Ben Kettell, Author at MVIS Ltd

Events Management

Posted on 21st April 2022 at 1:40 pm.

How can we assist with Events Management?

Event Signage Hire & Sale, Traffic Management and Safety & Security Solutions.

MVIS products are used up and down the country. Bringing our unique and specialist range of ITS solutions to events management and event traffic management companies nationwide.

Working well together to provide cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions that don’t require any civils, external power or communications sources. Our products have been tried and tested at some of the biggest events in this country.

In this post, we will take a look at what makes MVIS and our solutions integral for managing your event; keeping drivers, pedestrians and visitors safe and informed.

Products & Solutions

VMS

Our range of portable VMS (Variable Message Signs) is ideal for event management applications. With a small and secure footprint, our temporary VMS products, in particular our VMS-A and our HD Compact VMS, are ideal for events, helping to keep space allocated appropriately for other important requirements venues may need.

One of the biggest advantages we have with our VMS is the fact that they are solar powered, offering a fully autonomous solar charging system that delivers a high quality, bright and low power consuming LED display that costs nothing to run in energy. The use of solar power makes this product environmentally friendly and reduces the need for messy and hazardous external cabling, making the units highly portable.

Many happy clients have used our VMS in the lead up to events, helping to advertise and warn drivers of the potential delays or congestion as a result of the event. A perfect ideal for both smaller and larger events, this useful solution helps to raise awareness of the event itself often to a highly targeted, highly relevant local audience as well as helping to mitigate risks of frustration or incidents, which is an advised action to take prior to an event that may be disruptive to local traffic.

Additionally, our VMS are easy to set up and operate, offering an event traffic management solution that is reliable under any British weather conditions and has the flexibility to display red, green, blue, white and amber colours. Supporting full graphics and pictograms, our VMS are great for traffic and crowd management use alike. For more specific graphic needs, we also offer our HD VMS-A, which features all the benefits of our standard VMS-A, plus a high definition 70 x 42-pixel dual colour matrix, allowing for the display of more intricate images than our standard model.

However, for needs where space may be limited, MVIS also offer an HD VMS that is much smaller than even the VMS-A. The HD Compact VMS delivers an HD red and white dual colour display with a small footprint and adjustable height. As if this solution wasn’t versatile enough, its power supply can be drawn from the battery, solar or mains, making it ideal for fixed, permanent applications as well as temporary ones. This VMS unit is often the message sign of choice for small events and speed reactive messages due to its low power consumption, versatility and portability.

Solar Intelligent Platform (Solar IP)

Our Solar IP is available for hire along with a wide range of our products, offering a flexible and responsive approach to event traffic management requirements. As a simple and cost-effective power solution, deployment of the Solar IP delivers an integrated intelligent transport system that meets specific needs for any combination of our ANPR, CCTV or radar. Including a 12V, 24V or 48V battery, our Solar IP boasts the latest solar charging system and is not dependent on an external energy supply, making it environmentally friendly.

Serving as one of our most innovative and ground-breaking products, the Solar IP is an ideal power source for temporary ITS solutions that have proven their value to countless numbers of happy clients.

Portable CCTV

Our trailer mounted Portable Compact CCTV units come complete with our Solar IP, making this product environmentally friendly as well as portable and versatile. Ideal for event management applications, this product excels where monitoring and safety are of critical importance. Ideal for festivals, stadium events, and country shows, our Portable CCTV provides you with fast, high impact surveillance that helps to ensure that event managers respond to event changes in an instant.

This solar powered CCTV solution features Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) and incorporates the latest video technology that delivers excellent frame rates, even in poor signal areas. With a flat, toughened glass window, our easy to operate portable CCTV is protected to IP67, making it reliable under all conditions.

CCTV VMS

MVIS’ Portable CCTV VMS Solution discreetly integrates a CCTV camera with our VMS-A, allowing you to have eyes on the ground without having to be physically present on-site, creating a surveillance and feedback solution that can be used to monitor and respond to situations quickly. It features a 1080p full HD, starlight night vision, and IP65 weatherproof camera.

Integrating CCTV with our VMS allows you to have eyes on the ground without having to be physically present. The visible presence of CCTV is well known to influence behaviour and help enforce rules. The combination of these technologies makes the Portable CCTV VMS Solution ideal for security, queue management, venue safety and wayfinding.

Compact Environmental Sensor

Our Compact Environmental Sensor integrates our solar powered ‘Compact’ base with an ITS Environmental Sensor, offering clients the ability to monitor the external environment, producing a wide range of air pollution data that can be used to inform and direct on issues of air pollution safety.

This solution is a low-cost system that offers the ability to build a high-density ambient air quality monitoring network that records data in real-time. With low power demands, this unit can be powered by our ‘Compact’ solar powered base for air quality monitoring in applications where space is limited.

Having an air quality sensor to monitor emissions is ideal for the events industry as it can help event management companies choose the right location for their event and provide additional health and safety to staff and event-goers. They can also measure the environmental impact of an event and use that data in any way they see fit. This data could highlight the areas that need improvement, which could help to reduce emissions for future events.

Environmental Sensor

The ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor can be combined with any of our ITS solutions to offer clients the ability to monitor the external environment, producing a wide range of air pollution data that can be used to inform and direct on issues of air pollution safety. This solution is a low-cost system that offers the ability to build a high-density ambient air quality monitoring network that records data in real-time.

Integrating this sensor with any of our ITS solutions allows us to offer clients effective, multi-functional units that bring not just the benefits of the sensors themselves to portable applications, but also all the functionality of the products they are integrated with.

For more information about how MVIS can help with your event traffic management needs, please call us on 01629 580 570 to speak to one of our friendly team, or you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Improving Our Team with Cross-Departmental Training

Posted on 20th April 2022 at 4:48 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

Over the years, MVIS has championed the importance of ensuring not just a well-trained team, but also a team that understands each other. Every job is different, requiring different skills and perspectives to be done correctly, so in order to enable our team to understand what their colleague’s day to day jobs entail, we operate a cross-departmental training scheme that gives team members experience working with their colleagues in other departments.

We have already seen the positive impact this can make amongst customers, but this strategy is ideal for improving a number of aspects, not just our overall customer service.

Safety

Training our team up with the knowledge and understanding of what their colleagues are required to do, it allows us to better safeguard each other. A great example of this is the relationship between our customer relations team and our delivery technicians.

Cross-departmental training sessions are essential for these departments as it allows the customer relations team to have a good grasp of the dangers our delivery technicians are exposed to. With this, the operations team are better equipped with knowledge and experience to manage certain situations.

Back in February 2022, Sean Gardner, who oversees the Customer Relations department, went out on deliveries with our North Delivery Supervisor, Jon Larkins so that he could get a better understanding of the work and risks involved in deploying our units, putting this approach in action.

Efficiency

Efficiency is a very important factor in how we operate as a company, which is one of the reasons that we’re the UK’s most trusted supplier of VMS and have the industry’s best-trained workforce. We don’t just focus on efficiency in terms of our fuel and energy usage, we want all of our team members to be working together as efficiently as possible, helped by cross-departmental training.

For example, our Marketing Assistant, Alex Handley, spent a day alongside our Sales and Customer Relations Administrator, Juliette Wright. Juliette has a very important role within the sales team, which makes her a perfect member of staff for Alex to learn about this side of the business from.

The relationship between sales and marketing is critical, both supporting each other in shared goals. If the marketing team better understands the processes that drive the sales team, it allows them to be more proactive in their support, increasing efficiency.

Staff Morale

Whilst it’s great to see safety and efficiency advantages from cross-departmental training, one of the biggest aspects that it improves is staff morale. When other team members understand the challenges involved in a role or a task, it is highly likely to encourage everyone be more empathetic, patient and helpful.

It also helps staff understand the business better, potentially improving job satisfaction and their understanding of how their role fits into wider business operations.

To continue Alex’s cross-departmental training, in late March 2022, he also took a journey out with Jon to deliver some of our signs. In doing this, Alex has been able to see parts of the business that he wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to much from his role in the marketing office, giving him insight into what his hard work is contributing towards.

In the same way, such training can also improve social well-being at work too. In spending this time with Jon, Alex was able to get to know him and other members of the delivery team, which he wouldn’t have had much chance to do otherwise due to the difference in job roles.

Alex commented, “I learned a lot from my time working with Juliette and Jon. Both training sessions not only helped me build a rapport with colleagues in a different department, but it was also good to see how the work I do impacts them. Understanding the difficulties they face in their roles equips me better to be able to support them and it also helps me appreciate their level of expertise. It was really impressive seeing what our team can achieve.”

Alex continued, “It has also been great to see our products in action. Working in the marketing department, I am required to have an excellent product knowledge. Training in other departments has been a great way to learn about our technology so I can help market it to the right audience.”

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director added, “We have been committed to cross-departmental training for a number of years now and it only becomes more apparent how helpful it is as time goes on. Both MVIS and Bartco UK have always been strongly in favour of training and continuous development, so cross-departmental training is a natural progression for us as we strive to offer our customers the best service in the industry.”

Urban Safety Product Guide

Posted on 14th April 2022 at 10:13 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

How can products from MVIS help local authorities, utility companies and traffic management groups improve the safety of their team and their projects?

In this post, we look at our Urban Safety product range and explore how they bring benefits to you, your customers and the general public.

VMS-A

Portable VMS ideal for inner city / urban works, parking, events and roads with speed zones up to 50mph. With 5 colour display and a small footprint, the VMS-A is one of our most popular units and can display text or pictograms.

The VMS-A can be operated remotely via a web browser or smartphone device which is ideal for urban environments as messaging may need to be changed frequently and access can be limited. You can also set it up for scheduled operation and vehicle activation so that it doesn’t display messages when it isn’t needed.

CCTV VMS

Discreetly integrating an HD CCTV camera with our VMS-A, the CCTV VMS allows you to have eyes on the ground without having to be physically present on-site, creating a surveillance and feedback solution that can be used to monitor and respond to situations quickly.

Fitted with a VSIM from Vodafone as standard or compatible with any UK SIM card (purchased separately), users can connect to the camera using a smartphone or the Windows & Mac client.

HD Compact

The smallest portable VMS in our range, the revolutionary HD Compact offers a dual colour display with our smallest footprint, making it ideal for urban works and construction sites.

With the HD Compact VMS, site managers do not need to compromise on space in the same way as they would for static signs. Using web browser or a mobile device, operators can programme or change messaging quickly and easily, creating cycled messages too that can communicate multiple messages using the same sign.

This allows more detailed information to be communicated without taking up anymore space, leaving room for other equipment that may help to increase safety, or simply by keeping the site’s area small, reducing the risk to workers, pedestrians and drivers.

Compact CCTV

Integrates wire-free CCTV with our Compact Solar IP, offering increased portability and a reduced footprint compared to other solutions.

This outdoor surveillance camera boasts an ultra-wide viewing angle of 355° pan & 140° tilt and connects through Vodafone 4G. Offering 1080p HD at 15 frames per second and a 6x Digital Zoom, this camera performs well for a range of applications, made even more impressive by the 10m Night Vision range.

Its PIR (passive infrared) detection distance is up to 10m too and when combined with the 90° Horizontal PIR detecting angle, this camera is a highly capable solution for security, monitoring work zones and anything else that requires an outdoor HD camera.

This unit is especially useful for urban works, as the full-sized Solar IP can often have a footprint too large for urban work sites, limiting its use in such projects. The Compact CCTV has been developed to address this limitation, allowing site managers to still have eyes on the ground even when there is limited space.

Environmental Sensor

Integrating the Environmental Sensor with our Compact Solar IP gives rise to the Compact Environmental Sensor, which offers clients additional portability, as well as a cheaper option compared to integrating it.

Data collected from these solutions are displayed in real-time onto an online management dashboard. The status of each unit is displayed together with easy-to-read dials.

More detailed graphs allow clients to drill down and analyse the data on a minute by minute, day by day basis.

If you would like to learn more about our urban safety product range, please contact us via our contact form. Alternatively, you can call us on 01629 580 570 to speak to one of our friendly team, or you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

ITS solutions that help keep UK Highways safe

Posted on 13th April 2022 at 11:40 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

Over the last 9 years we have been serving the UK’s national highway system with our solar powered ITS safety solutions. During this time, we have built up a reputation in the industry for delivering platinum service.

But it’s not just service that we shine on – MVIS are well known for bringing the innovative solutions from sister companies Bartco UK and Bartco AU to the UK market. As Highways schemes begin to pick up again after the devastation of the COVID pandemic, we wanted to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on the products that have helped us build this reputation in the industry and has helped to keep the UK’s Highways safe for nearly a decade.

VMS-A

The VMS-A is ideal for urban and inner-city environments of speeds of up to 50mph, however it is commonly used as part of highways projects. As one of our most popular units for traffic management applications, the unit’s smaller footprint provides a tidy option in limited space environments, which can often be very helpful for customers. It can also be used to inform drivers on urban roads that lead to highways about works that may affect them, encouraging them to take a different route or proceed with caution.

With over 180 VMS-A units in our fleet, the product has become an incredibly reliable ‘go to’ option for a range of projects over the years.

VMS-C

Purpose build for the high-speed network, we also offer the VMS-C, the perfect solution for roads with a speed limit higher than 50mph.

Bigger than the VMS-A, the VMS-C is often a preferred option for highways projects due to it’s larger screen size, making it ideal to communicate with drivers travelling at high speeds, as the larger the screen, the further the viewing distance, which is very important for highspeed roads.

As a result, the VMS-C is a regular sight on the UK’s Highways network, with little wonder due to the 228 units in our fleet, giving us the largest fleet of portable VMS in Europe.

Despite the key difference in these signs being size, they both boast a range of valuable shared features that makes them so effective in high speed applications.

5 Colour Display

Using LED screens allows for a low power solution with maximum brightness for both the VMS-A and VMS-C displays. This helps to ensure that visibility is of the highest priority whilst simultaneously managing power output.

With the ability to show up to 5 different colours, the display allows for red, green, blue and white as well as the highways standard – amber, making our signs perfect for not only messaging but also pictograms or speed roundels.

Solar charging system

Specifically designed for the UK environment, both VMS-A and VMS-C are fitted with solar power units – removing the need for external power.

This more environmentally friendly feature showcases our commitment when it comes to going greener in accordance with our ISO 14001 Environmental Management accreditation.

Tilting Solar Panels

Both portable VMS units are designed to make the most out of the available light, allowing for the solar panels to be adjusted so they face the light.

On a technical level, the solar charging system is optimised for the UK by using the most suitable solar panels and solar regulators for our climate.

Units are built with a solar charger per solar panel rather than per unit, so optimal charging capacity is present at all times. This feature allows for maximum battery life efficiency and extended run times.

Radar Integration

All our VMS units have an integrated data collection radar that allows for them to display vital messages, speed alerts and responsive information, triggered by driver’s speed, using tried and tested traffic control solutions to positively influence driver behaviour.

The units discreetly house the radar that can also collect information on speed, time and date, making this solution a low cost alternative to many data collection solutions on the market and is ideal to be used as a data source for the analysis of traffic trends, enabling greater intelligence for planning projects of all kinds.

It may also help with highways construction site safety, allowing users to identify traffic trends with risk, such as speed or volume of traffic, and therefore take steps to combat it.

Environmental Sensor

This solution is a low-cost system that offers the ability to build a high-density ambient air quality monitoring network that records data in real-time.

Perfect for temporary applications, this solution offers a very low cost alternative to static Air Quality monitoring stations and allow clients to cover more space, quickly and cost effectively. This is important for high speed construction applications as levels of pollution are often a concern for major projects, as is budget.

NTIS DATEX II Portable Journey Time Variable Message Sign Solution

Created in partnership with Highways England (HE), the NTIS DATEX II Portable Journey Time Solution generates real-time journey time information for road users using data from the National Traffic Information Service (NTIS).

The system was the first such solution on the market to enable real-time journey time information from the NTIS to be displayed on a portable VMS.

The NTIS DATEX II Portable Journey Time displays Highways England compliant journey time information, which is refreshed every five minutes, on any number of VMS C’s along major project schemes that are over four kilometres in length. This helps to keep road users informed of the travel time to the end of the road works. Congestion or delays are identified within tens of metres of their vicinity ensuring the messages displayed are relevant to the area affected.

Works Egress Safety Solution

The VMS-C also plays a crucial part in our Works Egress Safety Solution, which offers increased safety for not just the general public but also works traffic that merges from a works egress onto a high-speed road. The role of the VMS C in this solution is to inform upcoming drivers that works traffic will be merging, giving them plenty of warning, and so helping to minimise the risk.

The VMS-A can also do this on a high speed road if there is limited space on-site or the speed limit has been lowered to 50 due to the works.

Solar IP

The Solar IP is a highly versatile and functional unit that offers users the ability to mount and power their own technology, bringing portability to technology that is usually fixed due to power constraints.

The unit brings a lot to safety, security and site management applications, allowing for the integration of technologies such as CCTV and IVD data collection radars to name but a few, making these technologies portable and bringing benefit to highways applications.

The crowing feature of this product however is its solar credentials. A trailer based power bank is an attractive solution on its own, but when considering the environmentally friendly power output, it may even be a preferred solution to fixed power, if the long term environmental impact of the installation is a consideration for the client, for example.

For more information about how our products can support highways works, please contact us via our contact form.

Alternatively, you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Turning to Mental Health

Posted on 5th April 2022 at 12:57 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

MVIS and Bartco UK have always taken mental health very seriously. Poor mental health is one of the biggest causes of death in the construction and highways industries and in 2020, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) published a report that showed 26% of respondents had considered taking their own lives in the previous year. The report also showed that high percentages of respondents suffered with issues such as depression, stress, anxiety and fatigue.

National statistics shed more light on the issue. From around the 5000 suicides in the UK every year related to mental health issues, males account for three-quarters of the total figure, making this the biggest killer of men up to the age of 49 in the UK.

But this is not a new problem for the industry or indeed for wider society.

For many years now, MVIS and Bartco UK have placed mental health as a major priority, working on developing our team to ensure that everyone is ALGEE trained, that everyone has access to a mental health first aider and one of our more recent developments is providing our team with access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), an anonymous advice and support service offered by Peninsula.

Amongst our mental health first aiders has traditionally been Bartco UK’s Purchasing & Stock Control Supervisor, Rebecca Prince and the UK Group Commercial and Operations Director for both MVIS and Bartco UK, Anne Ashman.

However, we are now proud to announce that Jon Larkins, North Delivery Supervisor has been qualified as the group’s first male mental health first aider. Jon is an ideal member of the team to take on this responsibility, working for MVIS and closely with the Bartco UK team, he will be able to offer his support to everyone who works for the group in addition to the comfort he can bring to male team members who may feel more comfortable discussing mental health issues with another male.

Jon comments, “It’s great to be able to lend a helping hand with my training. Mental health awareness has never been so widespread but there’s still a lot of work to be done both within business and as a society. It’s so vital that we all take mental health seriously.”

Anne adds, “Jon is a great addition to the mental health first aider team. He is well liked within the group and is naturally a very good listener. His training in mental first aid will only channel this and put his compassionate nature to fantastic use.”

Focus on Efficiency Helps to Reduce Energy and Fuel Dependency

Posted on 31st March 2022 at 5:13 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

With the soaring energy and fuel prices making the headlines only set to get worse, there are not only environmental incentives for everyone to look at ways of increasing their efficiency, reducing overall dependency on these commodities.

Environmental concerns have always been important to us, underscored by our ISO in environmental management (14001:2015), which inspires us to go further than many organisations may consider. As a result, we have already been working on ways we can reduce our carbon footprint through a wide range of energy and fuel efficiency initiatives before the wider global crisis even began.

In fact, we have been doing this for the past 10 years.

Fuel Efficiency

To help cut down on the fuel used in the deliveries of our products, we have developed a custom-built beavertail vehicle to allow us to deploy 3 x VMS-A units, 2 x VMS-C units, or 2 x Solar IP units in one delivery. Our national coverage also means that we can pick the closest depot to deliver a unit from, saving staff who are further away the journey.

For especially large projects that involve the delivery of even more units than this, we can also call on the use of a local commercial vehicle delivery service, meaning the job can be done in one delivery instead of several trips in the beavertail vehicle.

This approach to our delivery model means that we only ever use the method required, not wasting the use of a commercial vehicle delivery service when it’s not required, whilst maximising the capabilities of our beavertail vehicle for smaller deployments.

In a different fashion, other environmental changes we have made have indirectly resulted in a net decrease in our use of fuel in recent times.

In preparation for Highways UK 2021, we developed a new way to inform our customers about our products and solutions that breaks away from the conventional presentation folder and spec sheets, which cumulatively will have a marked impact on the environment.

Using QR codes, visitors to our stand at any trade show are able to easily request an email to be sent to them automatically after scanning the code and visiting our website. A popup box appears requesting an email address, which, when filled in, triggers the email to be sent to the customer within minutes with the required spec sheets attached.

The paper, ink and the potential waste that is involved in the production and distribution of our information packs, has, over the years, undeniably left its mark on the environment.

However, as with many things, technology has assisted us in helping to address this issue. As a result, even the fuel needed to transport the weight of our packs won’t be used, instead being swapped for a cutting-edge digital system that is both easy and convenient to use.

In order to offer our customers solutions that operate at the height of efficiency, we undergo continual improvement when it comes to our manufacturing. Over the last 10 years, we have improved our unit’s batteries and solar panels in line with the latest innovations in these technologies.

Better charging systems, as well as tilting and more efficient solar panels has resulted in improved run times and fewer battery changes, which means fewer journeys need to be made.

This has a huge impact across our entire fleet.

Where possible, we also prefer to use local suppliers in the servicing of our works vehicles. In sourcing local services, we help to massively cut down on our fuel consumption whilst bringing business to our local area. The cumulative saving of these reoccurring needs being seen to in the area will have saved a huge number of travel miles compared to alternative services that may have been offering better rates in different areas of the country.

Energy Efficiency

One of the biggest aspects involved with a business’s energy usage is the office in which they operate. Questions of heat insulation and efficient lighting are what usually come to mind when considering this.

However, MVIS go one step further.

Over the years, we have seen significant upgrades to our Matlock HQ. Technological solutions such as movement sensors and timers in our lights and hand dryers, as well as eco-friendly heating solutions have been installed, allowing us to see energy savings that don’t compromise on our employee’s comfort.

Timers in the lights and hand dryers ensure that these things are not on for longer than they need to be, such as if they were left on by accident overnight.

Our eco-friendly heating solutions are particularly innovative, however, employing smart heating technology using sensors and oil. Oil filled space heaters are known to be more efficient than water, gas or infrared heaters due to oil’s unique thermal properties. The use of sensors in the heaters ensure accurate heat regulation in the room, so that they stop heating when the room is at the designated temperature, preventing the space getting too hot or too cold. They also come integrated with programmable time schedules too, meaning they can be set to automatically turn on and off when required.

The efficiency improvements we have made to our products don’t just help with fuel reduction. Improvements in our charging systems, batteries and solar panels mean that we are using less energy to replenish drained batteries ready to go back into one of our units. Again, over the number of batteries we are required to service for our fleet, these efficiency improvements make a huge difference to our levels of energy consumption.

We have also taken steps to make small changes that over time will make a big difference. For example, where possible, we always encourage the use of natural light over artificial. It is well known that natural light positively impacts a wide number of health aspects such as mood, vitamin-D levels and eye health, as well as bringing heightened levels of productivity too.

Another example is our approach to printing. In the digital age, we have seen a reduced need for printing documents anyway, but as company policy, we only encourage the use of our printer and photocopying unit when absolutely necessary, instead sharing documents digitally via email or Microsoft Teams. Not only does this help to reduce energy requirements, but it also helps to cut down on paper waste and ink too.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director comments, “We have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to efficiency, so it’s reassuring that when a global energy and fuel crisis hits, we are already doing everything that we can to minimise our dependency on them. However, like most of us, reducing this dependency to zero is virtually impossible in today’s economy. Whilst it may take some time for society to catch up, it’s efficiency changes such as the ones we have been making for the past decade that moves everyone closer to the goal of sustainability.”

Keeping your workforce safe when working outdoors

Posted on 24th March 2022 at 2:56 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

Roads are known to have a mixture of positive and negative effects on the environment and the people who use them. Offering infrastructure benefits in terms of ease of mobility and other transport advantages, we use roads to get us – and our goods – to destinations safely. However, the very same roads take up valuable land, creating barriers for wildlife and can permanently change a landscape into something unrecognisable from what it once was.

One of the most damaging effects of roads, however, are that they invite traffic, which brings with it air pollution. This pollution can cause serious issues to surrounding areas and even jeopardise the health of nearby residents. It can also cause issues for those who are required to work outside, such as road or utility construction workers, who also have the added complication of dealing with potentially high levels of dust too.

But how are workers supposed to know when levels of air quality drop to a dangerous level?

This is where we come in.

Two recent solutions developed by MVIS’ sister company, Bartco UK and intelligent tracking solutions specialists, Iknaia help to provide workers with live data that can report on levels of air quality for a wide range of pollutants. With this data, site managers and workers can monitor in real time the air quality around them, allowing them to minimise the long-term damage that may be caused by implementing safety measures such as distributing PPE when required.

One of these solutions, the Compact Environmental Sensor, serves as a passive air quality monitoring station with a small footprint, meaning it doesn’t take up much valuable space on-site. Being solar powered by our ‘Compact’ base, this unit requires no external power supply and offers a very low-cost alternative to static Air Quality monitoring stations, allowing clients to cover more space in a cost-effective way.

The ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor offers many of the same benefits, however, what makes this product special is its capability to integrate with any of our solar powered ITS solutions, creating a multifunctional unit that can perfectly compliment most road construction projects.

A good example of this is when the Environmental Sensor is integrated with our range of portable VMS. In deploying this solution, site managers can increase safety even more, by using the VMS to raise awareness of the construction project that is underway.

Moreover, the same solution can be deployed in the lead up to any scheduled works, giving roads users plenty of warning that there will be disruption, as well as collecting air quality data beforehand, allowing site managers to implement risk mitigation strategies prior to the works being carried out, helping to keep their workers safe.

For more information about our Environmental Sensor or if you would like to know more about how you can use our products to help with parking, please contact us via our contact form.

Alternatively, you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Helping Keep Utility Companies’ Traffic Management Safe

Posted on 10th March 2022 at 2:52 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

Recent campaigns from the likes of National Highways and Tier 1 or 2 contractors look to help tackle the abuse that highways workers must deal with when closing lanes, roads or conducting any works on a road that may disrupt driver’s journeys.

Initiatives such as the highways industry backed taskforce, “Stamp It Out” aims to eradicate abuse and incursions into closures on both the local and strategic network, helping to protect the thousands of workers who provide vital services that allow all road users to travel safely and freely every day.

Despite the initiatives, campaigns and nationally observed events like Road Safety Week, “Stamp It Out” remark that “we continue to see increasing numbers of threats both verbally and physically against those that work on our highways across the United Kingdom.”

Indeed, the Evening Standard also noted last year that “Almost one in 10 staff said they have been subjected to physical abuse in the past year, while one in five reported having missiles thrown at them”, really highlighting just how big this problem is.

MVIS and Bartco UK are well known in the industry for creating a culture of collaboration in our product development. Over the years, we have brought numerous products to market that respond to our customer’s needs, and this is an approach that we continue to maintain today.

When it comes to the safety of our customers and our own team, we take this collaborative approach even more seriously. For projects on the high-speed network, in recent years we have developed our Solar IP with CCTV solution to accommodate Low Light CCTV technology, improving visibility for workers on motorways and dual carriageways during night times too.

However, typical urban works, such as those undertaken by utility companies, may struggle to accommodate a Solar IP due to limited budgets or space. Urban environments are more likely to experience space limitations, working on roads of a lower speed, with a higher density of urban planning to work around.

In response to this concern, the team at MVIS and Bartco UK have been working with utilities and traffic management companies to develop 2 new solutions that help to bring many of the same advantages seen with our Solar IP on high-speed roads to urban works.

The Compact Portable CCTV solution integrates wire-free HD CCTV technology with our solar powered ‘Compact’ base, offering increased portability and a reduced footprint compared to other solutions. Combining this CCTV technology with our solar powered compact base means this unit can be deployed in many locations where competing solutions can’t be and prevents the need for an external power source, offering extended run times in recommended conditions.

Our compact base offers the camera not only portability, but also a 3M mast, allowing users excellent visibility when used in conjunction with the camera’s pan, tilt and zoom functions.

For the ultimate in urban safety solutions, we have also developed the CCTV VMS solution, which discreetly integrates a CCTV camera with our VMS-A. Combining these technologies allows you to have eyes on the ground without having to be physically present on-site, creating a surveillance and feedback solution that can be used to monitor and respond to situations quickly.

As a tried and tested traffic control solution, our VMS-A is often used to communicate vital information and safety messages all over the UK and can be used for text or pictograms.

The VMS-A is versatile, requires no external power source and messages can be updated remotely by your team or ours, via a web-based portal that can publish changes in seconds, allowing you to respond to the situation as it changes.

The power of messaging in safety applications can be highly useful, but when integrated with CCTV, both technologies come together to enforce safety restrictions and keep people safe in a more effective way than if used on their own.

The visible presence of CCTV and clear messaging are both well known to influence behaviour. Their combined use offers an information, surveillance and feedback solution that can be used to monitor driver and pedestrian behaviour without having to be on-site.

Graeme Lee, Sales Director at MVIS and Bartco UK comments, “We have been working closely with industries to deliver solutions that have increased safety for many years. The utilities industry and the traffic management companies that work with them can have a tough job with urban works, often working around busy urban or residential sites. Works such as this can be highly frustrating to drivers, pedestrians and even residents especially if the correct warning signage has not been put in place before the works start. In potentially risky situations, it is of the utmost importance that the workers on the ground are protected as much as possible. Our solutions can help with this, making sure that anyone on-site has low cost and flexible surveillance that increases security and safety.”

The MVIS Platinum Service Promise

Posted on 10th March 2022 at 11:15 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

Over the years, MVIS have built a solid reputation in the industry for providing excellent service to all customers on all projects, no matter the size or customer, we consistently offer our clients the very best service possible.

In recent months, we have been looking for ways that we can underscore this commitment to our customers and offer them an assurance on us as a company, for our service and for our products.

Our Platinum Service Promise is this –

“Platinum Level Service for Bronze Level Prices”

Our Quality & Service document serves to outline what we consider to be ‘Platinum Level Service’ and also highlights just how special our services are.

We have always had a good relationship with our clients and we regularly receive positive feedback and comments that often credit us for one of the aspects listed in our Quality & Service Document.

Each time a customer comes to us with enthusiastic comments about our service, we see this not just as an opportunity to celebrate our collective achievement, but also to reinforce this standard of service within our team. Reinforcing these standards offers us the chance to make it very clear to our team what level of service we strive towards. It also helps our staff feel appreciated, giving them job satisfaction and rewarding their hard work.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director comments “The Platinum Service Promise is a symbol of our commitment to service and customers. We have thought long and hard about a way we can demonstrate this, culminating in this promise to clients to always give them our very best. We are incredibly proud of our service record and the positive comments we receive from our customers.”

Anne continues, “However, it’s vital that we never lose sight of the importance of continuous improvement. Our Platinum Service Promise works in conjunction with our customer’s comments and internal audits to keep us on our toes, make us accountable and give us an opportunity to work on areas that may need another look. Having this trusting relationship with our customers allows us to consistently cater to their needs so we don’t miss anything as their needs evolve.”

Accreditations Foster Trust and Safety

Posted on 7th March 2022 at 9:14 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

Over the years, MVIS and Bartco UK have built a reputation for safety within the industry. Doing this has not been easy; we hold ourselves to very high standards that not only help to keep our staff safe, but also our customers and the general public too. In order to rise to the level that we have, we have worked to stringent safety frameworks through accreditations and memberships with organisations that help guide us along the right path, ensuring that we are maintaining as well as pushing our limits when it comes to matters of safety.

Such frameworks offer so much by way of support and guidance and by working to these, we have one of the best trained workforces in the industry. The accreditations and memberships we hold are a true testament to our commitment to safety and serve as a stamp of approval from these bodies that we work with safety in mind in everything that we do.

Amongst the most important of these frameworks are our ISO accreditations in the standards of quality (9001:2015), environmental management (14001:2015) and health & safety (45001:2018). Issued by global certification body NQA, ISO accreditations enforce the practise of and adherence to respected business standards that help organisations perform better in a wide range of aspects. Together, the ISO accreditations furnish us with a full IMS (integrated management system), bringing our systems and processes into one complete framework, making adherence to these core aspects highly important for us.

Subject to an annual audit by NQA, we are tested into order to ensure that we are making full use of the IMS, applying our accreditation skills to all levels of our business, and it is with great pride that we can announce that we have passed our audit for 2022 with flying colours.

One of the other frameworks that we work to is Gold Status in the Constructionline programme. Constructionline offers a platform for thousands of buyers in the construction industry, enforcing an ethos of trust and quality amongst its members.

Assessing all members, the Constructionline platform is used by buyers to quickly find suppliers that will enable them to complete a range of projects in the industry by providing them with a pool of high-quality suppliers that they can engage with confidently.

Achieving Gold status on this platform requires further validation checks using an enhanced prequalification questionnaire that goes beyond those involved in silver. Our credentials were assessed for environmental management, quality management, equal opportunities, modern slavery act adherence and anti-bribery and corruption policies.

We have also achieved Gold status in the Supply Chain Sustainability School, a platform that offers businesses extensive training into topics such as sustainability, offsite safety, procurement and management relevant to the business environment.

With a focus on CPD through training workshops, networking events and e-learning modules, achieving Gold status is done through completing or using a number of these tools across the company to ensure that the skills taught within the programmes are taken on by companies as well as filtered throughout the business.

We have also re-certified with Achilles BuildingConfidence, having been registered for 3 years now. Achilles Building Confidence is a UK construction industry accreditation and risk management scheme that aims to help organisations identify, assess, qualify, and monitor suppliers throughout the supply chain, reducing operating costs.

A standardised pre-qualification questionnaire streamlines the procurement process and manages risk.

Achilles enables communities of buyers and suppliers to build better business relationships through a more open, trusting and proactive approach. Sharing knowledge, standards and best practice leads to buyers and suppliers sharing success.

Achilles BuildingConfidence helps us to accentuate our commitment to these essential aspects of our business.

Another accreditation we hold is the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), which an accreditation scheme for fleet operators that aims to raise the level of quality within fleet operations, and to demonstrate which operators are achieving exemplary levels of best practice in safety, efficiency, and environmental protection.

In joining this collection of businesses, we have benchmarked the standard of excellence in our operations, achieving the FORS Bronze accreditation. Holding Bronze accreditation confirms that we employ good practice and comply with the requirements laid out by the FORS Standard, focusing on a dedication to driver and vehicle safety.

Safety doesn’t just encompass physical safety, however. Last year, we signed up to the Prompt Payment Code. The Prompt Payment Code is a voluntary code of practice for businesses, administered by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) on behalf of BEIS and sets standards for payment practices between organisations of any size and their suppliers.

Signatories to the code have undertaken to always pay suppliers on time, within agreed terms, to give clear guidance to suppliers on terms, dispute resolution and prompt notification of late payment, and well as to support good practice throughout their supply chain by encouraging adoption of the Code.

By promoting and sticking to these practices, we are serving as a good example for the code which may help to inspire other companies to sign up, enforcing best business practices all along our supply chain to help organisations conduct business safely.

We also prioritise digital safety too. Cyber Essentials is a simple but effective,Government backed scheme that will help you to protect your organisation, whatever its size, against a whole range of the most common cyber attacks.

Cyber attacks come in many shapes and sizes, but the vast majority are very basic in nature, carried out by relatively unskilled individuals. They’re the digital equivalent of a thief trying your front door to see if it’s unlocked. Cyber Essentials is designed to prevent these attacks.

Certification gives us peace of mind that our defences will protect against the vast majority of common cyber attacks simply because these attacks are looking for targets which do not have the Cyber Essentials technical controls in place.

Cyber Essentials shows us how to address those basics and prevent the most common attacks.

It also gives our customers piece of mind that their data is handled according to best practices against common cyber attacks, meaning they can hire with us confidently.

Graeme Lee, Sales Director for MVIS and Bartco UK commented, “The frameworks we work to have been carefully considered and are absolutely essential to ensure the safety of our team, so we do not take it lightly. Everyone within our group has had training that goes beyond the basic requirements for their job role. Clients come to us knowing that we do not compromise when it comes to our standards, giving us a loyal customer base and separating us from other portable VMS suppliers.”

The further we invest in strong accreditations and memberships, the more we change the way we operate and how we approach challenges. In an ever-evolving world, staying up to date on matters of safety has never been more important.

VMS-A Excels in Urban Environments

Posted on 7th March 2022 at 9:14 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

As a company, we hold an unrivalled reputation within the High Speed and Traffic Management industries for providing reliable solutions and platinum level service. Recent years have shown us the true scope of our products, with the COVID-19 pandemic calling for clear and concise messaging in many new areas, such as retail and on high streets in town or city centres, the VMS-A played a central role in the COVID messaging strategy for so many customers all over the UK.

Over the years, the VMS-A has proven itself highly capable when it comes to urban deployments. As our mid-sized portable solar powered Variable Message Sign, the VMS-A is one of our most popular units, serving a wide range of applications. The pandemic really brought the VMS-A’s versatility to the fore, helping customers to see just how powerful it can be when it comes to messaging and communicating information in urban environments.

What makes the VMS-A so perfect?

Striking a seemingly ideal balance between size and messaging capability for urban environments, the VMS-A boasts a smaller footprint than the VMS-C, but a larger screen than the HD Compact VMS, making it both versatile and powerful.

Designed for messaging on roads under 50mph, its small footprint allows it to be deployed in locations with limited space such as car parks or high streets. For urban environments, this is highly important and it boasts an impressive range of features that can be used by customers for a variety of traffic management and crowd control applications.

One of these features is its control capabilities. The VMS-A can be operated remotely via web browser or smart phone device and it can also be configured for scheduled operation and vehicle activation so that it doesn’t display messages when it is not needed. Messages can be updated quickly and easily, allowing site managers to be responsive to changes in the situation.

The VMS-A also boasts a 5-colour LED display that is ideal for displaying pictograms and logos, tackling language barriers and offering promotion of your brand in the right circumstances.

The unit is also perfect for integrations. Along with our sister company, Bartco UK, we have made many adaptations to the VMS-A that make it even more functional. Optional integrations such as CCTV or the ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor allow the VMS-A to double up as a multifunctional unit that can either increase security and safety or serve as a low cost air quality monitoring station.

Couple these aspects with the unit’s integrated data collection radar, which, for many customers is a premium feature that really sets it apart from competing portable VMS available in the market. Using the sign’s data collection radar, customers can obtain data regarding traffic, capturing trend data on volume, speed, date and time of traffic.

This makes planning much easier, allowing customers with multiple projects in the area or on the same stretch of road learn more about the traffic-related risk as time goes on. Even better, with one of our signs deployed in the location of the works sometime beforehand, it can warn drivers of the upcoming disruption and collect data at the same time, helping with planning and traffic management, giving the drivers an opportunity to find a different route before the works start.

Who can make the most out of the VMS-A?

These features can be particularly useful for utility companies, who may be required to conduct multiple works on the same stretch of road for maintenance or installation of the vital grid connections we have into our homes and businesses for gas, water and internet.

Traditional traffic management companies can massively benefit from using the VMS-A.

Working with a company who specialise in High Speed works, where often restrictions and requirements are much more stringent than urban traffic management brings its own benefits. An exceptionally high level of service from MVIS is augmented by the range of features the VMS-A packs in. Optional and default integrations such as the data collection radar or the environmental sensor may offer traffic management customers premium level features for a low cost relative to competing solutions, which then in turn allow our traffic management customers to offer those solutions themselves using our equipment.

The VMS-A’s messaging power can also be leveraged for displaying messaging and updates to the public in situations such as emergencies, festivals and events. Such situations may call for strong messaging especially if they attract large numbers of people, allowing the VMS-A to really come into its own.

We have even seen the VMS-A used by the likes of charities to help raise awareness of their fundraisers. Some fundraisers even affect the road network, such as Ashgate Hospice’s Sparkle Walk, which necessitates the closure of several roads in Chesterfield annually.

Multiple signs are deployed each year around Chesterfield in the lead up to the event to warn drivers of the upcoming disruption. These signs are then switched to close the roads at the right time for the event, combining road closures, promotion and traffic management warnings in the same deployment.

Local authorities also find some innovative uses of our VMS-A, especially for communicating campaigns and initiatives. A popular initiative for local authorities is raising awareness of Park and Ride services as an alternative to driving in the city or town centre. Likewise, we have seen our units used to help promote ‘car free’ zones and for drivers to turn off idle engines in traffic by using the powerful messaging capabilities to help communicate with large numbers of people to help keep emissions down in our urban areas.

If you would like to learn more about our VMS-A, please contact us via our contact form. Alternatively, you can call us on 01629 580 570 to speak to one of our friendly team, or you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

MVIS offer Added Value

Posted on 23rd February 2022 at 8:00 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

We have always taken pride in the things that make us special. As an industry leader, we are required to not just stay on the forefront of innovation, but to also push the boundaries for the rest of the industry, ensuring our service and products are the best they could be so that our customers are receiving maximum value.

As a result, we place the idea of ‘added value’ high amongst our priorities, looking at ways we can improve our service and products, as well as our internal processes.

Knowing our Customers

One of the ways we look to offer added value for our customers is by taking the time and effort to learn about the industries we work with. We do this to gain a good understanding of their needs, which then helps us in our continuing mission to look for ways to add more value. As such, it makes working with MVIS and hiring our products an experience that offers much more than intended.

A good example of this can be found in the development of our HD Compact unit, which was the first portable Variable Message Signs (VMS) of its size to hit market and has since inspired the develop of competing units within the industry. The HD Compact was developed in response to a customer requirement for Traffic Management applications, since at the time, portable VMS units were traditionally roughly the size of our VMS-A and VMS-C units.

Some Traffic Management applications, especially urban works are highly limited on space, making VMS-A and VMS-C units too big for some projects. The HD Compact helped to fulfil this requirement for the entire industry and to this day has changed the landscape of the portable VMS market in the UK.

This solution would not be possible without our proactive approach when it comes to working with our customers and it is an approach we maintain today. Since it’s launch in 2016, we have continued to develop the HD Compact with our customers, recently undergoing significant changes that still puts it ahead of competing solutions of its size. Version 2 of the unit comes with integrated solar power, the addition of adjustable height for its display and a new casing design that hides all cabling, making it more secure against vandalism or accidental damage.

Product Integrations

As with the HD Compact, we are always developing all our units to make sure that customers are getting much more than just a portable VMS. Due to the locations that our products are traditionally deployed, they offer a great opportunity for a wide range of additional extras that can bring huge benefits to any project. We do this by integrating other technologies with our signs that enhance what they are capable of.

For example, when deployed to communicate to drivers, our signs can offer extra value to a project with their integrated data collection radar, which comes as standard with all our VMS.

The integrated data collection radar offers a low-cost alternative to many data collection solutions on the market and is ideal to be used as a data source for the analysis of traffic trends, enabling greater intelligence for planning projects of all kinds.

It may also help with general road and work site safety, allowing users to identify traffic trends with risk, such as speed or volume of traffic, and therefore take steps to combat it. Sourcing traffic data has never been easier, with data uploading to our server every hour, ready to be downloaded at any time by the user via a web-based portal.

Combining data collection and VMS in one unit offers a multi-functional solution that can help collect valuable data at the same time as communicating messages. What’s more is that by working with data sharing solutions company, Chordant on a trial that demonstrates that our integrated data collection radar produced comparable traffic speeds and flow relative to Coventry SCOOT data, we have proved that we can use our signs to help to understand traffic trends and flows.

In recent months, we have expanded the capability of our units, especially the VMS-A with integrations such as the VMS CCTV solution, which integrates a CCTV camera with the VMS-A for increased security and monitoring of a work site.

Working with Partners

We don’t just work with customers when it comes to innovation.

MVIS, as well as our sister company, ITS manufacturer, Bartco UK, have worked with a range of specialists in their field to bring portable, solar powered innovations to the industry such as ANPR and CCTV.

This is made possible by our Solar IP, which serves as a trailer-based, solar powered ‘power bank’ available for integration with other technology, granting it portability and solar power.

We offer added value to clients who require our products simply by offering the Solar IP, allowing them to integrate the technology they already own with ours, potentially opening new doors for what the technology is capable of. Working with either MVIS or Bartco UK offers an opportunity to be the first to develop a new industry innovation.

However, we also work proactively with partners, developing relationships with specialists in technology to help make their technology portable. We seek value in our partners to ensure that we can also provide value to the industry, resulting in innovations with leading companies such as Wavetronix, Jenoptik, 360 Vision and Iknaia.

Added Value for Everyone

One of the biggest product integrations we have recently developed looks at the added value we can bring for everyone. The Integrated ITS Environmental Sensor can be combined with any of our ITS solutions to offer clients the ability to monitor the external environment, producing a wide range of air pollution data that can be used to inform and direct on issues of air pollution safety.

This solution not only benefits the customer for their environmental or project goals, but also helps wider society in efforts to reduce pollution, by giving users the ability to identify hot spots and areas of concern, making it easier to take action.

Also, by serving as a very low-cost alternative to static Air Quality monitoring stations, it allows clients to cover more space in a cost-effective way by using our units, meanwhile, fulfilling another safety function at the same time.

Service

Although we specialise in portable solar powered ITS solutions, we never lose sight of the fact that we are a service-based company. As a result, we highly prioritise the added value we can offer in our service.

We are proud to offer customers our ‘Platinum Service Promise’, which outlines our commitment to delivering a ‘Platinum’ level service for a ‘Bronze’ level price. Going above and beyond on what is expected from us means we receive a lot of positive customer feedback, which allows us to identify things we get right.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “We don’t just offer 24/7 service to our customers, we offer informed and experienced service from a highly trained team. Our impressive range of additional aspects that is encompassed in our service helps distinguish us from a typical VMS supplier.”

One of these aspects is how we monitor our products. We have a plethora of tools in place that help us monitor different aspects of our units out in the field, all from our head office in Matlock. On the rare occasions that there is an issue, we are made aware using our monitoring tools and, thanks to our national coverage, we can quickly dispatch a team from the nearest depot to investigate the problem, building in battery changes, repairs and replacements if needed into the promise of service we offer our clients.

After years of over-delivering on our customer’s expectations, we have built a reputation in the industry for our excellent service. Our emphasis on training gives customers confidence that our versatile team are fully trained in Health & Safety and as hiab and slinger signalers for delivery, installation and removal. Depending on their role on site, our workforce are also always present with the appropriate and relevant CSCS card, ensuring only the highest standards are met.

These aspects that give MVIS added value to work with culminate to working with a business that has covered every aspect of a platinum level service.

Hire with MVIS today to be confident that your ITS technology will be taken care of by experts.