MVIS | Quality Comes Assured With A Promise

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Founded in 2012, MVIS Ltd are today the UK’s most trusted supplier of trailer- based, solar powered technology such as Variable Message Signs (VMS), CCTV, ANPR and Data Collection solutions.

MVIS sets out to deliver platinum level service for bronze level prices, offering informed and experienced service from its highly trained team, and boasts an impressive range of additional aspects to service that helps distinguish the company from a typical VMS and ITS supplier.

MVIS makes a promise to each and every one of its customers when it comes to quality – an all-encompassing commitment to delivering the very best in terms of both product and service alike.

This dedication is why customers choose to TRUST MVIS & Bartco UK to deliver – time and time again.

A promise of quality: Why choose MVIS?

From products to personnel, MVIS and Bartco UK places the highest emphasis on quality, an ethos showcased in the company’s achievement of Environmental Management, BS EN ISO 14001: 2015, Quality, BS EN ISO 9001: 2015, and Health & Safety, BS EN ISO 45001: 2018, as well as Achilles Building Confidence accreditation and most recently, Constructionline Gold.

Constructionline Gold is further gold standard approval of MVIS’ credentials for environmental management, quality management, equal opportunities, modern slavery act adherence and anti-bribery and corruption policies.

Additionally, MVIS is Cyber Essentials certified, as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to its customers when it comes to cyber security and vital data protection.

Anne Ashman, Group Commercial and Operations Director told us:

“Whilst we can preach our commitment to quality, the accreditations we have achieved really cements the claim. We’re extremely proud of the stamps of approval we have gained so far, and we continue to strive to keep raising our ceiling when it comes to quality standards.”

The company’s IMS (Integrated Management System) provides the platform for day-to-day quality practice, and the MVIS & Bartco UK team is fully health and safety trained.

Additionally, only fully trained hiab and slinger signallers are present for delivery, installation and removal, and all MVIS team members are Highways England Passport Trained, and always present with the appropriate and relevant CSCS card.

No exceptions.

Experience & Knowhow

Working on all major Highways schemes, generally managing multiple schemes at once, MVIS holds extensive experience on high-speed works, inner-city works, urban works and events. The company has established a portfolio of works in each of these areas, repeatedly becoming a staple of highly prestigious schemes and events.

The quality shines through, and the extent to which MVIS has featured across such major projects showcases a highly competent, trusted and reliable organisation.

With a customer support line operating 24/7, 365 days a year, the quality of MVIS’ service is simply not in question.

Anne continued:

“The quality promise we deliver ultimately comes from a place of care. True care for our customer and their requirements. We will continually strive to keep improving our products, team, training and systems of operations, as we don’t believe quality is simply achieved or not achieved. It’s the day in, day out dedication to what we do continuing to improve wherever we can for the benefit of our customer.”

Source: highwaysindustry.com

The Original 5-Colour VMS

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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.

 

Environment

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As the ultimate safety, we are committed to environmental impact goals for the benefit of the whole of society as we believe that being environmentally conscious is key in striving towards a better tomorrow. Back in 2017 we were awarded with the ISO accreditation in Environmental Management (14:001:2015) and were again recertified in 2020 along with Quality (9001:2015) and Health & Safety (45001:2018). These accreditations prove our dedication to decreasing the negative impact that we may have on the environment. Having quality checks done on all of our suppliers and using local suppliers when we can even if it is at a higher expense to the company is a small thing that we do to nurture the relationship between the company and society. 

Our social responsibility to local surroundings means being always on the lookout for actions that we can take to improve our impact on the environment. Taking advantage of this exercise, we have found that it also boosts staff morale and strengthens relationships within the business, 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 beehive 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. As we offer free maintenance and battery changes when needed to our units on hire, stringent logistical plans are implemented daily to reduce external trips, all while maintaining our customer satisfaction guarantee. 

 

Health

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Here at MVIS, we understand that the key to a thriving business starts and ends with those on the inside. Each of our departments is a vital cog in what we do and what we have been able to achieve and work towards in our forever adapting business.

Since day one we have prioritised the mental health of our team, arranging regular staff meetings for us to reconnect on a professional level but also organising events and casual meetups to get to know each other not only as colleagues but develop personal relationships outside of the working environment. In 2019 we partook in a local event where small businesses came together for the “Corporate Games” this sporting event allowed us to work as a team to win points and even saw us winning the final score due to our teamwork. We believe that these types of team building social events help us bond and develop a deeper appreciation of the team as a whole.

We continuously work towards being a socially responsible organisation and have taken this very seriously. Our Corporate Social Responsibility commitment sees us focusing on prioritising our efforts in giving back to society and the environment.

With this, we have developed our “Safe Mind Safe Body” initiative which is there to encourage all of our staff to work safe and smart, be it on site, in the office or in the warehouse. Our staff’s morale is vital in maintaining our award winning customer service which is why we have trained mental health first aiders at hand who are always there if any of our staff need to blow off some steam or need some advice.

This past year has been difficult for every business, but we understand that it is people’s individual lives that have been affected too. Because of this, we have been keen to ensure that moral is a topic that we don’t shy away from. Each morning we engage in a daily call via Microsoft Teams to not only share our daily workload but to allow people to maintain a sense of stability, as we appreciate that working from home can be difficult to separate work life from home life. We have also sourced an external means of offering advice and discussing personal issues an this is, Peninsula’s services, giving us a  well-rounded approach to our team’s wellbeing. And in addition, another service we have sought out at the end of 2020 is the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Outside of the working hours, we have organised multiple ways for our team to be able to unwind. These activities have meant that we can maintain our strong relationship between staff members. We have done this by engaging in regular online games, birthday parties and chit chats. This is something that we have been able to use to our advantage as it means we can try and maintain a degree of “normality” but in a COVID safe way.

The image shows the safety hub logo a staff wellbeing initiative

MVIS and Bartco UK pass 2021 annual ISO audit

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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.

MVIS offers more with HIAB access

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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.

Not exactly your average year in review…

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So…2020. Where do we even start with this one? If we said it has been a rather peculiar year, it just does not seem to do it justice, does it?

To say we’ve all faced some trials and tribulations in 2020 is perhaps the understatement of the year, but when MVIS & Bartco UK looks back at their own 2020, with the obvious set aside for just a moment, 2020 hasn’t necessarily been all that bad.

The company has seen growth across several fronts, as new products and people have joined the companies. Additionally, a year of major projects and promotions has also seen valuable lessons learned about the company’s adaptability, flexibility and ability to react to unforeseen circumstances.

Protocols:

Living with lockdown – March

A new way of life, and working was ‘introduced’ in March. Using the word ‘introduced’ rather lightly – ‘enforced’ may be more apt – requiring rapid adaptation to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

MVIS acted quickly to keep Britain moving by making a virtually immediate jump to home working for all office staff as soon as it was advised to do so by the government.

Staff meetings were moved to virtual hangouts via Microsoft Teams, and the delivery team were forced to adapt to new protocols to keep themselves, and their clients safe whilst out on site.

The ability to do this quickly has left the company in no doubt that they have the right team in place, as the Covid-19 rollercoaster continues into 2021.

Living with lockdown – July

Late June into July saw the national lockdown lifted and returning to office work was permitted again.

With no relinquishing of a ‘safety first’ mindset, MVIS welcomed back staff on a rota basis. Believing mental health is as important as physical health, office staff had the choice of where to work within restrictions.

At HQ, some strict measures were implemented which put increased demands on the team on top of already demanding roles.

These measures include:

  • Disinfection of all collected units
  • Limited vehicle sharing with mandatory masks if sharing
  • Mandatory disinfection of all surfaces & shared facilities
  • Hand sanitising stations located throughout the buildings
  • Perspex screens dividing workstations
  • Daily temperature readings
  • A complete layout change to the building
  • VMS deployed in strategic locations for safety information
  • All external doors & windows left open when people are in the building
  • Withdrawal of shared utensils and pots
  • Table and canopy built outside to allow for socially distanced meetings
  • The workshop floor was marked out with ‘bays’ stationed 2m apart
  • Second workshop set up
  • New ‘snap cabin’ recreational area further segregating the use of shared facilities
  • Daily Microsoft Teams meetings updates
  • Visitor entry restrictions marked by VMS
  • Placement of workplace safety signage to remind employees to wash and sanitise hands

Territorial ‘pods’ were also created separating departments and ensuring that the staff who are required to work from head office do not come into contact with others. Furthermore, staff must wear a mask when moving from workstations.

Projects

One thing that hasn’t changed in 2020, is MVIS’ delivery on major projects across the UK.

East to west from the M20 in Kent across the country and indeed the border to Mountain Ash, Wales, as well as a North-South coverage from East Lothian, Scotland all the way down to Folkestone. A truly national operation.

Products

HD Compact v2.0

Back in June, MVIS and Bartco UK were proud to announce the latest version of their revolutionary HD Compact VMS.

V.1 of the HD Compact was the first of its kind, and V.2 offers added developments. One of the biggest developments is the use of solar power, providing highly extended maintenance free run-time and sustainability commitments.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HD COMPACT 2.0

HD Compact V2.0

IVD Radar

The IVD Radar is a portable traffic flow monitoring solution, providing traffic data on single and multi-lane highways and roads.

With remotely downloadable data from a unit that can detect from 2-100m away, no one is required on site to collect the data, which is especially important in COVID conditions.

READ MORE ABOUT THE IVD

Promotions

In October, MVIS announced that several of its leadership team had earned promotions.

Anne Ashman, formerly General Manager became Group Commercial and Operations Director. Anne’s promotion was coupled with another Directorship as Graeme Lee, long time Sales Manager took on the role of Sales Director.

Finally, Dom Bridge earned a promotion to Operations Manager after 7 years with the company.

 

People

Chris Steel

MVIS welcomed Chris Steel to the team in July 2020 as Accounts Officer.

Ed Faulkner

Ed Faulkner is the most recent addition to the MVIS team, joining the business as Sales Manager in October.

READ MORE ABOUT ED FAULKNER HERE

Anne Ashman, Commercial and Operations Director at MVIS told us:

“We take recruitment very seriously and don’t let just anyone into our business. After a rather unconventional recruitment process due to COVID-19, Chris and Ed both stepped up to the plate.”

Moving forward…

Certainly, 2020 has been somewhat of a roller coaster, but this is a company who has created diamonds under the pressure, stimulated diversification and overall growth and has a happy, healthy workforce striving for even bigger things in 2021.

Source: https://www.highwaysindustry.com/

MVIS VMS makes Impact for COVID-19 Safety

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During these highly unusual times, everyone looks to government bodies for advice on what to do and to help keep people safe.

Spreading the right message has never been more important and with the high focus on local initiatives to help combat this virus, local authorities are left holding the responsibility of implementing the right solutions to help keep their area’s COVID levels as low as possible. The tasks of those areas currently facing local lockdown restrictions such as Bolton and the North East of England (to name but a few) is even bigger, as they are also charged with the responsibility of communicating their specific area’s lockdown rules rather than just guidance. 

Nothing has had a bigger impact in any sense this year than COVID-19, and with any high impact problem, you need a high impact solution to help manage it. Local authorities all over the UK have been turning to MVIS and our Portable Variable Message Signs (VMS) for help.

Not only this, but the media has also seen an opportunity for the potential of our VMS to put across a stark and important message through their photography, with a few deployments in particular receiving national media attention to help promote their news.

At least until such times as we have a vaccine widely available, one of the most powerful tools we have against this virus is information, bringing our portable VMS to forefront of the effort for the media and local authorities. VMS are often used in Hollywood and TV in disaster situations for this exact application – and with the world heading deeper into a state of emergency, we are seeing this become a reality before us.

With the ability to change messages remotely via web browser or mobile app, our signs can be updated safely without requiring anyone on-site. They can also be updated quickly and easily, allowing local authorities to be responsive to the changing guidance.

Our sign’s portability and solar power credentials make their responsiveness even more important, offering a moveable solution that gives the option of being able to relocate signs to new hot spots without having to worry about a fixed power supply.

One of the other aspects of our signs is their colour options. With the opportunity to display messages in multiple colours, local authorities and site managers are able to avoid the risk of ‘sign blindness’ that can occur with the use of the common amber message text sometimes seen on signs deployed for roadworks.

please ensure social distancing

Putting messages and backgrounds in different colours can help the text make extra impact as well as provide emphasis, increasing the chances it will be seen and most importantly read.

The use of colour can also be a powerful indicator to the public to convey and reinforce different types of messages, such as red for unsafe actions and green for safe actions, or a combination of colours to catch attention and try to influence certain types of behaviour, for example.

covid-19 do not mix with other households

As well as the opportunity to use different colours, our signs are also ideally used to display pictograms, which for foot traffic in urban areas can be highly effective for conveying critical messages.

hand face space

Another important factor that has allowed MVIS to step up to this challenge has been our fleet size and product range. With the largest fleet of VMS in the UK, MVIS are able to meet the demand that is currently coming our way, with not only the necessary numbers needed, but also being able to offer 3 different sizes of VMS to local authorities so they can use the appropriate sized sign for the specific audience, deployment and objective.

Whilst MVIS can deliver these helpful solutions, we specifically do so with premium level service, bringing our high-speed expertise and focus on compliance to local authorities, who may not be used to the same level of ‘all encompassing’ service that we provide. It is well known within the industry that working with MVIS takes concerns away from our clients, as we often go above and beyond in our service, offering 24/7 support, consultancy on deployment and ensuring the right unit is being used for the right job.

Join many local authorities in the UK and hire with MVIS today to be confident that your area’s COVID-19 information is being communicated by quality products in the care of experts.

For more information about our solutions or if you would like to know more about how you can use our products to help with crowd control, social distancing or queue management, please contact us via our contact form.

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

MVIS / Bartco UK receives a record number of Award Submissions

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With the 2020 award season facing major disruption due to COVID-19, MVIS have not taken this as a sign to slow down. This year so far has presented numerous challenges to not only MVIS, but the entire economy. It truly is times such as these that allow adaptable and forward-thinking businesses to shine.

In spite of this horrific climate for business, MVIS have remained strong and operational, and have not let the undeniable handbrake to the economy hold us back.

With this in mind, it makes sense that MVIS and Bartco UK have been submitted as finalists for a number of awards with the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce. Getting through to the finals in these awards represents a wider commitment to the areas that the categories address, most of which are highly important to our business.

Bartco UK – Innovation in Manufacturing Award

MVIS / Bartco UK – Commitment to People Development Award

MVIS – Environmental Impact Award

These awards all cover areas we hold highly important to our business operations as an organisation, with our submission as finalists demonstrating just how highly we prioritise them.

Bartco UK’s submission as Innovation in Manufacturing Award finalists recognises our commitment to developing our manufacturing processes, ensuring that we are consistently improving our numerous product and process innovations for the benefit of our customers and the safety of our staff.

The shared submission with MVIS and Bartco UK as finalists in the Commitment to People Development Award is a highly appropriate submission for our organisation, recognising our continued commitment to the development, training and safety of our team. This wouldn’t be the first time we have been recognised for our commitment to our team.  Receiving national recognition for our investment in people in 2018, Learning Unlimited awarded the group a place on the shortlist for their Investment in Apprentices awards.

What’s more is that at this event, George Sheldon, one of Bartco UK’s Apprentice Technicians, was named as a finalist in the Advanced Apprentice of the Year category and MVIS’ then Operations and Customer Service Apprentice, Tillie Wooliscroft, was announced as the winner in the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year category.

Submission as finalists in this award with the Chamber of Commerce is a very welcome acknowledgment for the focus we give to the development of our team. This gives us an immense level of pride, especially with the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, who’s recognition in this way brings with it a worthy stamp of approval for our contributions to the skills pool in our local area.

Last but certainly not least is the MVIS finalist submission for the Environmental Impact Award, which compliments and recognises our corporate social responsibility to the environment.

Replicated in virtually every business decision we make, MVIS have an on-going commitment to the environment that we take very seriously. With our products being, by their very nature, highly environmentally friendly by running on solar power, many businesses would stop there in their duty to the environment.

Not MVIS, however.

We have a number of initiatives currently in place and in planning phase that will help to lessen or offset our carbon emissions and impact on the environment. Submission as finalists for this award helps to recognise that these initiatives are making a difference, only spurring us on in our never-ending commitment to the environment.

All these awards brought together are well complemented by our ISO accreditations in Quality (9001:2015), Environmental Management (14001:2015), and Health & Safety (45001:2018), with each award tipping its hat to at least one of these accreditations. So, it comes of little surprise that it was these awards that have seen us recognised as finalists.

Check back later in the year for the results of these Awards, which will be announced at the Gala Dinner Events and are currently scheduled to take place in early December.

MVIS Succeed with Achilles Audit

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Last year, we were proud to announce that we had been awarded with Achilles BuildingConfidence registration. 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.

For MVIS, registration with Achilles last year cemented our commitment to both quality and safety, building on the work we have done with our ISO accreditations in quality (9001:2015), environmental management (14001:2015), and health & safety (45001:2018), together furnishing us with a full IMS (integrated management system), integrating our systems and processes into one complete framework.

Bringing in Achilles BuildingConfidence registration alongside this helps us to accentuate our commitment to these essential aspects of our business. Anne Ashman, UK Group Commercial and Operations Director commented, “Last year, we were really proud to achieve registration with Achilles. We did this to help demonstrate to our current and potential customers that we work in a Quality, H&S and Environmental focused manner. This year underscores this even more so, with the changing nature of the economy, it is more important than ever to ensure that we are keeping standards up.”

Anne adds, “We are really proud to have succeeded with this year’s Achilles audit, retaining our membership and allowing us to keep it next to our other accreditations as testament to the fact that we practice what we preach when it comes to standards, service and quality.”

Our Achilles BuildingConfidence membership takes its place next to the multitude of reasons to choose MVIS, that not only confirms our commitment to these aspects, but it all together helps to set us apart from a typical ITS supplier.

With award winning customer service, national coverage and a portfolio containing some of the highest profile projects in the UK, it is little wonder why MVIS boast the most experienced and best trained workforce in the industry. We ensure that our workforce are given the skills and hands-on training to deliver nothing short of excellence, meaning that is what you can expect from us.

Reflection on lockdown brings adaptability of products and people to the fore

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The last 4 months have thrown up challenges that we can all concede we probably never thought we’d face. Individuals, families and businesses have all had to make adjustments and sacrifices in order to stay safe, well, and survive.

As we look back on the unprecedented nature of 2020 so far, and with a gradual return to normality seemingly now upon all of us, it’s great time to look back and see what we’ve learned.

Adaptability is Key

Leading ITS solutions provider MVIS has been on this journey of self-reflection, and highlights adaptability as perhaps the key factor to thriving as a business throughout the challenging lockdown period.

It’s probably not unfair to say there isn’t an individual in the entire nation who hasn’t been dealt some sort of challenge with adaptability over the last 4 months.

Adaptable People

MVIS acted quickly to keep Britain moving by making a virtually immediate jump to home working for all office staff as soon as it was advised to do so by the government.

Management acted quickly to keep their people safe, and the excellent MVIS team were forced to adapt to home-based offices whilst still delivering quality and service to a client base.

Staff meetings were moved to virtual hangouts via Microsoft Teams, and the delivery team were forced to adapt to new protocols to keep themselves, and their clients safe whilst out on site..

The ability to do this quickly and with a ‘can do’ attitude has left the company firstly in no doubt that they have the right team in place, but secondly, in a position to now further adapt to new requirements in terms of what their solutions can provide.

Adaptable Products – Delivering New Solutions for New Problems

As the COVID-19 lockdown eased, retail stores throughout the country faced new challenges, one of the most important being the ability to communicate vital information to customers quickly and easily.

In recent months, MVIS have been working with the retail industry to develop ways they can apply their technology to solving these new challenges, helping to clear up the confusion that customers were facing as more businesses were granted permission to open their doors once again.

MVIS VMS-C Unit deployed at Amazon in Doncaster
 
From Global to Local

The solutions for retail are all encompassing, with one of the world’s largest companies and biggest brands utilising MVIS units. Indeed, worldwide phenomenon Amazon has deployed 2 x MVIS VMS-C used at its distribution centre in Doncaster to give staff and visitors up to date information on site rules.

Additionally, 2 x VMS-A are being used at Middlebrook Shopping Centre in Bolton to direct customers around the site and advise of any changes to the layout due to Covid-19.

At the other end of the size spectrum, New Leaf Plant Centre in Dronfield, only a stone’s throw away from MVIS’ Matlock HQ reopened back in May but had an understandable number of concerns about keeping customers informed of critical information.

The VMS-A was advised and deployed by MVIS due to the size of New Leaf’s car park. The VMS-A is renowned for its impressive screen size: footprint ratio and is often deployed where units with a larger footprint cannot be.

With a rather large car park to display messages to and parking space at a premium, the VMS-A was the unit of choice over the smaller screened HD Compact due to its increased display size.

The MVIS VMS units are helping the aforementioned businesses to keep their staff and customers well informed, as well as keeping processes and practices from site deliveries to payment queues as efficient and stress free as possible.

Major shopping centres such as Middlebrook in Bolton are utilising MVIS units

MVIS Marketing Manager, Sean Brown said:

“It’s always great seeing new uses for our technology and the cornerstone of this is found in us having a good understanding of the needs of our client, regardless of whether it’s a huge global corporate entity such as Amazon, or a smaller local business such as New Leaf.

“Once we establish needs, it’s then working with our client on ways we can apply our solutions to them specifically.

“Building the relationships that allows us to understand these needs is where this starts. As we explore new industries, we are eager to highlight that we are not just in the business of ITS rental, but rather the business of relationships and service.”

Source: highwaysindustry.com

Returning to the office safely with COVID-19

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During the lockdown caused by COVID-19, the office staff at MVIS / Bartco UK have been working from home, but as the UK begins to get moving again, we have been hard at work in putting together ways that we can operate from the office, but with the ever present threat of infection being the main consideration in our minds. There are a number of a departments within our organisation that have always required a degree of on-site presence, from the manufacturing team with Bartco UK to the delivery team for MVIS; it has been important for our team to be trained in, educated in and actively practicing measures that will help keep  them safe and reduce the spread of the virus.

Some of the infection control measures we have implemented have been extremely strict, putting intense demands on our team on top of already demanding roles, especially regarding health and safety. However, it is this aptitude towards skills development and adherence to compliance that has worked to our teams’ advantage, allowing them to learn the new skills they need to operate safely whilst already being mindful of health and safety. These measures include-

  • Disinfection of all collected units on arrival
  • Limited delivery / service vehicle sharing with mandatory masks if sharing
  • Mandatory disinfection of all surfaces touched & shared facilities
  • Hand sanitising stations located throughout the buildings
  • Perspex screens dividing workstations
  • Daily temperature readings
  • A complete layout change to the building, including repositioned desks and relocation of marketing office and doors to control the flow and direction of foot traffic
  • VMS deployed in strategic locations for safety information or no access
  • All external doors & windows left open when people are in the building
  • Withdrawal of shared utensils and pots
  • Table and canopy built outside to allow for socially distanced meetings across departments
  • Repainted the workshop floor to mark out personal working ‘bays’ stationed 2m apart
  • Second workshop set up in our storage facility, Unit 19, to allow for social distancing
  • New ‘snap cabin’ recreational area for the workshop team, further segregating the use of shared facilities
  • Personal headsets for phones rather than using the handsets
  • Daily Microsoft Teams meetings updates
  • Visitor entry restrictions marked by VMS
  • Placement of workplace safety signage to remind employees to wash and sanitise hands
  • Weekly risk assessments of all areas to ensure we adhere to the ever-changing rules of COVID

The layout change is not small; it’s been a major renovation project to our office that has involved blocking old entrances off and making news ones to better facilitate the safe flow of people from one section of the building to another.

Our office’s new layout has seen the building divided into territorial ‘pods’, separating departments and ensuring that the staff who are required to share a space do not come into potentially infectious contact with any more people than is required.

In establishing set entrances, exits and pass through routes for each pod, we can limit our areas of concern to shared facilities such as toilets. Outside each pod we have installed hand sanitising stations that staff must use when moving from one pod to the other and masks must be worn by all staff when outside of their pod.

In line with the government guidelines, we recently began to phase in some of our office staff who wanted to come back in as the lockdown measures ease. To allow this to happen safely, we require each member of staff to take a temperature test daily when they enter the building. This helps both the company and our employees take early steps in the event that any of our team are displaying a fever, and by taking these measurements daily, we have comparable and consistent data that would help to identify a fever, or unusual personal temperature as soon as it presents.

These constant reminders scattered through the office, the drastic change to our work place layout and the steps we are having to take as individuals serve as a system that not only help keep our team safe, but also help them feel safe, allowing them to still work productively without unnecessary anxiety.

As you can see, the office now features new, higher desks with ergonomic stools and mats placed under for foot comfort. We took the opportunity during the renovation to make sure that workspaces helped to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, and these stools help to correct posture and improve our employee’s standing health.

Every member of staff has been well equipped too. Upon return to work after lockdown, everyone has been given protective visors, masks, a packet of antibacterial wipes and another bottle of hand sanitiser. The desk layout within the pods have been positioned to ensure maximum efficiency between departments that require any form of interaction.

Critically, however, we are not forcing anyone into the office who is not required to be, minimising the number of people that are sharing the facilities and space, therefore minimising the risk. Indeed, those who have come back either wanted to or were required to by their role. With the measures the company has taken, we can accommodate these members of staff in the building by taking the measures that are required to be COVID compliant.

The effect of this gives our team a ‘no pressure’ approach to the situation that lets them to take control of their own health, both mental and physical, allowing them to return to work in the office when they feel comfortable.

These measures would not have been possible without the use of systems such as Microsoft Teams. Teams allows our staff to maintain a strong level of communication by using online video chat to conduct our normal business discussions.

In order to allow us to use Teams in this way, some of our staff had to undergo training, which was a fairly routine procedure for MVIS and Bartco UK staff, who take part in training regularly as a vital factor in staff progression. 

As training underpins our approach to our staff and our business, so too it underpins our approach to COVID-19. Our employee’s aptitude for development has been a big advantage for helping to keep the company operating smoothly and to keep Britain moving, and most importantly of all, helping to keep themselves and others safe.

 

 

Mobile Visual Information Systems

01629 580 570

MVIS, Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND

© 2022. Company registered in England No. 8130402 - Registered Office: Units 6-8, Brookfield Way, Brookfield Industrial Estate, Tansley, Matlock, Derbyshire. DE4 5ND