Crowdguard is helping local authorities, Government departments, and other agencies responsible for public safety in Scotland to understand the threats vulnerabilities and risks involved in public realm safety with a trial of HVM solutions in Edinburgh.

The trial for City of Edinburgh Council seeks to educate the marketplace about the variety of IWA-14-1 certified HVM systems available from Crowdguard and the options for different environments and levels of risk.

The benefits of the trial and the potential learnings for those responsible for the public realm go far beyond Edinburgh.  Crowdguard Founder and Director, Deborah Ainscough, Managing Director, Iain Moran, and Operations manager, Mike Cunliffe, travelled to the city to meet with a range of representatives from local authorities, Government bodies, event management companies and other agencies to discuss the importance of risk assessment and selecting the right HVM solution for the location and the safety requirement.

The trial includes systems from the Crowdguard range, including ATG Surface Guard, and both The Claw and the rapid deployment RB50 HVM system from Highway Care, which we demo’d at the event. We also presented the Unafor Core to delegates and the Rosehill Impakt Defender and Rapid Defender systems. We have been able to showcase the versatility, speed of deployment and aesthetics that can be delivered with the right choice of HVM systems, alongside the goal of achieving improved safety for people and the protection of events, high streets and the public realm.

The event provided an opportunity to highlight Crowdguard’s capabilities in Scotland, with a network of trained technicians across the country and logistics support provided by the Glasgow branch of AIS Vanguard, an Ainscough Industrial Services Group company, owned by the same shareholders. Iain explained the need to take a holistic approach to considering risk and selecting a proportionate solution. He highlighted the threat, vulnerability and risk assessment (TVRA) approach delivered by Crowdguard, incorporating vehicle dynamics analysis, and explained the importance of understanding the risk factors of the specific solution, along with any variation from the test configuration used to achieve accreditation of the HVM system.

Iain’s talk was very well received by delegates and will help them prepare for the proposed UK Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law) legislation. He was able to answer questions that will help educate and inform those responsible for public safety about vital considerations for making the most appropriate choices for their own urban locations and events.