How Versatile is the VMS-A?

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Designed for messaging on roads under 50mph and typically targeted toward High Speed and Traffic Management industries, the VMS-A over the years has proven itself to be highly capable when it comes to urban deployments. 

The VMS-A is one of our most popular units, with its versatility allowing it to serve a wide range of applications. It is perfect for urban environments as it has the required size and messaging capability, but is smaller than a VMS-C which makes it more portable and versatile. Its relatively small footprint allows it to be deployed in locations with limited space, such as car parks or high streets.

Urban Deployments

The COVID-19 pandemic saw many VMS-A units deployed into new areas, such as retail and on high streets in town or city centres to help spread messaging. 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 capability of VMS-A to really shine. 

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.  

Using Web Studio or the BartcoLive App, clients can display more than just the expected traffic signalling pictograms and recreate all sorts of images as the VMS-A boasts a brilliant 5 colour LED display. 

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. Its built-in data collection radar makes it ideal for bustling towns and city centres as it can collect traffic trend data on date, time and speed. 

Parking Applications

One of the biggest areas we have seen our technology thrive in is in parking applications. The VMS-A can help clear up confusion, directing drivers and pedestrians in situations where certain stores or areas of a car park may be closed.

A good example of this use is with Barnsley Council, which used 2x VMS-A signs in late 2020 in a central car park to help communicate important COVID messaging to people before they entered Barnsley town centre.

By deploying a VMS-A in key locations, local authorities can also raise awareness of their Park and Ride services, as well as other newly developed parking provisions. A great example of this is our work with Oxfordshire County Council, which in late 2020 used 8x VMS-A units to help combat congestion in the city centre. 

The messaging power of the VMS-A in terms of its screen size can also help with directing people to the correct areas in very large car parks, such as at conferences, stadiums or arenas. For car parks with limited space, we even offer a portable VMS with a smaller footprint than the VMS-A known as the HD Compact. This unit is our smallest VMS, but despite its small size, it still packs a huge amount of functionality. 

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.

Parking Solutions

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Over the years, we have seen many applications for our technology, showing us and our customers just how versatile our solar powered ITS equipment can be.

One of the biggest areas we have seen our technology thrive is in parking applications, serving messaging and security requirements. In recent years, car parks all over the UK were thrown into confusion with retail and business closures – some more than temporary. Local authorities were also charged with spreading important messaging, often using central car parks as a point to disseminate this information. Our solutions were on hand to assist a wide range of organisations with the chaos, brining increased safety and clarity to the situation, helping to keep Britain moving.

Our solutions are still being used in car parks across the nation to help ease common problems that car parks experience.

Wayfinding

One of the biggest aspects in parking that our technology can assist with is in matters of wayfinding. Our solar powered, portable Variable Message Signs can help clear up confusion, directing drivers and pedestrians in situations where certain stores or areas of a car park may be closed. Such an application is vital when many stores are closed. Wayfinding for parking applications is essential to sign post any stores that may have closed permanently or for any construction projects that change the flow of traffic.

Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton is a great example of how well our signs can be applied to this application. Recently, Middlebrook Retail Park used our VMS-A signs to help direct drivers to the right area in response to many stores closing, helping to control the flow of traffic and deliver drivers to the correct location within the car park for the store they were after.

Robert Hallworth, Centre Director for The Emerson Group, who manage Middlebrook Retail Park commented, “I have been using MVIS signs for 5 years now and they really help communicate quickly with a large number of shoppers coming to site. During the pandemic they have been invaluable to get messages to the public. […] support at MVIS is excellent and their in-house team can change signs in seconds when needed, making them a highly effective tool in high traffic situations. We deal with over 100,000 cars a week and have a football stadium on site.”

They may also help with directing people to the correct areas in very large car parks, such as the ones seen at conference centres, at arenas or stadium venues for example. A crowd control application like this is also commonly used at festivals and large events, helping to direct the behaviour of many people using a clear and easy to update source of information. 

For car parks with limited space however, we even offer a portable VMS with a smaller footprint than the VMS-A. The HD Compact is our smallest VMS, yet despite its small size, it packs a huge amount of functionality, featuring a dual colour display, solar power base and integrated data collection radar. 

Promotion

Our signs can also be applied to a wider application for parking. In some cases, having adequate parking can make a huge difference in a town or city centre when it comes to traffic congestion. Many town and city centres offer a ‘Park and Ride’ system that allows visitors to park their vehicle outside of the city and use public transport to then travel into the centre, reducing traffic and pollution.

However, one of the biggest challenges local authorities have regarding this kind of parking is promotion, that is, making drivers aware of the provision to encourage them to use the Park and Ride service.

Using our signs deployed in key locations, local authorities can raise awareness of Park and Ride services, as well as other newly developed parking provisions.

An ideal example of this can be found with Oxfordshire County Council, who in late 2020 used 8x VMS-A units to help combat congestion in the city centre.

Signs were strategically deployed throughout the city on main roads leading into the centre to give maximum exposure to the message that they wanted drivers entering Oxford to use the Park and Ride rather than drive around the city in a vehicle.

In feedback to us, an Oxfordshire County Council Traffic Systems Technical Officer commented that the signs were “really clear and consistent” and that they were “really happy with everything and would not hesitate to use again”.

Regarding our customer service, the Technical Officer added that it was, “brilliant, the whole team were very reactive and helpful,” and when it came to using our proprietary Web Studio to change the messages on the signs, she reported that it was “super easy to use” and “so much better than the system we have for our fixed signs.” She added, “The team were excellent when we needed signs moving or anything changing.”

Likewise, our signs were used in preparation for one of the oldest agricultural shows in the UK, the Bakewell Show for the same reason. Janet Bailey, Bakewell Show Manager said, “MVIS provided us with an excellent solution for both our traffic management and promotional needs for the show. The signs placed on the major access routes advertising the Park and Ride scheme were a tremendous success. Our Park and Ride operating company noticed a significant increase in customers using the scheme compared to previous years.” Janet added, “Feedback from the general public and the police was very positive with many comments on the visual impact of the colour graphics and text messages.”

Charities have even used our signs in car parks to help promote fundraisers to local audiences. Ashgate Hospice, for example, use a VMS-A deployed in a local supermarket car park to help raise awareness of their upcoming events to get maximum visibility. 

Enforcement

It’s not just our signs that can be used for parking applications.

Our Solar IP is a highly versatile product that can be used to grant power to other technologies that are traditionally fixed or require mains power. One such technology is ANPR, which, in partnership with parking companies or ANPR suppliers, helps to enforce parking restrictions at car parks all over the country.

ANPR

Horizon Parking, for example use our Solar IPs to grant portability to their ANPR units. Whilst Horizon would ordinarily utilise fixed ANPR units, there are some car parks and locations that can’t facilitate fixed power solutions. Horizon’s Solar IPs allow them to supply such locations with their usual ANPR parking provision without having to invest in new or different ANPR cameras.

ANPR technology in a parking application can help to monitor drivers to ensure that they aren’t breaking stated restrictions, such as return frequency, unauthorised parking in forbidden areas, keeping necessary parking spaces clear or length of a driver’s stay, making it essential for parking companies.

It can also be used to collect data, giving site managers the ability to identify periods of high demand, helping analysts better manage future traffic requirements. Allowing you to collect data such as vehicle quantities or arrival times gives operations coordinators the opportunity to learn about visitors in a way that can help preparation and planning. This could be a highly important function for car parks that face high demand, such as airport car parks, or provide a wider service function, as car wash car parks do.

Operating automatically, this highly portable solution could even auto-detect vehicles as they pass through the field of view, or it can be linked to an external trigger for weigh in motion capture or other applications where only specific vehicles are required to be detected.

Security & Surveillance

Our Solar IP can also be integrated with CCTV, which offers car parks increased security. Our Solar Powered Low Light CCTV solution, when deployed in a car park, can allow site managers to record and respond to situations as they occur. The visible presence of CCTV is well known to influence behaviour and help enforce rules.

Having that extra level of security adds increased protection for drivers using a car park with CCTV, which could even be offered as a premium feature, helping to ease the sting of charging for its use. Indeed, some drivers may even be happy to pay for parking if they know that their vehicle is under surveillance.

For car parks with limited space, we have recently developed the ‘Compact CCTV’ unit, which utilises our ‘Compact’ solar base to power a wire-free CCTV camera that boasts an ultra-wide viewing angle of 355° pan & 140° tilt and connects through Vodafone 4G. This unit is ideal for smaller car parks or those with a limited budget, offering a low-cost smaller solution that, with its 3m high mast, can monitor car park security effectively.

We have also recently developed a portable VMS with integrated CCTV. The 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 driver and pedestrian behaviour without having to be on-site.

Innovation

One of the advantages of our products is their sheer versatility in terms of applications. In many ways, every deployment we manage is a unique project with its own requirements and demands. Here at MVIS, we see this as an important part of our service, giving us the opportunity to provide our customers with the perfect solution for a given issue.

Especially in recent years, we have seen very interesting applications of our products that have helped to address needs arising out of the wider complications of COVID. A good example of this was the car park-based ‘Click and Collect’ solution developed in response to the juxtaposition of overwhelming demand and social distancing during the pandemic.

The Click and Collect system utilises one of our VMS-A units as a ‘call up’ display that could, for example, display an order number when the order is ready for collection. This solution made social distancing easier during the pandemic and could help to reduce congestion and bottlenecks in retail store car parks.

In a similar fashion, the same technology can be applied to a doctor’s surgery or hospital car parks for vaccine or appointment call ups as an alternative to all patients waiting in a waiting room. Those patients with vehicles are then able to sit in their car and wait for the VMS-A to display a message calling them up, keeping the risk of infection to a minimum.

Another innovative use of our products for car parking is queue management. In traditional traffic management applications, our signs can be used to to inform drivers of journey time information, which we know helps to calm traffic during times of congestion. Providing journey time information gives drivers a chance to change their route if needed as well as providing estimated wait times for those who may be stuck in traffic.

Applying this function to car parks, it is possible for our signs to display estimated wait times into a car park during busy periods, which could be highly useful for events that start at a particular time and see many visitors arriving around the same time. Using our signs to inform those waiting to enter a busy car park on estimated waiting times may encourage drivers to use another car park or help to keep things calm during the waiting when people may be anxious about missing the start of the event. 

For more information about our solutions 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.

 

Specialist Expertise Helps Keep Britain Moving

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Regularly working with National Highways, Tier 1 Contractors and Local Authorities, MVIS are a trusted name when it comes to the delivery of ITS solutions across the UK.

As we continue to deliver for clients of all kinds, we have been building on our strong reputation in the industry for customer service and expertise. Due to our focus on portable VMS and specific ITS solutions, our expertise is specialised in our core solutions rather than diluted across many different types of products, like some of our competitors.

This allows us to offer a premium level service for silver level rates and we don’t just cater to big customers. As market leaders, we supply all customers, from high profile schemes to small scale events and basic messaging deployments, we deliver the same level of customer service to all of our customers, no matter how big they are or how big the order is.

Our services don’t just stop at deployment too. Our expertise is often relied upon by customers for consulting purposes regarding how many units are needed, how to best utilise their added-value features and how to provide maximum efficiency for traffic management goals such as traffic flow and safety.

Safety as a concept is of vital importance to us at every step of the company, from our processes and policies to our operations and service – indeed, we have had no reportable incidents of injury in our 9-year history.

This approach is reinforced with a number of accreditations and memberships, leaving no doubt with our clients about what they’re getting when they hire with MVIS. Amongst these include FORS Bronze, Achilles BuildingConfidence membership, Constructionline Gold and ISO accreditations in ISO45001: Occupational Health & Safety, ISO9001: Quality Management Systems and ISO14001: Environmental Management Systems, which come together to make an Integrated Management System (IMS), bringing our systems and processes into one complete framework.

It’s not enough just preaching the importance of safety to our team, however. In order for them to work in a safe environment, everyone needs the relevant skills and training to contribute to this. MVIS provide training for all staff, ensuring that each member of the team is trained and certified in all relevant aspects for everyone to do their job safely, which not only ensures their own safety, but the safety of those around them and for some members of the team, the safety of the general public too.

Internally, we have a programme of Health and Safety training that is ongoing for every operative, in addition to any external training that may be needed for specific projects or for a specific role. For example, all MVIS team members required on-site are CSCS qualified.  

In keeping with our ISO, our responsibilities extend to the environment too. We maintain strong sustainable policies that ensures our carbon footprint is minimised and still reducing as time goes on. A great example of this is our membership with Forest Carbon and their Carbon Club, which allows organisations and businesses an opportunity to address their carbon footprint in a long lasting and effective way.

Purchasing ‘carbon credits’ allows Forest Carbon to plant trees and create new woodlands in the UK on our behalf, which will sequester greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in the years to come.

To make the most of this fantastic opportunity, we are committing to the initiative fully by buying extra credits and planting more trees for any long-term contracts our customers place with us. This has a very powerful effect as time goes on, allowing both MVIS and our customers to help the environment now and in the future, as well as helping to restore habitats for wildlife that is local to the plant sites, increasing biodiversity, protecting against floods and improving river ecosystems.

But it’s perhaps our product offering that has the biggest impact. Offering a suite of solar powered products has an obvious environmental benefit, but when these products are used for applications with an environmental goal, the units become much more than safety solutions.

A recent development, for example, is the ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor, which can be integrated with any of our products and offers clients the ability to monitor and report on air quality. The implications of this on the environment could be huge; the first step in helping to combat levels of pollution is identifying the extent of the pollution. Our ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor allows all our ITS units to work together to serve as a low cost, multi-functional air quality network that passively generates such data whilst serving another safety function.

Together, these aspects contribute to an already strong reputation in the industry for being the best at what we do, and this is only being confirmed with each project that we are trusted with.

As our Major Projects portfolio has increased since our beginnings with the Olympics in 2012, we are repeatedly reminded of the importance of expertise and how vital it is that we remain industry leading specialists in the delivery of solar powered, portable VMS and ITS solutions.

Product Refocus: Low Light CCTV Camera with Solar IP

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The Solar IP

solar ip with portable cctvOur Solar IP (Solar Intelligent Platform) has long been held as a valuable innovation to the market, bringing portability to technologies that are traditionally fixed due to power restrains. This has never been more apparent than since the development of one of our latest solutions, the Low Light CCTV Camera with Solar IP.

Offering a ‘portable power bank’ to these technologies, the potential of the Solar IP is virtually endless, providing companies the ability to power their technology using the Solar IP’s proprietary trailer based, solar power delivery system.

Using the latest in solar charging systems, the Solar IP can accommodate a 12V, 24V or 48V battery into the solution, as well as new 250W solar PV panels that are designed to optimise ultraviolet light in northern hemisphere locations.

Complete with a versatile 6m mast as standard, the Solar IP is ideal for integrating with a wide range of technologies such as ANPR, CCTV, Data Collection solutions and many more.

Portable Low Light CCTV

A great example of this is the innovative Portable Low Light CCTV product development that brought a new level of CCTV quality to portable applications. This product was made possible by the combination of The Invictus HD camera from 360 Vision with Bartco UK’s Solar IP.

Boasting an incredibly clear picture and performing excellently in low light conditions, 360 Vision have delivered a camera that is low in power demands but still offers an HD image, allowing the Research & Development Team at Bartco UK to work on integrating a power source in the form of our Solar IP.

The Invictus HD camera itself offers a fully ruggedized housing, with exceptional build quality. The toughened optical glass window features a wiper and its Pan & Tilt gearbox is ultra-reliable and resilient. The defining feature, however, could be argued to be its integrated high-performance IR lights with intelligent control, which enables its powerful performance in low light conditions.

As a result of the low power demands of this unit, it is able to perform to extended run times, filling a strong market requirement for a CCTV product that is also portable, solar powered and has a much clearer image than seen in previous solutions on the market.

The development brings a lot to safety, security and site management applications, allowing for the monitoring of areas even in low light. This is especially important in safety applications such as highways construction, where the low light could be a danger to workers and drivers alike.

For more information about our Low Light CCTV solution or Solar IP and how it can be adapted to integrate with your technology, please contact us via our contact form.

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

Events Management

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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

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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

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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

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.

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

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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.

VMS-A on high speed road for traffic management

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

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.

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.

works egress safety solution

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.

solar powered cctv camera

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.” 

 

Mobile Visual Information Systems

01629 580 570

MVIS, Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND

© 2022. Company registered in England No. 8130402 - Registered Office: Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND