REGISTERED GAS ENGINEER | PROFILE
Mike’s good vibrations What does a gas engineer with 30 years in the industry do next? Think about retiring? Or start again, to bring to market a simple idea that could save others from the stress and cost of having their van broken into. Registered Gas Engineer talks to Mike Horsfall about his stand against one of the scourges of the industry.
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fter Mike Horsfall had fallen victim to repeated thefts of copper from the pipe carrier on his van, he decided to do something about it. “I recognised that the unalarmed pipe carrier drew the attention of thieves to my van, who grew in confidence knowing that it was unalarmed,” he says. The thefts were costing Mike hundreds of pounds in lost copper. He realised that the problem with pipe carriers was that they couldn’t be alarmed in the same way that vans are. And that got him thinking. “If I could design an alarm system that prevented the thief from initiating contact with any part of my van, it would be an effective deterrent
and move thieves along.” He talked to other engineers around Leeds, where he lives, who had suffered the same thefts. “I found that vehicle security was expensive,” he says. “And what good is an alarm that activates after the door’s open? Van alarms don’t protect from the superficial damage that thieves can inflict, so people put additional locks on. And that’s what has spawned this scourge of door peeling: thieves can’t get in, so they just peel the door. That exacerbates the problem because the alarm doesn’t go off if the door’s not open.” Two-and-a-half years of hard work followed, resulting in the creation of
WIN
Win a Van Guardian dual alarm We’ve teamed up with Van Guardian to offer three lucky readers the chance to win a Dual Alarm. To be in with the chance of winning, just head over to their website at www.Vanguardian.co.uk and follow the instructions you’ll find there. The competition closes on 30 April 2021. Usual Registered Gas Engineer competition rules, terms and conditions apply (see page 51).
“What good is an alarm that activates after the van door is open? They don’t protect from the superficial damage that thieves inflict.” Van Guardian, an early warning alarm system. It activates when anyone touches the van in the zonal area that the device covers, sounding a 110dB alarm. Motor tech The technology behind it is a triaxl accelerometer, which comes from the motor industry and measures vibration in a wind tunnel. Mike combined this with a programmable microchip, which senses contact and then activates, and encased it in a waterproof housing. The alarm fixes firmly to the van with no need for drilling or wiring and provides protection, activated by remote control. As a sole trader gas engineer, Mike didn’t have a background in engineering, manufacturing or electronics, and had to learn everything for himself, sourcing parts and finding a manufacturer to make the waterproof housing in which the alarm sits. “I had to test, adjust and test again.” The bespoke housing is made of vacuum-formed plastic, manufactured by a family company in Crossgates, Leeds. “It had to withstand the rigours of all weather and being exposed on
a van doing 70mph and then going in a jet wash,” he says. Until now, Mike has been multi-tasking, bringing Van Guardian to the market alongside working as a gas engineer. “Last night I was up until 1am working on the design and parts of the website,” he told us. “And this morning I’ve been out and done gas servicing.” He’s always looking at ways to improve and expand Van Guardian, and he’s now working on a tracking function. So it looks as though being a gas engineer will have to take a back seat. “I’ve been self-employed for 30 years and I have a lot of clients that rely on my services, so it’s hard to say ‘no I can’t do it any more’. But Van Guardian requires my attention now and my focus is to try and continue to introduce it into local independent merchants.” And Mike wants something to tangible to involve his two young sons, Frederick and Harry, who often spot vans sporting his invention when they’re out and about. “They say, look, there’s one of daddy’s alarms. That’s priceless.” n www.vanguardian.co.uk www.gassaferegister.co.uk 13
