Vismo will be attending the annual Global Security Exchange (GSX) exhibition, formerly the ASIS International Annual Seminar, for the eighth consecutive year in 2019. The exhibition is one of the world’s largest and most influential events within the security industry. This year, GSX will be hosted in Chicago, from the 8^th to the 12^th September 2019, and is expected to attract more than 22,000 attendees from over 100 countries.

What’s new for 2019?

Vismo is committed to constantly improving user security, and over the past year, has integrated the latest technology to provide enhancements to products and user experience.  The development of the Vismo Lone Worker application effectively and securely assists lone workers by helping to eliminate the risks of working alone and without constant communication.

The Vismo Lone Worker app encompasses a panic button, which when enabled, sends an instant alert to administration teams, notifying them of a user’s location. Vismo also makes workforce management easier, due to the timed check-in and check-out function. Definitions of check-ins can be tailored to individual employees or job roles by administrators. Employees can choose the relevant action, along with an optional time frame to complete the task at hand. This information is sent to the secure Vismo Portal confirming the user’s location and relevant check-in action. Should the time frame expire, or not been deactivated, an alert is automatically sent to the administration teams. This allows administration team to monitor and aid employees, if required, ensuing the safety of lone workers within their workforce.

ASIS Accolade Security Best Winner 2016 and 2017

In previous years, Vismo has achieved great success at the ASIS International Security Conference & Exhibition after winning the Security’s Best Award for two years running in 2016 and 2017. The award acknowledges and celebrates the industry’s most innovative new technologies, products, services and solutions.

In 2016 the VismoAlert achieved the award, due to the covert nature of the panic button. Fundamental to a user’s safety in a crisis situation, users can press the button on their device, or, if there is no time to unlock their device, the button can be worn on the wrist, belt and as a pendant. The Bluetooth technology connects the Vismo-Alert to a user’s smartphone in order to send a panic alert with a GPS location remotely to the secure Portal. This informs security teams of the event, allowing for a faster, more covert and safer response.

Following the success in 2016, Vismo won the ASIS Accolade Award in 2017, with VismoStream. VismoStream enables users to send immediate encrypted transmissions of live video and audio from their smartphone to the secure Vismo Portal. This ensures the administration teams can evaluate the nature of the situation in order to respond accordingly.

If you are attending GSX 2019, come and visit the Vismo team at booth #1761, to explore the latest technological advances and trial Vismo for yourself.

For more information on Vismo or any enquiries, please contact enquiries@vismo.com or contact us on +44 (0) 1904 616666 (UK and RoW) or +1 866 815 9128 (USA).

Each year 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s oceans, harming the environment, the wildlife and the planet. Making up 50% of this number is single-use plastics, such as water bottles, shopping bags and plastic straws.

The use of single-use plastic is increasingly becoming a global concern due to its inability to be properly recycled. Most often, the material cannot biodegrade in nature, and instead takes hundreds of years to break up and turns into a toxic microplastic. Microplastics leave behind chemicals and toxic particles that are harmful to the environment, oceans and wildlife.

Kiko’s Story

As concern over single-use plastic, and its impact grows, many are trying to reduce their plastic use and look for alternative materials that are easier to recycle and have less harm on the environment. To help increase awareness of single-use plastic, British adventurer and Women’s World Record holder for fastest women’s’ solo row across the Atlantic, Kiko Matthews, set up the ‘Kik-Plastic’ project to encourage communities to join in to make a positive change when using and disposing of plastics.

Setting a goal to clean 79 of the beaches around the coast of the United Kingdom, Kiko set off on a twelve-week long tour cycling around the coasts, beginning in the south of England. Creating Facebook events for each beach clean, Kiko encouraged volunteers from local communities, businesses and schools into the Kik-Plastic project and has collectively cleared 3. 45 tonnes of waste from UK beaches.

The Kik-Plastic project kicked off on the 5^th May 2019 at Margate beach in Kent, England, and over the past three months, Kiko cycled over 6,800km around the UK coastline working with local volunteers to clean beaches. From Kent, Kiko cycled around the south coast of England to Lands’ End cleaning Sennen beach.

She then continued all the way up the west coast through Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland before reaching John O’Groats and heading back down the east coast.

On the 17^th July, Kiko was joined by Colin Dale, VP of Business Development at Vismo, at Headland Beach in Hartlepool, where he participated in the beach clean and supported Kiko in raising awareness of single-use plastics. After working around the clock with over 1900 volunteers, Kiko went on to complete her tour of the UK at the London beach clean on the 28^th July.

“Combining my love for challenges with my love for the environment, I wanted to help raise awareness across the UK by cycling and completing local beach cleans with local communities.” Says Kiko Matthews.

“I wanted this challenge to include everyone and anyone, whether a cyclist, a local business or school or just a beach lover. My focus for this project was not to be the fastest, but to raise awareness of the problem of single-use plastic and engage communities to help tackle it and hopefully go home to change their lifestyle and reduce their single-use plastic use.”

Many of the items that were collected, included plastic bottles and lids, abandoned fishing ropes, plastic straws, plastic cotton buds and crisp packets. Most worryingly, most of these items were unchanged from when they were thrown away, further demonstrating the years it take to decompose and leave harmful toxins on the planet for years to come.

Kiko’s journey around the UK has been tracked by Vismo. Using the smartphone application; location fixes of Kiko’s journey were automatically sent to the secure Vismo Portal allowing for real-time tracking of her journey. Working with ZeroSixZero, Kiko’s history trail has been mapped, while including the locations of each beach clean ensuring everyone can interact and get involved with her journey.

Read the BBC’s coverage of Kiko’s journey here.