Dave, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your time at Vision Techniques?
I am married and I have two daughters, I like travelling, eating out and having two dogs means plenty of walking. I have been at VT for around 18 years, I started as an engineer travelling to customers sites installing our safety products. I have held several positions over the years from senior engineer, technical manager, general manager and now owner and Managing Director.
You recently completed a management buyout of Vision Techniques, what spurred that big decision to take up the reigns?
I felt it was the right direction for the company and myself, I wanted to keep the company intact, protect jobs and secure the future of VT and its employees. We have a great team at VT who I have worked with for a number of years. Having started as an engineer and held many other roles within VT, this gave me the knowledge, experience, and confidence to buy VT along with Sarah Taylor (Finance Director). The great thing about VT is everyone wants to make a difference.
What is your single most proudest moment whilst working at Vision Techniques?
I think getting the Stop Safe system certified, it wasn’t easy and took around a year of meetings / testing with the VCA and DFT. It was a great relief when we received the certification.
Can you give the FACTS readers an insight to your typical day?
No two days are the same, overseeing VT is sometimes challenging, there is always something unexpected that happens which keeps it interesting. Luckily, we have a great team, and everybody gets involved.
I am involved in every aspect of the business, from looking after some key accounts, going to meetings with our sales team to looking at stock levels with our warehouse manager. My passion though is testing or designing new systems. It still excites me to come up with an idea, design it, test it, and then put it into production.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
I would say unexpected issues, there are a lot of challenges running a business, having a great team who will all chip in helps.
Why should fleet customers trust Vision Techniques with their fleet safety?
Being in business for over 35 years puts us in a great position and our experience speaks for itself, trusted by many of the largest fleet operators as the go to company for their vehicle safety systems. We have some unique products like Banksman Autobraking, BrakeSafe, IDent and StopSafe.
As with any business, we don’t always get things right, but we do everything possible to support our customers, we are not just a fit and forget company, we will always work with customers to maximise the operational benefits from having our systems installed and with inhouse technical support we are always available to help.
At VT we pride ourselves on our service and having started as an engineer, I know firsthand how difficult it can be for our customers when things do unexpectedly happen and thats why I monitor our service closely. Feedback from customers is key, it lets us know what we are doing right and wrong.
Dave, it’s two years’ now since you joined Vision Techniques, can you tell us some of the reasoning behind your decision to join this sector leading company?
Having worked in the industry for just over 30 years, I had used Vision Techniques a number of times over the years, and I’d used their cameras on one of the fleets I operated.
So, when I heard that they were looking to recruit a BDM in my area, I made contact. My interview was with the founder Michael Hanson, he explained to me how he’d grown the company with the help of a very close team, some of which had been with him from the very start in 1988. He described the company as being very much like a family, that have grown together to meet the safety needs of the industries that Vision Techniques works in. This closeness within the company sold me the role even more.
Can you give FACTS readers an insight into the Vision Techniques ethos and more about what the company stands for:
VT offers our customers a complete solution for making their vehicles safer for their operatives. Everything that we supply links through our own web based solution VT Connect. From cameras, to security devices, to anti rollway, to solar, to telematics, it all links through the same portal and is very easy to operate and navigate. So much so, that you can download footage from the cameras in just three clicks. Not only do we have our own standard products, we also work on finding solutions to customers problems as well. For example, one customer had an issue with operates leaving the cab whilst the vehicle was still in motion. We designed a system to notify the management when this happened, so that they could speak with the individuals concerned, educate them, and the problem eventually went away.
Typically, what does a day look like for you and the team at Vision Techniques?
We now have a team of seven sales executives, covering all of the UK making sure that our existing customer’s needs are being met, whilst also generating new business at the same time. The sales team will also carry out training on our systems for new customers in person or via Teams, it really depends on what works for the customer best.
Tell FACTS readers a little bit about the consultative approach Vision Techniques take when assessing a fleet’s safety requirements:
Our sales team will sit down with a customer to find out what issues they have with their fleet, and we’ll then come up with solutions for that customer, to make their fleet safer. Lots of our customers, aren’t aware of rollaways until the unthinkable happens. Our patented solution stops a rollaway from ever happening again. This solution was designed in house, off the back of a customer having a rollaway incident. They came to us for the solution, and we designed it and installed it. We now fit thousands of these BrakeSafe systems every year.
DVS rules are changing, can Vision Techniques help and how?
Absolutely. We offer an independently certified solution, ensuring that customers vehicles are compliant until 2030 with the TFL. Our installed DVS Kit comes certified by us, giving the customer peace of mind that they will be compliant with the new TFL Standard, which they can also submit with their application to the TFL.
Why should fleet operators choose Vision Techniques for their safety equipment?
We’ve been the go to company since 1988 and have always been one of the market leaders when it comes to developing new technology. We have manufactured and patented lots of products over the years. We endeavour to make our customers vehicles safer for the operatives working on them and make it a safer environment for the public and other road users.
Do Vision Techniques design their own safety equipment?
Yes, we design our own safety equipment and a large portion of it, we manufacture right here in the UK.
How can the FACTS readers get in touch with you to begin their fleet safety consultation?
FACTS readers can get in touch with us many ways, via our phone number, any of our social media channels or on our website they can complete the contact form and one of dedicated sales representatives will be in touch. We have a full list of our products on our website so they can see we have to offer. We can then arrange a more personal meeting on site to see what is required and what we solution we can offer.
Contact us on 01254 679717
Email: info@vision-techniques.com
Website: www.vision-techniques.com
