Context

Brussels’ steady growth has multiplied parking zones, sensors and payment channels, making life more complex for parking.brussels, the region’s parking agency. Information about spaces, permits, payments and fines was stored in several independent systems, leaving staff without an integrated view of day-to-day activity. As volumes rose, producing consolidated reports or adjusting policies required time-consuming manual work.

To keep pace with the city’s expansion, the agency needed:

• a single repository to bring together operational and financial parking data;
• automated checks to ensure information stays complete and up to date;
• intuitive dashboards that help teams monitor occupancy, optimise enforcement and plan future capacity.

Modern data-warehouse technology promised not only smoother operations but also better citizen service and stronger revenue control—key objectives for a growing, mobile capital.

Challenge

The context explains why a change was needed; the challenge defines what had to be solved—and by when.
parking.brussels set three concrete hurdles for the project:

1. Create a single, trustworthy dataset from a dozen operational tools (sensors, pay-by-phone, enforcement, finance) before the next budgeting cycle.
2. Cut the time spent reconciling fines and payments to near-zero, so back-office staff can focus on service, not spreadsheet fixes.
3. Deliver city-wide occupancy and revenue dashboards that refresh fast enough to guide daily field decisions and annual policy planning.

Meeting these targets would turn fragmented data into an operational asset; missing them would leave the agency struggling to keep pace with Brussels’ growth and citizens’ expectations.

Solution

1. Intelligent collection – automated connectors pull data from all services and keep a full audit trail.
2. Data enhancement – records from different sources are merged and enriched, giving staff a complete, accurate picture of occupancy, fines and revenue.
3. Integrated quality control – continuous checks on consistency and freshness ensure the agency always works with reliable figures.
4. Easy sharing & visualisation – role-based feeds and Power BI dashboards make insight available to operations, finance and planning teams in seconds.

Benefits

The implementation of the beVault system has generated concrete and measurable advantages for parking.brussels:

• Reduction of 2.1 full-time employees (FTEs) due to decreased complaints.
• Additional gain of 1.7 FTEs following the simplification of fee cancellation processes.
• 2.4% growth in issued fees, resulting from improved data management.

The successful implementation was made possible thanks to a dedicated team composed of visualization specialists, data engineers, and data business experts, each bringing their unique skills to the project.

Implementation plan

A four-step rollout delivered quick wins without overwhelming the teams:

1. Integrate – plug ticketing, payment and permit systems into a single warehouse.
2. Harmonise – align formats and codes so all data speaks the same language.
3. Validate – run automated checks for completeness and freshness.
4. Visualise – publish clear dashboards for field teams and management.

Executed over a few months, the plan started with the most critical sources and added refinements iteratively. Short training bursts kept staff up to speed while the platform evolved.

Recommendations

The parking.brussels project, empowered by beVault’s data management system, marks a significant advancement in urban parking administration. By integrating comprehensive data analysis and streamlined processes, the initiative has delivered concrete results: improved operational efficiency with a reduction of 3.8 full-time equivalents, and a 2.4% increase in accurately issued fees.

This data-driven approach benefits all stakeholders: field agents now work with more reliable information, management makes decisions based on real-time data, and citizens enjoy a fairer, more efficient parking system. The project’s success not only enhances Brussels’ urban mobility but also sets a benchmark for smart city initiatives, demonstrating how innovative data solutions can effectively address complex urban challenges and improve quality of life for residents.