Smart Systems UK

SMART SYSTEMS UK – 22 YEARS IN COVENTRY

Smart Systems UK — 21/06/2022

There’s more than one long-service celebration this year.

We’re proud to have over 235 years of experience under one roof!

Smart Systems UK is proud to have had one of the busiest starts to the year in over 22 years here in Coventry.

Despite supply chain challenges and economic uncertainties, our customers are showing their support and trust in our team of experts, and we’d like to thank everyone who helps keep our show on the road.

Developing a great team

This year, our reigning Monarch has sat on the throne for 70 years. An amazing feat of undying commitment to the role, and to the people of the UK and Commonwealth.

As we prepare for a long weekend of celebrations, we’re also recognising our special team, as this year we tally 235 years of experience under our roof here in Oban Road, Coventry.

From the newest member of the team, Louis Sweeney of Internal Sales who has been with us less than a year to our longest serving employee, Jeff Deegan; we’d like to say ‘thank-you’ for your commitment to us.

A special mention

Just as we thank our Majesty for her long service, we would like to recognise two people who have been an integral part of Smart Systems UK for many years.

Firstly, our longest serving member of staff is Jeff Deegan, who has been with us for 21 years. In his amazing period of service, Jeff has seen challenging times and years of meteoric growth, but throughout has provided our customers and his colleagues with exceptional service and quality advice.

Also, a very special mention to Roy Trevis who in his 20 years of service has steered his way through roles in Production and is now heading up our Manufacturing and Bespoke Products Department.

Both individuals have charted a successful course through a myriad of new technology, ever-changing regulation, and more complicated requirements of our customers.

It’s fair to say that Smart Systems would be lost without your day-to-day expertise, so from all of us: a big thank-you for your service.

Come join the team?

We’re always on the lookout for enthusiastic employees to join our team. With an expansion into Solar Energy Solutions under way, it’s a great time to join Smart Systems at the dawn of our next generation technology and services.

At the present time we’re recruiting for a role within the Internal Sales team based at our Coventry Head Office. If you’re interested, feel free to send us your CV and covering letter detailing your experience and we’ll be in touch.

Maintaining our service standards in a supply-constrained environment.

Smart Systems UK — 17/06/2022

When global events happen concurrently, the macroeconomic effects are huge and long lasting. In this short white paper, we consider the events which led us to the current environment and how we’re working hard to find solutions.

Smart Systems UK – Overcoming worldwide supply chain issues

In over twenty years leading Smart Systems UK, Ian Hill has seldom seen such a challenging business environment. Unlike the handful of recessions seen before by Ian, a peculiar set of circumstances has combined to stress demand, supply and development functions within the company – and beyond.

In our latest blog, we’ve been considering mid-term supply chain matters with Richard Strode, CEO of Tridonic UK Limited. Richard’s current view is clearly outlined in the following quote:

“We find ourselves in almost a ‘Perfect storm’ where the effects of COVID have stimulated a massive hiatus in supply and demand. We see the (supply) impact reaching well into late 2022 and recovery is now being hampered by the latest Omicron wave of COVID. On a positive note, however, the outlook beyond 2022 appears positive with signs of strong investment both in the public and private sectors in the UK.”

What issues are being faced within the Commercial Lighting industry?

Firstly, we look at the demand side of the business. After a period of complete stagnation, with commercial spaces reawakening or reconfiguring post-pandemic, and environmental pressures becoming front of mind, many Facilities Management (FM) companies, landlords and their investors are looking to their electrical installations to improve the financial performance of their estate.

Add to this the pressure from customers, employees and government bodies for firms to be more sustainable in the medium term, we suddenly have a market for smart and sustainable installations in thousands of locations.

Of course, this incredible demand is the dream of businesspeople worldwide, but at present there are blockages to overcome…

We therefore must consider supply side matters. With LED innovation and manufacturing mainly located in the Far East, the production line cessation seen in the early days of the pandemic caused an immediate reduction in supply.

Despite this pause being relatively short and reactionary, many manufacturers were hit with wide scale cancellation of forward orders in almost all industry sectors and countries in the service driven west, who all expected recovery to be slow – at best.

Of course, this was far from reality. Demand for all sorts of integrated circuits from those used in cars to lighting increased exponentially, resulting in massive demand and a supply chain from raw materials to the availability of shipping containers unable to cope.

These global issues will take time to resolve, especially as Britain’s exit from the single European market continues to challenge more local logistical issues from port to warehouse – and beyond.

How long will the current situation take to resolve?

Our current forecast is that the pace of manufacturing is increasing and therefore commercial electrical hardware will start shipping early in 2022. This would result in an easing of shortages late in Q1 and into Q2.

A key consideration is that demand remains incredibly high from all industry sectors, so even with increased supply, back orders or delays in supply will be likely into Q3 or Q4, 2022.

While we are doing all we can to improve forecasts and plan on behalf of our customers, we should all use this time to innovate, develop solutions and get ready for implementation as product arrives.

What is Smart Systems UK doing to help their customers?

Firstly, if we are out of stock, the whole industry will be facing the same challenge. Some suppliers may receive items a few days before, some after – but ultimately supply chain issues will tend to resolve at similar times.

Another route is to consider the situation further up the supply chain, i.e., to consider the upstream components which form part of the product design and manufacturing process. By working with leading suppliers such as Tridonic, we can help influence those key suppliers, broaden the supply base and integrate our own standards throughout the cycle.

Our approach is threefold:

Create a strategy with all our customers to ensure that bespoke projects are planned, approved and installation contractors ready to go as soon as stock arrives.
Ensure that QC and local manufacturing facilities and assembly resource is available for a just-in-time turnaround of products upon arrival.
Ian and his leadership team will take time to focus on innovation by working with key suppliers such as Tridonic to create brilliant lighting solutions for all commercial environments. These innovations can then be brought to market as supply chain matters ease into 2022 / 2023.

Smart Systems UK create solutions for every commercial environment. Let us help:

Whatever your requirements, Smart Systems UK’s team of experts can help you design and implement lighting solutions which tick every box:

Reduced power consumption and energy bills
Improved efficiency and reduced on-going maintenance
Better lighting performance over time (less degradation)
Ability to adjust lighting efficacy for differing environments
Upgradable for remote monitoring and building control solutions
Reduced WEEE waste

A Sustainable Lighting Solution for the Coventry War Memorial

Smart Systems UK — 17/06/2022

A commercial lighting company from Coventry is helping illuminate the city’s Grade II listed War Memorial at the Limbrick Wood War Memorial Park.

Initially approached in September 2021, Coventry City Council were looking for a sustainable solution to replace inefficient existing luminaires, which due to the nature of the installation, needed to run 24 x 7, 365 days per year.

Working closely with Edmundson Electrical Coventry, Ian, Jeff and the team at Smart Systems UK found an ideal LED product to replace existing fittings and fulfil an exacting specification for installation in a sensitive, listed building.

Following successful trials, the light quality was assessed by experts to ensure the protection of local insects, birds and bats in their natural habitats, with the final installation of four luminaires taking place in November 2021.

The resultant works have created a like-for-like light output, whilst reducing energy costs by upwards of 75%. The chosen product is designed for reliability and efficiency, with minimal ongoing maintenance and reduced on-costs for Coventry City Council and local Council Tax payers.

About Smart Systems UK

Smart Systems UK is an innovative Commercial Lighting company based in Longford, Coventry. With over 30 years industry experience, MD Ian Hill leads an expert team specialising in lighting solutions for all types and scale of commercial installations.

Installations at Coventry War Memorial

To meet the requirements of Coventry City Council, Smart Systems UK chose the QSSI Kitty Hawk with an amber lens to precisely achieve the correct colour temperature.

Smart Systems 'Practice What They Preach' with Solar Panel PV Installation

Smart Systems UK — 31/10/2022

Energy saving experts Smart Systems have been helping businesses make better use of energy for more than 20 years. The Coventry based company will be offering solar PV to businesses and domestic customers as of November 2022, and has started the journey by getting solar panels fitted to their own facility.

Smart Systems is an agile innovative business supplying a wide range of products to facilities management customers and over 600 electrical wholesalers. The firm has become a leader in supplying creative commercial lighting solutions to many environments, helping businesses reduce costs, waste and environmental impact. Their clients include schools, factories, offices and local authorities, with many of the projects being carried out on a return on investment (ROI) basis.

The company’s latest innovation will see them install 85 solar power panels to their facility in Coventry, with a predicted ROI of 4-5 years. The company earned a grant from the EDF and is inviting businesses to watch the installation take place from Tuesday 25th October, the project will take one week to complete. The company will also be providing live data throughout the installation to show business leaders how much energy is being collected via the solar panels in real time.

As experts in energy saving the company will also be supplying solar panels and installation services as part of the business. With energy costs rising and businesses dealing with other economical challenges, Smart Systems wants to help educate business leaders on the benefits of solar and prove the benefits by essentially ‘practising what they preach.’

Ian Hill, Smart Systems CEO and Founder, said:

“Clearly we could not preach about the benefits of solar and then not install a system onto the roof of our own factory in Oban Road Coventry, we use power in our everyday processes as well as in the production areas and with energy costs spiralling it is the natural thing to do.

We would like to invite business owners who are considering energy saving to visit us during the installation to witness the procedures and meet experts in solar as well as LED lighting and EV vehicle charging. We will also be filming the installation and providing live data when the system is switched on.”

One of the common misconceptions about solar energy is that they need direct sunlight to operate, when in fact, Solar PV generates power all year round. In the UK alone, solar can produce as much as 30% of UK electricity at different points of the year.

Visit the Solar PV installation at Smart Systems by heading to the premises all this week: Oban Rd, Longford, Coventry CV6 6HH. Contact 02476 364400 or email ian@smartsystemsuk.com if you would like to visit or discuss.

Smart Systems UK's Exclusive Offer to Made in the Midlands Members

Smart Systems UK — 09/10/2020

If you still have not upgraded your factory or warehouse lighting to LED, then now is the best time to do it. To support with this, Smart Systems UK have an exclusive offer for all of their fellow members of Made in the Midlands.

Over the years, LEDs have improved beyond recognition from the early blue white versions with high levels of glare. Power consumption has dropped and light output has gone up so with prices falling it really is now the perfect storm to get your lighting upgrade done.

Smart Systems UK have a proven industrial lighting fitting that is designed and built in Coventry and is available on a special deal to other members until the end of 2020. The offer is to survey member premises and produce a design and quotation as well as an "investment payback" to show the end-user how quickly the investment in lighting will pay for itself against energy savings, we also can assist with financing the capital purchase as required.

Testimonials from recent projects suggest payback in as little as 18 months depending on the running period of the lights and energy saving will be a minimum of 50% off the original lighting load - up to 70% with judicious use of sensors. Another significant saving for the end user is one of lamp replacement costs which can be regular and significant particularly when lights are mounted at height.

Smart Systems lighting products are guaranteed for 5 years. Get in touch with the Managing Director of Smart Systems UK Ian Hill to find out more about this exclusive offer.