MVMS | Is the UK embracing the concept of temporary ITS?

More and more we are seeing the emergence ITS solutions for temporary works and a real emphasis on the importance of journey time systems throughout major road work schemes, where long term lane closures are a major congestion risk in a key area of the road network. We’ve seen how Highways England are placing greater emphasis on improving the motorist experience through roadworks and providing more efficient and safer works areas for motorists and road workers alike. The environmental effect of roadworks is also a key consideration for the project duration.

MVMS have proven temporary mobile ITS technology which can be tailored to any roadwork scenario where the provisional of vital journey time information, incident detection and queue warning in advance of the works area are key considerations for the project team.

How does the ITS technology work and can the impact on the works be measured?

MVMS take the ‘Intelligent’ approach to traffic management at roadworks. We can tailor the solution to suit the project team and the road layout so our offering is always bespoke in nature. Due to the fact all our equipment is mobile, solar powered and easy to deploy in a matter of minutes, we can evolve the solution to suit the ever changing road layout during a major works project. This is something we have seen during our involvement with the high profile Highways England scheme with Balfour Beatty on the A21 Pembury dualling. Our system changed as the road layout altered due to progression of the works. We were on site to move traffic sensor trailers and re-configured our intelligent software to suit the project alterations. This meant downtime was minimal, often a critical factor during roadworks where the provision of motorist information is key to improving safety through the works area.

We use a combination of mobile traffic sensors (we have Bluetooth which is both a reliable and cost-effective way to manage traffic and optimise road safety, radar Doppler, microwave radar and ANPR capability). The sensor information and any mobile solar CCTV units on site can be processed in real time through our award winning JamLogic software. Using pre-set algorithms, key real-time messages are displayed on our variable message signs both in advance of and throughout the works area. Not only does this provide vital motorist information on journey times and incident warnings, we also provide project information to the management team which can be viewed remotely from the comfort of their office. All data is stored and updated in real-time so reports can be produced which show the flow of traffic and highlight congestion hotspots. Text message alerts can be sent out to site managers alerting them to any issues as and when they occur.  The system provides a unique overview of the works area and the mobile CCTV we offer allows project managers to back up all the information with real-time visuals of the site and traffic flow.

What makes your system unique in a market place where we are seeing more and more use of temporary ITS journey time solutions?

MVMS have 20 years of experience in the field of variable message sign technologies and now Journey time systems are as much a part of what we do as the hire and sale of our equipment. Our Canadian partners have been involved in key journey time management projects across Canada and the United States for the past 10 years and they were honing the technology long before temporary ITS for roadwork scenarios was even considered in the UK. MVMS can draw on a wealth of experience which includes everything from the Winter Olympics in Vancover to major highway projects controlling key arterial routes into US cities. Everything our Canadian partners have carried out in the US and Canada can now be translated into the UK marketplace and offers major highway schemes here the chance to integrate a fully flexible, bespoke system which is capable of providing not only journey time management but incident detection and real-time advance queue warning. This improves the motorist driving experience by easing congestion and means roadworks are safer for all involved. Providing timely journey information to both motorists and works managers enables more efficiency throughout the roadworks which in turn aids the timely completion of costly works projects.

Our unique JamLogic traffic management software is not only user friendly, it also processes key information in real time and is easily adaptable to suit a specific scheme and road layout. We use a remote system with windows interface which allows project managers to have full reporting and analytic abilities from the comfort of their home or work office negating the need to constantly be on site even during major incidents. Everything can be automatically configured to update the VMS and provide vital road information to motorists regardless of the situation or time of day or night. Our JamLogic server is manned 24/7 and downtime is simply not a consideration for us. All in all, we work with our clients to offer a solution individually tailored to their needs and we can adapt accordingly.

There is also the added bonus that our signs are both NTCIP and UTMC compliant. This enables full communication with traffic management systems like Siemens Stratos, as demonstrated by our congestion easing journey time project with them in central London on behalf of Transport for London.

Give MVMS a call today and they can provide a live webinar of our key ITS projects here in the UK.

Visit www.mobilevms.co.uk