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 fulfill 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.”

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.

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 4^th 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.

 

 

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.

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.

 

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.

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. 

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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.

 

 

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.

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.”