COVID-19 has presented a number of issues for councils and those who manage sites open to the public. 2020 has seen some of the biggest changes to the way we operate as a society in our lifetimes and as a result, our needs changes with them.

Traditionally, portable ITS technology such as Variable Message Signs (VMS) or CCTV have been deployed and used for traffic management and events, offering important information that people need to stay safe. 

The use of our technology for crowd control is not a new idea. Indeed, we have always applied our solutions to applications that require the management of pedestrians. A large part of this is found in the events industry, where our portable VMS, CCTV, ANPR and Data Collection solutions have been used with great success. Our products have been tried and tested on some of the biggest events in the country such as the 2012 Olympics, Brighton Pride, V Festival, Silverstone and The Grand National.

However, in the wake of the pandemic, the risks presented in public areas becomes a major concern for everyone. In these areas, we can use our technology for the same applications they were designed for, but with a different focus, helping us live in a world with COVID-19 safely. 

Important Notices

One of the key uses of our technology is to communicate.

Our solar powered, portable signs offer a platform to communicate to the public at a time when information is critical. With a range of signs in different sizes, our portable VMS are an ideal solution for public safety information, such as enforcing social distancing, closing roads or buildings, or even establishing lockdown barriers – if it comes to that. 

A world with COVID-19 remains unpredictable and one of the biggest issues with that, is the information keeps changing. 

No sooner had councils and businesses purchased static signs enforcing a 2m distance policy, the government lowers the policy to 1m, producing waste.

Using a VMS, the message can be changed in seconds without even needing to be on site.

This versatility – along with its portability – offers incredible added-value to the unit. 

Another issue we are facing is the abuse of some of the UK’s beauty spots. The heatwave towards the end of June 2020 spelled a disaster for our seasides in Bournemouth, Exmouth and other areas, which were swamped with visitors who brought with them a lot of litter.

By deploying one of our signs in these beauty spots, it serves as a visual reminder for visitors to take their litter home with them.

Wayfinding / Marshalling 

With such a huge disruption in the way we move and certain businesses phasing in their reopening, there is a lot of confusion for travelers and shoppers right now. 

Portable VMS can be deployed to help clear up this confusion by directing people to the right places, or announcing reopening. 

A common application we see in events, our signs deliver a clear message in text or pictograms that can’t be missed.

Queue Management

Our journey time solutions help to combat traffic queues by relaying estimated journey time to the driver so they can plan accordingly, helping to minimise frustration and confusion on our roads. 

With the successful use of estimated queue times in the hospitality and events industry as a queue calming measure, we can apply this logic to the use of our signs on the high street, for example.

Our HD Compact VMS offers a solar powered, portable VMS with a small footprint that would apply perfectly to a queuing system, helping keep order in busy retail or service areas. 

Surveillance / Enforcement

The Visitor Information & Management System uses an effective combination of our portable, solar powered VMS and CCTV  to offer a surveillance / feedback system for site managers. Opening up the ability to monitor their scope of responsibility, site managers can react to issues by updating the sign via browser or our app to remind visitors of the rules, or indeed that they are being watched, for example. 

Using these products together in this way helps to bring out the best of both solutions, forming a highly effective site management system that can be operated remotely.   

Our latest CCTV solution, developed in partnership with 360 Vision Technology even offers incredible low light capabilities, which may be useful in areas where night time activity becomes a concern. 

For more information about our solutions or if you would like to know more about how you can use our products to help with crowd control, social distancing or queue management, 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.

As the world changes in response to COVID-19, our use of technology changes with it, offering new and helpful ways to not only combat the virus, but also offering new ways we can live with it.

MVIS have been working hard with a wide range of industries to develop new products using our technology in order to help with the effort, establishing ground-breaking solutions for problems that didn’t exist in such scale only a few months ago.

One industry we have been working very closely with is the retail sector, who, in the wake of this have very different technological requirements to what they had only a few months ago. In a world with COVID-19, the retail industry has a big responsibility to society to do what they can to ensure that the virus is not being spread in their buildings.

As a result, stores around the country have started to adapt, installing measures to help enforce social distancing as well as for a range of other requirements. Needs related to increased demand with Click and Collect, new queuing systems and even communicating specific information such as ‘card payments only’ have become, at least in the short term, a huge priority for these businesses.  

In identifying these needs, MVIS and Bartco UK developed a solution and offer a wider range of products that can help with these issues. Possibly the biggest issue logistically that retail stores currently have is in relation to queue management. It is a well-known occurrence that increased queue time can also increase frustration and anxiety in customers, which is not ideal customer psychology, especially when shoppers are already anxious and nervous.

Providing waiting customers with estimated queue wait times has already been proven successful in traffic management applications and the events industry, however it’s not usually an issue faced by the retail industry. With this in mind, our new Queue Management Solution offers the retail industry a solid solution under COVID-19 conditions using our range of VMS.

The Queue Management Solution uses our dual-colour HD Compact VMS (variable message sign) to communicate queue wait times to waiting customers in conjunction with our solar powered VMS-A to communicate information to drivers. The HD Compact’s portability and small footprint makes it an ideal queue management solution, especially in areas where space is limited. When placed strategically along the side of the queue, stores can keep customers informed and manage their expectations to help minimise frustration before customers enter the premises.

Queue management can also be achieved using the VMS-A in areas with more space. Whilst the HD Compact’s selling point is its small size, the VMS-A allows for more complex messages and may also reach a larger number of customers due to its size, making it ideal for car parks and larger stores. Such messages may encompass new store opening times, the store’s social distancing policy or other important information.

The use of the VMS-A in this solution can also help to keep customers informed every step of the way with their visit, being able to be used for a wide range of aspects such as traffic control and pedestrian marshalling.

One of the most innovative uses however has been found in the support of increased demand of Click and Collect, which, in the absence of any customer information, can descend into chaos easily. Using our web-based platform, site managers can update the sign’s message within seconds to call forward the next customer when their order is ready.

Whilst we learn to deal with COVID-19 both as an economy and as a society, more technological solutions will be employed to help us deal with the hostile circumstances we find ourselves in. This solution, and those we have developed alongside it, represents a step change in how we continue to use our technology to keep Britain informed during a time when information is of critical importance.

For more information about our solutions or if you would like to know more about how you can use our products to help with social distancing or queue management, 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.