BARS Payment and Access System
At Skating Rink In MEGA Park

Project: Skating rink automation

Customer: MEGA Khimki

Location: Khimki, Moscow Region

Solution provided: BARS Payment and Access System for ice rinks

Result obtained: A payment and access system that integrates a centralised locker, access points, ticket offices and rental shop

TASK AT HAND

At the end of 2018, one of the largest shopping centres in Russia, MEGA Khimki, was in the process of improving the adjacent amusement park. According to the improvement project, an ice rink was to open in MEGA Park in the winter. As many contractors were involved in the improvement project, the work took a whole year.

Customer needed to automate access to the pavilion at the ice rink, the ice area and the slide next to the pavilion. It was also necessary to include the sale of skating sessions, equipment hire and the skating rink's storage room into a single payment and access system. BARS Payment and Access System met all the requirements of MEGA Khimki.

SOLUTION

Goetschlich turnstiles were installed by Bars IT employees at the entrance to the pavilion, on the ice and on the slide of MEGA Park. This arrangement of turnstiles guarantees to Customer that only those visitors who paid for it will have access to all these objects. This is a fundamentally important point, as the commercialisation of the park is one of the main goals of MEGA Khimki.

DK Son RFID card readers are built into the turnstiles. They read the data of visitors' contactless plastic cards. The RFID card (Mifare standard) is the means of payment for all services of the rink: access to the ice, use of the locker and equipment hire. Guests purchase the card at the ticket office and deposit the required amount of money.

It is convenient to pay in different areas of the rink with a single card. It can be used an unlimited number of times and visitors do not need to take cash and bank cards on the ice. In general, guests should leave their personal belongings in the skating rink's locker.

All the more so because the LockerBox storage room is equipped with a modern, centralised system for accessing the lockers. There are a total of 180 cells in the locker and they are divided into four blocks of 45 cells each. Each block is controlled by a separate control module. All four modules are integrated into a single system.

When a visitor puts his/her plastic card to the reader on the control module, the number of the box, e.g. A35, is displayed on the screen and it opens automatically. The visitor goes to the already open box to put or take away his/her belongings. This system is convenient for guests because it always reminds them of the box number – they don't have to memorise it. In addition, guests don't have to worry about where to put their personal belongings so that they don't get in the way of the ride. In the locker things will definitely remain safe and sound.

For the convenience of visitors, there is an information panel in the cashier's area that shows the number of available seats at the skating rink. If it is full of people, those wishing to skate can spend their time comfortably in the shopping centre, at the food court of MEGA. Such details show good customer service and care for guests.

RESULT

BARS Payment and Access System fulfils all the requirements of the MEGA Park improvement project. Thanks to BARS, Customer has a reliable way to commercialise ice rink services and access to the slide. The fact that visitors whose contactless card balance has gone to minus and/or they have not returned the rented equipment will not be able to leave the pavilion will also help to increase revenue. The turnstile will not let them through. Such visitors will see a warning about the debt on the turnstile screen and will be able to leave the pavilion only after final payment for the services rendered.

In the future, Customer may change the subscription-based payment system to a deposit-based one. Possibly, MEGA loyalty cards will be integrated into BARS Payment and Access System. Bars IT will be glad to help the customer to expand the functionality of the system.