The RailStaff Awards 2024

Stephen Schofield

Said the following about ExM P7 Team:

“Attracting worldwide power brands including Disney, Google, Nike and Microsoft to proactively advertise on the railway, telent in collaboration with TfL and Global, developed and installed the first-of-its-kind Digital Escalator Ribbon displays safely, on-time and significantly under budget. Creating a brand-new form of advertising, the introduction of the Digital Escalator Ribbon displays enhance passenger experience and generate long-term, non-fares revenue - enabling TfL to invest further in improving their infrastructure to deliver a better service for passengers.

Working together to deliver ‘Hello London’ Programme 7, part of the UK’s largest digital advertising contract, the team of circa 50 individuals working around the clock designed, tested and implemented the innovative technology that allows full-motion format of an advertiser’s campaign to flow seamlessly across the full length of the sequence of screens.

Co-located throughout the project, the team organised market engagement and engineering workshops, working together to develop the outline specification. Bringing together discipline experts to overcome technical and space challenges, working environment constraints, budget limitations and undertaking full product assurance testing from burning, to submerging in a lake to prove IP rating and blast testing, the team developed a value engineered solution that included:

• Creating a brand-new innovative digital advertising solution with simpler, more efficient deployment and maintenance procedures - minimising disruption to passengers and station staff

• Retaining existing metalwork instead of replacing infrastructure

• Agreeing extending engineering hours and closures with station managers, operational staff and landlords – minimising disruption for passengers

• Securing approval for alternative access equipment (Zonzini stair walker)

• Achieving significant cost reduction.If the team had used standard working practices and specifications, the project would have exceeded budgets.

As part of the end-to-end solution, telent also created all training content and delivered courses to the maintainer before they handed over the infrastructure. This ensured the maintainer understood the first-of-its-kind product and could work with the worldwide brands to achieve their objectives and create repeat advertising business for TfL.

Introducing innovation and new technology is always a challenge. By working together, the team has successfully installed and commissioned more than 340 Digital Escalator Ribbon products across eight LUL Stations (including Oxford Circus, Waterloo) and 968 Digital Escalator Panels across 17 stations on-time over a nine-month programme.

The team has demonstrated that by using latest technology and working in collaboration, a first-of-its-kind Digital Escalator Ribbon advertising solution can be delivered on-time and under budget. By working together, the team identified safer and efficient ways of working, minimising disruption, enhancing passenger experience and delivering value for money.“