Bromsgrove-based security and monitoring company, Ecl-ips, is counting down to the North Worcestershire Business Awards on Thursday 21 November 2024 at Hogarths Stone Manor near Kidderminster.
The company is among the 30 local businesses that have been short-listed for an award. Ecl-ips is a finalist in the ‘best use of technology’ award category along with Redditch-based TSR Electrical Group and StarkEV, an electrical vehicle charging point installer.
The nomination from Ecl-ips centred on the advanced technology that is provided by its vape detector offering, the HALO Smart Sensor. manufactured by IPVideo in the USA. Ecl-ips was one of the first companies in the UK to identify the potential of the technology that provides real-time alerts of vaping as well as providing indoor air quality monitoring. With all its solutions Ecl-ips aims to find the best partners to help meet the needs of its clients.
This smart sensor has supported schools in the UK to tackle the problem of the rising numbers of young people who are vaping. Schools are finding that students are disrupting lessons by asking to go to the toilet and creating an intimidating atmosphere in the school toilets because more students are gathering in them to vape.
When combined with strengthened behaviour policies and the use of CCTV outside the toilets to confirm the identities of students, the vape detector has proved to be very effective at improving pupil behaviour and reducing vaping at school.
Ecl-ips customer, Matthew Carpenter, Principal at Baxter College in Kidderminster, said: “It has transformed the amount of antisocial behaviour in toilets, children are more confident in going to the toilets. It has also reduced the number of students asking to go to the toilet during lessons.”
The North Worcestershire Business Awards are judged by an independent panel that said the finalists reflect “an impressive range of diverse businesses, all showcasing their commitment to growth, sustainability and adding extra value for customers.”
Now in their sixth year the awards are organised by North Worcestershire Business Leaders (NWBL) and the local authorities in North Worcestershire in partnership with Hogarths Stone Manor.