OperationsCommander & Locker Management

• 🚀 The Evolution of OPSCOM: Introducing Project Eevee & Project Butterfly
• Locker Search
• Locker Switch
• Awaiting Payment (Lockers)
• Midnight List - Lockers
• Non Returning Users Report
• Locker Sales Windows
• Allocate Lockers
• Locker Troubleshooting

🚀 The Evolution of OPSCOM: Introducing Project Eevee & Project Butterfly

Since launching ParkAdmin in the early 2000s, your parking needs have become more sophisticated. We’ve been closely observing how our power-users interact with OperationsCommander and we’ve identified some incredible opportunities to streamline your workflows and unlock new levels of flexibility.

While our current system has been a reliable workhorse, we’ve noticed that as you add more lots and complex pricing tiers, the effort required manage it all has increased. We’ve identified three key areas where we are ready to take the platform to the next level:

• Dynamic Sales Windows: Moving beyond the 4 allocation types to allow for an unlimited number of overlapping and staggered sales windows.

• Unified Lot Management: Transitioning from “Virtual Lots” to a single, hierarchical view that handles multiple price points and user types automatically.

• Automated Rollovers: Shifting from manual renewals to an automated “subscription-style” logic that handles the heavy lifting of term-to-term rollovers.

To ensure this new model is rock-solid, the OPSCOM team is launching Project Eevee as our proof-of-concept. By using Lockers as our initial model—which perfectly mirrors the complexity of parking permits on a manageable scale—we are refining a new “Container” hierarchy:
Region → Campus → Building → Floor → Unit.

This new structure allows you to define a price once and have it apply intelligently across your entire lot based on who is buying and when.

Once Project Eevee is proven and optimized, its DNA will form the basis for Project Butterfly. This will be a total reimagining of our Permitting system—bringing these same efficiencies, automations, and hierarchical controls to your entire parking inventory.

 Help Us Shape the Evolution
We aren’t just building this for you; we want to build it with you. As we develop the new Grid Editor and enhanced User Portal, your insight is our most valuable asset.

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments at the Community! This is the beginning of a massive leap forward for the OPSCOM community, and we are excited to have you on this journey with us.

Locker Search

This article describes how to use the Locker Search tool to find, view, and manage lockers. This feature allows administrators to filter for specific lockers, review renter information, manage public visibility, and access detailed rental histories. This guide is intended for OPSCOM administrators responsible for locker inventory and rentals.

Using this Feature

The Locker Search page allows you to filter your locker inventory and perform both individual and bulk actions on the results.

Performing a Locker Search

1. Go to Locker Management and click Search.

2. On the Locker Search page, enter your criteria into one or more fields (e.g., Locker Area, Locker Status, Renter Name, Locker Number).

3. Click the Retrieve button to run the search.

The search results will appear in a list below the search form. Each row represents a single locker.

Available Actions and Buttons

The following actions can be performed on the search results page.

Page-Level Actions: These actions apply to the entire list of lockers returned by your search.

• Generate Mailing List: Click this to download an Excel report containing the mailing details for all users currently renting a locker within the search results.

• Mark All Available: Click to check the User Visible box for all lockers in the current results list, making them available for public rental.

• Mark All Not Available: Click to uncheck the User Visible box for all lockers in the current results list, hiding them from public view.

• Update Records: After using the Mark All buttons or manually changing individual User Visible checkboxes, click this button to save all changes.

Row-Level Actions: These actions apply to a single locker in the list.

• Locker # Link: Click the number in the Locker # column to open the Current Locker Information pop-up. Here you can edit the locker's Condition, add internal Comments, and view current renter details. Click Update within the pop-up to save any changes.

• History Icon (H): Click the gold H icon to view a detailed history of the specific locker, including all past renters and associated transactions.

• User Visible Checkbox: Manually check or uncheck this box for an individual locker to change its public visibility. Remember to click Update Records to save.

The Locker History is a valuable audit tool. Use it to resolve disputes about previous rentals or to track the maintenance history of a specific locker over its lifecycle.

Warning: Always click Update Records after making changes to the User Visible column. Whether you use the bulk "Mark All" buttons or change individual checkboxes, your changes will not be saved until you click the Update Records button.

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Best Practices & Considerations

• Use the Mark All Available / Not Available buttons with care. These actions apply to all lockers returned in your search results. Ensure your search criteria are specific enough to avoid accidentally changing the status of unintended lockers.

• Use the Generate Mailing List feature at the end of a rental term to easily export contact information for sending out renewal reminders or locker clean-out notices.

Locker Switch

This article describes the Locker Switch tool, which allows administrators to reassign a user to a different locker or swap locker assignments between two users. Its primary purpose is to provide a clear workflow for managing locker changes due to user requests, maintenance needs, or other administrative requirements. This guide is intended for OPSCOM administrators.

Using This Feature

This tool is a standard feature within the locker management module and does not require any specific configuration. The tool relies on existing locker and user rental information being present in the system.

The Locker Switch tool allows for two distinct actions: moving a single user to a new locker (Switch) or exchanging lockers between two users (Swap).

• Hover over Locker Management and click Locker Switch.
• In the Old Locker section, select the Locker Area and Locker Number for the locker being changed. Verify that the correct user's name is displayed.
• In the New Locker section, select the Locker Area and Locker Number for the destination locker.
• Choose one of the two action buttons based on your goal:
  • Switch Old to New: Click this to move the user from the old locker to the new locker. This is typically used when moving a user to a vacant locker.
  • Swap Old with New: Click this to exchange locker assignments between the user of the old locker and the user of the new locker.
• On the Locker Switch Confirmation page, add any relevant notes in the Reason for Action text box if necessary.
• Click the Switch User Lockers button to finalize the change. A final Locker Information Updated page will be displayed to confirm the action was successful.

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Best Practices & Considerations

• Carefully choose between the Switch and Swap functions. Selecting Swap when the new locker is vacant may result in an error, while selecting Switch when the new locker is occupied by another user will unassign that user from their locker.
• Always verify the user's name after selecting the Old Locker Number. This ensures you are modifying the correct user's assignment before proceeding.
• Add a brief comment if necessary to help determine why changes to the locker were made for future reference.

Awaiting Payment (Lockers)

This article describes the Lockers Awaiting Payment report, a tool used to manage and communicate with users who have pending locker payments. Its primary purpose is to provide administrators with a centralized view of unpaid locker reservations and offer tools for sending payment reminders. This guide is intended for OPSCOM administrators.

Using this Feature

The report allows administrators to filter for users with unpaid locker reservations and provides several tools for communication and management.

Generating the Report

1. Go to Locker Management and click Awaiting Payment.

2. On the Lockers Awaiting Payment page, use the drop-down menus to filter by Locker Area and select a Sort Type (e.g., by building area, by user).

3. Click the Search button to generate the list.

Available Actions and Buttons

The report provides several actions for managing the listed users and their lockers:

• Email Listed Users: Click this button to send a single, bulk email to all users displayed in the search results.

• Envelope Icon: Click the envelope icon in a user's row to send an email to that individual user only.

• Username: Click a user's name to navigate directly to their user profile page.

• Locker Number: Click the locker number to open a pop-up window with the locker's details. You can update fields like Condition and add Comments. Click Update Locker to save changes.

• Building Area: If applicable, click the link in the Building Area column to view or edit details about that location. Click Update this Area to save any changes.

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Best Practices & Considerations

• Use the Email Listed Users button to send out periodic payment reminders. This can help reduce the number of abandoned reservations and ensure timely payment.

Midnight List - Lockers

The Midnight List is a list of lockers due to be cleared out of the system at midnight.  Follow the instructions in this wiki article to Clear Locker Items Awaiting Payment

 

Non Returning Users Report

This article describes the Non-Returning Users Report, a tool that helps identify students who rented lockers in a previous semester but did not rent one in the current semester. This report allows administrators to investigate whether these students are still using their lockers without payment or are no longer attending the school. 

Using this Feature

This report is a standard feature within the locker management module and does not require any special configuration. The data is pulled directly from existing locker rental records.

To generate the Non-Returning Users Report:

1. Go to Lockers Management and click Non-Returning Users Report.

2. Under Old Semesters, click the Yearly drop-down menu and select the appropriate Old Sales Window.

3. Under Current Semesters, click the Yearly drop-down menu and select the appropriate Current Sales Window.

4. Click Search to view the report. The results will appear in a table.

5. To download the information, click Export to save the data as a spreadsheet file.

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Best Practices & Considerations

• This report is particularly useful at the end of a semester to identify potential unauthorized locker usage.

• The exported data can be used to cross-reference with student enrollment records to determine if non-returning students are still attending the institution.

Locker Sales Windows

This article describes how to use the Locker Sales Window tool to create and manage the timeframes during which users can purchase lockers. This feature allows administrators to control the availability of locker sales for different rental periods, such as by semester or year. This guide is intended for OPSCOM administrators.

Setup & Configuration

The core setup for this feature involves creating the sales windows that define your rental periods.

• Hover over Locker Management and click Sales Window.
• On the Manage Locker Sales Window page, click the Add Sale Window button.
• Fill in the required information in the pop-up window that appears.
• Click Save Changes. The new sales window will be created with an "Inactive" status by default.

Using this Feature

Once sales windows are created, you can manage their visibility and status.

• Activating and Deactivating Sales Windows To activate or deactivate a sales window, click the Active button next to it. An active window allows users to purchase associated lockers. You can have up to four active sales windows at one time, one for each category: Yearly (Y), Monthly (M), Semester (S), and Other (O).
• Editing a Sales Window Click the Edit button to modify the details of a sales window.

If the Edit button is faded and unavailable, it means the sales window already has locker sales associated with it and cannot be modified by an administrator. Please contact OPSCOM support for assistance in this case.

Archiving and Restoring Sales Windows To move a completed window out of the main view, click the Archive button. The window will be moved to the Past Locker Sales Window section. To bring an archived window back to the active list, click the Restore button next to it in the archive section.

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Best Practices & Considerations

• Deactivating a sales window that has active locker rentals will cause all users to lose their lockers within that window. The lockers can be restored by reactivating the window, but this action should be performed with caution.
• Plan your sales windows in advance of each rental period (e.g., before the start of a new semester). Create the windows ahead of time and activate them only when you are ready for sales to begin.

Allocate Lockers

This article describes the process of setting up and managing your locker inventory using the Locker Allocation tool. This feature allows administrators to create a hierarchical structure of buildings and areas, add individual lockers in bulk, and manage their status and visibility. This guide is intended for OPSCOM administrators responsible for locker management.

Setup & Configuration

Setting up your locker inventory is a hierarchical process that involves creating buildings, then areas within those buildings, and finally adding lockers to those areas.

Accessing the Locker Allocation Page

• Hover over Lockers Management and select Allocate.

Create a Building

1. On the Manage Locker Numbers page, click Add Building.

2. Enter the Building Name and Location information.

3. Click Save Changes.

Create a Building Area

1. Once the building is added, click Add Area within that building's section.

2. Enter the Area Name and Description.

3. Select the Locker User Types that can rent lockers in this area.

4. Choose a Sales Window type (Yearly, Monthly, Semester, or Other).

5. Click Save Changes.

Add Lockers to an Area

1. Click the + symbol next to the area where you want to add lockers.

2. Use one or both of the following methods to enter locker numbers:

   • Specific Lockers: Enter individual locker numbers, with each number on a new line.

   • Locker Range: Enter a Start and End number for a sequential range. You can also add an optional Prefix or Postfix.

3. Ensure the Visible checkbox is enabled if you want the lockers to be immediately available for users to see.

4. Click Add Lockers.

Using this Feature

Once your locker inventory is created, you can view, archive, and restore lockers as needed.

Viewing Lockers in an Area

• To view the list of all lockers within a specific area, click the Magnifying Glass Icon next to the area name on the Manage Locker Numbers page.

Archiving Lockers

• To remove lockers from the active inventory, click the Trash Bin Icon next to the relevant area.

• You will be presented with two options:

  • Archive All Lockers: Archives every locker in the area.

  • Archive Selected Lockers: Allows you to choose specific lockers from a list to archive.

Restoring Archived Lockers

• To restore archived lockers, click the + symbol for the area.

• Enter the numbers of the lockers you wish to restore.

• Select Restored from the locker status drop-down menu and confirm the action.

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Best Practices & Consideration

• You can use both the Specific Locker and Locker Range methods simultaneously to add non-sequential and sequential lockers in a single operation. This is efficient for complex locker layouts.
• Archiving lockers removes them from the active inventory. While they can be restored, this action should be used carefully, especially if lockers have current or past rental history associated with them.

Locker Troubleshooting

Basic test for checking if the locker availability is set correctly when using Locker UserTypes.