How we designed and deployed a 12-lane ANPR-integrated barrier system to handle 2,000+ daily vehicles at Karachi's busiest shopping centre.
The Challenge
Dolmen Mall's existing car park barrier system was 8 years old, prone to breakdowns during peak hours, and lacked any integration with ticketing or ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). During busy weekends, queues stretched onto the service road.
Our Solution
We designed a phased replacement — keeping 8 of 12 lanes operational at all times during the 3-week installation period.
System Components
- **12× FAAC 620 rapid barriers** — 2-second cycle time, LED-lit arms
- **ANPR cameras** on all entry lanes — licence plate recognition with 98%+ accuracy
- **Ticketing integration** — connected to the existing parking management software
- **Centralised control room** — real-time lane status, override controls, incident logging
- **UPS backup** — 4-hour runtime per lane in the event of power failure
Installation Timeline
| Week | Work |
|---|---|
| 1 | Trenching, conduit, and control room cabling |
| 2 | Barrier installation on lanes 1–8 |
| 3 | Lanes 9–12, ANPR commissioning, integration testing |
Results
- Peak throughput increased by **40%** (vehicles/hour)
- Breakdown incidents reduced from **6–8/month** to **0 in first 90 days**
- Ticketing disputes reduced due to ANPR audit trail
Lesson Learned
Phased installations in live commercial environments require more planning than a single-phase project but eliminate the revenue loss of a full closure. We now offer this approach as standard for multi-lane commercial projects.