News

Round Up of the Year 2019

IT’S BEEN ANOTHER BIG YEAR…

As we embark on another year, MVIS and Bartco UK have been reflecting on the highlights of 2019 in what has once again been a busy and productive year, with major developments in our operations, products, service, vehicles and staff, along with advancements in health and safety, including mental health.

Last summer, we launched not only two new intelligent transport system (ITS) solutions, but also an entirely new ITS category, designed to enable traffic management companies to better protect the safety of road users and construction workers alike.

The Works Egress Safety Solution is the first temporary ITS solution to combine modular electronic perimeters and variable message signs (VMS) to promote the safety of construction personnel and road users around the exit points of roadside work zones, via dynamic text.

The Overhead Service Unit protects construction workers by warning them of overhead structures – including those where work is underway – and is the first to feature in-built radar as opposed to separate sensors, which can accidentally reposition after installation.

Both solutions are already currently in use on a major UK smart motorway scheme and are performing exceptionally well.

Strategically located to serve the North of England and Scotland, our new Newcastle depot increased our storage capacity and stock level, enabling us to respond with increased agility to customer demand, whether it is for deployment, servicing or repair of ITS solutions.

Already ISO registered in quality and environmental management, in 2019 we also added health and safety to that list. What’s more is that we also achieved another accreditation to our name, with Achilles Building Confidence. The construction industry accreditation and risk-management scheme helps companies like MVIS to streamline the procurement process, enabling them to cost-effectively manage risk on behalf of their customers.

Health and safety lies at the heart of MVIS, and 2019 has been a year of great progress in this area. Training, workshops and briefings have enabled us to remain a “zero incident” company, in line with Highways Englands’ Aim for Zero road worker safety campaign. In order to continually improve our safety protocols and practices, our general manager, Anne Ashman, embarked in September on a course with the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health.

Our new ‘Safe Mind, Work Safe, Work Well’ strategy saw us further extend our health and safety policy to embrace mental health, amongst other things to help address the high male suicide rate in the construction sector. MVIS has two mental health first aiders and encourages staff to approach them if they are experiencing a poor state of mind. In keeping with our commitment to mental health, on World Mental Health Day, the team donated money and wore hi-vis clothing in support of the Young Minds charity.

Towards the end of the year, we made a big structural change to the MVIS and Bartco UK marketing operations that brought on a new marketing manager, Sean Brown to the team. Bringing with him 6 years of digital marketing infrastructure experience, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s move away from marketing agency management. MVIS have also restructured internally with the promotion of Tillie Wolliscroft from Operations / Customer Service Assistant to Marketing Assistant. Charged with building the company’s internal marketing infrastructure, this new department represents a major change for both MVIS and Bartco UK, allowing us to be more responsive and experimental in our approach to marketing and ultimately, the image we put out to our customers and partners.

Along with the changes to the marketing department, MVIS and Bartco UK have also seen other changes in staff, representing growth as the group expands and requires additional team members to keep up with demand.

Being welcomed to Bartco UK earlier in the year was Pip Wood as Purchasing Apprentice, working under the guidance of newly promoted Rebecca Prince, who has been promoted to the role of Purchasing & Stock Control Supervisor this year.

A little later in the year saw the appointment of Jacob Spencer to the Bartco UK workshop team as a 1st year technical apprentice. Closely following Jacob came Liam Griffiths as Workshop Technician. Both are working under the guidance of Tim Hill, who has also been promoted within Bartco UK to Workshop supervisor. Also working hard in the workshop at Bartco UK has been George Sheldon and Cain Gregory, both advancing their work related qualifications and development. Cain reached notable milestones in his apprenticeship as well as achieving his forklift operators licence whilst George finished his apprenticeship this year.  

Finally, Bartco UK saw the side step of Tom Hooton from Workshop Supervisor to Technical Development Supervisor, working alongside Research & Development Manager Matt Felce, assisting him in the development of new products that are in high demand from customers as well as keeping Bartco UK’s product offering innovative and cutting edge to new or prospective customers.

MVIS have also seen a number of new staff members join their team, including Mizzy Watson, to resume Tillie’s role in Operations and Customer Service. Mizzy joins us with a strong background in customer service having previously run the national repairs desk for a major automotive glazing company. 

Such changes to the group’s team have come with enormous benefits that enrich and develop our growing companies, bringing with them skills, experience and perspective from other industries, shaking up the internal dynamics ready for the next stage in the group’s development.

Heading into the new year, both MVIS and Bartco UK have big announcements to make that will truly demonstrate our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, in terms of the environment, the community, our staff and the industries we operate in.

So, like we said, it’s been another big year, and we’re already looking forward to the next one, as we strive to further improve our customer offerings and protect the physical and mental well-being of the hard-working people in this exciting industry. We also have a number of new products in development ready for this year, moving us forward technologically and keeping us innovative. If you would like to find out more, please call us on 01629 580 570.