The global, online Sustainable Innovation 2023 conference – for Creative Industries and Creative Economy – announced for March 20-26th
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, sustainable innovation on March 8, 2023
8-3-23, Farnham, Surrey, UK. The global, online Sustainable Innovation 2023 (SI23), the 24th in the series of Sustainable Innovation conferences, will feature many of the leading lights of Creative Industries (CI) in innovation and sustainability, among them 50 speakers and panellists.
With a theme this year of “Accelerating Sustainability in the Creative Economy and Creative Industries”, SI23 will cover subjects of interest to all sectors of CI, including fashion, advertising, music, film and broadcast/tv and radio, design, createch, architecture, materials, gaming, metaverses, publishing, crafts, the performing arts – and more.
Supported by leading CI organisations, SI23 – https://www.uca.ac.uk/events/research/sustainable-innovation-2023 – is organised by The Centre for Sustainable Design ® (CfSD), UCA, and will discuss how sustainability, net zero and circular economy does, and will, impact business models, products, services, technologies and innovation in CI and the wider, related, Creative Economy.
“SI23 will give delegates a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to sustainability across CI sectors,” says CfSD Director Professor Martin Charter, “and help guide them through the sustainability maze with practical examples, new thinking and thought leadership. And how to recognise, and avoid green washing. Also being online, it has a much lower carbon footprint than a ‘physical’ conference of this size would have.”
In detail, SI23 will feature…
- Presentations and panels by many of CI’s leading lights in innovation and sustainability. Fifty speakers and panellists will give new insights and perspectives, and opportunities and challenges presented by being more sustainable
- Panels with leading thinkers and practitioners focused on sustainability in specific sectors: advertising, fashion, music, and metaverses; and cross-cutting issues across CI sectors
- Practical, hands-on case studies and examples, of implementing sustainability change in the CI
- Topics for suppliers to CI sectors including supply chains and networks, materials innovation, ethical production, smart manufacturing, and circular economy. Case studies include use of bioplastic in the music industry as a step towards circular products and production systems
- Speed networking among delegates, to grow your contacts, opportunities and knowledge
- Creative Sustainable Ventures Lab – featuring new concepts from entrepreneurs for sustainable businesses in CI
Booking is open to all interested parties including businesses, NGOs and students.
Register https://store.ucreative.ac.uk/myaccount
Supporters of CI23 include UCA’s Business School for the Creative Industries, Green Product Award, EIT Culture & Creativity, Creative Industries PEC, Purpose Disruptors, Creative Business Network, and Cumulus.
Leading-edge knowledge and expertise will be delivered by CI specialists and researchers. Expert panels will focus on accelerating sustainability, creative industries, advertising, fashion, music and metaverses. There will also be 28 research papers under the themes of “Consumers, education & advertising”, “Games, music, film, theatre & museums”, “Fashion, clothing & textiles”, “Design and Materials” and “Case Studies“.
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Cellhire wins Best IoT Application Award at the Mobile News Awards 2022
Posted by Internet Business Press in Cellhire on May 20, 2022
20th May 2022 York, UK. British mobile telecoms specialist Cellhire plc won the Best IoT Application Award for its NHS Covid-19 project at the prestigious Mobile News Awards 2022, held on 19th May at InterContinental London Park Lane.
In addition, Cellhire received commendations for the Best Airtime Partner Portal and the Best Covid Response Initiative categories.
The Best IoT Application Award recognises the company for its IoT data connectivity solution for the ongoing nationwide NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme. The programme has seen Cellhire provide UK and multi-network mobile data connections to over 2500 Covid-19 NHS England vaccination sites, enabling the sites to update patient records in real-time.
Best Airtime Partner Portal Commendation recognises the company for its inhouse “Atlas SIM Management Portal”, which provides a single, secure website for partners to access their entire SIM base from 40 global mobile networks supplied by Cellhire. Partners are not limited to only UK MNOs O2, Vodafone and EE, like many competitor portals. Partners can manage International MNOs, UK and Global IoT Airtimes, and provision SIMs and eSIMs that have multi-IMSI functionality.
Running since 1995, the Mobile News Awards is the UK mobile channel’s biggest awards event judged by impartial, independent experts.
Cellhire UK Managing Director, Matt Bennett says “I am extremely proud of the Cellhire team, particularly for its at times round-the-clock dedication to the rollout and ongoing support of the mobile data connectivity part of the vaccine programme – and the success Cellhire has achieved at the Mobile News Awards.
“Covid-19 has been the single greatest public health emergency in the history of the NHS and it’s a great honour for Cellhire to be part of the backbone of the vaccine programme. The solutions that we are providing are still helping to manage the vaccination of millions of people as quickly as possible.
“The ability Cellhire has to deliver multi-network secure mobile data, quickly and at scale, is thanks to its strong global network partnerships and its robust and resilient team.
“As a direct partner of Vodafone, O2 and EE, Cellhire is keen to expand its partnerships in the channel and to that end we are actively seeking additional resellers for our partner programme,” says Bennett. “These resellers would typically want a comms partner with a track record in providing voice, data and IoT via multiple direct network solutions that are competitive, flexible and innovative and all supported by our market-leading portal.” cellhire.co.uk/partners
Photo shows Matt Bennett, Cellhire UK MD, right, with the project team
About Cellhire
Cellhire (www.cellhire.info) is a leading global telecoms provider of mobile communications, M2M and IoT services and data connectivity to enterprise clients and indirect partners worldwide.
Established in 1987, the group serves EMEA, Americas and APAC with offices in the UK, USA, France, Germany and Japan. Partnering with mobile network operators globally, Cellhire provides access to mobile connectivity at market-leading commercials to companies worldwide.
The company is committed to delivering the highest standards of customer service which is underlined by its continued attainment of ISO 9001:2015, the internationally recognised quality standard. Cellhire is Investors in People (IIP) certified and won the highly coveted Queen’s Award for International Enterprise, as a result of its success as a specialist in the delivery of mobile communication solutions for events around the world.
Since 2019, Cellhire has attained ISO 27001, the internationally recognised Information Security Management System Standard (ISMS), due to the implementation of information security management systems and best practices regarding information security.
Farnham Repair Café launches free Repair Café Carbon Calculator V2
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, Farnham Repair Cafe on April 13, 2022
April 13th, 2022, Farnham, Surrey. Farnham Repair Café (FRC) launches its latest version – V2 – of its Repair Café Carbon Calculator today, and confirms that the free online tool – https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/index.php/rc-carbon-calculator-standard – is available with immediate effect to repair cafés and similar organisations anywhere in the world.
The upgrade complements “Right to Repair” laws and emerging trends around “Right to Repair” in March 2021, the first-ever right to repair laws came into effect in the EU, with the UK following four months later. Manufacturers in Europe are now legally obligated to ensure that electric and electronic goods, such as televisions and fridges, can be repaired for up to 10 years after purchase. On March 30th 2022 the EC launched its Sustainable Product Initiative (SPI), to ensure that products in the EU market are designed to be repairable, recyclable, durable, energy-efficient and free of hazardous chemicals.
“Repair Café Carbon Calculator V2 displays information on users’ carbon savings in a more easily and clearly understood way,” says its developer Steve Privett, a former FRC trustee and repairer, and currently a consultant and researcher.
FRC’s founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Professor Martin Charter, comments, “The new version will help repair cafés and other organisations to further realise and promote the benefits of repairing a product – that extends its life – compared to replacement with something new.
“Repairing is a vital way of preventing waste, reducing CO2 emissions and combatting the ‘buy now, throwaway later’ culture.”
Privett says, “There are no changes to how the tool operates or the calculation methods used. But, inside, the software has been re-engineered to display results through graphic images – and give a more descriptive equivalence to carbon savings via an example range of ‘everyday’ activities such as driving, air travel and hot showering. For example, 35 kg of repaired electrical items at a repair café session would save 306 kg of carbon emissions, the equivalent emissions of taking 191 hot showers.”
Emphasising that the new version makes it easier for organisers and users of repair cafés to understand and communicate environmental benefits to the public, he adds, “For example, a repair café keeping a record of the calculator’s results could say, “Since opening, we have saved the equivalent carbon emissions of someone flying 235,000 miles or driving a new petrol car more than 160,000 miles.”
Also new is a graph showing a percentage breakdown of the carbon emission savings contribution from each product repair category. It helps users quickly see how different repair categories contribute to the overall carbon emission savings, and how or where savings might be improved.
Additionally, the calculator features a graph showing the carbon emission savings intensity of repairs. This helps users to see if their repair café results or sessions are above or below the UK average calculated from original research data. Says Privett, “When more products – that created high carbon emissions when they were originally manufactured – are repaired, the carbon intensity of repairs moves to a higher level, and vice versa for products that created low carbon emissions during manufacture and transportation.”
Quick carbon calculator option
Users not requiring a comprehensive view of results via the standard calculator model can use the “quick” option. It allows users to rapidly estimate their carbon emission savings of a repair by entering either the total weight of successful repairs or the total number of items repaired successfully.
The option takes into account other factors that impact carbon emission emissions savings, including how many products are taken by the average visitor for repair and how many miles they will have driven to and from the repair café or other repair organisation.
Collaboration
The original version of the Repair Café Carbon Calculator was launched in 2020 and was the result of three months-long collaboration between Steve Privett and Professor Charter. Funding came from University for the Creative Arts UCA, following an award from the Strategic Priorities Fund from Research England. The calculator was ground-breaking internationally and replaced guesswork and paper-based methods. The calculator is still believed to be the only repair café carbon calculator of its kind.
User comments about the original version
“It’s very user friendly; very easy to enter items by weight and category; and the results summary is very useful” – Emilia Barnett, Alton Repair Café.
“We have used the calculator to work out the amount of carbon equivalent saved for items repaired. Consequently, it has been, and will be used, for a variety of items – electrical, other household, material, tools, bicycles etc. The strengths of the calculator are that it is easy to understand and gives a consistent approach to working out carbon saved” – Laura Harley, Overton Repair Café.
About FRC
FRC is open on every second Saturday of the month between 10am – 12.30pm and offers advice and repairs on all kinds of products, from vacuum cleaners, headphones and lights, to hats, jackets, pushchairs and bicycles. Address: FRC, The Spire Church, South Street, Farnham, GU9 7QU.
Founded in 2015, FRC became a UK-registered repair café charity in 2017, working in collaboration between The Centre for Sustainable Design ® at University of the Creative Arts, Farnham Town Council and The Spire Church in Farnham UK. FRC is part of the global Repair Café movement of 2283 (as of March 2022), led by The Repair Café International Foundation – founded in the Netherlands in 2011.
More about FRC https://frc.cfsd.org.uk
Below: a screenshot of the Quick Carbon Calculator option.
Free-to-use “Repair Café Carbon Calculator” launched by Farnham Repair Café through a collaboration with the University for the Creative Arts
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, Farnham Repair Cafe, Uncategorized on April 23, 2020
April 22nd 2020, Farnham, Surrey, UK. Farnham Repair Café [FRC] today launches its in-house designed Repair Café Carbon Calculator, a free and easy-to-use online platform aimed at repair cafés – and other repair organisations – in the UK and internationally.
Available in two versions, Quick and Standard, the calculator is believed to be the first online tool that reports CO2 emission savings resulting from product repairs.
Quick – https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/index.php/rc-carbon-calculator-quick – calculates emission savings by using weight or number of repairs across all product types. Standard – https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/index.php/rc-carbon-calculator-standard – can be used by repair cafés that keep individual product repair records and group their successful repairs, by weight or number into categories e.g. bicycles, computing, electricals, mechanicals, clothing, jewellery etc – thereby giving a more precise estimate of carbon emissions and landfill savings.
“Many repair cafés have traditionally used simple paper-based ‘measure by weight’ methods”, says Professor Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design [CfSD], University for the Creative Arts (UCA), and Chair of the Board of Trustees of FRC. “Our carbon calculator enables users to quickly estimate emission savings by weight or even just the number of successful repairs alone, or in greater detail by product repair category.”
Professor Charter
The Standard version can also show where repair cafés are having the most success in carbon emission savings, by product type – not just by weight. “Repair is particularly beneficial in electrical products such as smartphones, tablets and computers, because they contain a very high level of embedded carbon emissions due to the global supply chains,” adds Professor Charter.
Collaboration
The Repair Café Carbon Calculator is the result of three months-long collaboration between FRC trustee Steve Privett and Professor Charter. Funding came from UCA, following an award from the Strategic Priorities Fund from Research England.
At the heart of the calculator is a methodology based on data and information from FRC – and other repair cafés in the UK – that was used by Privett in his dissertation on “Potential impact of UK Repair Cafés on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.” The dissertation was completed for his master’s degree in sustainable development.
Privett comments, “The research indicates that the majority of people whose products are repaired at the UK’s repair cafés continue to use them instead of buying newly manufactured replacements. This reduction in product consumption helps to preserve finite resources and lower carbon emissions and is particularly effective when products with a short usable life cycle, of which there are many, are given a new lease of life through repair.
“We hope the calculator will help to further inform and motivate communities towards a culture of repair rather than replace.”
Farnham Repair Cafe
The calculator takes a number of variables into consideration in its calculations. Included are average transport emissions to and from the repair café, spare parts use, rebound consumption and savings made by reducing the total sum of greenhouses gases that would have been released by manufacturing new products if the products had not been repaired by a repair café.
Research on impacts
Says Professor Charter, “Very little hard data about repair cafés’ potential ability to mitigate CO2 emissions has been published to date. Our calculator is the first tool to give repair cafés the opportunity to change that, by using more accurate evidence-based estimations of CO2 savings from product repairs.
“Making our calculator free-to-use by repair cafes and other repair organisations worldwide will, we anticipate, help policy makers, manufacturers, repairers and customers make the connection between the circular economy and climate change.
“Historically, broader environmental benefits of repair cafés have been highlighted in the media and social media. The calculator enables more specific evidencebased estimates of CO2 emissions, showing the real impact that repair cafes can make.
“Social and community are also an important aspect of repair cafés. We are seeing increased community interest and, when covid-19 lockdown and social distancing are lifted, repair cafés can expect to see a further strengthening of their relationship with their local communities.”
More about the calculator: https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/index.php/about/
FRC is open on every second Saturday of the month between 10am – 12.30pm and offers advice and repairs on all kinds of products, from vacuum cleaners, headphones and lights, to hats, jackets, pushchairs and bicycles. Address: FRC, The Spire Church, South Street, Farnham, GU9 7QU.
Founded in 2015, FRC, a UK-registered repair café charity, is a collaborative project between UCA, CfSD at UCA, Farnham Town Council and The Spire Church in Farnham UK. It is part of the global Repair Café movement of nearly 2100, led by The Repair Café International Foundation – founded in the Netherlands in 2011; the number of repair cafés in the UK has doubled over the last year to more than 125.
Says Professor Charter, “Our repairers are highly skilled and do a brilliant job. To date we have organised 58 sessions and had 3,000 visitors to Farnham Repair Café since launch. There have been almost 1300 repairs at a 65 percent repair rate with over 3.7 tonnes being diverted from landfill, and we have reduced CO2 by 34.5 tonnes, and seen over £91,000 saved by repairing instead of buying new.”
More about FRC https://frc.cfsd.org.uk
For more information please contact Martin Charter mcharter@uca.ac.uk
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Farnham Repair Café’s “Repair Café Carbon Calculator” is previewed at the UK’s first Repair Café Conference today
Posted by Internet Business Press in Centre For Sustainable Design, Farnham Repair Cafe on March 12, 2020
March 12. 2020. Farnham, Surrey, UK. The UK’s first Repair Café Conference – held today and organised by The Centre for Sustainable Design [CfSD] at University for the Creative Arts (UCA) – sees a preview of a first, an online “Repair Café Carbon Calculator”, and a demonstration of 3D printing for spare parts as used by Farnham Repair Café (FRC).
This is the first time the calculator https://repaircafes.carboncalculator.sp-consulting.online/index.php/es-calc/ has been previewed in public ahead of its official launch on 31st March. Also on 31st March, a new FRC website will be launched at https://frc.cfsd.org.uk/
The conference – https://cfsd.org.uk/events/repair-cafes-conference – at UCA, Falkner Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7DS – discusses new research on global repair café and visitors’ behaviour, new innovations, and sharing best practice on issues related to running repair cafes and the repair of electronics, textiles, mechanicals, furniture and bicycles.
Delegates include representatives from repair cafés, local authorities, green organisations and academia.
The calculator rapidly calculates, via any given weight or number of repaired products, how much CO2 is potentially saved. It takes into account variables including average transport emissions to and from the repair café, spare parts use, rebound consumption and the savings made by reducing the total sum of greenhouse gases that would have been released by manufacturing new products, had these products not been successfully repaired by repair cafés in the UK.
It will be available from 31st March for use by repair cafés and any other organisations and individuals anywhere in the world, free of charge.
The calculator is the result of collaboration between FRC trustee and volunteer Steve Privett and UCA’s Professor Martin Charter, Director, CfSD and Chair of the Board of Trustees of FRC. The project has been funded by UCA as a result of an award from Research England.
Professor Martin Charter
In the beginning…
“There wasn’t a specific ‘eureka, who was keen to make it accessible by anyone with an internet connection. The idea evolved from there into the calculator we see today. At its core is a sound methodology based on information and data from Farnham Repair Café and other repair cafés in the UK.”
The information and data were used by Privett in his dissertation on “Potential impact of UK Repair Cafés on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions” for his masters degree in sustainable development at the University of Surrey, where he gained a distinction in his masters degree thesis.
Says Professor Charter, “Research on the social impacts of repair café has been highlighted in the media and on social media, but very little about their potential ability to mitigate CO2 emissions has been published. The calculator should help change that and give more accurate estimations of CO2 saved.
“It’s also an excellent example of how the circular economy – repairing products, example – can reduce the impact of climate change by helping to reduce CO2 emissions.”
Privett comments, “Prior to the preview on 12th March, the methodology that the calculator is based on has seen international interest from repair cafés, academics, research students and repair organisations.”
3D printing
About the 3D printing demonstration at the conference, Privett says, “3D printing has the ability to revolutionise how repair cafés can further lower CO2 emissions and landfill by being able to repair a wider range of goods, thereby reducing the need to ‘buy new’. Products repaired at FRC using 3D printing have included an antique style lamp, mechanical toys, torches and custom appliance fittings, and promotional keyrings have been produced for FRC.”
A user of FRC, local resident Desi Lyon, says, “Waste of resources is a huge global problem and we no longer bring our children up in a culture of looking after things and repairing them. Not only does Farnham Repair Café offer knowledgeable and helpful engineers and other experts to fix broken items, but its very existence makes me hopeful that communities and individuals can have the power to change national policies and effect change.”
FRC is open on every second Saturday of the month between 10am – 1pm, when it provides advice on, and repair of, many kinds of products, from vacuum cleaners, headphones and lights, to hats, jackets, pushchairs and bicycles. Address: FRC, The Spire Church, South Street, Farnham, GU9 7QU.
Founded in 2015, FRC, a UK-registered repair café charity, is a collaborative project between UCA, CfSD at UCA, Farnham Town Council and The Spire Church in Farnham UK. It is part of the global Repair Café movement of over 2000, led by The Repair Café International Foundation – founded in the Netherlands in 2011; the number of repair cafés in the UK has doubled over the last year to more than 125.
Says Professor Charter, “Our repairers are highly skilled and do a brilliant job. To date we have organised 58 sessions and had 3,000 visitors to Farnham Repair Café since launch. There have been almost 1300 repairs at a 65 percent repair rate with over 3.7 tonnes being diverted from landfill, and we have reduced CO2 by 32.4 tonnes, and seen over £91,000 saved by repairing instead of buying new.”
More about FRC: https://cfsd.org.uk/events/farnham_repair_cafe/ and CfSD: https://cfsd.org.uk
For more information contact Martin Charter mcharter@uca.ac.uk
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Vismo Global Tracking Solutions to demonstrate the new Vismo 2 app at Global Security Exchange [GSX] Exhibition, Las Vegas, September 23-27, 2018
Posted by Internet Business Press in Vismo on September 14, 2018
Vismo 2 – designed for use on smartphones and satellite phones – takes global tracking of at-risk employees and other individuals to a whole new level
September 14th 2018. York, UK. Vismo Global Tracking Solutions will demonstrate the new Vismo 2 – a much enhanced version of the original Vismo GPS Tracking App, used by many Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, and NGOs, around the world – at Global Security Exchange [GSX] Exhibition, Las Vegas [September 23-27, 2018].
“Vismo 2 makes deep use of advances in monitoring and mass notification technology to provide user organisations with robust, additional layers of security, making it a major step up from our original app,” says Colin Dale, VP, Business Development for Vismo.
Vismo has entered Vismo 2 for a GSX Innovative Product Award. GSX is one of the largest security shows in the world. With more than 22,000 attendees from 100+ different countries, the exhibition has a significant impact in the security industry and among business and NGO users of security products and services.
What’s different about Vismo 2
Vismo Incident Management System [VIMS] allows security teams to identify Vismo 2 users – typically at-risk employees or other individuals – quickly either before an incident poses a threat or is a direct threat to them. After automatically locating the users, VIMS prompts the teams to immediately help them with assigned and definable tasks.
Also new is Vismo Mass Notification Service, VMNS, a feature that can be used with VIMS. VMNS allows Vismo 2 users to be asked for their safety status via multiple communication methods including text, email, text to voice and in-app.
All responses are collated by defined severity levels. Tasks are then automatically assigned to security staff.
Dashboards
Another introduction to Vismo 2 is the ability for a user organisation’s security team to create individual dashboards and assign personnel to them where appropriate. For example, a company or NGO security team can create a dashboard for the US or UK, Europe, Middle East or Far East, etc, and see where personnel are located in one or more of them. Vismo 2 also pulls live incident feeds into the system, where security teams can view and analyse them to see if app users are in possible or real danger and if they need help.
Advanced mapping options
Vismo 2 also introduces advanced mapping options, which allow the teams to view different map, for example: satellite view, terrain and open street view. Map layering allows team members to layer points of interest such as severe weather, airport delays and terrorism.
The layering feature also enables teams to see where app users are and contact them when live incident feeds come through. This feature works alongside the geo-fencing capability found in the original Vismo App.
Key advantage
“The key advantage of Vismo 2 is its ability to give user organisations’ security teams a ‘bigger’ and much more detailed picture in real time of risks posed to their employees or other individuals on their system,” says Dale.
“That advantage is supported by automatic escalation of tasks. Together with our VismoStream, which gives live video and audio stream when the app’s panic button is activated, it gives teams a clearer understanding of any potential or existing situation – and the ability to respond more quickly and appropriately.”
VismoStream and Vismo’s panic button were showcased at ASIS 2017 and 2016 exhibitions. At ASIS last year VismoStream was chosen as the Security’s Best Winner of the 2017 ASIS Accolades.
The Vismo team welcomes GSX attendees to booth #1634, where they can trial Vismo 2 for themselves.
For more information on Vismo 2 or any enquiries, please contact enquiries@vismo.com or contact us on +44 (0) 1904 616666 or +1 866 815 9128.
…ends…
Note to the press. For further information please contact:
Colin Dale, VP Business Development, Vismo
m: +44 7566 610610 | t: +44 1904 616707
e: colindale@vismo.com | w: http://www.vismo.com
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR
T: +44 1403 711177 e: paul@western-pr.com
Vismo and Elite Security of Russia sign collaboration agreement ahead of the FIFA World Cup
Posted by Internet Business Press in Vismo on June 5, 2018
June 5th 2018. York. Vismo Global Tracking Solutions, which has a presence in Russia, and Elite Security, headquartered in Moscow, have signed a collaboration agreement to enhance response times to any client request for help, ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Colin Dale, VP, Business Development for Vismo, says “We have partnered with Elite Security because of the potential difficulties of rapid response in Russia, where games will be spread over a very large geographic area. Our collaboration addresses that issue by enabling the fastest possible response to users of the Vismo App – national and global media companies covering the matches, corporate event sponsors, VIP attendees, football team members and fans – should they find themselves in a situation of duress.
“Elite Security has one of the broadest and deepest coverage of any security company in Russia and can therefore deploy its support services, including its Elite Security Emergency Response Service, at short notice in practically any area of this massive geographic region. That’s a great help to Vismo.
“Elite’s offerings, reinforced by Vismo’s one-touch panic button on the Vismo App, gives our clients additional peace of mind that they will get a fast, responsive quality service at any of the World Cup venues”.
Dmitry Budanov, CEO of Elite Security, comments, “The Elite Security Emergency Response Service is a 24/7 multi-channel English speaking hotline and deployable Security Response Team. This service offers round the clock protection when clients and their staff require assistance as a result of crime, threats, traffic incidents or problems with the local authorities.
“A core and integral part of our Emergency Response Service is our Rapid Response Unit, staffed by teams made up of highly trained, discreet security specialists who are available 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.
“The partnership with Vismo allows a Rapid Response Team to be dispatched with one touch of the Vismo panic button without the need for a direct call, saving valuable time and therefore helping us and Vismo to optimise any response.”
Says Dale, “With matches being spread across 11 widely dispersed host cities, security is a very real concern, as highlighted on a UK government website, where the spiking of drinks leading to robbery, violence and abuse is one concern.”
Colin Dale, VP Business Development, Vismo
The Vismo App was used successfully to monitor teams, coaching staff, media organisations and corporate VIPs at similar events, such as the London 2012 Olympics and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, and helps companies and NGOs in high risk areas of the world.
About Vismo Global Tracking Solutions and the Vismo App
Vismo Global Tracking Solutions was established in York, UK, in 2012 and offers the Vismo App, a patented and ASIS Accolade Award-winning global tracking solution, designed to locate individuals anywhere in the world. The app is installed on users’ smartphones, tablets, personal GPS trackers, satellite trackers or satellite phones and provides true global coverage. With active users in over 190 countries, the Vismo App is a proven and scalable global tracking solution that helps organisations ensure their employees’ safety.
The app is used by many FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies, NGO agencies and a growing number of SMEs and organisations in the public sector, as a duty of care towards their employees. More at vismo.com
About Elite Security
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Moscow, Elite Security operates through six subdivisions and more than 25 representative offices. The company’s services range from standard guarding and rapid response to corporate investigations and are delivered from offices located across an area stretching from London to The Russian Far East.
Elite Security is one of the few major shareholder managed security companies that operates across Russia, Europe and the CIS. With an active presence at the Association of European Businesses, Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce as well as security associations such as ASIS, Sphere, ACFE, Intellect and SIA – among others – Elite Security continually seeks to utilise the latest practices and technologies within the security industry. More at eshc.com
…ends…
Note to the media: for further information please contact
Colin Dale, VP Business Development, Vismo
m: +44 7566 610610 | t: +44 1904 616707
e: colindale@vismo.com | w: http://www.vismo.com
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR
T: +44 1403 711177 e: paul@western-pr.com
FIFA World Cup 2018 – addressing security concerns in Russia: Vismo announces its Mass Notification Service (VMNS), designed to keep Vismo App users safer by verifying their location and status through the use of multi-communication platforms – and enabling direct help for users during the World Cup
Posted by Internet Business Press in Vismo on May 4, 2018
May 4th 2018. York, UK. Vismo – global tracking specialist and multiple winner of ASIS Accolades for enhancements to the Vismo App – has launched its Mass Notification Service “VismoMessaging”, designed to keep app users safer at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia [14th June – 15th July 2018] and elsewhere globally.
VismoMessaging achieves this by verifying users’ location and safety status via the app and through the use of multi-communication platforms – SMS, email, voice, in-app push notification and text-to-voice automated phone calls.
App users can then be given safety advice, while security teams liaise with emergency and rescue services as necessary.
Colin Dale, VP Business Development, Vismo, says “Although Vismo has designed VismoMessaging for use anywhere globally, our main focus at present is security during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where Vismo has had an office since 2013. The World Cup is proving to be a major concern for corporate event sponsors, VIP attendees, the media companies providing coverage of the event, and football teams.
“With matches being spread across 11 widely dispersed host cities, security is a very real concern, as highlighted on a UK government website, where the spiking of drinks leading to robbery, violence and abuse is one concern. Another UK government website highlights the risk of terrorist incidents in Russia in relation to a global event such as the World Cup.”
Dale continues, “The threat of terrorism is high following attacks in recent years resulting in several deaths in the St Petersburg Metro and 37 deaths at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow.
“Airlines have been targeted with the downing of a flight from Sharm el Sheik to St Petersburg in October 2015, which was caused by an explosive device on board the plane, according to Russian authorities.”
![VismoMessaging - example of a response to an incident in Moscow. [Fictional]. Red = unsafe, orange = unsure, green = safe](https://internetbusinesspress.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/vismomessaging-example-of-a-response-to-an-incident-in-moscow-fictional-red-unsafe-orange-unsure-green-safe.png)
Example of a response in Moscow
Dale points out, “All this presents significant difficulty for security teams locating individuals and providing immediate assistance and advice should an incident occur.”
The Vismo App was used successfully to monitor teams, coaching staff, media organisations and corporate VIPs at similar events, such as the London 2012 Olympics and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, as well as helping companies and NGOs in high risk areas of the world. Vismo is therefore well placed to work with the Russian and other authorities to address and reduce risks.
What Vismo can do at the World Cup
* Geo-fence. This feature allows Vismo account administrators to create geo-fences, which can be configured to notify key security personnel when Vismo App users move in or out of a stadium or area designated as high risk, and is an invaluable aide to managing security risks.
* Locate individuals with great accuracy. In the event of an incident occurring at one of the venues, security teams may instantly locate all app users in the affected area and can confirm their situation [e.g. safe, in danger, being held by a third party] through the use of multi-communication platforms; SMS, email, in-app push notification and text-to-voice automated phone calls.
* Enable the transmission of real time audio and video streams from the app user’s phone to a security team whenever the app’s panic button is pressed – and two-way communication by SMS, email and voice between the user and team. In that communication, advice can be given to the user on how to reduce risk, and the user can be told if necessary that direct help, including evacuation or other form of rescue if necessary, is at hand.
* Allow app users to easily confirm responses to definable questions using preconfigured statement answers, with multimodal transmission enabling ease of communication. This is a security step to ensure the person in contact with a security team is the genuine, registered app user.
VismoMessaging uses an easy-to-navigate, email-like format to enable administrators to rapidly identify Vismo App users en masse, in groups or individually, and send them messages and receive responses that may be critical in a troublesome situation.
Vismo has the ability to filter users whose device is below a specified battery level threshold. The advantage of the filter is that it highlights those app users who might need a prompt by security teams to charge their phone as soon as possible to prevent any loss of service involving the app and VismoMessaging.
Own patented technology
“Vismo uses its own patented technology to increase the accuracy of GPS locations, whilst simultaneously minimising the impact on the device’s battery life and data usage,” says Dale. “These two benefits could be critically important for giving advice or for a rescue or evacuation. Along with the new VismoMessaging they provide a powerful anti crime solution that will be in operation before, during and immediately after the World Cup.” More at vismo.com
…ends…
GymPlay announces GymPlay Spring Boards as practical, fun-to-use keep fit and gymnastics aids for beginners and young children
Posted by Internet Business Press in GymPlay, Uncategorized on January 18, 2018
– Designed in partnership with British gymnastics coaches and the students of Pennine Gymnastics Club
January 18th 2018, Wakefield. GymPlay, the British designer and manufacturer of sports and fitness products, has announced GymPlay Spring Boards as practical, fun-to-use keep fit and gymnastics aids for beginners and young children.
Dispensing with the need for traditional chalk markings, and very competitively priced, “The spring boards take training equipment to the next level with their design, including where to jump from, a ‘no jump’ zone, spotting line and the optimal point of contact,” says Neal Spencer, GymPlay Managing Director.
He adds, “Together, these features encourage consistent training practice and creative training methods.”
Designed in partnership with British gymnastics coaches and the students of Pennine Gymnastics Club, GymPlay training aids and equipment are tailored to the needs and requirements of gymnasts at different levels of the sport.
The foam-based spring boards, measuring 80 x 50 x 20 cm, have a PVC cover that includes fun shark and alien imagery that is intended to be jumped over. More information at http://www.gym-play.co.uk
Craig Richardson, Head Coach at Pennine Gymnastics Club says, “Working with GymPlay gave us the opportunity to co-design better, more practical equipment. The whole GymPlay range is of an exceptional quality and we couldn’t be happier with how much it has boosted performance among members”.
About GymPlay
Established in 1973 and headquartered in Wakefield, Yorkshire, GymPlay is the newest member of the GNG Group plc – a leading foam converter and manufacturer of quality, innovative foam-based products with over 40 years’ experience crafting sports equipment on site at its Yorkshire HQ.
GymPlay works closely with leading sports brands and figures to create training aids and safety equipment of the highest quality and at the highest level, including manufacturing the Rugby Training equipment for the British & Irish Lions for the past 20 years.
Championed by Gymnasts
As described above, designed in partnership with British gymnastics coaches and the students of Pennine Gymnastics Club, GymPlay training aids and equipment are tailored to the needs and requirements of gymnasts at different levels of the sport.
Craig Richardson, ex-professional gymnast and British Gymnastics coach and judge, also says of GymPlay products, “GymPlay delivers innovative designs and high quality gymnastics products. The equipment we’ve got now is really fantastic.”
***
VismoStream voted a “Security’s Best” at ASIS International – as its developer, Vismo Global Tracking Solutions gains ISO 27001 certification
Posted by Internet Business Press in Vismo on October 27, 2017
October 27th 2017. York, UK. VismoStream, which sends live, covert audio and video from a user’s smartphone when the Vismo app’s panic button is activated, has been voted a winner of 2017 ASIS Accolades Security’s Best competition, which recognises the industry’s most innovative new technologies, products, services and solutions.
Developed in the UK by Vismo Global Tracking Solutions, VismoStream was unveiled at the ASIS International Exhibition, September 25-28th, Dallas, Texas. This is the second year running that Vismo has won an ASIS Security’s Best accolade.
Vismo Global Tracking Solutions also announces that it has gained ISO 27001 certification, meaning that every responsibility and business process in the company conforms to what is the global gold standard in information security management. Gaining the certification is one of a number of steps that Vismo has taken to optimally safeguard all data and information generated by the app and its users.
VismoStream
“VismoStream is a breakthrough enhancement for the established Vismo app, which is used by many Fortune 500 and FTSE companies – and NGOs and news agencies in regional hotspots,” says Colin Dale, VP Business Development, Vismo Global Tracking Solutions. The company has trademarked the VismoStream name globally.
“VismoStream is a leap forward in the tracking space because until now apps like Vismo have sent only covert audio recordings,” Dale adds..
“Now, Vismo securely transmits both audio and video streams, via the internet connection the device is using – mobile or Wi-Fi – to Vismo Global Tracking Solutions’ servers. There they are viewed in real time before being sent to personnel at control centres for further analysis, if required, and action to help the user.”
The action includes (i) giving advice, by SMS and email alerts, to the user, to help optimise their safety (ii) sharing critical information with emergency and security services – and escalating it to intelligence services where appropriate.
Crisis management
VideoStream is designed to enhance crisis management and be used when the Vismo app user encounters a dangerous, potentially dangerous or uncertain situation. It integrates seamlessly with the app’s existing location data, the accuracy of which is enhanced by Vismo’s patented technology, announced in February 2016. The patent, GB2470376, specifically covers the design behind the algorithms and innovative operations of the Vismo tracking software to optimise location accuracy with minimal battery drain.
Behind the scenes the Vismo app uses industry standard encryption to ensure that VismoStream’s video streams are secure throughout transit. All streams – audio and video – are received and stored on the Vismo cloud platform, which allows them to be listened to or viewed any number of times, at any time, by control centre personnel [and intelligence services where necessary].
ASIS International is where VismoStream was given its first public viewing. It will be launched officially next month, November, in the UK and North America, but is available now. More at vismo.com Its launch comes after the announcement in July 2017 of the Vismo Timed Check-In function, which improves the safety of lone workers by allowing them to allocate a timer which automatically triggers an alert if they don’t explicitly cancel it.
Key features of VismoStream
– Enables simple and immediate activation of video from the user’s smartphone
– Automatic bit rate adjustment means that VismoStream can work in even in areas of poor mobile coverage [or very slow broadband speed via slow Wi-Fi]
– Enables real time situational awareness and intelligence gathering by control centres, for a faster and more effective response
– Works on demand or in parallel with the app’s panic button
– Includes secure storage of videos for later viewing
– Operates globally on mobile and Wi-Fi networks
– Is compatible with iOS and Android devices
About Vismo Global Tracking Solutions
Established in York, UK, in 2012, Vismo is a patented and ASIS Accolade Award-Winning Global Tracking Solution designed to locate individuals around the world using an application installed on their smartphone, tablet, personal GPS trackers, satellite trackers or satellite phones. With active users in over 190 countries, Vismo is a proven and scalable Global Tracking Solution that organisations are increasingly turning to as a method of ensuring their employees stay safe.
In October 2017 Vismo Global Tracking Solutions gained ISO 27001 certification, the global gold standard in information security management.
The Vismo app is used by many FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies, NGO agencies and a growing number of SMEs and organisations in the public sector, as a duty of care towards their employees.
…ends…
Note to the press: for further information please contact:
Colin Dale, Business Development Director, Vismo
m: +44 7566 610610 | t: +44 1904 616707 |
e: colindale@vismo.com | w: www.vismo.com
Or Paul Whitehead, Western Associates PR
T: +44 1403 711177 e: paul@western-pr.com
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