The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency runs the UK’s driving tests: 345 test centres, more than 1.5 million theory and practical tests a year, and targets with little slack in them, including test appointments within six weeks, 98% of confirmed reservations honoured, and £1 million in efficiency savings. The agency also approves driving instructors, tests lorries, trailers and buses annually, and spot checks vehicles on the road.
When the DVSA decided to modernise how test data is recorded, it put tablets in the examiners’ hands. Which raised the next question: where do all those tablets live, charge and stay safe?
The challenge: a tablet that cannot fail mid-test
A device dying during a driving test is not an inconvenience. It is a retest. So the DVSA specified battery packs alongside the iPads, and smart charging that preserves every battery for the longest possible working life. Cables mattered too: across hundreds of devices, damaged and missing cables become a serious cost. And with hundreds of members of the public walking through test centres every week, the unit had to stand up to theft as well as wear.
What the tender asked for
The job went out to government tender, and the list was specific. 260 units, each housing 10 iPads and 10 battery packs. Pre-wired with Apple Lightning and Samsung Micro USB cables, so future devices were already covered. Cables protected against damage, loss and theft. Batteries preserved. Serious security throughout. Competitive pricing on a stretched public budget. Delivery to 235 test centres across the UK with a quality check at the point of delivery. All of it inside 14 weeks.
The fix: the Lyte 20 Single Door Mini
LapCabby designed a bespoke unit for the job. A compact 18mm MFC carcass with a single locking door and horizontal compartments for each device. A separate, lockable, front facing power compartment with a 20 port USB board, charging all 10 iPads and 10 battery packs at once while keeping every cable locked away from the device compartment. Cable management clips and portholes to keep the wiring tidy and intact. And on the outside, a U bolt anchor, security cable and padlock to fix each unit to its building.
LapCabby won the tender in partnership with reseller XMA, on price and on meeting the specification exactly. Before a single unit was built, the plan was signed off by every stakeholder: the DVSA project team, the test centre sites and XMA. Twelve weeks to manufacture all 260 units. Two weeks to deliver them.
The rollout: unwrapped, plugged in, tested
LapCabby used its own in house drivers, each trained for this deployment. Every unit was unwrapped, plugged in and tested on site, every cable checked, before the driver could sign the job off, and each van carried spare electrical parts so a faulty component could be fixed on the spot. Daily progress reports kept every stakeholder informed throughout.
Out of 260 deliveries, the surprises were few: three were re-planned around test centres that closed early, and one was diverted to a hotel room two miles away after its test centre was shut for structural damage. The unit passed its checks. The building did not.
What changed
260 units in 235 test centres, every criterion met, inside the 14 weeks agreed, with a 100% success rate on delivery and installation. The DVSA’s feedback singled out the programme management and the care taken by the drivers installing each unit.
“An exceptional service.” Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency