Funding was secured as part of a North Yorkshire Safer Streets Scheme, due to a very short timescale, the planning and preparation of the CCTV installation window was limited.

The council reached out to various approved CCTV installation specialists, ACSS CCTV System being one.

To meet the Office of Surveillance Commissioner and the Information Commissioner’s requirements, an agreed industry-based CCTV system was agreed that could be fitted to a taxi or private hire vehicle. ACSS provided support to drivers and streamlined the installation process of the systems with the least disruption to the trade.

The CCTV project will help those travelling by taxi feel safer, including drivers and passengers – in particular women and young people. This is especially important in cities like York, which has a thriving evening and late-night economy.

Central Bedfordshire was keen to follow the LGA guidance on Taxi and Private Hire vehicles and so took the decision to support the introduction of CCTV into council-licenced taxis. The Council were concerned to protect the privacy of drivers and passengers whilst importantly providing additional protection for both parties, making them feel safer. It also allowed the Council to address any incidents with the evidence collected by the cameras. ACSS, the chosen contractor, recommended that the cameras were fitted to meet the Office of Surveillance Commissioner and the Information Commissioner requirements.

‘The service provided by ACSS was excellent’ said the Head of Public Protection. ‘We were able to discuss and agree what we needed, and they gave plenty of advice; readily offered their expertise. Communication was good throughout and we were able to leave ACSS to liaise with drivers and operators which made it a very straightforward process.

In 2020, Charles had an ACSS CCTV system installed in his Mercedes. Knowing the benefits that CCTV affords both driver and passenger, he was keen to ensure compliance with PCO standards. Having been happy with his previous experience, Charles came back to ACSS for an upgrade, knowing that the advice and pricing would be honest and transparent. ACSS Advanced System was selected: one forward-facing camera, one internal camera and a hard drive video recording (HDVR). The system came with two panic buttons: one for the driver and one for the passenger. The old reversing camera was also used as this was within the compliance standard for PCO. Using our preferred installer Dtec, Charles was confident that the products used, although affordable, were top of the range and he would receive good customer service.

Now, Charles has AES 256 encryption, making him PCO compliant. If Charles was working for a company such as Uber or Bolt and an incident occurred, he knows he will not be blocked and off the road for long. He has evidence which would allow his company to ensure he is back at work within a couple of days.

As he told the ACSS operations manager, ACSS products ‘ …..meet my needs which makes me feel safe and secure. Happy customer 😊’

With such a diverse business as Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire, knowing exactly where each of your 28 vehicles are at any time is essential for Matt Sutton, one of KLCH’s directors.

Having CCTV installed with ‘Live View’ into company vehicles has enabled the business to monitor all these important assets and respond in real-time. Upon receiving any alert, the Company is not only able to watch ‘live’ the unfolding incident but also download and view all events leading to it so appropriate action can be taken immediately, so important when transporting children and members of the public. It has also proved invaluable for insurance purposes to provide incontrovertible evidence of the facts and the actions being taken.

Kirkby Lonsdale is a family business supporting the local community: with local authority contracts, KLCH supports the rural community by running various commercial and subsidised bus routes. They support 120 local schools: the usual daily school run, sports visits along with trips heading to the Lakes and Dales. Having CCTV as an integral part of their commercial offering has been a prerequisite to be awarded many of these contracts.

ACSS is proud to have designed and supplied such an advanced CCTV system to KLCH. This new equipment was installed not only on new vehicles at the body-building stage but also retrofitted to existing vehicles. Training in the use of Live View software was also provided.

“We are very happy with ACSS as a provider of our systems, there have been very few needs to revert to them for repairs and we will continue to use them as our fleet of vehicles increases.” Matt Sutton

The Advanced Telematics system provides a School Coach & Bus Company with an additional competitive advantage:

• Protection from unruly passengers
• Prevention from false claims with undisputable evidence
• The ability for authorised persons to locate where your bus is via an app

ACSS worked closely with a South East business that provides coaches and buses to schools. The company were looking to offer additional service benefits to schools and parents whilst maintaining a cost-effective operation. Working with the company, ACSS developed the perfect solution using a fully integrated Telematics and CCTV system.

The installation of eight cameras ensured limited internal damage and gave the driver visibility of the passengers both boarding and disembarking the vehicle for additional security.

The Live GPS combined with a smart device app gives parents the chance to track the location of the school coach carrying their children. The significant benefit of the ACSS tracking system is the refresh rate of half a second, rather than the industry norm of 10 seconds. This ensures the exact position of a vehicle is known, even in open spaces, rather than an approximate position. In case of an accident, the company would know if the coach was on the hard shoulder or in the ditch!

Both company and schools were able to assure the parents that the installation of cameras would monitor pupils’ behaviour along with that of the driver. All data are encrypted and only used if there is an incident to be resolved. In principle, the system meets both safeguarding and GDPR’s concerns.

To ensure a cost-effective fleet operation, vehicle diagnostics were also made available. This enables data on driving performance to be uploaded and corrective action is taken.

Since having the system installed, the company has significantly improved their overall safety and fleet performance. Driver behaviour has improved, and fuel costs have been lowered. More importantly, both schools and parents continue to have significant confidence in the company.

For A&R Solutions, the decision to adhere to the DVS standard for all 32 vehicles over 12 tonnes was not only an essentially wise business judgment it also aligned with the company’s values of being a progressive and innovative organisation. Since its creation in 2012, A&R Solutions has been dedicated to providing specific logistic solutions for businesses. Therefore, to ensure fleet flexibility, all vehicles can now enter the Greater London Region with a safety permit.

Following a recommendation, ACSS was asked to provide the safety equipment. A near-side camera, proximity sensors and monitor gave the driver a direct view from the cab. The left-hand turn and bumper sticker gave a warning to both cyclists and pedestrians.  Happy with the first set of installations, ACSS’s ensured the same field engineer was on site to complete the remaining vehicles over a period of six months.

Tomas Smolskus, A&R Solutions company director said “we are pleased to have worked with ACSS on this project, and as the business expands we will retain them as our preferred supplier of CCTV security systems“

Since 2016, ACSS has been providing CCTV security systems for the waste management company Holywell Haulage.  As a total waste management company, Holywell recognise the business benefit of proving their operation is safe, smarter and green. Holywell uses IOS certification for their operation and FORS in recognition of the safety standards they meet for their fleet. ACSS’s method statement enabled Holywell to see clearly where the equipment would be installed and the position of the cameras and sensors.

Recently, ACSS has worked at DAF Dealership HTC, installing CCTV equipment on a new vehicle about to be commissioned.  A benefit of using ACSS not only for the kit but also for installation is that ACSS maintain a detailed fleet equipment database. If anything goes wrong, all indications on every part that have been installed or repaired are available at a fingertip, thus allowing prompt repair. Ensuring, Holywell’s vehicles are always on the road is a business necessity. Keeping track of what is installed on our vehicles is an important part of the service provided by ACSS.

“ACSS have proved themselves to be a reliable supplier of CCTV and DVS equipment”  said Adam, Transport Manager at Holywell Haulage

Although based in Leeds, Stagefreight’s vehicles spend many hours delivering to venues within the M25. Keeping a close eye on safety and security compliance, they became aware of the impending Direct Vision Standard (DVS) due as they were about to upgrade their fleet to the FORS standard. Thus, they looked for a company that could not only supply & fit a DVS system but also help them to meet future exacting standards. Since their vehicles are usually carrying high-value goods, they needed a supplier able to offer reliable and robust equipment. Due to their wide range of vehicles experienced engineers were required for the survey to ensure the appropriate systems were installed.

THE SOLUTION
After detailed discussions, ACSS provided Stagefreight with the necessary compliance equipment to not only get their DVS certificate but also achieve FORS standards. ACSS experienced in-house installation crew worked closely with the Stagefreight transport team to find the optimum configuration and solution. In addition to systems to cut the sensors off at 20mph, a Digital Video Recorder as well as, in some cases, rearview cameras were added to ensure key events could be recorded. ACSS’s fully scalable system easily allows Stagefreight to add additional cameras and sensors whenever required.

THE RESULT
Stagefreight were delighted with the results. Not only they were able to get the required certification to operate safely within London but now have a future-proof system helping them to meet any forthcoming standards. The ability to review footage and train drivers has already resulted in improved driver behaviour and a marked decrease in incidents.