TAMHSC Uses T2 Solutions To Do Big Things With a Small Team
Background
The Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) was founded in 1999 to bring the various health professions of Texas A&M University together under one umbrella. From the start, TAMHSC positioned itself at the forefront of the rapidly evolving health care landscape through cutting-edge medical research, service, and education.
In 2010, TAMHSC opened a 200-acre campus in Bryan, TX, a milestone moment for the decade-old organization that allowed it to consolidate its academic programs and administration into a single, state-of-the-art location. When it came to parking, TAMHSC wanted a state-of-the-art parking management platform to match, while also leveraging its close relationship to the University. The answer: T2 Systems.
Texas A&M University has been a T2 customer since 2003, so familiarity for students, staff, and visitors was a big factor in TAMHSC’s decision to partner with T2. “There were a lot of people that went to both institutions, so we tried to make it similar so there wasn’t a shock when somebody moved from one side to the other,” explained Jim Suter, Parking and Operations Manager for TAMHSC. The University has also been a great resource to the TAMHSC team, helping the campus get off the ground initially and continuing to assist as needed over the years.
Solutions
TAMHSC uses T2 Flex software to manage its entire operation on the back end, from permits to enforcement to citations. With Flex, TAMHSC can see a real-time view of parking activity, automate processes to manage its facilities, and access reports and analytics to make data-driven decisions. It also integrates with TAMHSC’s internal systems, such as Banner and Workday. “It’s been a very good system. It’s very robust and very powerful,” Suter said.
T2 FlexPort is an online portal that enables TAMHSC to sell permits and accept citation payments through a customized parking website. Staff, students, patients, or visitors simply access the site on any smartphone, tablet, or computer, select a permit option or their citation, and make their payment. Individuals can manage their own account as well, eliminating the burden on TAMHSC to update customer information.
“Being able to have everything automated where people can buy a permit without us having to intervene is just phenomenal.”
Charlie Lindahl, Senior Systems Analyst
Annual and biannual parking permits for TAMHSC staff are fulfilled through T2’s PermitDirect solution. With PermitDirect, T2 partner WW&L takes the orders made through FlexPort and handles the printing and shipping of the credentials, saving TAMHSC’s team time and money. For less frequent visitors, such as medial students, business partners, and patients, TAMHSC utilizes a printable permit solution, where individuals can purchase a temporary daily permit via FlexPort, print it out, and bring it with them to the campus.
As far as enforcement, TAMHSC transitioned from traditional handhelds to T2’s Mobile Enforcement App a couple years ago, and it has worked “flawlessly,” according to Suter. With the Mobile Enforcement App, officers are able to easily issue citations from a smartphone using real-time data from Flex, which integrates with the App seamlessly.
Results
“I think probably overall, our biggest success has been the use of the printable permit,” Suter stated. It’s a more cost-effective option for individuals who may come to TAMHSC regularly but not every day, such as medical students, while also providing a simpler, more convenient experience. “Being able to buy the permit online at midnight in their pajamas, print it out, and be ready to go the next day saves a lot of time over having to park, come in, buy a permit, go back out, put it in their car, and then go on to their business at hand,” Suter explained.
The printable permits have saved the TAMHSC parking team a lot of time and money as well. “Being able to have everything automated where people can buy a permit without us having to intervene is just phenomenal,” said Charlie Lindahl, Senior Systems Analyst. “By the way, it really pays off in dollars. We sold a lot of permits that way, and we didn’t have to lift a finger.” Since first introducing printable permits at the Bryan campus in 2013, TAMHSC has implemented them across all its campuses.
Additionally, T2 Flex has proven to be a great platform for TAMHSC. Its flexibility has allowed them adapt over the years to find just the right configuration to meet their needs, and the ability to easily integrate external systems via T2’s open API platform has helped the team develop more efficient processes. “We’re a model of running things lean – it’s one IT person, one front-end, and two running the business side – and we’re managing $3 million a year,” Lindahl said. “That’s not bad. If you can find a business you can run with four people, that’s pretty impressive.”
Lastly, TAMHSC has reaped the rewards of T2’s strong community of customers and staff, from Texas A&M’s consistent help over the years to training and networking in the T2 Customer Community and at T2’s annual Connect conference to a responsive support team when issues arise. “For the scale that you guys operate in, you’ve always been responsive – even for the little guys – and that’s a plus,” Suter stated.