MVIS Soar Ahead with Accreditations

Over the years we have dedicated ourselves to the principles of safety and quality. Underscored by our focus on training, we are always looking for new ways to improve our team’s skills and qualifications.

During the last 18 months, in the face of a global pandemic, the MVIS team have been working hard in the background to ensure that we have helpful and necessary accreditations that help us to maintain the reputation of being industry leaders in the rental of solar powered intelligent transport systems.


nqa logoEarlier in the year, MVIS took part in a successful re-certification of our ISO accreditations in quality (9001:2015), environmental management (14001:2015), and health & safety (45001:2018).

Issued by global certification body NQA, ISO accreditations enforce the practise of and adherence to respected business standards that help organisations perform better in a wide range of aspects.

For MVIS and Bartco UK, the standards of quality (9001:2015)environmental management (14001:2015) and health & safety (45001:2018) are of vital importance to our business, making adherence to these core aspects a highly aspirational goal for us. Together, the ISO accreditations furnish us with a full IMS (integrated management system), bringing our systems and processes into one complete framework.

Subject to an annual audit by NQA, we are tested into order to ensure that we are making full use of the IMS, applying our accreditation skills to all levels of our business, and it is with great pride that we can announce that we have passed our audit for 2021 with flying colours.


One of the other achievements we have earned recently is Gold Status in the Constructionline programme, which offers a platform for thousands of buyers in the construction industry that enforces an ethos of trust and quality amongst its members. Validating all members, the Constructionline platform is used by buyers to quickly find suppliers that will enable them to complete a whole range of projects in the industry by providing them with a pool of high quality suppliers that they can engage with confidently.

Achieving Gold status on this platform isn’t easy for just anyone, with Gold membership requiring further validation checks using an enhanced prequalification questionnaire that goes beyond those involved in silver. Our credentials were assessed for environmental management, quality management, equal opportunities, modern slavery act adherence and anti-bribery and corruption policies.

Whilst achieving Gold status may seem like a high climb for many businesses, for MVIS, it was very achievable. Already giving the very best quality and service, we earn these accreditations to prove it, meaning customers can work with us knowing they are getting the very best.


We have also achieved Gold status in the Supply Chain Sustainability School, a platform that offers businesses extensive training around various sustainability, offsite, digital, procurement, lean and management topics relevant to the business environment.

With a strong focus on CPD through training workshops, networking events and e-learning modules, achieving Gold status is found through completing or using a number of these tools across the company to ensure that the skills taught within the programmes are taken on by companies as well as filtered throughout the business.

As it has helped us to think about our business from top to bottom, the policies and systems affected by the work we have done with the Supply Chain Sustainability School will, in turn, affect the whole organisation in terms of helping us towards our goal of a more sustainability focussed business, with the added benefits of cost savings, reinforcing our reputation and increased safety for our team, our customers and the general public.


This year we have also signed up to the Prompt Payment Code. The Prompt Payment Code is a voluntary code of practice for businesses, administered by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) on behalf of BEIS and sets standards for payment practices between organisations of any size and their suppliers.

Signatories to the code have undertaken to always pay suppliers on time, within agreed terms, to give clear guidance to suppliers on terms, dispute resolution and prompt notification of late payment, and well as to support good practice throughout their supply chain by encouraging adoption of the Code.

By promoting and sticking to these practices, we are serving as a good example for the code which may help to inspire other companies to sign up, enforcing best business practices all along our supply chain to not only improve reliability, but help businesses everywhere.


We have also recently re-certified with Achilles BuildingConfidence registration, having been certified for over 2 years now. Achilles Building Confidence is a UK construction industry accreditation and risk management scheme that aims to help organisations identify, assess, qualify, and monitor suppliers throughout the supply chain, reducing operating costs.

A standardised pre-qualification questionnaire streamlines the procurement process and manages risk. 

Achilles enables communities of buyers and suppliers to build better business relationships through a more open, trusting and proactive approach. Sharing knowledge, standards and best practice leads to buyers and suppliers sharing success.

Achilles BuildingConfidence helps us to accentuate our commitment to these essential aspects of our business.


Safety doesn’t just mean physical safety, it also includes digital safety too. Cyber Essentials is a simple but effective, Government backed scheme that will help you to protect your organisation, whatever its size, against a whole range of the most common cyber attacks.

Cyber attacks come in many shapes and sizes, but the vast majority are very basic in nature, carried out by relatively unskilled individuals. They’re the digital equivalent of a thief trying your front door to see if it’s unlocked. Cyber Essentials is designed to prevent these attacks.

Certification gives us peace of mind that our defences will protect against the vast majority of common cyber attacks simply because these attacks are looking for targets which do not have the Cyber Essentials technical controls in place.

Cyber Essentials shows us how to address those basics and prevent the most common attacks.

It also gives our customers piece of mind that their data is handled according to best practices against common cyber attacks, meaning they can hire with us confidently.

 


When it comes to safety, we take no chances and this is including our commitment to the environment – the protection of which offers us all the ultimate safety. As an organisation, we are always looking for ways we can protect the environment, in line with our commitments as a responsible business.

In an effort to address our carbon footprint, we have looked to Forest Carbon, who have an initiative called ‘Carbon Club’, which was set up to allow smaller organisations and businesses to address their climate impact.

Purchasing ‘carbon credits’ allows Forest Carbon to plant trees and create new woodlands in the UK on our behalf, which will sequester greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere in the years to come in our country.

Doing this allows our customers to also benefit from our activities too, offering them an environmentally focused supplier who engages with environmental responsibilities, which for many of our customers is a very important aspect for their environmental commitments too.


Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “We are always looking for ways to improve our environmental, safety and quality standards and by achieving these accreditations and memberships, it ensures that we are working to the best standards possible. Clients come to us knowing that we do not compromise on safety, quality, customer care or our commitment to the environment, which is what underpins our Platinum Service Promise.”

As time goes on and we take on more accreditations and memberships with these highly valuable groups, we are building more than just our reputation. We are changing the way we operate at an organisational level that affects how we approach things, as a business and as individuals in an ever-evolving world.

 


Celebrating 4 years – Jon Larkins

Celebrating Anniversaries within MVIS is something that we are proud to promote. With a retention rate that we are not shy to boast of, we understand the importance of staff wellbeing and equal opportunity within any industry and therefore strive for our team’s accomplishments across the board.

Joining us 4 years ago with experience in high-speed road areas, Jon Larkins came to us with knowledge on road safety and teamwork when on-site. Since being with us, his training has been amplified and is now using his 4 years of knowledge in training our new delivery driver, Liam Griffiths in both on-site works and personal management. Understanding both the risks and safety procedures while working on high speed works is vital in our industry to avoid consequences caused by miscommunication.

Never shying away from a job, Jon has been all over the UK delivering and performing maintenance tasks to our over 600 units and has seen the company grow. In-turn, Jon has developed himself and grown with MVIS as a vital member of our Delivery and Maintenance team. With countless testimonials from both customer and colleagues alike, Jon has made an impression within MVIS as someone who carries the values and attributes that we look for in all of our team #teamMVIS.


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MVIS | MVIS Helps Plant a Future with the Carbon Club


MVIS Charity Car Boot 2021


MVIS 9 Year Party

Since 2012, MVIS has worked tirelessly to become the UK`s leading supplier of original 5 colour portable VMS units, and have even designed and produced first of its kind solutions with our dedicated and talented team. We were first in the public’s eye in 2012 when it came to providing units for the 2012 Olympics and since then, our loyalty to customers has not depleted, and saw us investing in a large build of units back in 2015 in order to meet the demand from new and recurring customers thanks to our award winning customer service, and devotion to perfection.

All units we supply have been built in-house by our trained team, and this has seen the company housing over 600 units. From long term works to private events, the portfolio of jobs the team have delivered over these last 9 years is overwhelming,  we continue to grow and develop to ensure that we remain the UK`s most trusted provider of portable intelligent transport systems.

The 4th July marks MVIS` birthday and this year we thought that the team needed a celebration and a thank you for everything that we, as a work family, have been through over the last unpredictable year.

With this in mind, we decided to throw a 9 year birthday party for the company in our Matlock-based depot to celebrate all that we have achieved over the last 9 years and to remind ourselves of what we, as a team, are capable of, especially under the unique circumstances that we have endured with lockdowns, restrictions and updates over the last 16 months.

Keeping staff morale high has always been something that we want to strive towards. With remote working from home being no exception to our devotion to our staff`s mental health and wellbeing. We have made sure that all of our team continue to feel valued by using Zoom and Microsoft Teams during the lockdowns  not only to our advantage when it comes to team building, but to also remind all of us what normality really feels like.

Being given the ‘all clear’ for parties of 30 people with social distancing measures in place, we thought that we would grasp this opportunity and have a true ‘MVIS-style’ get-together, something that we have been deprived of since March 2020. This party allowed us to let our hair down and rekindle relationships in person with people who may have not seen each other face to face for many months.

The party meant that some of our team who have been working from home were able to finally sit down with those who have joined our team during the last year and in general, reminisce with each other as we have had many exiting announcements from people such as; moving homes, new additions joining families and even engagements.

Celebrating the place that has brought us all an endless amount of memories and relationships formed together was the perfect transition into life heading towards normality, whatever the ‘new normal’ may be.

 

 


All that is MVIS – Celebrating 9 Years

After 9 years, the team at MVIS have built many memories of shared experiences. As the company grows, in its 10th year, it is important to celebrate all of our staff, not only for their achievements but to also show appreciation for the everyday tasks that they do within the company. Every member of our team is vital to the high quality, award winning customer service which we are proud to boast.

Going above and beyond is something that we see every day within the company and couldn’t be prouder of our award winning  team. With each and every one of our departments excelling in their field, we thought that there would be no better time to take a look at our incredible work family and how they have developed themselves and their careers over the years.

anne ashman

At the forefront of our company is our UK Group Commercial and Operations Director, Anne Ashman. Joining us back in 2011 at Colour Mobile VMS before the company became MVIS, Anne has been here through it all. Not only has she lead us to being the UKs most trusted provider of portable VMS units, she has also worked her way towards her Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies which she was awarded in 2019. Anne overseas the day to day works as well as all of the background organisation. She was the main person in the achievement of our ISO accreditations in; Quality (9001:2015), Environmental Management (14001:2015) and Health & Safety (45001:2018). Anne has developed her role as not only our manager but somebody who we are able to trust and turn to in a time of need or crisis. She has also trained alongside Bartco UK’s Rebecca Prince in being our group’s mental health first aider as she encourages the team to speak up so we can work together. Never afraid  to get her hands dirty, Anne has been known to take on practical works such as developing new ideas and designs and also holding her CSCS card, there have been times in the past where she has even attended site. This has given Anne a deep appreciation of the works that all of our team take on each day which is something rarely seen in a managerial role.

Our Operation department is where the planning and preparations of our daily jobs takes place. Joining the MVIS team back in 2013, Dom Bridge started his career as an admin apprentice with the ambition to learn and grow with the then, year old company. 8 years later we see Dom as our very own Operations Manager, with management being a natural skill to Dom, he has overseen 3 apprentices offering support and guidance from his years of growth and understanding within the industry.

Working along side Dom in our Operations Department is Mizzy Watson. Being with us for only two years, Mizzy has taken on her role from day one and has made it her objective to learn with Dom and develop her skills by supporting and assisting him in day to day tasks such as our daily monitoring of over 500 units and keeping the drivers up to date with their day to day challenges as within this industry, change is something to be expected on the daily.

Working in hand with the operations department is the delivery team. Split between our strategically located depots, our highly trained team are at hand with safety and efficiency as their main prerogative. In our southern Depot, managed by Mark Ashbee, him and Jay Bailey ensure that deliveries and lead times are withheld and our high quality service and products are ready for upcoming jobs or emergency works at all times.

In the North we have Jon Larkins and Liam Griffiths. With years of experience in high-speed road areas, Jon came to us with knowledge on road safety and teamwork when on site. His training has been amplified since his time with us and he is now training Liam in onsite works and self-management, as these types of works can be fatal if improperly trained or unaware of the potential consequences of miscommunication on site.

Understanding the importance of customer service, quality trading and value in company to client relationships, we have our dedicated sales team lead by Graeme Lee our Sales Director. With over 15 years in the industry, Graeme has made some irreplaceable relationships with customers and his positive approach to any and all obstacles, is what makes him a valuable part of our team here at MVIS. Training several new staff over the years, Graeme has recently taken our new Sales Manager, Ed under his wing after his promotion.

Joining us in September 2020, Ed Faulkner`s training wasn’t as straight forward as most due to his first few months being limited to working from home during the Covid-19 Pandemic, however this hasn’t hindered his strong natured character and he has since made contact with many new and old customers, building himself a strong clientele in under a year of joining us.  

Graeme and Ed were joined by Juliette Wright as Sales and Customer Service Assistant in early 2021, Juliette`s  main job roles include, speaking with customers on a daily basis and keeping the sales forecasts and paperwork organized for when Ed and Graeme are on the roads. Juliette came to MVIS with a wide catalogue of skills which she has picked up over her years of working in customer service and administration.

Back in 2019, MVIS decided to bring the Marketing department in-house and the first step towards this was hiring our Marketing Manager, Sean Brown. Sean`s pasts consist of 8 years of marketing experience and has put many hours in building and maintaining an in-house marketing infrastructure. Sean`s day to day tasks include; monitoring and reporting on website statistics and enquiries, producing quality blog posts which are relevant to the current climate within the industry and providing training and guidance to his team members. When Sean joined the team, our Operations assistant at the time, Tillie Woolliscroft moved into the Marketing department and has since been trained internally by Sean and externally by training providers.

sean brown and tillie woolliscroft 

Tillie began her MVIS journey in 2016 as a administration apprentice under the guidance of Dom and has since been promoted to Marketing Assistant, taking on jobs and tasks set by Sean and Anne in order to keep MVIS active on our social media platforms and has also began taking more responsibility such as writing blog posts and developing her design work.

To complete the marketing team we have Ben Ashman, our Data Assistant. Ben joined the team to accommodate the company’s growth of the Marketing Department and has taken on prospecting and data management from the team. Ben`s fast learning and devoted work ethic has lead him to be perfect for the role as it is a time consuming job to take on and his personal management of time has proven to benefit the team and expanded his abilities in his working career.

The growth and expansion of MVIS over the years is something that we are incredibly proud of. With over 500 units and counting, and a workforce that day to day exceeds expectation, in the last year we again decided to expand our team and took on Chris Steel. Chris joined MVIS as Accounts Officer in June 2020, his job roles include the maintenance and organisation of the in-house accounts department.

Tom Berry

Last but by no means least, in Credit Control we have Tom Berry. Tom began his journey with us in 2017 in the sales team alongside Graeme and has since had experience in a number of roles within the company. Tom has made himself a valuable member of the team, his knowledge of multiple departments amplifies that despite being segregated in these internal departments, that we are very much one big team here at MVIS as each department relies on the other in order to keep the smooth running, reliable company which we are proud to be apart of. 


Each one of our team here at MVIS is a vital cog in keeping this fast passed company running, in an industry that is forever expanding and developing. With staff development, new members joining our team and promotions from within, we are incredibly proud of the team that we have sculpted over the past 9 years and we look forward to many more years as a team together.

 

 


Mark Ashbee Sees Promotion

Growth and development is vital within our industry to ensure that our customers receive the highest quality service, environmentally friendly products and bespoke solutions on the market. With this in mind, we are always looking for ways that we can improve and adapt to the current climate and ensure that we have the most highly trained and experienced team with the same values and expectations that as a company, we have retained for the past 9 years of service.

Mark Ashbee joined us in 2015 and has since used his hard-working attributes in helping lead our southern depot to success by enforcing his strong work ethic within his team and always offering a hand, no matter how large the task. Marks main job roles include; delivering, servicing and collecting our portable VMS units along with helping on sales innovation depot visits. Over the past 6 years we have been often credited for Marks polite and attentive attitude towards our customers and other staff members.

Marks attitude and eagerness in the field is what came to mind during MVIS growth and expansion. We saw nobody more fitting than Mark for the role of London Depot Manager, resulting in him now being given this well earned promotion. Ensuring the smooth running of a depot is a big task but Mark has never failed to keep MVIS rising above our competitors and his determination within the job is something that radiates in all that he does here at MVIS.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “Mark has been with us for 6 years now and we have never had a task that’s too large for him to set his mind to and complete. Keeping our southern depot organised and always at hand with solutions to some of our most difficult tasks, Mark has shown his true colours time and time again and we couldn’t be prouder to have such a hard-working member here at #teamMVIS.”

From all here at MVIS we want to congratulate Mark on his new role and thank him for his years with us, every member of our team is vital in all that we do within our industry, and it`s times like these that we are truly able to say that we are proud of every one of our MVIS family.


The Original 5-Colour VMS

MVIS is well known in the industry for bringing innovations to market – from the industry’s first smaller footprint unit of its class with the HD Compact, to the Solar IP, which offers the industry a portable solar powered power bank. However, we must never forget the company’s beginnings, which are found in the original 5-colour Bartco portable variable message signs all the way back in 2012.  

The Bartco brand has a reputation for quality across the UK, and has done for many years, being trusted by a range of industries, local authorities, traffic management and events companies. Sister company Bartco AU were the first company to manufacture 5-colour portable variable message signs, with MVIS being the first to bring them to the UK market.

As a result, we have forged relationships with our clients that are underpinned by the quality of our products and our service. Part of the reason we are able to provide such a quality service for our clients is owed to our quality products, which means maintenance and repairs are kept to a minimum, allowing our team to focus largely on service rather than having to deal with unreliable products taking up their time.

Original 5-colour Bartco signs are versatile, reliable under all conditions and easy to set up and operate. They also offer impact, choice and the flexibility to use red, green, blue and white as well as standard amber.

Since the launch of the first iteration of the original 5-colour Bartco sign, the market has expanded to include units with similar functionality from competitors. However, there are still aspects of our signs that make them unique.

Original 5-colour Bartco signs feature tilting solar panels and a solar charging system designed for the weather and environment of the country they operate in. Signs are also monitored and configured using our proprietary browser-based Web Studio or Bartco Live smart phone app.

Although simple to use, signs also pack in a wealth of technology, including a data collection radar, a single plug & play control module and a bright, low power consuming LED display.


For more information about the Bartco VMS or MVIS and our ITS rental services, please contact us via our contact form.

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

 


MVIS Helps Plant a Future with the Carbon Club

As an organisation, we are always looking for ways to improve our contribution to the community, in line with our commitments as a responsible business.

In an effort to address our carbon footprint, we have looked to Forest Carbon, who have an initiative called ‘Carbon Club’, which was set up to allow smaller organisations and businesses to address their climate impact.

Purchasing ‘carbon credits’ allows Forest Carbon to plant trees and create new woodlands in the UK on our behalf, which will sequester greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere in the years to come.

Whilst not fully offsetting our operations yet, we are moving in the right direction to position ourselves for full carbon neutrality over the next few years.

Doing this allows our customers to also benefit from our activities, offering them an environmentally focused supplier who engages with environmental responsibilities, which for many of our customers is a very important aspect for their environmental commitments too.

But we don’t stop there. Having quality checks done on all of our suppliers and using local suppliers is a small thing that we do to nurture the relationship between the company and society.

Our social responsibility to the local surroundings means always being on the lookout for actions that we can take to improve our impact on the environment. During our staff training we like to discuss what further actions we can take in becoming more environmentally friendly and due to this we currently have a bee house and flower bed alongside a hedgehog house, small actions which may be overlooked however giving back to the environment and local wildlife is vital in working towards a cleaner, safer world.

When it comes to day to day works and our carbon footprint, we try and give back to our environment as much as possible. We promote an in-house recycling scheme and use flatbed transit vans for deliveries and collections of our units.

These vans allow us to be able to transport multiple units in one single trip, minimising fuel consumption and time on the roads. Equipping our units with directional solar panels as well as batteries means that they can be powered completely by solar, reducing the battery changes needed on longer hires and aiding to our reduced carbon footprint.

An additional aspect of corporate responsibility that we have been addressing head-on recently is our local environment. Partaking in litter picks, ensuring our local wildlife system is thriving around our Matlock HQ and also having energy-efficient lighting and heating installed within the business are a few ways that we keep on top of to give back to our community.

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


MVIS Prepares for Traffex 2021

After a hard year for the events industry, everyone is eager to get back to an element of ‘normal’ both in business and in our personal lives. However, in the short term at least, we still have to make allowances for the damage the pandemic has done when it comes to trade shows and other large-scale events.

One of the biggest adjustments affecting us has been seen with the temporary move of the industry trade show Traffex from a live event to a digital event, which involves exhibitors and attendees meeting on a digital platform rather than face to face. In line with the social distancing rules in place, the organisers of Traffex made this decision to push forward with a digital event rather than delay or cancel the event with the absence of a show last year.

Many people within the industry are very excited to take part in the virtual event, marking a commitment to virtual shows as we become accustomed the new, albeit temporary way of doing things.

Traffex has traditionally been a fantastic opportunity for networking and to catch up within the industry. With high quality guest speakers and a diverse range of attendees, Traffex delivers a show that connects people from all over the sector.

For 35 years Traffex has been the largest dedicated traffic and transport event in the UK, connecting forward thinking innovators with central government, local authorities and the private sector and this year promises to be no different.

Stated on their website, the Traffex organisers state, “Our state-of-the-art virtual event platform will bring Traffex Parkex to you, wherever you are in the UK and the wider world. […] Complete with a fantastic line-up of seminars in the conference and of course a great selection of exhibitors keen to share the latest products and technology from the sector, Traffex Parkex 2021 is back.”

Graeme Lee, Sales Director at MVIS comments “We are all eager to get back to the way things were but in the meantime, we need to find solutions around the current situation. We are looking forward to Traffex Digital as a means to stay well connected and catch up with the industry as whole.

You can see our stand live on the virtual platform from the 15-17 June 2021.

Register for free on the Traffex website.