Zero Incidents in 8 years as the industry buys into ‘Aim For Zero’

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The Highways England ‘Aiming for Zero’ programme targets those working on the Highways England network who are directly at risk from road users.

Companies within the industry have aligned with Highways England on this, as the aim for zero incidents via a focus on worker safety has come to the fore.

Roadworker safety: Highways England’s Aiming For Zero programme

The Aiming for Zero programme:

  • Sets a clear goal for the Agency’s health and safety performance
  • Confirms Highways England’s leadership role in the industry
  • Brings together health and safety work across the whole business

MVIS and Bartco UK are dedicated to ‘Aim for Zero’ to fall in line with both Highways England and Tier 1 contractors across the network.

The companies place safety at the heart of their operations, with in-house, on-site and off-site training, holding regular briefings and safety workshops as well as attending site instruction meetings.

MVIS and Bartco UK are proud to be able to state that they are both zero-incident companies. This exemplary safety record goes right back to day 1 of the businesses meaning zero incidents is an ‘ever’ statement and not a ‘this year’ statement.

Anne Ashman, General Manager of MVIS and Bartco UK spoke to us about the prized ‘0’ as well as the approach to safety that keeps it intact:

“We invest heavily in our safety ethos to do all we can to remain on zero incidents. Safety is at the centre of the 2 companies, with our ethos ‘Safe Mind, Work Safe, Work Well’ leading the way internally.

“We make sure we support our workforce with site safety workshops, courses and briefings as it’s paramount everyone that goes out on the roads for MVIS or Bartco UK gets home safely at the end of the shift.

“In September, I’ll be starting my NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) to carry on working on continual improvement of our safety practices and protocols.”

 

 

MVIS achieves Achilles registration as the latest addition to a long line of accreditations

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MVIS are proud to announce that they have been registered with Achilles after passing the accreditation.

Achilles Building Confidence is a UK construction industry accreditation and risk management scheme.

MVIS are now proud recipients of Achilles registration

What is Achilles certification all about?

Achilles was founded in Norway in 1990 with the goal of helping organisations to identify, assess, qualify, and monitor suppliers throughout the supply chain with the aim of 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.

MVIS – Yet another mark of quality

For MVIS, Achilles registration cements their commitment to both quality and safety. The company has 20% of its entire team IOSH trained to ensure ALL departments have top quality H&S standards in place and upheld. 75% of staff are first aid trained, and 90% of staff have health and safety CSCS.

Impressively, the company has been awarded ISO 45001:2018 for safer systems of working, measurability and continual improvement, in addition to holding ISO 14001:2015 for environmental standards and ISO 9001:2015 for quality.

General Manager of MVIS Anne Ashman told us:

“We have done this audit process and registered as it shows customers and potential customers even further that we work in a Quality, H&S and Environmental manner.  It is our further alignment as a SME with large contractors within the industry.

“We’re really proud to achieve registration with Achilles, and add it to our other accreditations to cement the fact we practice what we preach when it comes to standards, service and quality.”

MVIS & Bartco UK | Continued Investment in staff growth sets the standard for retention

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There is a very well known, often seen ‘conversation piece’ that says it all about investment in staff.

We’d be surprised if you haven’t been privy to some version of it on a course or flying around social media.

It goes a little something like this:

CFO: “What happens if we invest in developing our staff and they leave?”

CEO: “What if we don’t and they stay?”

Ring any bells?

As overused as this particular scenario may be, the message is a valid one.

MVIS and Bartco UK are two companies that pride themselves on investing in their team for the benefits of both themselves and their clients.

While we all know that competitive pay and good benefits factor into an employee’s decision to join and stay at a company, there are many other overlooked desires that can be as important as the money in the bank.

According to a report by Forbes in 2018, a ‘commitment to well-being’ and ‘working with a purpose’ are right up there on the scale of what employees want. It seems a feeling of genuine care from employer to employee goes a long way to ultimate job satisfaction.

Anne Ashman, MVIS & Bartco General Manager told us:

“We don’t fear to invest in staff and potentially see them leave, we push our team and support their career development.

“We’ve found our approach incredibly fruitful. We find that investing in staff to further their knowledge and skills creates a level of job satisfaction that keeps employees with us long term. It really aids the company continuity to not have to be replacing and hiring new staff on a regular basis.

“This approach creates consistency within the company for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“It means our clients and customers work and liaise with the same team, internally we all know how we work most efficiently, the staff become engrained in the ethos of the business and their knowledge of the company and industry only grows.”

So how are MVIS & Bartco investing in their staff?

Anne continued:

“There are many examples of how we do this. I, myself have just passed a business degree with the Open University after 7 years – and this was funded by MVIS and Bartco UK.

“Our Assistant Operations Manager Dom Bridge has been with us for 6 years, having originally started with us as an apprentice. Dom will soon be doing his Fleet Managers course which will swiftly follow the Operations Managers Course that he is currently enrolled in.

“Additionally, Tillie Woolliscroft our Operations Support is currently doing a customer service qualification and Tom Berry, our Sales Admin, a sales course.  Cain Gregory and Tim Hill have also both done soldering courses which supported their work in our workshop and repairs centre.

“For Tim, this is in addition to being put through IOSH training for Managing Safely, so it’s fair to say that the investment across our team is proving we practice what we preach with these company-funded courses.”

Expansion sees a new depot opened in the North East

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MVIS sees tangible growth in 2019 as their North East depot opens its doors for the first time.

June has seen Newcastle house the new depot and enable MVIS a number of benefits moving forward.

Firstly, the company will be able to house and hold more products with the second depot’s ability to store constructed VMS units. Therefore, more VMS units will be built for the hire fleet and more beavertails are ordered to aid delivery, and the environment as multiple units can be transported on each driven journey.

Strategically located, the depot location will enable MVIS to service these clients across the north of England, as well as Scotland with greater efficiency in regard to deployment, servicing and repair.

July 19th will see the doors opened, and MVIS will be inviting visitors, suppliers and clients to an open day to tour the facility and see the capability added with this expansion.

Anne Ashman, MVIS General Manager spoke to us about the depot and the need to expand:

“Every business is looking to grow- that’s a bit of an obvious statement – but for us to need to expand to carry on servicing the clients we have to the level they have become accustomed to is great.

“Both MVIS are growing, and as more people discover what we can deliver for them and the level of service we deliver it with, the demand for our products and service goes up.

“With this expansion, we are reacting to that demand and showcasing that we will ensure the delivery of the same high-quality service we’re known for- by investing in the expansion for the benefit of our clients.

“It means we can put down roots in more areas of the UK and operate from more than one strategic location when it comes to servicing clients. The Newcastle depot is in the perfect spot to service the north of England, as well as Scotland- a growing market for us.

“Additionally, we’re continuing to raise awareness internally with staff about environmental issues, as well as continue to expand upon their product knowledge as we introduce new units.”

Exciting times for MVIS and Bartco UK, which could beg the question…where next?! 

The Road to Success

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It’s been over 6 years since MVIS was founded at our Matlock site and as 2018 comes to an end, and everyone starts to get into the festive spirit, we thought it would be a good time to reflect on the development of MVIS and how, as a team, we’ve got to where we are today.

MVIS was formed back in 2012, in response to increasing demand for mobile variable message signs (VMS) and intelligent transport system (ITS) solutions, and since then we’ve created a reputable company based on efficiency, excellent service and trust with our customers.

But how have we got to where we are today?

  1. Investment in staff

When talking about the success of MVIS, we simply can’t deny the contribution of our outstanding and dedicated team. Commitment to and investment in staff at every level is essential to us here at MVIS. To help our staff develop the skills and knowledge needed to continue as industry leaders, we’re committed to providing ongoing training and development opportunities.

  1. Developing talent

One way we ensure we employ the staff with the right skills is through our highly successful apprenticeship scheme. Almost everyone who has joined us as an apprentice has stayed with us for the long term and our very own Dom Bridge was recently promoted to Assistant Operations Manager after starting as an apprentice 5 years ago. We’re proud to say that he is now completing his Degree Level Operations Management Course with us. Our apprentices work hard, are eager to progress and their retention rate has been excellent.  In November one of our apprentices, Tillie Wooliscroft was awarded the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year at the Learning Unlimited apprenticeship awards for going above and beyond and developing her knowledge and skills to a high standard.

  1. R&D and Innovation

By prioritising research and development, and gaining a strong customer insight into the challenges they face, we have been able to design products and solutions that our customers need, including the Solar IP – developed in response to the highway managers’ need to provide a flexible response to temporary traffic management situations. It houses a range of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) equipment in one unit that can be deployed anywhere on the road network.

  1. Customer Service

The high standard of the products and solutions we provide combined with the diligence and responsiveness of our staff means our customers benefit from a first class service.

The high standards of our work have been independently verified by the achievement of  our ISO accreditations for quality and environmental management. We are currently working towards the 45001 Health and Safety accreditation.

If you’re interested in working with MVIS, you can contact our friendly team on 01629 580 570 or email us at sales@m-vis.co.uk

 

THE SME FACTOR

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By Matt Felce, technical manager of MVIS and Bartco UK

 

When looking for a corporate partner to facilitate the development or delivery of an ITS solution, it can be tempting to favour one of the big names in the industry; big names can engender instant confidence in both supplier and customer.

 

Yet MVIS and Bartco UK have repeatedly reaped considerable benefits from their partnerships with ITS SMEs. Not only have our SME alliances been advantageous at project level, but we are confident that ultimately, they also help to promote industry-wide innovation.

 

SMEs have an agility that enables them to act quickly in the face of a new contract, to briskly respond to the changing demands both of the customer and the market, and to readily explore new ways in which their products can be utilised.

 

Over the last five years, we have developed long-standing working relationships with a network of trusted individuals within our partner organisations.  It seems that SMEs are able to maintain particularly stable workforces – we certainly do – and working with people you know and trust promotes efficiency and job satisfaction.

 

The SMEs with which we have worked have always been able to focus their resource on our projects, as we haven’t had to compete for their attention against a multitude of far larger contracts.

 

We’ve worked with SRL Traffic Systems for five years, and the relationship generates many mutual benefits as a result of the SME status of both parties.  Not only have we made our resource available to one another – we supply SRL with portable VMS with full access to its nationwide network of 21 depots – we’re also working in partnership on product development too.

 

When SRL identified a demand for a small VMS capable of integration with its portable traffic lights, it was quickly able to act on this opportunity, and approached Bartco UK to partner it on the project.  Bartco UK too was able to respond with agility, and the HD Quattro was born.

 

When SME ITS solutions creator Clearview Intelligence required temporary VMS to integrate with its own journey time solution, we responded briskly, therefore enabling the company to rapidly deliver a solution that met the client’s short timescales.

 

We were recently awarded a smart motorway job, the fulfilment of which required a larger consignment of radar equipment than we had available, due to ongoing contracts.  SME radar manufacturer Wavetronix was quickly able to hire the equipment to us so that we could deliver on time. 

 

SME partnerships can serve not only to efficiently deliver individual projects, but also to promote the growth of the companies concerned.  While MVIS forwards enquiries for permanent ITS installations to Wavetronix, Wavetronix reciprocates by directing those for temporary solutions to MVIS. 

 

And as individual SMEs grow, so too does the sector as a whole.  Competition is promoted, breeding innovation and increasing service levels for the benefit of all.  SMEs have a crucial role to play in the development of the ITS industry as well as the delivery of individual projects; ignore them at your peril.   

Why choose MVIS…?

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MVIS is a leading supplier of mobile and solar powered monitoring and visual information systems. Designed to get you seen, MVIS’ messaging signs deliver a cost effective temporary intelligent transport system (ITS) solution to suit the specific needs of your project.

You can rely on MVIS to provide an excellent service with high quality products and reliable turnaround times.

MVIS is also registered by the NQA against the provisions of standards BS EN ISO 14001:2015 in environmental management and BS EN ISO 9001:2015. So you can be sure that MVIS’ products and services meet industry requirements, and that they are committed to improving their sustainability through the increasingly efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.

As one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of variable message signs (VMS) and traffic management, event and safety solutions, MVIS delivers a quality service across any project. From our tried and tested Solar Intelligent Platform (IP) that can house a number of ITS products to our NTIS DATEX II Portable Travel Time VMS (TTVMS) solution (previously Datex JTS) which enables real-time journey information for roads from Highways England’s National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC) to be displayed to road users, you can trust MVIS to provide you with the best available ITS solution.

Here at MVIS, our dedicated team are committed to getting to know you and taking the time to understand your needs to help find the right traffic management solutions for your operation. We use our expertise to deliver efficient and reliable projects across the UK, from motorway projects to festivals, and airport signage to advertising; we can do it all. Through outstanding customer service and ongoing support, our customers are confident that MVIS can deliver.
We pride ourselves on offering high quality products that are easy to use and offer you access to the latest innovation and technology.

Our systems are designed for you, to suit your needs. Many of our MVIS products can be used individually, or can be integrated with your current systems to create a bespoke solution, tailored to your event.

But don’t just our word for it, take a look at what our customers have to say and see why they continue to work with MVIS:

“We would just like to say how much we appreciate the great service we receive from MVIS every year, both from Dom and Tillie in head office and also the thoroughly professional approach from Darren and Tim who installed the signs.” – intu Trafford Centre

“MVIS was able to quickly supply the large quantity of VMS required, and the signs were brand new and to EU standard. Indeed all the products were, in our opinion, the best on the market.” – Morgan Sindall

“Your service has been fantastic and I have never had any problems with the project. I would always recommend you as a company going forward.” – RTS Westfield

To find out more about how MVIS can offer an excellent service across your traffic management system get in touch with our team on 01629 580 570 or email sales@m-vis.co.uk

Be seen with MVIS

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On today’s busy roads, motorists are often asked to respond to changes in their regular routines.

Whether it’s road closures, traffic accidents or planned maintenance work, there may be a need to re-route road users, and should that happen, you need to be able to inform them of any changes quickly, safely and succinctly.

MVIS’ variable message signs (VMS) – which are used to display important messages to road users – are portable and mobile, which means that they can quickly be put into position with minimum disruption.

If it’s planned maintenance, this gives you additional time to advertise the upcoming changes and warn motorists to make alternative plans. You can schedule messages to appear at different times and dates using our innovative Web Studio™, and you don’t even have to be present to change your display – it can be done by any Wi-Fi enabled Apple device, meaning that if your message suddenly needs to change, it’s quick and easy for you to do so.

If it’s an unplanned incident, MVIS has the use of 20 depots around the UK which means that our distribution team will be able to deploy a VMS to you quickly. We also have a 24/7 support line so if you require any assistance, no matter what time of day or night it is, someone will be on-hand to help.

MVIS supplies two different sized VMS products – the smaller of the two, the VMS-A is suitable for inner city and urban roads with a speed limit of 50mph or under, and the larger VMS-C which is suitable for all roads, especially motorways and locations with a speed limit of 60mph or more. The equipment is completely weatherproof and vandal resistant, so you can be assured of a high-quality, great performing product whatever the weather and its non-glare LED screen means your message will be completely visible at any time of the day or night.

All you need to think about is what message to put on your VMS.

If you would like to find out more about our range of VMS, please email sales@m-vis.co.uk or call us on 01629 580570.

The MVIS Approach

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We’re firm believers that MVIS should be responsible and ethical in its approach to work, and this applies to all of our processes, products and staff.

This is evident in the work we do within and beyond our local community, and how we constantly try to better ourselves, whether this is regular training courses for the team, or working to achieve industry standard quality milestones such as the ISO certification. Take a look at the different ways in which we’re committed to CSR here:

Supporting people

We’re keen supporters of our community and its people and regularly welcome work experience students from the nearby Highfield School in Matlock to help to integrate them into a working environment. We also employ a number of apprentices who have excelled in their roles, learning quickly and applying that knowledge to their day-to-day working life.

Supporting the environment

EnvironmentOur customers are often surprised to know that our portfolio of traffic management products is extremely environmentally friendly. Our VMS units are solar powered so need no mains electricity, and as we have use of over 20 depots around the UK, they needn’t travel a huge distance to get to you – meaning fewer carbon emissions. Our products can also help to educate drivers about the dangers of air pollution and encourage them to become more aware of how they drive. Read more about that here >

Supporting charities

CharityWe’re always keen to help out wherever we can, and over the past 12 months have taken part in different charity initiatives. Early this year, we donated equipment to a charity march in support of our local hospital and alongside this, two of the MVIS team – Anne and Tom – completed 10 x 10km runs in 10 months in aid of Sands Charity, raising over £5000.

Supporting clubs

MickelThere are many sports fans within ‘Team MVIS’ and this is reflected in the support that we offer to local sports teams and persons from the local area. We recently announced that we would be continuing to sponsor our local football team, Matlock Town FC, and as well as seeing our name on the shirts, fans will also see vital match day information on the fixed VMS unit that we donated to the ground to help keep their crowds up-to-date with important safety information and upcoming match details. Our sister company Bartco UK is also a proud sponsor of local kickboxer and ICO Super Middleweight World Champion, Karl Johnston, as well as the multiple championship winning team Mickel Motorsport. Sponsoring teams and clubs like this allows us to show our support throughout the wider community and provides vital funds for them to continue competing to a high level.

If you would like to find out more about MVIS, please call us on 01629 580570.

Get Social with MVIS

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We’re always keen to hear from our customers and always look forward to what they have to say – which is why we’ve made it as easy as possible to get in touch.

As well as the 24/7 care line, MVIS customers can connect with us via email, or through social media, where we are active on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here, you can ask us any questions about our products, staff or policies, and can also discover important product information, details of our recent work and projects, and information about upcoming exhibitions and where you can find us as well as links to corporate news, job opportunities and staff profiles.

If you have a question about any of our products, then please feel free to get in touch on social media where we will be happy to answer your query.

Find us on Twitter: @MVISLtd
Find us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company-beta/2941962/
Emails us: sales@m-vis.co.uk
Call us: 01629 580570

Department for Transport announces 1.2bn funding

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It was announced recently that there will be over £1.2bn of funding for English local authority roads in 2017/18. Including individual councils’ share of the pothole fund, £185m of new funding was announced in the Autumn Statement and the Local Highways Maintenance Funding Needs Element to help improve the UK’s road network.

The £1.2bn for the 2017 to 2018 financial year for local highway authorities outside London, consists of:

  • £210m from the £1.3bn National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) announced in the Autumn Statement, with £185m to improve local highways and public transport networks and £25m to help tackle some of the most dangerous council A roads
  • £801m Local Highways Maintenance Funding Needs Element
  • £70m to be shared across local highway authorities from the Pothole Action Fund
  • £75m from the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund, with local highway authorities invited to compete for funding to help repair and maintain local highway infrastructure, such as bridges, lighting and rural roads
  • £75m from the Highways Maintenance Incentive Element, which invites councils to complete a self-assessment questionnaire “in order to reward those who demonstrate they truly understand the value of their asset”.

The Pothole Action Fund allocated totals £250 million which is estimated to be enough to repair on average over 4.7 million potholes, or stop them forming in the first place.

During this time, it is estimated that the ongoing road maintenance and improvements will cause lengthy queues and obstruction on the roads. MVIS offers a number of traffic management solutions which can be hired to allow your road work project to run smoothly, encourage safer and more environmentally friendly driving habits, and help prevent complaints from motorists by keeping them well informed of their approximate travel times.

No matter what or where your traffic management project is, MVIS provides innovative temporary Intelligent Transport System Solutions which can help your road work project run smoothly, on time and to a budget. This includes CCTV, HD Data Collection Radar, ANPR, VMS and Journey Time Solutions which are mounted on solar powered platforms and can be deployed as multiple units on a single platform or individually as required.

At MVIS we work closely with our customers and partners and we’re dedicated to producing the best product to match your needs. Our five colour matrix VMS displays are ideal for traffic management and accident information, and help keep motorists well informed.

Available for hire throughout the UK, MVIS ensures temporary VMS are quickly deployed to provide urgent traffic management solutions. If your road work project requires help to reduce traffic levels to increase motorist’s satisfaction levels and awareness, contact the MVIS team who will be happy to offer you full support and flexibility to help you inform road users.

If you would like to talk to us regarding hiring any of our traffic management solutions, please get in touch by calling 01629 580 570 or email us at sales@m-vis.co.uk.

 

 

New partnership with Highways England

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Mobile Visual Information Systems Ltd (MVIS) developed a temporary intelligent transport system (ITS) solution which receives DATEX II real time journey time data from Highways England’s National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC), collected from in-vehicle sensors.

The data is used to calculate journey times from the locations of MVIS’ 11 portable Bartco UK VMS-C variable message signs (VMS) along the MSM roadworks to the end of the affected stretch of motorway. The times are uploaded onto the desired portable VMS every five minutes.

Configurable safeguards ensure that journey times computed do not fall outside the range made feasible by current speed limits and that they do not conflict with messages on permanent VMS.  The automated VMS messages may be manually overridden in the event of a network incident.

Said MVIS’ technical manager, Matt Felce: 

“MVIS is an innovative firm, and so was pleased to have the opportunity to work in partnership with Highways England to develop the first solution enabling real-time journey time information from NTOC to be displayed on portable VMS.”

MVIS works in partnership with other leading providers to create bespoke temporary ITS solutions for traffic management organisations to help the road network to operate efficiently and safely.

Its solar powered solutions incorporate monitoring and visual information equipment:  VMS, ANPR and CCTV cameras, radar and Intellicone contactless sensor technology.  MVIS’ VMS signs are manufactured in the UK by Bartco UK.

MVIS’ products are available nationwide via a network of over 20 depots.

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