DataRover840, these alerts come in the form of a bark. In fact, towed cars are often referred to as "barking dogs." The program was written to cull the bad dogs from the unlucky ones. First-time offenders are often issued warning tickets. But since even warnings are recorded in a vehicle-history log, the second time a vehicle gets a ticket the license plate number fills in automatically

By speeding the process, the Sands Shark devices not only improve efficiency, but they also improve the quality of the job. By writing tickets faster, the City of Norfolk stands a better chance of collecting the revenue that is due. The PSAs, in turn, stand less of a chance of having to endure any unpleasant driver confrontations.

Circle 252 for more information from DataRover Mobile Systems, Inc.

Bush is manager of parking, Sands Parking System of Norfolk, Va.