VMS-A Excels in Urban Environments

Written by

As a company, we hold an unrivalled reputation within the High Speed and Traffic Management industries for providing reliable solutions and platinum level service. Recent years have shown us the true scope of our products, with the COVID-19 pandemic calling for clear and concise messaging in many new areas, such as retail and on high streets in town or city centres, the VMS-A played a central role in the COVID messaging strategy for so many customers all over the UK.

Over the years, the VMS-A has proven itself highly capable when it comes to urban deployments. As our mid-sized portable solar powered Variable Message Sign, the VMS-A is one of our most popular units, serving a wide range of applications. The pandemic really brought the VMS-A’s versatility to the fore, helping customers to see just how powerful it can be when it comes to messaging and communicating information in urban environments.

What makes the VMS-A so perfect?

Striking a seemingly ideal balance between size and messaging capability for urban environments, the VMS-A boasts a smaller footprint than the VMS-C, but a larger screen than the HD Compact VMS, making it both versatile and powerful.

Designed for messaging on roads under 50mph, its small footprint allows it to be deployed in locations with limited space such as car parks or high streets. For urban environments, this is highly important and it boasts an impressive range of features that can be used by customers for a variety of traffic management and crowd control applications.

One of these features is its control capabilities. The VMS-A can be operated remotely via web browser or smart phone device and it can also be configured for scheduled operation and vehicle activation so that it doesn’t display messages when it is not needed. Messages can be updated quickly and easily, allowing site managers to be responsive to changes in the situation.

The VMS-A also boasts a 5-colour LED display that is ideal for displaying pictograms and logos, tackling language barriers and offering promotion of your brand in the right circumstances.

The unit is also perfect for integrations. Along with our sister company, Bartco UK, we have made many adaptations to the VMS-A that make it even more functional. Optional integrations such as CCTV or the ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor allow the VMS-A to double up as a multifunctional unit that can either increase security and safety or serve as  a low cost air quality monitoring station.

Couple these aspects with the unit’s integrated data collection radar, which, for many customers is a premium feature that really sets it apart from competing portable VMS available in the market. Using the sign’s data collection radar, customers can obtain data regarding traffic, capturing trend data on volume, speed, date and time of traffic.

This makes planning much easier, allowing customers with multiple projects in the area or on the same stretch of road learn more about the traffic-related risk as time goes on. Even better, with one of our signs deployed in the location of the works sometime beforehand, it can warn drivers of the upcoming disruption and collect data at the same time, helping with planning and traffic management, giving the drivers an opportunity to find a different route before the works start.

Who can make the most out of the VMS-A?

These features can be particularly useful for utility companies, who may be required to conduct multiple works on the same stretch of road for maintenance or installation of the vital grid connections we have into our homes and businesses for gas, water and internet.

Traditional traffic management companies can massively benefit from using the VMS-A.

Working with a company who specialise in High Speed works, where often restrictions and requirements are much more stringent than urban traffic management brings its own benefits. An exceptionally high level of service from MVIS is augmented by the range of features the VMS-A packs in. Optional and default integrations such as the data collection radar or the environmental sensor may offer traffic management customers premium level features for a low cost relative to competing solutions, which then in turn allow our traffic management customers to offer those solutions themselves using our equipment.

The VMS-A’s messaging power can also be leveraged for displaying messaging and updates to the public in situations such as emergencies, festivals and events. Such situations may call for strong messaging especially if they attract large numbers of people, allowing the VMS-A to really come into its own.

We have even seen the VMS-A used by the likes of charities to help raise awareness of their fundraisers. Some fundraisers even affect the road network, such as Ashgate Hospice’s Sparkle Walk, which necessitates the closure of several roads in Chesterfield annually.

Multiple signs are deployed each year around Chesterfield in the lead up to the event to warn drivers of the upcoming disruption. These signs are then switched to close the roads at the right time for the event, combining road closures, promotion and traffic management warnings in the same deployment.

Local authorities also find some innovative uses of our VMS-A, especially for communicating campaigns and initiatives. A popular initiative  for local authorities is raising awareness of Park and Ride services as an alternative to driving in the city or town centre. Likewise, we have seen our units used to help promote ‘car free’ zones and for drivers to turn off idle engines in traffic by using the powerful messaging capabilities to help communicate with large numbers of people to help keep emissions down in our urban areas. 

If you would like to learn more about our VMS-A, please contact us via our contact form. Alternatively, you can call us on 01629 580 570 to speak to one of our friendly team, or you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

MVIS offer Added Value

Written by

We have always taken pride in the things that make us special. As an industry leader, we are required to not just stay on the forefront of innovation, but to also push the boundaries for the rest of the industry, ensuring our service and products are the best they could be so that our customers are receiving maximum value.

As a result, we place the idea of ‘added value’ high amongst our priorities, looking at ways we can improve our service and products, as well as our internal processes.

Knowing our Customers

One of the ways we look to offer added value for our customers is by taking the time and effort to learn about the industries we work with. We do this to gain a good understanding of their needs, which then helps us in our continuing mission to look for ways to add more value. As such, it makes working with MVIS and hiring our products an experience that offers much more than intended.

A good example of this can be found in the development of our HD Compact unit, which was the first portable Variable Message Signs (VMS) of its size to hit market and has since inspired the develop of competing units within the industry. The HD Compact was developed in response to a customer requirement for Traffic Management applications, since at the time, portable VMS units were traditionally roughly the size of our VMS-A and VMS-C units.

Some Traffic Management applications, especially urban works are highly limited on space, making VMS-A and VMS-C units too big for some projects. The HD Compact helped to fulfil this requirement for the entire industry and to this day has changed the landscape of the portable VMS market in the UK.

This solution would not be possible without our proactive approach when it comes to working with our customers and it is an approach we maintain today. Since it’s launch in 2016, we have continued to develop the HD Compact with our customers, recently undergoing significant changes that still puts it ahead of competing solutions of its size. Version 2 of the unit comes with integrated solar power, the addition of adjustable height for its display and a new casing design that hides all cabling, making it more secure against vandalism or accidental damage.

Product Integrations

As with the HD Compact, we are always developing all our units to make sure that customers are getting much more than just a portable VMS. Due to the locations that our products are traditionally deployed, they offer a great opportunity for a wide range of additional extras that can bring huge benefits to any project. We do this by integrating other technologies with our signs that enhance what they are capable of.

For example, when deployed to communicate to drivers, our signs can offer extra value to a project with their integrated data collection radar, which comes as standard with all our VMS.

The integrated data collection radar offers a low-cost alternative to many data collection solutions on the market and is ideal to be used as a data source for the analysis of traffic trends, enabling greater intelligence for planning projects of all kinds.

It may also help with general road and work site safety, allowing users to identify traffic trends with risk, such as speed or volume of traffic, and therefore take steps to combat it. Sourcing traffic data has never been easier, with data uploading to our server every hour, ready to be downloaded at any time by the user via a web-based portal.

Combining data collection and VMS in one unit offers a multi-functional solution that can help collect valuable data at the same time as communicating messages. What’s more is that by working with data sharing solutions company, Chordant on a trial that demonstrates that our integrated data collection radar produced comparable traffic speeds and flow relative to Coventry SCOOT data, we have proved that we can use our signs to help to understand traffic trends and flows.

In recent months, we have expanded the capability of our units, especially the VMS-A with integrations such as the VMS CCTV solution, which integrates a CCTV camera with the VMS-A for increased security and monitoring of a work site.

Working with Partners

We don’t just work with customers when it comes to innovation.

MVIS, as well as our sister company, ITS manufacturer, Bartco UK, have worked with a range of specialists in their field to bring portable, solar powered innovations to the industry such as ANPR and CCTV.

This is made possible by our Solar IP, which serves as a trailer-based, solar powered ‘power bank’ available for integration with other technology, granting it portability and solar power.

We offer added value to clients who require our products simply by offering the Solar IP, allowing them to integrate the technology they already own with ours, potentially opening new doors for what the technology is capable of. Working with either MVIS or Bartco UK offers an opportunity to be the first to develop a new industry innovation.

However, we also work proactively with partners, developing relationships with specialists in technology to help make their technology portable. We seek value in our partners to ensure that we can also provide value to the industry, resulting in innovations with leading companies such as Wavetronix, Jenoptik, 360 Vision and Iknaia.

solar ip with portable cctv

Added Value for Everyone

One of the biggest product integrations we have recently developed looks at the added value we can bring for everyone. The Integrated ITS Environmental Sensor can be combined with any of our ITS solutions to offer clients the ability to monitor the external environment, producing a wide range of air pollution data that can be used to inform and direct on issues of air pollution safety. 

This solution not only benefits the customer for their environmental or project goals, but also helps wider society in efforts to reduce pollution, by giving users the ability to identify hot spots and areas of concern, making it easier to take action.

Also, by serving as a very low-cost alternative to static Air Quality monitoring stations, it allows clients to cover more space in a cost-effective way by using our units, meanwhile, fulfilling another safety function at the same time.

Service

Although we specialise in portable solar powered ITS solutions, we never lose sight of the fact that we are a service-based company. As a result, we highly prioritise the added value we can offer in our service.

We are proud to offer customers our ‘Platinum Service Promise’, which outlines our commitment to delivering a ‘Platinum’ level service for a ‘Bronze’ level price. Going above and beyond on what is expected from us means we receive a lot of positive customer feedback, which allows us to identify things we get right.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “We don’t just offer 24/7 service to our customers, we offer informed and experienced service from a highly trained team. Our impressive range of additional aspects that is encompassed in our service helps distinguish us from a typical VMS supplier.”

One of these aspects is how we monitor our products. We have a plethora of tools in place that help us monitor different aspects of our units out in the field, all from our head office in Matlock. On the rare occasions that there is an issue, we are made aware using our monitoring tools and, thanks to our national coverage, we can quickly dispatch a team from the nearest depot to investigate the problem, building in battery changes, repairs and replacements if needed into the promise of service we offer our clients.

After years of over-delivering on our customer’s expectations, we have built a reputation in the industry for our excellent service. Our emphasis on training gives customers confidence that our versatile team are fully trained in Health & Safety and as hiab and slinger signalers for delivery, installation and removal. Depending on their role on site, our workforce are also always present with the appropriate and relevant CSCS card, ensuring only the highest standards are met.

These aspects that give MVIS added value to work with culminate to working with a business that has covered every aspect of a platinum level service.

Hire with MVIS today to be confident that your ITS technology will be taken care of by experts.

Meet the Experts

Written by

No organisation can run on its own and a business is only as good as its people. MVIS takes a huge amount of pride in our team members and strongly encourage all team members to take every opportunity for training and development. As a result, and in conjunction with our recruitment practices, we boast one of the best trained and highest skilled workforces in the industry.

Today, we are going to shine a spotlight on the experts in our organisation, taking a look at the foundations of what makes us the most trusted ITS supplier in the industry. 

Tom Hooton – Research & Development Manager – Bartco UK

As manager of Research & Development for Bartco UK, in many ways, Tom is where it all starts. MVIS and Bartco UK are known for bringing new products and solutions to market that can go on to change the whole industry. Working as Technical Supervisor until 2021, Tom has had a hand in helping to develop most of these solutions, including developing a few of his own already during his time in the role.

New products to us such as the CCTV VMS integration and the Compact Portable CCTV owe their development to Tom, as well as many other products that are currently being worked on – the Bartco UK R&D department has never been more productive.

The scope that the products Tom has worked on and is currently working on is limitless. Often tasked with bringing requested solutions to life for high profile clients, Tom has a keen ability to deploy the best technology in the best way to deliver the customer’s vision.

Now working alongside newly appointed Research & Development Assistant, Mizzy Watson, Tom will be training Mizzy as well as taking on new perspectives from her as someone who previously worked with customers in the Customer Relations department.

Mark Ashbee – London Depot Manager – MVIS

Mark has worked with us since 2015, proving himself on countless occasions to uphold and embody the values of service and quality that MVIS prioritise. Mark’s fantastic attitude exemplifies the approach we take with our customers, making his promotion to London Depot Manager in 2021 a logical appointment.

His role as London Depot Manager entails ensuring the smooth running of one of our key depots in the south of the UK, and with Delivery Technician, Jay Bailey, they together service works based down south, allowing us to deploy units quickly for important projects especially in the London area.

Mark is often required to manage ‘out of the ordinary’ deliveries that drivers based in other locations in the UK may not face so regularly. Servicing the London area usually requires a different approach to the rest of the UK, having to work around the heavy traffic, public transport, lack of parking, congestion charges, cyclists and other large city challenges that London is well known for. In order to work effectively on London roads, Mark and Jay must frequently conduct unit maintenance and other duties in the early hours of the morning, requiring expert knowledge regarding what the right roads to take are and when to minimise the infamous city centre difficulties.

Jon Larkins – North Delivery Supervisor – MVIS

Joining the group in 2017, Jon has progressed within the company to North Delivery Supervisor, working alongside Delivery Technician, Liam Griffiths servicing the Midlands and the North of the UK.

Jon has impeccable leadership and customer service skills, often receiving positive customer comments and being liked amongst colleagues as well – Jon has received Employee of the Month countless times in recent years for going above and beyond what is expected of him.

Highly trained in his role, Jon has continued to develop during his time at MVIS, recently qualifying as the group’s 3rd Mental Health First Aider, supporting every member of the team.

Jon is a dependable and highly skilled team player with great product knowledge and a passion for customer service.

Rebecca Prince – Purchasing & Stock Control Supervisor – Bartco UK

Bec started working with the company in 2015 as an apprentice and ever since has worked her way up to a supervisor role.

Seizing every opportunity for development possible, Bec is a prime example of how well the MVIS / Bartco UK apprenticeship programme can work, equipping her with not just the skills to do her role, but also skills and experience that contributes to a well-rounded employee.

In her role as Purchasing and Stock Control Supervisor, Bec has a keen understanding of the products and their components. With her strong communication skills, Bec works with the Bartco UK workshop team to ensure that we have the necessary tools and components stocked for all products so that the team can do their jobs for unit manufacture and maintenance.

Working alongside and training up Pip Wood, who herself also started as an apprentice, Bec has a wide scope of responsibility that is vital to the everyday running of the group.

Tim Hill – Workshop Supervisor – Bartco UK

Tim started with the group back in 2015 as a member of our delivery and maintenance team, progressing to Workshop Supervisor in 2019, where he oversees our Technical Support Team and Technical apprentices. We identified Tim’s ability for inspiring new talent early on, seeing him as a senior member of the team due to his experience fairly quickly.

Through his guidance and supervision, Tim is helping the entire workshop team develop their knowledge and skills, guiding not just our apprentice Jacob Spencer, but also some of the more experienced team members, Cain Gregory and George Sheldon, who always have something to learn from someone with as many years of experience as Tim does.

Technically minded with a keen eye for detail, Tim’s always on hand to make sure units are built on time and to the highest standard and his hands-on approach is valued highly by both customers and colleagues.

Chris Steel – Accounts Officer – MVIS

As our Accounts Officer, Chris is a highly skilled and experienced accountant, with a strong attention to detail.

Managing the company’s accounts, ensuring things are paid and working with Tom Berry in Credit Control, Chris is a vital component in the group’s financial success.

With extensive experience in Sage and offering support to other departments such as Sales or Purchasing & Stock Control, he is always ready to help members of the team from any level of the company who need assistance.

Being Accounts Officer requires Chris to be diligent and organised, not letting things go unpaid. This is a highly important job within the group as many systems we use require payment, which, if left unpaid, will result in bottlenecks in many staff member’s workflows and may even result in work being lost.

Sean Brown – Marketing Manager – MVIS

Sean has been with the company since 2019 and was taken on to manage the transition from agency marketing to in-house marketing. This task was a huge undertaking, having to build new systems for us to use and build a whole new infrastructure that suited an in-house marketing department.

Working alongside Alex Handley as Marketing Assistant and Ben Ashman as Data Assistant, Sean also oversees the group’s lead generation activities, assisting Juliette Wright in sales to reach out to new customers in new industries.

Sean is also charged with the development of his team, focusing on training Alex and Ben to enhance their skillset, raising the bar internally.

After working in marketing management for over 8 years, there isn’t much in the field that Sean hasn’t seen, equipping him with a wide range of skills that are perfect for an infrastructure build of this scale. However, since being with MVIS, Sean has continued to develop, recently obtaining his IOSH Managing Safely V5.0 qualification, as well as a Diversity and Equality in Workplace Diploma Level 3, earning him the title of Diversity Officer for the group.

Graeme Lee – Sales Director – MVIS

Graeme has worked with the group since 2012, helping to build our customer base and enforcing the high standards we set for ourselves through leading by example.

Highly skilled in sales, networking and maintaining relationships, Graeme is well respected within the industry and has amassed a number of career achievements during his time with us.

Graeme oversees the sales department, working with Sales & Customer Relations Administrator Juliette Wright to ensure that enquiries and projects of all sizes are managed properly. With years of experience in producing high value tender submissions and working with high profile customers from many different industries, Graeme is an incredibly valued member of the team.

Working by the principals of honesty, integrity and trust, Graeme’s reputation precedes him within the industry, being close friends with colleagues and customers alike after so many years of hard work and excellent service.

Anne Ashman – UK Group Commercial and Operations Director – MVIS

Anne is the central nexus of the MVIS and Bartco UK machine, leading the whole team through whatever is thrown our way.

During her 10 years with the group companies, Anne has gained 3 ISO standards across MVIS and Bartco UK, as well as countless accreditations that all support the Sales and Marketing teams to do their jobs, as well as laying a foundational framework for everyone to work to, keeping us safe and making sure our work is of the highest standard.

Anne strongly believes in the personal development of herself and her team, often mentoring apprentices and ensuring all new starters get the right training they need.  She has completed an OU Business Management degree, gained a level 5 HR qualification, IOSH Managing Safely, Directors Development Program and last year, earning the PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner qualifications whilst running the group companies.

Anne’s guidance is a critical component to the smooth running of the group, with a lot of the success we’ve seen over the last 10 years happening under her supervision.

Upskilling to Maintain Focus on Diversity

Written by

With all the aspects that encompass Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in 2022, it has never been more important as a business to engage with the world in a positive way.

In recent years, issues concerning the environment, mental health and wellbeing have dominated discussions about CSR, likewise, so have issues concerning diversity and equality.

Diversity and equality have been in the collective conscience for a long time. Throughout this ‘journey to equality ‘, we have seen some tremendous changes to legislative attitudes, especially over the last 70 years.

But there is still a long way to go in changing civil attitudes.

Aside from the moral duties that we owe to each other, it is well known that a diversity and equality programme offers organisations a range of benefits such as increased productivity, creativity and staff retention, as well as the business growth that comes with these things.

It is incumbent upon all of us, not just as staff working for a company, but as active members of society to always do our best to work towards a better world. But as an employer, we are bound by our CSR Policy to ensure that our team members have a safe and fair working environment – and we do not take this responsibility lightly.

Professional development is a job that is never finished, meaning that there is always room to improve when it comes to such matters. Hot on the heels of Race Equality Week 2022, we are proud to announce, our Marketing Manager, Sean Brown, as our new Diversity Officer, having recently earned his ‘Diversity and Equality in Workplace Diploma Level 3’, building on top of his previously earned degree in Politics and qualifications in Sociology.

As Diversity Officer, Sean is charged with ensuring that our approach to diversity and equality carries on improving, that the job is indeed ‘never finished’. Sean now also stands as a point of contact for members of the team who wish to confidentially discuss matters of diversity and equality, be that an idea on how we can improve or to report an incident of discrimination that has taken place.

Part of the Diversity Officer’s responsibility is developing a Diversity and Equality programme that not only audits our organisation on where we stand with regards to diversity and equality, but also proactively seeks to develop every team member’s understanding of the topics through diversity awareness training.

A good Diveristy and Equality programme also addresses the marketing and promotion of steps a company is taking in order to help set a good example for others, using internal and external channels of communication to celebrate the programme, such as the website or via email. 

Sean commented, “Increased diversity and equality can offer a workplace so much, from new ideas and perspectives to an improved overall morale. This course gave me the opportunity to build on the understanding I already had on these topics and really helped me to understand the things that can go wrong if we are all not working towards the ideals of equality.”

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director added, “Having a Diversity Officer on-site will be a great opportunity for us to assess our working environment, making sure that it promotes safety and prohibits discrimination of all kinds. Matters of equality and diversity have always been important to Sean and with the qualifications he already held, he was a willing and logical choice for the post. As we have taken on record numbers of new team members in recent months, now seemed like an ideal time to be proactive and appoint a Diversity Officer.”

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week 2022

Written by

During National Apprentice Week 2022, we are shining the spotlight on the members of our team who came to us over the years as apprentices and celebrating what they have achieved so far. We have had 9 staff members join us at an apprentice level, with 8 of them continuing with us after the completion of their apprentices.

Our longest serving former apprentice is Rebecca Prince, who joined Bartco UK as a Business Administration apprentice in 2015 and quickly progressed in the company to her current role as Purchasing and Stock Control Supervisor. Working alongside Bec in Purchasing and Stock Control is Pip Wood, who joined the Bartco UK team in early 2019 as an apprentice. Pip is extremely dedicated to her skills development, taking on fire warden and manual handling training during her apprenticeship.

Also starting in 2015 was George Sheldon, who joined us as an apprentice after studying Electrical Engineering. George has since completed his level 3 apprenticeship in 2019, seeing him progress within the company to the role of Senior Workshop Technician with fellow former apprentice, Cain.

Since joining our apprenticeship programme in 2017, Cain Gregory has come on leaps and bounds professionally during his time here and has recently completed his apprenticeship. In an effort to further his skills, he has recently completed CAD training and is currently doing a supervisor training course. We were so impressed initially with Cain’s talent and work ethic during his work experience that we very quickly asked him to stay.

Our most recent apprentice is Jacob Spencer, who is in year 1 of his Technical Apprenticeship. In a similar fashion to Cain, Jacob quickly impressed us with his amazing work ethic and attitude. Jacob is perfectly suited to his role with us, allowing him to stay busy doing what he loves.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director comments, “all the apprentices that have come through either MVIS or Bartco UK’s doors have been given the encouragement and space to develop their skills. We cannot recommend the recruitment of apprentices enough to employers looking for hard working and dedicated individuals.”

MVIS and Bartco UK want to take this opportunity to thank our apprentices, both past and present, for all their hard work.

For more information about our apprentice program, please contact us on +44 (0) 3300 080 366 or email info@bartco-uk.com.

Working with Suppliers on Our Collective Responsibility to the Environment

Written by

Most companies that operates in the Traffic Management industry, along with many other businesses across the UK rely on some kind of company vehicle. We rely on our vehicles for a number of activities, most important of which is the core of our service- delivering portable ITS solutions for the safety of our customers and the general public.

With a company vehicle comes other responsibilities, including that which we owe to the environment as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy.

One of the biggest responsibilities we have when it comes to company vehicles is the decision over how we fuel them. With so many corporate fuel payment solutions available, it can be difficult to pick the one which offers the best value for money.

However, this decision is a lot more important than to consider just value for money. In line with our responsibilities, we are required to have a keen understanding of our suppliers to ensure that they share our commitment to the environment and sustainability.

For this reason, we use the Allstar fuel payment card, which offers a reliable solution as the UK’s leading fuel card provider.

As a member of the Allstar EcoPoint carbon mitigation programme, in partnership with GreenPrint, we share Allstar’s commitment to safeguarding the environment and in partnership with them, we have already contributed to the planting of over 5.8 million trees, which over time will help to off-set over 1.4 million tonnes of C02 from the atmosphere.  

The programme works in a similar fashion to our own. On behalf of Allstar and their customers, GreenPrint will oversee the purchasing of ‘carbon credits’, which are then, in part, converted into planted trees, supporting forestry projects around the world.

From January 2022, in addition to this, Allstar are also incorporating international renewable energy projects, industrial process improvement, transportation efficiency and landfill gas capture projects that support, like all of their investments, local and global communities and their environment – all for a small fee per card per month.

Not only does this help Allstar meet their corporate social responsibilities over sustainability and the environment, but it also helps us. It makes Allstar more attractive to work with to help meet our commitments regarding supplier responsibility, at the same time as compounding the impact of our own efforts. 

For more information about MVIS environmental policies, please see the ‘Environment’ section on our Safety Hub.

Fresh talent brings new energy and ideas to MVIS

Written by

Recently we have taken on several new members of staff which has brought new levels of excitement and enthusiasm to MVIS. Towards the end of last year, we welcomed our new Office Manager Sean Gardner to the team who brings with him over 10 years of experience in staff management. 

As we entered the new year, we welcomed two more new starters, Alex and Mia, and have a third starting with us this week, Clair.

By recruiting Alex, Mia and Clair, we strengthened both our in-house Marketing Department and Customer Relations team. In less than one month of taking on new team members, we have already reaped the benefits of their diverse skillset and could not be more excited about seeing them progress with us.

Our continual growth as a company means that we can expand our team to bring new talent, experience and perspectives into the group along with promoting staff from within to new roles. These perspectives allow us to ensure we are maintaining our high standards but also to learn new things from their skills and experience.

The office is experiencing an exciting atmosphere as a result of our new talent, and we are even more excited about what comes next for the rest of the year. 

Sean Gardner, Office Manager comments, “Since joining MVIS I have been welcomed and supported by the rest of the team. I look forward to doing the same by guiding our new members of staff, helping train them to keep our service levels at platinum level and keeping our customers happy”.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director added, “It is always sad to say goodbye to long serving members of the team, but sometimes you realise when fresh talent comes into the company it was actually needed. The addition of new employees has brought diverse ideas, new skills, and a fresh perspective that helps us better serve our customers. We could not be more pleased with our new staff and what they have achieved so far. Already the additional marketing skills we now have in house have made a huge difference to the whole department, giving it fresh eyes and ideas, our social media has already had a much-needed refresh. It has been an exciting time for everyone as we’ve welcomed new members to the team and given me the opportunity to push the business forward even more with the talent we now have”.

Recruiting Internally for Success

Written by

As a group, MVIS and Bartco UK take pride in our ability to recognise talent and place skills in the right places. In the past we have relocated employees with talents in a specific skill to other departments in order to allow them to develop and grow more with the company than their previous role allowed.

But this approach brings with it more advantages than just personal development. As demonstrated by our cross-departmental training initiative, we find it to be of great benefit when our team are trained across departments. This allows each member of staff to gain a deeper appreciation of what team members in other departments are required to do. When staff understand this, everyone can work together more effectively.

One of our more recent shifts has been with Mizzy Watson. Having worked in Customer Relations for over 2 years, Mizzy has an excellent understanding of the products, how they work and importantly, what customers want. At the beginning of February, Mizzy transitioned from the MVIS Customer Relations team to Bartco UK’s Research and Development department, working alongside R&D Manager, Tom Hooton, as Research & Development Assistant.

Working with Mizzy will offer Tom not only another pair of hands to assist him with product development, but it also offers him a unique perspective in R&D and connects the department with direct customer experience.

Tom Hooton comments, “I’m really looking forward to working with Mizzy. Her previous role required her to have a keen attention to detail, which is so vital in this department. Combine this with her knowledge of the products and our customers and she’s perfect to work in R&D.”

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director added, “When a role arises within our group, it’s always great to promote from within, it pays to look internally to see if we already have the skills and experience in-house before we bring someone else in. We are all very excited to see what Mizzy and the R&D department can do.”

The VMS-A – More Than Traffic Management

Written by

The original 5 colour VMS-A is one of our most popular and versatile products, offering a wide range of benefits that can be used for various applications.

From data collection to assisting with messaging needs for national emergencies, the VMS-A can be used for many tasks that break away from the traditional traffic management applications expected from ordinary portable variable message signs. 

Indeed, the VMS-A is no ordinary portable variable message sign. This unit strikes a perfect balance between the size of its footprint and screen size to allow it to be used for many applications for different industries, and when considering the technology that can be integrated with the VMS-A, it’s quite clear that this unit offers more than just traffic management.  

During the pandemic, we saw numerous deployments nationwide in town and city centres to help local authorities spread the right message.

We even worked with retail, who were dealing with crises of their own when certain stores were forced to close and others could stay open. Clear and concise messaging was important to guide customers at retail parks, inform on a store’s COVID policy or even to help manage queuing.

The VMS-A is also a called-on solution to help with messaging needs for local charities and events. We can deploy the VMS-A in locations with high footfall such as supermarket car parks to help charities promote or explain their campaigns. The Christmas Tractor even used a VMS-A to display sponsor’s logos on the sign and then promote them on Facebook. 

Another example is Ashgate Hospicecare’s annual Sparkle Walk, which requires the closure of roads across Chesterfield. Multiple VMS-A units are deployed around the affected areas a week prior to the event so that drivers are made aware of the upcoming disruption as well as helping to spread the message about the Sparkle Walk.

The VMS-A isn’t just for text – its 5 colour display makes it ideal for pictograms too. In traffic management applications, we traditionally apply this potential to speed roundels, road closures and any other traffic management pictogram signs. 

However, using a browser or mobile device, clients can display more than just the expected traffic signalling pictograms and recreate all sorts of images such as logos and other pictures with Web Studio or the Bartco LiveApp. 

The VMS-A’s integrations also make it nearly as functional as its primary purpose. Units discreetly contain a data collation radar that can be used to collect the following traffic data;

  • Speed
  • Time
  • Date

As a low-cost alternative to many data collection solutions on the market, the VMS-A is ideal to be used as a data source for the analysis of traffic trends, enabling greater intelligence for planning projects of all kinds.

This feature alone makes it more important than just a typical portable variable message sign. 

In the same way, a recent innovation of our VMS-A sees an environmental sensor integrated with it to offer clients the ability to monitor the external environment.

The ITS Integrated Environmental Sensor produces a wide range of air pollution data that can be used to inform and direct on issues of air pollution safety. This solution is a low-cost system that offers the ability to build a high-density ambient air quality monitoring network that records data in real-time.

With low power demands, integration with the VMS-A offers air quality monitoring in many applications, including but not limited to:

  • Work places/work areas
  • Construction site safety
  • Events
  • Town centres/cities
  • Urban roads / Highways

These applications make this product a useful tool for a variety of industries, organisations and projects concerned with air quality, such as schools, Tier 1 construction contractors and local authorities who may need such data for planning, safety or to measure changes. 

Another recent development of the VMS-A integrates CCTV, allowing you to have eyes on the ground without having to be physically present on-site.

The combined use of such technologies allows our VMS-A to offer an information, surveillance and feedback solution that can be used to monitor driver and pedestrian behaviour without having to be on-site.

The VMS CCTV is ideal for:

  • Queue management
  • Parking management
  • Works egress safety
  • Site safety
  • Events & wayfinding

As time goes on, it’s exciting to think about how the VMS-A will not only evolve but also impact new and familiar markets. Only last year, MVIS partnered with data sharing solutions specialists, Chordant, on a trial that showed how the VMS A data collection radar can act as a real-time portable traffic data system that produced comparable traffic speeds and flow relative to Coventry SCOOT data, exposed through Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) on the oneTRANSPORT Data Marketplace.

The implications of this project are far-reaching. Data, as a commodity, specifically in the name of safety, is a highly valuable asset that’s only becoming more important, as local authorities, traffic management companies and many other groups scramble to learn more about traffic trends. This data can be used in planning projects of many kinds and offers increased intelligence than can impact society in a wide range of ways.

There’s no telling where the current and future innovations of the VMS-A could lead, with integrations and potential uses that could help increase safety, monitor the environment, help with planning and even keep order on the streets. 

If you would like to learn more about our VMS-A, please contact us via our contact form. Alternatively, you can call us on 01629 580 570 to speak to one of our friendly team, or you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Talking about Brew Monday

Written by

Traditionally, the 3rd Monday in January has been referred to as the most ‘difficult day of the year’, as the hype of Christmas and New Year moves further away, the weather begins to bite down even colder and people fall back into their daily routines, with next Christmas the best part of a year down the line.

For these reasons, this rather miserable Monday in the year has been dubbed as ‘Blue Monday’, a day for people to take action on this wide-spread negative association and instead, try to focus on the positive, to take action and to make positive bold life decisions.

For some, it can be highly motivating to talk about their goals with people, to discuss other people’s goals and to get inspiration from those ‘go-getters’ in life. However, for others, this approach can be harder to take if they are struggling with their mental health.

‘Brew Monday’, championed by charity Samaritans, puts an interesting spin on the ‘Blue Monday’ trope, proposing that everyone gets together on the 3rd Monday in January for a drink, be it coffee, green tea or orange juice, “If you’re sharing a cuppa and listening, you’re doing it right.”

This is an opportunity for work colleagues, friends and family to get together and catch-up. This works especially well in offices as it’s possible many colleagues who work in the same building but not directly next to each other haven’t had chance yet to catch up properly after the Christmas break.

For this year’s Brew Monday, the team at MVIS and Bartco UK took a break and got together in the office for a cuppa to all catch up, have a good chat and for the recent new starters to get involved too.

Moments like this for our team are of high importance. They help to bring everyone into conversations that we may be having within departments and also help everyone to get to know each other in a group setting, which can make people feel more comfortable in one to one environments and conversations.

Within the MVIS / Bartco UK group, we place a high emphasis on our culture of inclusivity and communication. No one likes to see anyone left out of the conversation, so gatherings such as these help our team to feel more comfortable both within a group and on an individual level.

Ultimately, Brew Monday is an opportunity to listen. It helps to break down the physical and work related barriers that working in different departments or offices can bring about, and in doing so, it widens our friendship circle in a way that gives us all more people to rely on to watch out for our mental health.

As mental health awareness grows, we all have our bit to do to keep an eye out on those close to us, identifying signs of struggle and then to act appropriately in line with ALGEE mental first aid training if they start to open up to ensure that the right steps are being taken for their best interests.

Everyone at MVIS and Bartco UK takes this responsibility very seriously, so much that we are all ALGEE trained, so our team know what to do in the event that they find themselves in a position needing to use it.

Not only this, but we also have 2 qualified mental health first aiders on site in Rebecca Saint and Anne Ashman, as well as offering staff access to Peninsula’s EAP support if they require it.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director and mental health first aider comments, “Participation in ‘Brew Monday’ is a small but potentially impactful way that employers can make it known that they are supporting their team’s mental health and inclusive culture. It also helps to emphasise our commitment to our team in general as it gives everyone a chance to chat and catch up, which is important to encourage as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking part in ‘Brew Monday’ is something I would encourage all employers to do.”

For more information about Brew Monday, please visit the Samarians website. 

Useful Links and Support:
– Youngminds – Parents Helpline – 0808 802 5544
– Samaritans – Support Helpline – 116 123
– CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) – 0800 58 58 58
– NHS Mental Health Support – Advice on access to mental health services

Solar IP: The Solar Powered Industrial Portable Power Bank

Written by

The Solar Intelligent Platform (IP) is one of MVIS’ flagship products and the reason for this is clear.

The Solar IP is a highly versatile and functional unit that offers users the ability to mount and power their technology, bringing portability to technology that is usually fixed due to power constraints.

Solar IP with ANPR

The Solar IP represents a revolution in the industry, allowing business and government bodies to make use of the technology they already have. For example, where previous investment has been made in technology that is now redundant or not fit for a new purpose, the Solar IP allows the potential to re-utilise the units in a portable application.

Horizon Parking, for example use our Solar IPs to grant portability to their ANPR units. Whilst Horizon would ordinarily utilise fixed ANPR units, there are some car parks and locations that can’t facilitate fixed power solutions. Horizon’s Solar IPs allow them to supply such locations with their usual ANPR parking provision without having to invest in new or different ANPR cameras.

In this sense, it also offers increased versatility to other technologies, which may help to make new solutions possible. A great example of this is the innovative Portable Low Light CCTV product development that brought a new level of CCTV quality to portable applications. This product was made possible by the combination of The Invictus HD camera from 360 Vision with Solar IP.

The development brings a lot to safety, security and site management applications, allowing for the monitoring of areas even in low light. This is especially important in safety applications such as highways construction, where the low light could be a danger to workers and drivers alike.

The crowing feature of this product however is its solar credentials. A trailer based power bank is an attractive solution on its own, but when considering the environmentally friendly power output, it may even be a preferred solution to fixed power, if the long term environmental impact of the installation is a consideration, for example.

Despite this, the Solar IP is so versatile and highly featured that a customer may only need a few aspects of it to solve their problem. In the case of Amey, they required 10 bespoke units to accommodate their client’s specific needs and own technology.

Having a site that already had power, the client required an adjustable mounting solution and backup power supply for their CCTV. We were able to develop our Solar IP to allow them to source power from the mains and utilise the unit’s 6m mast.

We remain committed to our customer’s requirements and It’s products such as the Solar IP that demonstrates this. The Solar IP isn’t just a solar powered, trailer-based power bank, it stands as an embodiment of our commitments to serving and accommodating our customers. 

For more information about our Solar IP and how it can be adapted to integrate with your technology, please contact us via our contact form.

Alternatively, you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Committing to Sustainability as Newest Member of Greener Highways

Written by

MVIS has showcased its commitment to sustainability by becoming a member of Greener Highways, joining the collaborative charge towards net zero.

Greener Highways is a membership organisation set up to unite a sector in the battle against the ongoing climate crisis. It aims to aid with the education and implementation of sustainable initiatives, products, services and operations across the highways sector.

In order to achieve this, Greener Highways will showcase the contributions of its members towards a cleaner, greener future. Greener Highways aims to tackle the climate emergency together by looking at areas such as energy, transport, wildlife and waste, with further aim to build best practice relationships between businesses to encourage faster changes towards long-term sustainability.

As part of a huge highways community, Greener Highways sees the environmental impact of the sectors business activities and realise that companies need to address increasingly serious environmental problems such as climate change, resource depletion, carbon footprints, and pollution.

MVIS

MVIS has opted for Greener Highways membership as it shares the mission and aims of the organisation. The business believes in a cleaner, greener future in an industry that can make a monumental difference with its carbon reduction.

MVIS is a leader in the field of in the delivery of temporary Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) products and integrated solutions for hire across the UK.

Matters that concern the environment have always been important to MVIS. As the company navigates its way through the forever evolving Highways and Traffic Management industries, it has never been more important to be thinking and acting in ways that promote sustainability, carbon footprint management and general care for the environment.

The commitments spelled out in the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy go further than that just what is expected by its ISO in environmental management (14001:2015). MVIS has been on a journey towards being carbon-friendly for 10 years now, starting with its products.

The product range is by its very nature environmentally friendly, being solar powered and offering an alternative to fixed solutions that draw power from the grid straight away helps the environment in this regard, which is an effect that is only increased by time.

Couple this with some applications that MVIS products can be used for. For example, the variable message signs can be used to spread messages that can make an impact on people’s behaviour, such as reminding drivers not to leave their engine running idle, or even to help remind people not to litter.

MVIS also provides a range of data collection solutions that can help Local Authorities, National Highways and site managers determine levels of traffic and their speed, which can then be used to make decisions that can affect the environment, such as issues regarding levels of pollution.

Anne Ashman, UK group Commercial and Operations Director told us:

“We don’t just embody environmental matters in our products, but in our actions too.

“In recent years we have taken a number of steps towards our goal for carbon neutrality and have carried these through every level of our business.

“We undergo continual improvement when it comes to our manufacturing. Over the last 10 years, we have improved our unit’s batteries and solar panels in line with the latest innovations in these technologies.”

To become a member of Greener Highways, please visit www.greenerhighways.co.uk/become-a-member

spot_img
Mobile Visual Information Systems

01629 580 570

MVIS, Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND

© 2022. Company registered in England No. 8130402 - Registered Office: Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND