“Limerick City Council wanted to move away from wardens using notebooks. They wanted full reporting right through from the issuing of the ticket to integration with the court system. Using handhelds, they can communicate with the Vehicle Registration Unit (VRU) and their back office online without having to return to the office” said Impala managing director Joe Boggan.

The Solution

Impala Technology a business partner of hardware distributor PC Cubed won the contract to implement their Fine Tracker Solution to the Limerick County Council at the end of 2005. Impala spent a long time with the wardens on the street looking at how they processed tickets trying to come up with a handheld that would fit all their requirements. The decision was taken to go with the CASIO IT-3000 as it was a comfortable fit in the hand and had the extra bonus of having an integrated printer. This eliminated the warden having to carry both. “We then spent a year with the council improving on the system until both parties agreed that we had a product that would suit every council in the country,” said Boggan.

By instigating a parking strategy the councils can now obtain a co-ordinated, consistent and reliable approach to parking.

Why the CASIO IT-3000

In short the hardware had all of the following

• Rugged yet light weight.
• Splash Resistant
• Integrated printer
• Long Battery Life
• Barcode reader and CMOS Imager
• High Res Colour Screen
• GPRS Possible
• Latest Windows CE.NET operating system
• Following field tests, the wardens were most impressed with IT-3000

The Benefits

The system now allows traffic wardens to print out on-the-spot parking fines. “Ticket information is sent back to the back office system via GPRS, which means the office has up-to-date information. The handheld also queries the VRU system to verify that car details are correct,” stated Joe Boggan.

For the benefit of all of the customers who visit Limerick City to shop, transact business or recreate, it is vital that there are available parking places. The introduction of this technology will serve to make parking management more efficient with spaces freed up more frequently stated Mayor Diarmuid Scully of Limerick.

Now all of the traffic wardens are equipped with a handheld device for issuing of offence notices to those who park illegally. Information is immediately transferred to the database at City hall such that any customer queries can be immediately responded to. The council has now increased customer service and has increased parking turnaround on the street to facilitate shoppers and deliver value for money.