Here at MVIS and Bartco UK we always take pride in our incredibly talented team. When it comes to staff development, we appreciate the devotion that the team put into their own careers and company progression. We are proud to say that this week we have had 3 members of the team excel in further training and pass qualifications that help the company keep its reputation of excellent customer service.

Liam Griffiths joined us in 2019 as a Workshop technician. His ability to build and fix units was apparent from day one, he soon became capable of managing his workload.  Liam`s strong work ethic saw him redirected to the delivery and maintenance team this year. With Liam settling into his role as part of the delivery team, we wanted to further enhance his attributions to the company by enrolling him in a 4 ½ day towing course.

This course not only provides a faster, more efficient service to our customers but to also reduces the quantity of trips in the vehicles by delivering multiple signs in one journey – yet another contribution from the company in reducing our carbon footprint. Liam is now fully qualified to tow out portable units UK-wide, this being a perfect example of how the team goes above and beyond to fulfil the customer’s demands daily.

Another member of the team who has recently developed in her career is Pip Wood. Pip undertook the International Trade Operations & Procedures (ITOPS) course. This course provides training and knowledge on operating administrational procedures in an international trade environment.  Since joining the companies Pip has achieved her first-year apprenticeship and has since begun her second apprenticeship course to expand her professional development.

Finally, UK group Commercial and Operations Director, Anne Ashman has achieved her PRINCE2 foundation and practitioner certification. This course is to offer the correct skills needed when it comes to project management. Working with MVIS for 10 years, Anne’s extensive experience when it comes to managing a successful team has meant that we have been able to evolve and continue to grow within the industry. This course is to provide Anne with the extended skills which are needed to help MVIS/ Bartco UK further evolve within the competitive industry that we strive in.

Staff commitment is something we have found to be vital and we encourage the team to strive for the highest achievements that they can master, to continue to provide the award-winning service and genuine 5  colour portable VMS and Intelligent Transport Systems that we have become known for within the industry. 

This month we are celebrating the anniversary of two of our longest serving members of the team, Graeme Lee and Dom Bridge. With over 24 years of experience in the industry between them both, we are proud to boast of our award-winning customer service and keen eye for detail within the fast-paced business which we operate in.

Joining the team in 2012, Graeme’s knowledge and experience in sales quickly saw him forming relationships with clients and has continued to maintain and develop these through his last 9 years with us here at MVIS. Understanding the importance of customer service, quality trading and value in company to client relationships, Graeme’s loyalty and dedication to the company has led him to ultimately being promoted to our Sales Director, and is now overseeing our ever growing sales department, as we see MVIS grow and expand.

Next, we have Dom Bridge. Beginning his career here at MVIS as an admin apprentice and joining our first apprenticeship scheme, Dom began to grow and develop his career ambitions. This has led him to achieve his Chartered Manager level 5 qualification, after 6 years of applying himself to both job and multiple courses. Dom was promoted to Operations Manager in 2020. This promotion being well deserved, Dom`s advanced understanding of the industry and commitment to his own personal growth, as well as that of the company, is something that we are incredibly proud of here at MVIS.

MVIS would like to say a big `Thank you` to our incredible team, and an even bigger thank you to Graeme and Dom for their devotion to us over the years, as we understand that we are only as good as each individual which is behind us, and we are incredibly lucky to have our remarkable team at the heart of MVIS.

Here at MVIS and Bartco UK, we have spent 9 years building and devoting ourselves to not only being the UK`s #1 producer and distributor of VMS units, but we have also spent countless hours in training and developing young people’s abilities when it comes to working within a competitive industry.

We have had 9 staff members join us at an apprentice level, and a further 8 of these continued with us after the completion of their apprentices. Not only do we offer apprenticeship programs, but we also hold work experience places yearly as part of our corporate social responsibility.  Being able to offer jobs and chances to the next generation is how we feel we have been able to strive within the industry and bring new fresh ideas to the table, such as our first-of-its-kind Genuine HD Quattro Unit. Designed and developed here in the UK.

One of our team who has continued to strive with us is our very own, Cain Gregory. Joining us in 2016 for a week of work experience, Cain showed us how he was able to excel within our industry, and our then general manager, Anne Ashman was so impressed with his quick learning and positive approach to working within our fast-paced industry that she offered him a permanent place on our apprenticeship program for the following year.

Being with us for the past 4 years, Cain has achieved multiple certificates and qualifications, his determination to learn and focus is something that we are incredibly proud of. This work ethic has just seen him completing his apprenticeship and has since approached his line manager and requested further courses and qualifications in order to yet again improve himself and his career to greater ability.

Cain is now working towards the completion of a CAD qualification and a Supervisor course. This attitude has seen Cain being awarded the Employee of the month certification, nominated by our UK Group Commercial and Operations Manager, thanking him for stepping up during Covid and taking on the workload of some of our other team members who were in isolation, all alongside completing his apprenticeship.

Cain has shown himself time and time again to be an integral part of our award-winning team, and we could not be prouder to have him continue with us now that his apprenticeship is complete! A big congratulations to Cain for all of his hard work and determination over the last 4 years, and we can’t wait to see what the future has install for such a positive, hard-working individual!

Promoting from within is something that we are proud to boast of here at MVIS and Bartco UK. Understanding that our team is at the forefront of our fast-growing business, we are always looking for ways that we can offer personal and professional development to all our incredible staff members.

With this being said, we are proud to announce that our former Technical Development Supervisor, Tom Hooton, has been promoted to Research and Development Manager!

Joining us in 2014, Tom has not only grown within the company but has also been instrumental in groundbreaking changes. Whether it’s developing new solutions, such as our Original Bartco HD Compact unit, or finding ways of improving our Intelligent Transport Units and integrations with our warehouse team, we know that Tom is always at hand to pass on his knowledge and experience to any department, having time and appreciation for all of his co-workers.

Tom began his journey with us as Technical Support and has continuously developed within his role over the past 7 years. Seeing this new promotion as a way of further investment in his career, Tom has taken on a level 5 apprenticeship in management to see himself excel in this new managerial role. His initiative, determination and ability to think outside of the box has seen Tom develop his knowledge in using CAD software and with this has developed new, bespoke solutions like our most recent solutions, the Works Egress, soon to be available for hire through our MVIS Ltd.

Holding his on-site cards such as his CSCS and Highways England Passport, Tom has a hands-on approach when it comes to understanding all of our units and this means that he has been able to improve and develop some of our technically advanced solutions with Bartco UK, with an example being our highly versatile SIP unit.

Over the past year, Covid-19 has not stopped Tom and the rest of the team from going above and beyond to provide the best for our customers. Back in June 2020, we were able to announce our latest version of the HD Compact VMS Unit which offers added developments such as solar power and a new highly extended maintenance-free run-time. This project was overseen by Tom and the Technical department.

After speaking with Tom about his new job role, he stated “I am very grateful for the opportunity and am looking forward to the challenge that It will bring. I also appreciate the trust that has been put in me as this company has been so good to me, putting trust and giving me opportunities that I will forever be grateful for. This is my proudest achievement to date in my career and I can’t wait to prove myself for the role.”

Being with us for 7 years shows Tom’s dedication to his role here at Bartco UK. Monitoring the market for the newest innovations and being able to develop them into bigger, better solutions means that our team can live up to our reputation.

Anne Ashman said “We are proud to have such a highly driven team here at MVIS and Bartco UK and would like to say a big congratulations on his new role and Thankyou to Tom for his dedication and hard work over the past 7 years! “ 

Towards the end of May this year, we published a post highlighting one of our training policies that has seen a lot of success in recent months.

We mentioned in May:

“Over the years, MVIS and Bartco UK have always prioritised training and staff development. We do this for a number of a reasons, least of not which is to ensure our team’s ability to do their job is second to none, leaving us with the best trained workforce in the industry.

Part of this is our policy to provide staff with cross-departmental training in the form of a ‘day in the life’ of other team members to make sure that each employee appreciates that everyone is valuable. Such a policy also allows the team to have an insight into just what it takes to make things happen in other departments, and the role their part plays in relation to other people’s jobs.”

Since then, we have had a number of team members go through this training so that staff from all departments have a strong insight into the inner workings of other departments.

This method of training has been a proven success for us in the past and is often used for employees who have just started with us. This has the added benefit of giving these team members a deeper insight into the whole organisation and the way we work rather than just their own department.

However, over the past 18 months, there have been some significant changes to the way we all work due to COVID, requiring us to take another look at everyone’s training and understanding of each other’s roles so that the team can gain an appreciation for the new ways we have all had to change.

This time for the training it was the Bartco UK team, who are split between the workshop staff and the office staff, both having seen huge changes to the way they work during the pandemic, calling for a renewed understanding of each other’s roles.

Tim Hill, Workshop Supervisor for Bartco UK commented, “In the workshop, we have seen huge changes to the way we do our jobs during COVID, and now I fully appreciate just how much everyone else’s jobs have had to change. It’s been great not just for me, but for the whole workshop team to see how things are done in different departments and how everyone’s roles work together to keep things running smoothly.”

Pip Wood, Purchasing and Stock Control for Bartco UK added, “Swapping roles with the workshop department was highly insightful, learning where the stock items I pick are placed and used in our trailers as really heightened my knowledge. I appreciate what they do as a job more and I feel that this was a great team-building exercise, making our relationship at work even stronger.”