Ben Kettell, Author at MVIS Ltd

The Original 5-Colour VMS

Posted on 28th June 2021 at 4:28 pm.

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

Posted on 21st June 2021 at 11:55 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

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

Posted on 14th June 2021 at 12:13 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

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.

MVIS – Bartco UK Half Year Round Up

Posted on 8th June 2021 at 8:16 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

Since our last check-in in December 2020, a lot has changed within the companies. With the restrictions easing, we wanted to round-up the last 6 months of life at MVIS and sister company Bartco, to highlight the changes we have made internally.

During the last year, we have been able to use our products and solutions to help keep the nation safe with messaging and important notices. Not only have we been working hard to help towards safety for the nation, but we have also been hard at work in the background. We are always looking to see if there is room for improvement of the service that we provide our customers and our community, from upskilling our team, to achieving the best in the industry standards and raising accreditations.

One of the achievements that we are proud to have earned is Gold status in the Constructionline Program, which offers a platform for thousands of buyers in the construction industry that enforces an ethos of trust and quality amongst its members. 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 us here at MVIS, it was very achievable. Already having an integrated ISO management accreditation, which we recertified for in April 2021 along with Achilles Building Confidence it was an easy move for the team to obtain Gold Constructionline status.

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. 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.

Not stopping there, 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.

The accreditations take their place alongside our team’s Highways England Passports and the list of reasons why you should ‘choose MVIS’. The Highways England passport database offers a smartcard for each worker – giving them a single, transferable record and confirms worker’s authority to work in real-time in areas of Highways England’s responsibility, enforcing safety standards across the board.

During the last 6 months we have also looked at the IT systems we use and remote working, this lead to us upping our game in security of our systems and gaining the Cyber Essentials Certificate of Assurance with the assistance of Sheffield based company Resolve.

It is not just in areas of accreditations where we have seen changes. After a long year of lockdowns, restrictions and daily updates from the Government, we have come to realise how truly vital our ITS solutions have been in directing and keeping the public up to date in the seemingly unpredictable future. Whether it be delivering information to shopping centre visitors about overflow car parks or directing delivery drivers to the correct unit on an industrial park, the original 5-colour Bartco portable VMS has been serving on the front line from day one of the pandemic. Regularly seeing our units on the news headlines giving out information in high areas of Covid, helping to reduce the spread of the infection.

Following the same crowd control model more commonly seen when providing portable VMS for events, the adaptable nature of both Bartco web studio system and the products that we provide meant that when it came to displaying government slogans, we were able to adapt smoothly into the transition of a public notice, wayfinding and assistance for retailers and other industries.

In the last 6 months, we have also been working on preparing the launch of new solutions that we have been developing since before and during the pandemic, allowing us to help solve new and existing safety issues within society. With this being said, a company is more than just its products and accreditations, especially MVIS and Bartco.

Our responsibilities as a business in today’s world have only increased since the pandemic, with such a serious event in all our lives, we have to step up to our commitment as an employer across the UK to better support the lives of our team and our community.

At the end of 2020, we introduced a service offered by Peninsula called the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Already having a well-rounded approach to our team’s wellbeing thanks to other services that Peninsula have to offer, we understand that when it comes to Mental Health, there is never too much that you can do to support and provide stability within your team.

This EAP service is in place to help our staff with challenges and obstacles in everyday life. With their 24/7 advice line, face to face counselling and a suite of online tools, we want our team to be able to have all of the support to live a rich and fulfilled lifestyle so that we know we are getting the very best from them in day to day life and challenges.

But we haven’t stopped there – in early 2021, we mandated our whole team to sit the COVID-19 Site Safety Plus course accredited by CITB, a course that has an expiration of 5 years from completion that attests to the quality of information and learning received for participants. We wanted the team in the office to understand the dangers out on site of transmission, by everyone undertaking the course we could support each other more safely.

Keeping staff morale high and maintaining a healthy work-home relationship during the last year has meant that we have had to get creative with our team-building exercises. Before COVID, we partook in regular social events which we believe is the key to our incredible bond between departments and is what makes MVIS and Bartco outshine our competitors in the customer service department.

Since this kind of social activity has been impossible during the pandemic, we have had numerous online social events and parties to maintain our in-house relationships and celebrated birthdays, anniversaries or just to catch up on a Friday evening.

Another area we have improved is in our commitment to our community. We are always seeking ways that we can assist local charities and causes, which has never been more important than it is now, having been dealing with the impact of COVID for over a year now. Three charities who have of course been impacted by this are Ashgate Hospicecare, Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust, who are not only continuing to do their great work in supporting patients and their families needing end of life care but are also playing a vital role in our community’s fight out of the current pandemic, despite the limitations placed on their activities.

MVIS are proud to support #challengeDerbyshire with our continued membership throughout 2021, as well as going towards helping our latest company charity, Ashgate Hospicecare, in line with our commitment to them, our local community and our corporate social responsibility. To support the charity, we held a car boot sale that took place in early June 2021, raising a whopping £312.05 for Ashgate Hospice and also reducing unwanted household items being thrown away as the easier option.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director, commented “The first half of 2021 has set the tone and direction for our way out of this pandemic. As with 2020, this has been an eventful period of great change for not just us but the whole of society. We proved last year that the MVIS team are made of robust stuff, weathering the storm that hit us all with hard work and commitment, which is what you can expect from us coming out of it as well.”

The next 6 months will hopefully see us easing back into our typically normal day to day life, with businesses re-opening, it is exciting to see our local areas thriving as before. With our 9^th year anniversary around the corner, we are proud to have such a wonderful team and support behind us.

Introducing: The Safety Hub

Posted on 7th June 2021 at 4:33 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

MVIS and sister company Bartco UK have always prioritised safety, whether it’s the safety of our customers, the general public or our own team. Safety always starts with our own team however – whether that’s in the form of the training we deliver to ensure that our delivery drivers keep the public safe when out on the road, or if it’s fire warden training for our office staff, safety plays a huge part in our approach to our day to day work life.

As a show of this commitment, a few years ago we launched the ‘Safe Mind’ campaign, which was implemented in our working environment in order to raise awareness about matters of safety and mental health within our organisation.

However, in recent months, we have expanded the whole initiative to reach all aspects of our safety measures. As the COVID-19 pandemic caused havoc when it came to matters of health and safety for not just business but the whole world, everyone gained a whole new level of appreciation for the concept of ‘safety’.

The introduction of our ‘Safety Hub’ serves to demonstrate our commitment to safety in all areas. It offers a place on our website for our team and customers to read up on matters of safety, from where to go when they need someone to speak to, to the measures we are taking to make our working environment as safe as possible when it comes to infection control.

However, the Safety Hub is much more than a place on our website. Importantly, it’s a state of mind that we encourage in every step of our business. The Safety Hub covers Health, Training, Products & Solutions and keeping the environment safe. All are aspects of our business that necessitate a strong commitment to safety and responsibility, which makes it even more important that we keep focus on them as employees and as a business.

Going forward, the Safety Hub will be a central point in our business in which we promote not just safety itself, but also the importance of safety, referring our team and customers to relevant information in order to make sure they are aware of the measures we take to uphold our standards of safety.

MVIS and Bartco UK Keep Focus on Training

Posted on 24th May 2021 at 4:42 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

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.

This type of training has been a proven success for us, and is often used for employees who are new to the group. This has the double effect of giving these team members a deeper insight into the organisation and the way we work. However, over the past year, there have been some significant changes to the way we all work, requiring us to take another look at this aspect of our training so that the team can gain an appreciation for the new ways we have had to change.

As a result, we will be refreshing this training with many of our team members so that everyone knows how things have changed within different departments, giving everyone a solid appreciation for the sacrifices and allowances that have been made as a result of COVID-19.

The changes we are have had to make to our working lives affect everyone, however in many ways, the changes affecting those who are required to work from the office are more drastic than most. Due to this, we are seeing our workshop team spend time in the office alongside our admin and stock team, and vice versa, which is especially pertinent to Juliette Wright, our newest member of staff to the organisation, who is yet to complete such training anyway, making this the perfect opportunity to learn the ropes in new departments.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “We have seen how much impact this kind of cross-departmental training can have so we look forward to seeing the results of this much needed initiative this time round.”

Dom Bridge, Operations Manager added, “Prior to the pandemic, we saw a record number of positive customer and staff comments very shortly after Mizzy Watson, who works in Operations and Customer Service, undertook a day in the life of our delivery drivers. Whilst not every role at our organisation is customer facing, we understand that every role matters, each one facilitating someone else’s.”

Celebrating 6 Years – Tim Hill

Posted on 14th May 2021 at 8:33 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

This week we are celebrating the 6th anniversary since our Warehouse Supervisor Tim Hill joined us. Beginning his career as one of our Delivery Drivers in our Matlock based depot, Tim developed his reputation as a hard-working member from his first day as part of the team. Never turning down a job and ensuring that works were approached safely and efficiently, quickly earned Tim a reputation in the company as somebody that we were able to turn to and trust in managing himself when out on the road, a vital attribute in our industry as on-site working can be fatal if approaching in the wrong mindset.

After being with us for two years, Tim took to the building and developing aspect of our units. He began helping in the workshop when not on the road and soon adopted an appreciation for the technical development of our units. This led Tim onto moving from our delivery team and joining our technical support team in the workshop. Being technically minded with a keen eye for perfection, Tim quickly began to excel in his new role, whether it was working on a repair or a new build unit, his high standards made the perfect attribute to the team and saw him receiving a promotion to Workshop Supervisor in 2019.

Since moving to Workshop Supervisor, Tim has played his part in training and supporting the rest of the team and he has even overseen the training of our two most recent apprentices, Cain Gregory and Jacob Spencer. Tim loves inspiring new talent within the company and helping other staff members to enhance their talents by using his guidance and supervision. Thanks to Tim`s hands-on approach and technical thinking, you can see his team’s hard work and determination within all of our large fleet of units to this date, valued highly by customers and colleagues alike.

Being part of such a bespoke industry means that it is our staff that enable us to move forward and enhance ourselves. With the determination and unique attributes that every member of the team bring to the table, we are proud to be able to say that every member of our team have been given the opportunity to find themselves within the company, something desired in most workplaces but rarely conducted.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Posted on 7th May 2021 at 4:30 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

This week marks the 30th Birthday of our very own Sean Brown! As we are known for celebrating our staff and looking for every opportunity to say thank you, we thought there would be no better time to shine a light on our Marketing Manager who joined #teamMVIS back in 2019.

When Sean began his career at MVIS, he was tasked to bring marketing in-house. With the company growing rapidly and developing from within, Sean soon made the role his own by bringing new initiative ideas to the table from his past 6 years of knowledge in the marketing industry. Since Sean started we have seen continuous growth from within the team, which wouldn’t of been possible without the hard working determination of Sean and the rest of our amazing marketing team.

Sean has not only been responsible for his own duties, but he has also played a massive part in the training and development of the other two members of the marketing team. Sean’s marketing assistant Tillie Woolliscroft said “ Sean`s determination and knowledge in what he does has made me love my job. Moving from operations to marketing in 2019 made me nervous, moving into a department that I knew nothing about, but Sean teaches me something new every single day. He pushes me to develop skills that last year I wouldn’t of known I had such as creating documents and blog posts and I couldn’t wish for a better mentor”.

Sean`s love and passion for his job is something that inspires those around him, his energetic personality and quick thinking attributes are perfect in our bespoke industry and we have been able to take our marketing presence higher than it has ever been. We want to say a massive thankyou to Sean for everything he does within MVIS as it is every one of us that make the perfect team.

MVIS and Bartco UK pass 2021 annual ISO audit

Posted on 26th April 2021 at 11:59 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

MVIS and Bartco UK earn a successful audit 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.

Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “Having been recertified only last year, we are immensely pleased that our ISOs and the IMS plays such an important role in our day to day operations, especially during the pandemic. Deeply engraining the main areas of responsibility in our business, the IMS brings a number of important benefits to us and our customers.”

2020 ISO Recertification: Christopher Moores, Anne Ashman, Dom Bridge

Our quality certification (9001:2015), assures clients that our products and services meet customer’s requirements. As a very important factor when it comes to equipment such as ours that promotes safety, clients look to MVIS and Bartco UK for reliable and effective products that have the ISO accreditation in quality behind them.

As an ITS solutions group, we work closely with the Highways and Traffic Management industries to deliver our solutions and products across the whole of the UK. Having such close ties to these industries, our environmental impact is of great importance to our Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. By working with a company that has obtained this accreditation, clients can rest assured that the company their required solutions came from is improving their sustainability through increasingly efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.

The health & safety accreditation, (45001:2018), completed our IMS in an area that doesn’t just demonstrate our commitment to our customers, but also to our staff. With its focus on employee safety and the safety of working environments, this standard is perhaps one of our most important, helping us conform to safety standards that keep our staff safe. Due to the nature of work undertaken by many of our team across highways, vehicle management, crowd safety and construction, the safety of our staff and others is paramount in transporting and deploying our units. Staff, customers and even pedestrians can all be safe in the knowledge that our products have been manufactured and deployed with safety in mind.

Anne adds, “It is vital that the whole team understands the importance of working to all 3 standards and the impact it has on the group’s continual growth. The successful audit demonstrates that we are constantly aiming higher on a service and operations level to ensure our customers always get a quality service from MVIS and Bartco UK”.

For more information about MVIS, please contact us via our contact form. Alternatively, you can email us via sales@m-vis.co.uk.

Using portable Variable Message Signs to Help Keep Order as COVID Restrictions Ease

Posted on 16th April 2021 at 9:03 am.

Written by Ben Kettell

As the national lockdown eases, it is more important than ever that we all keep in mind that the restrictions that remain, do so for a good reason. After such a long time of intermittent lockdowns, it can be easy for the smallest of easing to feel like freedom. However, with many of the existing restrictions having been eased on the 12^th April, just before the 2021 May Day break, Local Authorities have a responsibility in ensuring that local residents are measured in their actions and behaviour to protect those who are not fully protected from the virus yet.

Over the last year, MVIS have been at the forefront of COVID signage, from deployments in town and city centres to signposting and traffic management applications for COVID vaccine or COVID test centres, we have been supporting COVID messaging needs all over the nation throughout the pandemic.

A good reason for this is the products themselves – our portable Variable Message Signs are ideally placed for important public safety messaging at time when it has never been needed more. Available in 3 different sizes, depending on the application, with either 2 or 5 colour LED display, our portable message signs are solar powered and trailer based, making them highly versatile.

They are also easy to update quickly and remotely using a mobile device or browser through our Bartco Live App or Web Studio and updates can be made by your team or ours, allowing you to stay responsive to changes in messaging as they occur.

Another reason we have been so heavily relied upon is due to the quality of our service and our reputation. Already having a good relationship with Local Authorities, we were well known around the UK for providing a top tier, platinum service, making us the most trusted supplier of trailer based ITS technology in the industry.

With the above in mind, it seems only logical that our signs led the national effort on COVID signage and continue to do so as the restrictions ease. We also boast the largest fleet of portable Variable Message Signs in the UK as well as national coverage for quick deployment, so we are also uniquely positioned to be able to assist Local Authorities all over the UK.

For more information about our solutions or if you would like to know more about how you can use our products to help with communicating information to the general public, please contact us via our contact form.

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

MVIS offers more with HIAB access

Posted on 9th April 2021 at 3:57 pm.

Written by Ben Kettell

MVIS have a solid reputation for platinum level service. As part of this, we work hard to ensure that what we have to offer our customers is exactly what they need and more. We have built this reputation over many years of serving clients on projects of all sizes and our commitment to service has brought us a large base of repeat customers, which has allowed us to understand them even more as time goes on.

Over the years we have brought new products and solutions to market with customers in mind and we have also worked on our service provision for the same reason, allowing us to be more versatile and accommodating for projects of many kinds. This has allowed us to offer a more rounded service to all as we move towards fulfilling the full spectrum of requirements in our field.

One of the ways we have worked on this in recent years has been through obtaining access to HIAB loader cranes. Our specially trained HIAB operatives and slinger signalers allow us to offer more when it comes to the delivery, installation and removal of our products.

This enables us to deploy multiple portable Variable Message Signs and other technologies in locations that can be difficult to reach or get to by a standard delivery vehicle, like for example, behind motorway barriers. In many cases, such locations can be a lot safer for both the unit itself and the general public, making this an ideal location for deployment.

Unlike with other portable VMS and ITS suppliers, hiring with MVIS means that the customer is not expected to supply their own access to HIAB loader cranes, saving on hassle and cost.

If you would like to know more information about our access to HIAB loader cranes or about how our solutions can help you, please get in touch with the team at MVIS on 01629 580 570 or email sales@m-vis.co.uk.