Client: Parking Control
Parking Patrol is a car park management company operating across the UK. They provide services such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems, car park wardens, and self-ticketing solutions to help clients manage parking on their properties. Their services are used in sectors like retail, healthcare, education, and events. They have been in operation for over 15 years.
Overview:
Parking Patrol contacted us in need of updated systems. They had been using a Microsoft SharePoint system to maintain a record of parking violations, including car details, violation types, and supporting images. They manually input the validated information from their lists into a third party application/company and the client sought to automate this process. Although they could export a CSV file, re-importing it didn’t allow for uploading images, so they needed a streamlined method to move each record with its associated image.
Challenge:
The challenge was to find an efficient way to export these records in a format that could be uploaded to the third-party service alongside the images. Given the client’s existing Office 365 environment, we chose to build a solution within Microsoft’s ecosystem rather than creating a new system from scratch.
Solution:
Using Microsoft’s Power Automate, we developed a workflow to handle this process. Power Automate allowed us to design flow diagrams to run automated tasks within Microsoft’s systems. Here’s how the workflow functioned:
- Export Tracking: We created a separate SharePoint list to monitor export progress. When a new record was added to this list, it would trigger the flow.
- Automated Export Process: The flow iterated through a specified number of stored violation records, gathering relevant data from each one and formatting it as needed. This data was then compiled into a CSV and XML file, and the referenced images were stored in a downloadable folder.
Download & Validation: After completion, the export list was updated with the folder’s location. This allowed the client to download the folder as a ZIP file. The client could then review the CSV file, verify the records, and, if all was correct, upload the files via FTP to the third-party service.
Results:
This solution significantly reduced the time required for data management, as manual uploads were replaced by automation. The setup was designed for easy edits and adaptability, allowing the client to address any backlog of previously unprocessed records.