In-between new product development, we’ve attended numerous events, scooped awards, achieved accreditations, built meaningful connections, and so much more. With so much to look back on, we’ve decided to take a moment to reflect on all that’s been achieved, and what we’re looking forward to in 2023.

Events in 2022

Our calendars have been well and truly packed with events this year. In June we attended TRACCS Rail Day – Canada’s first outdoor transit and rail exhibition to support the Summit Infrastructure team, who were talking to visitors about Incremental’s OLErt system, amongst other technology solutions.

June also saw our co-founder, Daniel Lee-Bursnall, complete the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of railway children, alongside team members from Thales. Overall, the three teams managed to raise an amazing £16,000 for Railway Children.

In July we were invited to exhibit at Northern’s Digital Innovation Showcase event where our team were on hand to demo OLErt – our pioneering remote condition monitoring solution for overhead line equipment. 

In September some of our team hopped on a plane to Berlin to attend and exhibit at InnoTrans 2022 with Innovate UK KTN. We had a great time meeting our customers, collaborating and building new contacts from across the globe. It was an excellent event which allowed us to uncover exciting opportunities, new ideas and also meet representatives from Department for International Trade (DIT).

In November we presented at York Digital Focus – a fantastic event that showcased the wealth of tech and innovation York has to offer. Our product manager, Johanna Whiteley, discussed all things rail innovation, growth as well as the current opportunities at Incremental.

Most recently, we presented at the RIA North conference, which saw us team up with Thales Ground Transportation Systems to share our insights into collaboration. Andrew Stark joined forces with Tim McBennett from Thales to discuss the benefits of collaboration for both SMEs and large organisations in the rail industry. They shared more about the pioneering projects our teams have been working on, as well as the successes we’ve had along the way.

Collaboration

Here are Incremental, we always emphasise the importance of collaboration and the benefits it can bring about for companies, large and small. We were delighted to receive The Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW)‘s ISO 44003 Standard accreditation this year, alongside Thales, demonstrating just how collaborative our partnership really is. Thales and Incremental have worked closely together over the past few years to deliver ground-breaking projects for a better railway.

We then documented our collaborative working relationship by developing a ‘Thales – Incremental Collaboration Charter’. The charter outlines our key collaborative behaviours and values, as well as how we collaborate to help our rail customers get the most out of their data.

In August we were thrilled to be informed that the Automated Rail Geospatial Observation System (ARGOS) project we have been developing with Thales picked up a Digital Leaders Award, further cementing our fruitful relationship with them. The project is focused on rail derailment and aims to improve the performance of branch lines, returning tracks to a normal line speed quicker, and increasing the number of on-time departures and arrivals.

We also welcomed Rob McIntosh, Route Managing Director from Network Rail, into the Incremental office. It was great to be able to discuss everything rail, and how SMEs like us play a crucial role in bringing innovation to the rail industry.

Other collaborations we’re proud of this year include our partnership with Summit Infrastructure in Canada. The project has seen us work closely with Summit to trial OLErt as part of OCS monitoring – the latest in video-based analysis – across Canada. We’re delighted to be able to contribute to the improvement of networks beyond the UK rail industry.

Growing team and life at Incremental

Along with external success, the team has seen a wealth of personal triumphs. We’ve shone a spotlight on one of our team members. Abigail Leathley, our finance apprentice. She has been passing her finance exams with flying colours, achieving 87% on ‘Bookkeeping Transactions’ and 77% on the accounting exam ‘Bookkeeping Controls’. Each of Abigail’s exams contributes to her Level 2 AAT qualification with York College, York UK which, once completed, will allow her to apply for her Level 3. It’s fantastic to see our team produce such excellent results.

Accreditation-wise, we’ve managed to build on our previous Cyber Essentials accreditation and were awarded with Cyber Essentials Plus. As a company whose products are centred around technology, innovation and digitalisation, cyber security is of the utmost importance to us, so we were thrilled to add another security accolade to our list.

We do love a good lunch here at Incremental. But, more importantly, we value being able to get the team together and away from their desks at least once a week.  That’s why, over the last few months, we’ve started up Team Lunch Wednesday. Our office is located in Skeldergate, York – just a stone’s throw away from The centre of York, with great places to eat such as Shambles Market. Every Wednesday, we try to get as many of the Incremental team together for lunch. We try to head out if the weather is nice, or we use our purpose-made break-out area. (i.e., the comfy seats) in our office. Did we mention that we’ve moved?

Following on from a fantastic 2022, we’re really excited about what’s in store for next year. We have several new exciting projects underway and will keep you updated when we can. 

Finally, we would like to thank every employee, every client and every rail business we’ve worked with in 2022. We would not be able to deliver all of the above without you all. Here’s to an even better 2023!

If you would like to hear about Incremental team and how they can have a positive impact on your business in 2023, get in touch today.