by Joshua Cassidy, Technical Support Engineer
As part of Taranto’s Employee Exchange Programme, I recently had the opportunity to spend two days onsite with one of our clients, the London Borough of Ealing. This initiative aims to give Taranto team members first-hand insight into the daily operations and challenges faced by our clients. This visit was an invaluable experience, enabling me to see how our software is used in a live environment and gain a deeper understanding of the people behind the processes.
My time at Ealing was structured into six sessions spread over the two days, with each session dedicated to a different area of the Council’s Parking Services operation. I met teams covering Debt Management, Appeals, Representations, Permits, Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs), and CCTV monitoring. These sessions offered a well-rounded view of how Ealing uses the Taranto system to manage its parking enforcement operations.
The Debt Management session shed light on several aspects I had previously only understood from a support perspective. I was shown how Ealing handles disputes, compliance stages, bailiff communications, and how debt registration with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is managed – including some very important timelines.
I also learned more about the enforcement agents’ role and how evidence and witness statements come into play during this process. One particularly valuable takeaway for me was the difference between a representation and an appeal — something I had understood in theory but was able to see in action here. I even identified areas where additional training might benefit the Ealing team and shared some time-saving tips to help optimise their workflows.
During the Appeals session, I was shown a real case in progress and taken through the full lifecycle of preparing an evidence pack. Observing this hands-on process brought a lot of clarity around the structure, content, and logic behind processing an appeal submission. It was especially useful to see how each stage links back to the data and documentation held within Taranto.
The team also gave me a comprehensive overview of how representations are managed, from initial receipt through to resolution. Seeing the workflow onscreen helped reinforce my understanding of how critical accuracy and efficiency are in the representation process – and how Taranto supports that workflow in a practical, user-friendly way.
In the Permits session, I saw how the team handles the day-to-day issuing and management of parking permits. I was very interested to see the different types of parking permit and the complexity involved. Ealing operates an emissions-based permit scheme which is designed to encourage residents to use less polluting vehicles. And while Ealing doesn’t limit the number of permits registered at the same address, the cost of each permit increases according to the number of vehicles in a household – which encourages fewer vehicles using the roads. While shadowing this team, I was able to help resolve a couple of live queries, which was rewarding and reinforced the importance of our support role. It was good to be able to provide immediate help while building stronger relationships with the client.
One of the most eye-opening parts of the exchange experience was joining the Civil Enforcement Officers. I was shown how PCNs are issued using handheld devices and accompanied an officer on their route. It gave me a real appreciation for the practicalities and safety considerations involved in street-level enforcement. It’s easy to overlook these challenges when working from behind a desk. This part of the visit really brought the CEO’s day-to-day experience to life.
The final session took place in the surveillance centre, where I saw how CCTV footage is monitored and used for enforcement. Understanding how this footage is reviewed and how incidents are flagged gave me a broader view of the enforcement ecosystem and how Taranto fits into it.
Spending two days onsite with Ealing Council was an invaluable experience. It gave me a deeper understanding of how our clients use the Taranto system, the pressures they face, and the vital role our software plays in helping them deliver efficient and fair parking enforcement services.
The Employee Exchange Programme is a brilliant initiative which bridges the gap between technical support and operational reality, helping us build better relationships with clients and deliver even more effective services. I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to applying what I’ve learned to enhance the support we provide every day.
Read Taranto’s case study on how we have worked with the London Borough of Ealing to help improve the road environment, while reducing emissions and tackling nuisance parking.
"This visit was an invaluable experience, enabling me to see how our software is used in a live environment."
For more information on how Taranto helps our clients with their parking enforcement,
