Introducing…Jon Larkins

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Dependable and quick to learn, Jon has been developing his knowledge of our varied product lines and has shown himself to be a great team player.

Meet him here.

How long have you been with MVIS?:
I joined MVIS on the 10th July. I’m in my fourth week here and loving it.

Job role:
Delivery and Maintenance Operative at the north depot.

Recent projects:
I recently worked at a plant in Barking which needed 15 VMS units. It was great as the north and south depots worked together to deliver all products on time. I also worked at Silverstone F1, setting up CCTV during my first week which was a great introduction to the business.

How did you get into the industry?:
I worked as a refuse collector for 12 years and was in need of a change. After hearing the great reputation that MVIS as a company and employer had, I searched the internet for any vacancies and like magic, there was the job for a Delivery and Maintenance Operative.

From my first interview with Anne and Darren, I could sense that the staff at MVIS were like one big, happy family and wanted to be a part of that environment.

Most fulfilling part of your role?:
The diversity of the job. You could be delivering from one end of the country to the other so you get to see many different parts of the country which is fantastic.

The workshop environment is great fun too. No two days are ever the same.

More about me:
I’m a family man and like nothing better than spending my free time with my wife and two daughters enjoying days out or acting daft on rainy days.

I also enjoy motorbikes and often visit the Isle of Man for the TT races and take part in track days.

Introducing…Cain Gregory

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We stole a few minutes out of Cain’s busy day to find out what life is like as part of the MVIS team.

Full Name:
Cain Gregory

How long have you been with MVIS?
I started in July 2017.

Job role:
I joined the team as a Technical Apprentice. This involves assisting in the warehouse, researching methods to develop my skills, identifying solutions to problems and constantly thinking how to complete a job to the best of my ability.

Recent projects:
I’ve been stripping MTS trailers ready for the technicians to begin to upgrade the units. I have also been had training from some of the MVIS team on how to build a VMS unit. Later in my training, I will be able to build and work on the units that MVIS supply by myself which I’m really looking forward to. The training will develop my skills in a manual industry so I will become more capable within the warehouse.

How did you get into the industry?: 
I first came to MVIS in 2016 as part of my work experience from Highfields School in Matlock. I carried out small activities, such as checking and using the hand held equipment. I really enjoyed my time here and the tasks I was set – it was challenging but very enjoyable. After finishing my GCSEs earlier in 2017, I got in touch with MVIS to see if there were any positions available. They offered me a role as a Technical Apprentice and I started straight away.

Most fulfilling part of your role?:
Developing new skills – I really enjoy taking on new tasks and I learn something new every day. The team here is great and is always on hand with friendly advice if I get stuck with something.

More about me:
I attend boxing training and enjoy spending my time socialising and meeting my friends.

Discover MVIS’ Datex JTS

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The technical team at MVIS are an innovative bunch, and like to stay one step ahead when it comes to new traffic management initiatives. One of our most recent products, the Datex Journey Time Solution (JTS) system does just this as it enables real-time journey time information for roads from Highways England’s National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC).

The system was the first such solution to enable real-time journey time information from the NTOC that is displayed on portable variable message signs, and is now being used by a number of traffic management companies across the UK.

Because the date is communicated directly from NTOC in DATEX II format, this means that it is highly effective and accurate when it comes to informing road users of any disruptions or road closures in real time. This then helps to ease congestion and prevents long delays as road users are able to find alternative routes rather than sit idling in traffic.

It also encourages a more environmentally friendly approach too, as shorter queue times help reduce harmful emissions caused by static traffic jams.

A hardy and robust product, the Datex Journey Time Solution was designed to withstand varied weather conditions, so no matter whether rain or shine, you are guaranteed a reliable and quality performance.

If you would like to find out more about how the Datex JTS can become a valued part of your traffic management solutions, please call us on 01629 580 570 or email sales@m-vis.co.uk

Specialised should not mean scarce

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Here at MVIS, we’ve always been keen to support local businesses and people wherever possible, and as such, have always welcomed apprentices and traineeships as part of our growing workforce.

MVIS, and its sister company Bartco UK have a long-standing partnership with local education provider Highfields School in Matlock, and we often run work experience programmes for the Year 10s. This sees them working closely with our technical team, and will hopefully inspire them to consider a career within the ITS industry – which is facing as a shortage of recruits.

The ITS industry requires highly-skilled workers who possess good technical knowledge, and to try to ignite a spark with younger students, this year MVIS has extended an invitation for Year 8 pupils to encourage them to think about the role that ITS equipment could perform outside the transport sector.

We hope that initiatives like this will inform youngsters of the varied roles available to them within the industry, and demonstrate the type of skills that are required.

MVIS will also welcome one of last year’s Highfields’ work experience students who is about to embark on a four-year apprenticeship with the company. He will join four other apprentices working across various departments, from administration to technical.

MVIS’ apprenticeship scheme has proved to be a storming success, and both the Operations and Service Coordinator and Administration Assistant began their careers at MVIS through apprenticeships and have grown in confidence and skills during their time here.

One of the reasons this initiative has worked so well is that the MVIS team always ensure that, however busy they are, that the apprentices are given adequate time to undertake all of their apprenticeship work within office hours. Not every organisation does this, and MVIS’ training provider advises that this can compromise the output, from the perspective both of the individuals concerned and of their employers.

And it’s not only the apprentices that are developing their learning, the rest of the staff regularly undertake additional training courses and exams to ensure that they are up-to-date with all of the new regulations within the industry. It’s never too late to learn!

If you are interested in a career in the ITS industry or would like to know more about MVIS, please email us on sales@m-vis.co.uk or call us on 01629 580 570.

5 Benefits of the Datex Journey Time Solution

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Originally developed for use on Highways England’s Manchester Smart Motorways initiative, our Datex Journey Time Solution is the first to display real-time journey time information from Highways England’s National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC) on portable variable message signs.

It is now being used by traffic managers across a range of projects. Here’s why:

  1. It helps ease congestion and emissions

By advising road users of potential delays it encourages them to take alternative routes, easing traffic in congested areas and reducing emissions.

  1. It’s accurate and reliable

Communicated directly from NTOC in DATEX II format, data is displayed in real time for highly accurate journey times.

  1. It’s adaptable

Because the information is displayed on portable VMS, traffic managers can respond quickly and decisively to changing road traffic scenarios. MVIS’ products are available nationwide via a network of UK-wide depots.

  1. It improves road safety

Providing road users with accurate journey time information and alerting them to delays on the road ahead, helps them to avoid incidents, make informed decisions about their onward journey and reduce frustration – all of which helps improve road safety.

  1. It comes with built-in safeguards

The Datex Journey Time Solution is designed with safeguards to ensure the journey times calculated don’t fall outside of the range allowed by current speed limits or conflict with the messages on any permanent VMS.  Automated VMS messages can be manually overridden in the event of a network incident.

Always moving forward

The Datex Journey Time Solution is part of MVIS’ range of innovative bespoke temporary ITS solutions designed to ensure the road network operates as efficiently and safely as possible.

To find out how we can help you call 01629 580 570 or email sales@m-vis.co.uk

 

Two success stories in one week for MVIS

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MVIS and its sister company Bartco UK, saw two successes stories in one week as two of their sponsored sports stars and teams brought home the silverware. 

Boxing Clever

On Wednesday 17th May, The Original Jesters’ man from Matlock, Karl ‘Tinker’ Johnston, stepped into the ring to face Cyprus’ Kimbo Super Fight Champion, Christakis Alexandrou, to decide who was going to take the ICO Super Middleweight World Champion title.

Karl’s successful defence of his European crown in April 2017 secured his shot at the title, and with the fight being held on UK soil, Karl’s army of fans made the trip to Birmingham to show their support.

Despite round one showing that Johnston was in for a tough fight, Karl’s conditioning and strength shone through as he landed more and more damaging shots at Alexandrou as the fight went on.

In the fourth round, Alexandrou only had the bell to thank for his survival, however, in round five Johnston pushed the tough Cypriot on to final bell before having his arm raised and being crowned the new ICO Super Middleweight champion.

As a result of his success, Karl will now fight under new boxing rules before the end of 2017, and then he will make his first defence of his title in 2018.

On behalf of all the team at MVIS, we would like to congratulate Karl on his continuous success and we wish him all the best of luck in his future fights.

A Match Made in Heaven

Matlock Town FC scored a winning result in their recent cup final, beating Gresley FC 5 – 0 in a distinctly one-sided match to see The Gladiators become DCFA Senior Challenge Cup Champions.

Marc Newsham opened the score sheet by driving home a 25-yard shot into the top left-hand corner, with the second headed home by Michael Williams just before half-time.

Newsham netted his second – and The Gladiator’s third – soon into the second half, with Jake Green scoring the fourth from a free kick in the 54th minute.

Niall McManus closed the scoring with a thunderous strike to the top right-hand corner in the 72nd minute, taking Matlock to a convincing 5 – 0 victory.

The MVIS team would like to offer big congratulations to The Gladiators for a thrilling season, and we look forward to sponsoring and watching your continued success in the next.

Taking the environmentally friendly route

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Last week the government was forced to publish its plans for tackling air pollution and the risk it poses to public health – the noxious oxides and particulates linked to higher incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer is estimated to be responsible for 40,000 premature deaths every year. *

At the heart of the debate is how best to deal with the emissions – diesel or otherwise –  from the increasing numbers of vehicles on our congested roads. Pressure is already building for an expansion of the UK’s clean air zones and even a Clean Air Act to better protect public health.

In the meantime much can be done to help reduce air pollution, for example communicating to road users the steps they can take to reduce the emissions themselves.  

Traffic managers regularly plan for situations that are likely to have high volumes of slow-moving traffic (including heavy road works and large events) and, with MVIS’ Auto Detect system, can use these valuable opportunities to educate road users about how they can use the UK’s roads in a more environmentally friendly way.

Auto Detect is an innovative integrated transport system (ITS) solution that combines a series of variable message signs and master Intellicone Traffic Management Unit with a set of traffic lights. When the lights turn red, the wirelessly activated VMS displays a message to stationary drivers.

These pre-programmed messages can include facts about the levels of air pollution caused on UK roads as well as advice on how motorists can effectively lower their own emissions, such as turning off their engines when in stationary traffic queues, keeping their vehicles well maintained and removing excess cargo.

If you are interested in hiring Auto Detect for your road work project, call 01629 580 570 or email sales@m-vis.co.uk

 

* Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/06/observer-view-on-curbing-air-pollution-diesel-car-scrappage-health

MVIS hybrid offers the best of both worlds

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MVIS has launched the first hybrid Journey Time Solution (JTS) for use on portable VMS in the UK. Portable and easy to install, the pioneering Tom-Tom Journey Time Solution (JTS) enables traffic managers to use the journey time data provided by both the Highways England National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC) and Tom-Tom.

NTOC data covers the UK’s strategic road network (motorways and large A roads) while Tom-Tom provides coverage for 99% of all UK roads. Access to both, using the same portable VMS, means traffic managers now have total flexibility in the journey time information they can display at roadworks.

For example, VMS deployed at motorway roadworks will use the NTOC information to display journey times between junctions but if information about a diversion away from the motorway is required, the VMS can be switched to Tom-Tom to access journey time information for roads not covered by the NTOC.

Keeping road users better informed and being able to identify incidents in real-time helps ease congestion and improve safety around roadworks. MVIS’ innovative hybrid system can also combine the estimated journey times from both systems for the most accurate journey time estimates and is especially well suited for overnight diversions for motorway road works.

The Tom-Tom JTS from MVIS is the latest addition to MVIS comprehensive range of innovative, fully autonomous Intelligent Transport System (ITS) solutions designed to help traffic managers operate temporary traffic scenarios safely, efficiently and cost effectively.

Find out more at www.m-vis.co.uk or email us at sales@m-vis.co.uk.

New look MVIS website

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MVIS is delighted to announce we’ve completely overhauled, refreshed and updated our website to make it easier for customers and partners to get the information they need.

The old site served us well for many years but at MVIS we’re always moving forwards and it no longer reflected the high degree of innovation our products and solutions offer nor the passion for customer service on which we’ve built our business.

Designed and developed with our Marketing Partners at FIG, the new site is cleaner, bolder, easier to navigate and will get you to where you want to be in fewer clicks.

We’ve fine-tuned our logo to look more progressive and turned up the brightness across our branding. The overall website design (which has significantly less black!) now reflects the positivity and determination with which we approach every project we are involved in and our overarching strategy to help making the UK’s roads and major events run as smoothly and safely as possible.

Said FIG designer Emma Dixon:

“FIG has worked with MVIS for many years watching as it’s grown into a leading UK supplier – so we wanted the new site to do it justice. The use of bold colours, videos, intuitive navigation and the increased emphasis on the service MVIS provides, really differentiates it from its competitors.”

We really hope you’ll find our new site interesting, easier to use and more relevant to your needs.

We’d really love to know what you think. Take a look at the new site at www.m-vis.co.uk and email your comments to sales@m-vis.co.uk.

MVIS Traffex success

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Easter or not, at MVIS we’ve been busy following up our success at Traffex 2017, Europe’s largest dedicated road, traffic, parking and transport event.

We exhibited in partnership with sister company Bartco UK – the only UK manufacturer of the innovative mobile and solar powered monitoring and visual information equipment we supply for hire throughout the UK. 

Held over three days at the beginning of April, Traffex was attended by 350 exhibitors and more than 10,000 industry professionals and was the ideal place to promote our market-leading products and solutions including mobile variable message signs, Solar Intelligent Platform (IP) and brand new innovation the Tom-Tom Journey Time Solution.

Meanwhile, Bartco UK took the opportunity to launch its first ever mobile variable message sign (VMS) and Traffic Light Integrated Solution. Built around the HD Quattro which can communicate small amounts of information, it’s ideal for temporary works.

The HD Quattro is available for hire from MVIS and was judged one of the winners of the Traffex Innovation Trail by an independent panel.

We are also thrilled to announce the lucky winner of our Traffex competition. Congratulations to Pat Kane of Morrison Utility Services who won a magnum of champagne. We hope you enjoyed it!

To find out about hiring traffic management products, either on a stand-alone basis or as part of an intelligent transport system (ITS) solution, call MVIS on 01629 580 570.

Meet Jay Bailey

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As one of MVIS’ most recent team members, Jay has quickly made himself an indispensable part of the team. 

How long have you been with MVIS?
I joined MVIS on 1st March, 2017.

Job role:
I work as a Delivery and Maintenance Operative which sees me go out and about to various locations to deliver, set up and fix our range of traffic management products.

Recent projects:
Being at MVIS just over a month, I have quickly picked up the mechanisms and workings of our VMS products. I am especially proud of the fact that I am able to take apart and put together a VMS without hesitation.

How did you get into the industry:
My friend Mark Ashbee is the reason I work in the industry. A job opportunity arose which he told me about, and I knew how much he enjoyed working for MVIS, I jumped at the chance to become part of the team.

Most fulfilling part of your role:
The most fulfilling part of my role is how we all work together as a team to give excellent customer service. I thrive off the day-to-day pressures and no two days are ever the same.

More about me:
I am really interested in how things work. The maintenance side of the job comes naturally giving my previous experience as a mechanic. Using solar power for energy is a big interest of mine, so I especially love working with MVIS’ solar powered products.

Tom Berry: Apprentice

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As one of our newest recruit, Tom has already proved himself to be one of the team by pitching in with any task we throw at him, and impressing clients at our latest exhibition. 

How long have you been with MVIS?
I’ve worked for MVIS since February 2017.

Job role:
As an Admin and Sales Apprentice my role is very varied. My role includes taking phone calls from customers who want a quotation putting together or answering any questions about our traffic and events management products. I also help Rebecca Saint with invoicing and billing customers along with other duties.

Recent projects:
I had the chance to go to Traffex 2017 which is a trade show for the traffic management industry where I enjoyed getting to meet our partner companies and customers in person. This also allowed me to gain a better knowledge of the traffic management industry as a whole.

How did you get into the industry: 
I was looking for an apprenticeship after I left school and read the job description which sounded interesting so I decided to apply.

Most fulfilling part of your role:
The most fulfilling part of my role has to be when a job goes smoothly and the customer is pleased with the level of service we have provided.

More about me:
Outside of work, I enjoy socialising with friends and I try to keep fit by running.

Mobile Visual Information Systems

01629 580 570

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