Category Archives: News

Incremental Solutions Achieves ISO 27001 Certification for the Second Year Running: Raising the Bar for Data Security

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At Incremental Solutions, we’re excited to announce a major achievement that reinforces our commitment to excellence—the successful renewal of our ISO 27001 certification! This certification process, which involved a rigorous audit of our practices and policies across our York site, confirms our high standards in data security.

What Does This Certification Mean?

Our renewed certification reflects our dedication to safeguarding data in everything we do. Here’s a quick look at what the certification entails:

  • ISO 27001 – This international standard outlines the requirements for an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It ensures that we’ve implemented comprehensive security controls to protect our clients’ data and uphold confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Why Is This Certification Important?

Our ISO certification demonstrate that Incremental Solutions is fully committed to:

  • Data Security: Implementing industry-leading practices to protect sensitive information.
  • Customer Satisfaction: Exceeding customer expectations and fostering trust.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Aligning with key regulatory frameworks like GDPR, which ensures we are always prepared to protect client interests.

Behind the Achievement: Our Team and Our Clients

This accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without our dedicated team. Their hard work and commitment were instrumental in our success. A heartfelt thank you also goes out to our clients, whose trust inspires us to continually raise our standards.

Looking Ahead

As we move forward, Incremental Solutions remains committed to maintaining these high standards. We’ll continue to invest in our systems, processes, and people to ensure ongoing reliability, compliance, and excellence in every service we provide.

Thank you for being part of our journey toward greater innovation and quality in the rail industry.

For more information on our commitment to quality and security, or to discuss how we can support your organisation, feel free to get in touch with us.

Hitting new heights in Information Security Management

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Incremental achieves ISO 27001:2017 – Information Security Management.

We’re very pleased to announce we’ve been accredited with ISO 27001:2017 – Information Security Management. 

 

This globally recognised certification acknowledges a framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving information security management systems. Having a robust security management systems not only helps us to reduce cyber security risks and comply with legislation such as GDPR – but also ensures we  maintain a strong position within the supply-chain, which contains many extremely large organisations. 

As the collection, and subsequent analysis, of data is at the heart of what Incremental do – it’s imperative for us to put in place the best-in-class practices we can to ensure we protect our, and our clients’ and partners’, interests. 

 

“This is an amazing achievement from the Incremental team and I’m incredibly proud that we have been awarded this certification. As well as putting an extremely robust and recognised process in place to protect ourselves and our clients, it is also representative of our ambitions and growth trajectory - underlining our desire and commitment to be a trusted partner to our clients. I’d like to personally like to give by thanks and appreciation to the Incremental team who have put so much time and effort to make this happen – without losing focus on their busy day jobs too.”
Daniel Lee-Bursnall
CEO

Innovation & collaboration: Working at rail tech company Incremental

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Innovation & collaboration: Working at Incremental.

Over the last few years, we’ve experienced an exciting period of growth at Incremental, with both our team and suite of solutions expanding. Founded back in 2014, our ultimate goal has been to create a better railway that works for everyone: passengers, customers and operators.

In pursuit of this goal, we have developed pioneering, data-driven technology in the transport sector to tackle key challenges that the rail industry faces. From safety to maintenance, a complex industry like rail must confront a whole number of challenges.

Our suite of solutions includes remote condition monitoring solutions, incident management solutions, mobile apps, and more.

Our working environment

As a growing business, we focus on our people and work to foster a positive, supportive work environment. For us, this means several things, from cultivating core values like innovation and collaboration, to creating a great office set-up.

Since moving into our new office in Skeldergate, close to the centre of York, we’ve worked hard to make it our own. Earlier this year, we gave the inside and outside of our office a makeover to make it more welcoming and on-brand, which you can see over on our LinkedIn.

We’ve also created new break-out areas in the office, such as our sofa area, which gives the team a comfy place for a catch-up or to hold a brainstorming session.


The working environment at Incremental is great. The office is well-decorated and an ideal size to encourage conversations across multiple teams. Events such as Wednesday Team Lunches further encourage these conversations, and have created a very harmonious, collaborative atmosphere across the company.
Luke Powley
Business Development Manager

One benefit of heading into the office each week is the chance to catch up in person and over the last few months, we’ve started up Team Lunch Wednesdays with the simple aim of getting together away from the desk and computer screen and chatting over lunch. Given we’re based in York, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to restaurants, cafes, and market stalls. (Head to our Twitter for lunch updates!) Another perk of heading into the office is being able to sample the delicious baking creations that our Software Apprentice Jason brings in to share each week.

We’re excited by this dynamic office environment and also take a flexible approach. We offer remote working opportunities, promoting better work-life balance and helping our team balance work with other priorities.

Innovation & collaboration

Innovation and collaboration lie at the core of Incremental’s vision. We aim to foster these within our teams and beyond.

Innovation and collaboration are crucial values for us, guiding principles that dictate where we lend priority daily. It’s about how we cultivate relationships with our customers and across the supply chain. You can’t innovate effectively in a vacuum – collaboration is key to innovation. It all starts with open and constructive dialogue. – Johanna Whitely, Product Manager

I appreciate the flexibility - the space I am given to do my job remotely, at times that work for me. With two young daughters, this is crucial. However, I love going into the office when I can, and joining the team lunches. Incremental place importance on just being together. Being a relatively small team, we all need each other, so we need to understand what makes each other tick. At Incremental we always try to allow time for that, despite everyone being very busy.
Johanna Whiteley
Product Manager

Senior Developer Sergei echoed a similar notion when discussing innovation and collaboration:

Innovations allow us to deliver the best possible products to our customers, and it’s one of the main goals of the company. But innovations can’t be applied without a team that works as a whole. So the culture of collaboration helps us to meet challenges and do our best as a team.

We’ve collaborated with a number of fantastic innovators, including Thales, Summit Infrastructure, Sensonic, Konux, Nomad Digital and One Big Circle.

You can find out more about our exciting collaboration with Thales here, our partnership has seen innovative, award-winning product development, ISO accreditation and other fantastic opportunities.

A collaborative approach also gives us the chance to connect with other companies, which wouldn’t necessarily happen if we didn’t have that mindset. – Abigail Leathley, Finance Apprentice

Next generation of talent

We’re also keen to cultivate the next generation of talent. That’s why we offer opportunities for work experience students, apprentices and placement students.

We’re always on the lookout for exciting talent to join the team. If you have a passion for technology, are curious about how it can shape tomorrow’s transport network and want to make a real difference in people’s lives, then please head over to our careers page.

From an apprentice perspective, I appreciate the fact that I have everyone’s support when it comes to my finance studies, and they’re all willing to help where they can, no matter what department they work in.
Abigail Leathley
Finance Apprentice

Hear more from our team on why they love working at Incremental

We spoke to Johanna Whiteley, Product Manager, who has been part of the team for over one year. When asked what she enjoys most about working at Incremental, Jo responded:

“The space I am given to problem solve independently ,safe in the knowledge that support from colleagues is always available when I need it. Being able to deliver value for our customers quickly without the need for excess process – getting the job done. I love that. Regarding process though, I relish the chances I get to help build our processes, to learn lessons and implement change to ensure we work more efficiently. Being part of an SME means working smart and being agile, but also recognising the need to shore up our business processes so things work more smoothly as we grow.”

Our finance apprentice Abigail Leathley joined the team in 2022 and she “really likes the fact that we are a small but growing company and we all have great working relationships with one another.”

According to our Business Development Manager, Luke Powley, the best part of Incremental is “the close-knit nature of the company”. He said, “It’s great being able to have conversations and a laugh with anyone in the business.”

After joining Incremental over 1.5 years ago, Senior Software Developer Sergei Novodvorsky found it hard to decide on one favourite aspect of Incremental:

“There are a lot of different things I really enjoy about working at Incremental. But my favourite element is the team. Everyone is super-friendly. And answers to all the questions are found just in seconds.”
Sergei Novodorsky
Senior Software Developer

We hope you enjoyed this insight into working at Incremental. If you would be interested in learning more about how you could join our team, visit our careers page here or get in touch via contact@incrementalsolutions.co.uk.

Incremental make a strong start to 2023 with new appointments

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Incremental make strong start to 2023 with new appointments.

Incremental, the York-based smart transport technology provider, has announced two new appointments in the roles of Business Development Director and Finance Director.

Both recruits come with great experience within the rail technology industry and are the result of the continued commercial and organisational growth of Incremental.

Alex Robertson (left) takes the newly created role of Business Development Director, reporting to CEO Daniel Lee-Bursnall. Joining from Tracsis, Alex brings 16 year’s experience in the UK Rail supply chain. He has worked closely with TOCs, FOCs and Network Rail in the UK, as well as bidding and supplying to customers in the US, New Zealand, Australia and Scandinavia, and is tasked with expanding Incremental’s offering and customer base in the UK and abroad.

David Thornton takes the permanent role of Finance Director – again, reporting to Incremental’s CEO. After previously holding several senior roles at Tracsis, including Finance Director and Managing Director of their Operations and Planning division, David also brings experience from the manufacturing, distribution and energy sectors – having worked with companies such as DHL, Premier Farnell and Cargill.

Of the appointments, CEO and Founding Partner – Incremental, Daniel Lee-Bursnall said;
“We’re so pleased to welcome these new members of the Incremental team. They come with fantastic experience and share our vision for what we can achieve in this industry. As Incremental continue to grow, it’s important that I have a great team to take on more responsibilities, and Alex and David certainly fit that bill.”

Alex Robertson, Business Development Director added;
“It’s an exciting time at Incremental and I can’t wait to get started. They are a company I‘ve previously admired, and am excited to be joining an established team of passionate and extremely knowledgeable people, with an excellent offering to help  improve the railway. I’m looking forward to what we can achieve and how we can expand the business together.”

David Thornton, Finance Director concluded;
“Incremental’s reputation in the market and Dan’s vision for the future were quite compelling to me and I’m pleased to be joining this business. There’s lots of challenges in the rail industry, however Incremental have so many tools in place to help improve it in many areas.”

Both Alex and David will be part of Incremental’s senior management team. The company is expected to announce further good news with more hires and business wins over the coming weeks.

In 2022, the company received an industry first (and world-second) ISO 44003 Institute of Collaborative Working accreditation with global PLC, Thales, and in 2019 were awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise; Innovation.

A look back on 2022

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A look back at 2022

“So much can happen in a year”, as the saying goes, and this certainly rings true for us at Incremental.

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

Institute of Collaborative WorkingHere 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. 

 

Thales-Incremental Collaboration Charter

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Incremental-Thales Collaboration Charter

At  this week, we have taken the exciting step of solidifying our collaborative values and relationship with Thales Transport in a new ‘Thales – Incremental Collaboration Charter’, signed by Andrew Bell, VP Thales GTS UK and Daniel Lee-Bursnall, our CEO and Founding Partner.

Innotrans Thales CollaborationOutlining our key collaborative behaviours and values, this charter documents how we work in partnership to help our rail customers gain the maximum from their data to deliver high performing, customer-focused rail services.

From experience, we know that collaboration cultivates innovation in the rail industry. Across the industry we share a common goal, to ensure the railways are safe, high performing and future-proof. Working collaboratively to solve complex challenges strengthens our ability to deliver pioneering solutions that might otherwise be too challenging to develop independently. Joining forces with fellow innovators, like Thales, enables SMEs to gain a deeper understanding of how technology and specialisms can combine to shape an integrated transport network.

Past joint ventures with Thales include the development of the Automated Rail Geospatial Observation System (ARGOS) and research and development for Fibre Optic Acoustic Sensing (FOAS). Our successful partnership has earned us an industry-first collaborative working accreditation for our efforts, and our meeting today formalises our joint collaboration charter.

Pictured here are the teams with Andrew Bell and Daniel Lee-Bursnall finalising the charter, as we join Innovate UK and Innovate UK KTN at their InnoTrans stand, at 230H in Hall 2.2.

Daniel Lee-Bursnall, CEO & Founder, commented:
“As an SME, we’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work in partnership with the Thales team. They saw the potential in us from day one and recognised we would be a valuable collaborator.
 
“Having envisioned and delivered a number of projects together, as well as achieving the ISO 44003 accreditation earlier this year, signing this collaboration charter is another fantastic step to reinforce our collaborative relationship.”

Events roundup.

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Events roundup.

It’s been a busy June for Incremental with many industry events happening in the month.

TRACCS RAIL DAY, Canada

First up was TRACCS Rail Day – Canada’s first outdoor transit and rail exhibition. Held in Toronto, it was a two-day event and the lucky attendee from Incremental was Head of Development, Ed Patmore, who travelled to support the Summit Infrastructure team who were talking to visitors about Incremental’s OLErt system,  amongst other technology solutions.

Summit Infrastructure are using OLErt on the Canadian rail network so it was a great opportunity for Ed to give high unrivalled technical support and meet people from within the Canadian rail industry.

After a busy two days on his feet, Ed took the well-deserved opportunity to discover a bit more of Canada – exploring Toronto and making a trip to the Niagra Falls.

UNLOCKING INNOVATION, Dagenham

At a similar time our Marketing Manager, Andrew Stark, travelled to the UCL PEARL building in Dagenham to RIA’s ‘Unlocking Innovation For Passenger Railways’ event.

Over 100 representatives from 70 different organisations were present to talk about and learn more about innovations which create positive experiences for passengers.

RAIL LIVE, Warwickshire

On 22nd and 23rd June Kate Naylor (Head of Business Delivery) visited Rail Live in Long Marsdon. This large, and mainly outdoor, event was blessed by scorching sun. Despite certain transport challenges, it was attended well by industry, suppliers, innovators and visitors. Here’s Kate (far left) saying hello to the Konux team.

FUTURE OF UK RAIL FORUM, York

Rounding off this update is Dan Lee-Bursnall (CEO and Co-founder) who was at the ‘Future of UK Rail Forum: Autonomous Technologies’ event held at the National Railway Museum in York.

It was a fascinating showcase of innovation – and a great chance to come together with industry peers and collaborators, with a backdrop of Stephenson’s Rocket – highlighting the rich history of innovation in UK rail. 

The pinnacle of the evening was discussing how we can further accelerate innovation in the industry under GBR with the keynote speakers Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman at Network Rail and Miles Elsden PhD MBA, Director at Institute for Safe Autonomy at University of York

Dan takes on the Three Peaks challenge in aid of Railway Children.

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Dan takes on Three Peaks challenge in aid of Railway Children

Railway Children Three Peaks

Incremental’s co-founder and CEO, Daniel Lee-Bursnall is undertaking his first ever charity challenge this June by completing the Three Peaks Challenge and travelling between Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis by rail.
The team (including members from Thales) are aiming to complete the event before 12.30 on Saturday having started on Thursday.

All money raised will be in aid of the Railway Children charity who aim to tackle the issue of children alone and at risk on the streets.

www.railwaychildren.org.uk

Sponsor Dan here.

Incremental talking ‘the power of data’ at Railtex 2022.

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Incremental talking 'the power of data' at Railtex 2022

Incremental’s Chief Technology Officer Jamie Brown was part of ‘The power of data in the future of rail’ panel discussion and Q&A at industry event Railtex which was held at London’s Olympia today.

Data insights, digitisation and innovation are at the core of our work at Incremental, so this was a great opportunity for us to share the insights Jamie and the team have gained throughout the years working within the rail technology space.

Jamie was joined by other brilliant speakers from organisations such as Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Thales, Laing O’Rourke and RIA (Railway Industry Association).

Incremental Teams up with Thales to Receive UK Second Accreditation

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York’s Incremental Teams up with Thales to Receive UK Second Accreditation

Thanks to a history of demonstrating a successful partnership through various ground-breaking projects to transform the performance of the rail industry, York-based tech pioneer Incremental and global leader in advanced technologies, Thales, are the second UK recipients of the Institute of Collaborative Working’s ISO 44003 Standard accreditation.

Awarded previously to only one other partnership across the globe, ISO 44003 is a European Standard that involves a structured approach to sharing resources, experience and skills. Awarded to both companies involved, the standard’s process is supported by a method of creating and delivering joint solutions to benefit an industry and is the first to be awarded in the rail industry. This is an evolvement of ISO 44001’s certification that demonstrates that the businesses’ relationships and processes are in synergy, and as a result, are truly collaborative.

Following a relationship built over several years, including the creation and delivery of innovative, digital solutions such as FOAS (Fibre Optic Acoustic Sensing), Incremental and Thales can now showcase how they successfully collaborate to bring projects that create a better railway to fruition.

When the Institute of Collaborative Working announced the launch of IS0 44003 last September, David Taylor, Thales’ Mainline Rail Account Director, immediately responded to the appeal to run the pilot scheme with York’s Incremental. The two companies had already worked together on several projects, launching innovative data-driven location tracking software for the rail industry.

Incremental’s Co-founder and CEO, Dan Lee-Bursnall, was keen to work together on the scheme, designed to benefit Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through collaborative working, and would see Thales and Incremental as the first to achieve the standard in the UK.

David Taylor, Account Director, Mainline Rail for Thales, comments:
“We realised early in our working relationship with Incremental, that there is real synergy between our two companies, regardless of the fact that Thales is a major global brand, and Incremental is a small enterprise. The whole ethos the Incremental team has is very akin to our own. We like to get things done, efficiently and effectively, and we’ve established a high level of trust between our teams who are comfortable enough to challenge each other and introduce new ways of working to deliver better, more cost-effective solutions to our rail customers.

“When I realised that there would be an opportunity to demonstrate collaborative working through the new IS44003 Standard, I instantly thought of Incremental. Our visions are aligned, and Incremental works in a very agile way, exactly how our Research and Development projects are managed. We enjoy working with the team, who are passionate and proactive, and this was the perfect opportunity to better both our organisations and create a blue print for not only the rail industry, but for how global organisations work with MSMEs across any sector.”

Dan Lee-Bursnall, Founder and CEO of Incremental, comments:
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to be given the opportunity to work alongside the Thales team. They saw the potential in us from day one, and recognised we would be a worthy partner to create and deliver a number of projects, as well as the ISO 44003 scheme.

“We have both achieved successes in our fields and it feels like a natural partnership, with open and honest communication at its heart. The challenges SMEs face in the rail industry are widely known, a key one is being able to find the right people to speak to and get decisions made. Through our collaboration we have seen a real shift in the speed we can deliver projects thanks to the relationship we have with the Thales team.

“We have a joint respect for each other on both a personal and professional level, that through the accreditation of the ISO 44003 Standard, has developed into a mentoring role between us. We work so well together that we’re putting forward a joint team to carry out the 3 Peaks Challenge later this year!”

Following a certificate presentation at Incremental’s York office, John, Osborne, Associate Director of the Institute for Collaborative Working, comments:
“The partnership between Incremental and Thales is a true reflection of collaboration at its best. The way the two companies work together to bring out the best in each other is something the Institute is delighted to endorse through its validation scheme based on the principles contained within the  ISO 44003 Standard. As one of the first companies in the UK to receive the certificate, this demonstrates the commitment Thales and Incremental have shown to support the journey and progression of an SME, as well as Thales using the opportunity to reflect on the way it works and improve its own practices in the process. We’re thrilled to award the teams the certificate and look forward to seeing how they take this even further forward in the future.”

James Brewer, Head of Rail Supply Chains at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, says:
‘I’m delighted that Incremental and Thales are the first rail recipients of the ISO 44003 Standard. The accreditation supports our strategy to encourage SMEs to seek access to supply chains within industries such as rail, which can prove challenging for new entrants. The Rail Sector Deal between government and industry highlights the importance of greater collaboration across the supply chain, so it’s very important that we have this tangible example of an award winning UK SME partnering with an established global company of Thales’ calibre to show how it should be done; one for others to follow, as we strive towards providing better railways for the country’s rail customers.”

Charles Storr, Economy and Enterprise Manager for City of York Council, says:
“As one of the first companies in the UK to receive this accreditation, Incremental and Thales are putting York on the map as an example of collaborative working that can truly benefit small businesses operating in a huge sector, such as rail. With our commitment as a city to be the home of Great British Railways, this is testament to our ability to lead the way within the industry and we’re very proud that it’s happening right here in York.”

Joint projects includes the Automated Rail Geospatial Observation System, and the Fibre Optic Acoustic Sensing (FOAS) research and development, focused on use cases which include using the capability of Fibre Optic Telecoms infrastructure to cost effectively provide accurate train movement and position reporting, rail wheel and defects identification and trespass or trackside presence detection. Capabilities that will ultimately improve the reliability of both passenger and freight rail services delivery.

Further information

The principle aim of the scheme is to enhance the narrative between selected MSMEs and their customers, to improve collaborative working by increasing the level of understanding, addressing barriers, and exploring opportunities this creates. This activity is intended to be undertaken by those within the customer base that already have an ongoing dialogue with their MSME communities and will demonstrate that they harness collaborative working.

The benefits are felt by both sides throughout the process of achieving the standard, while Thales offers the wisdom of experience and guidance through the levels needed to achieve it, also has the chance to look at its own ways of working and assess any improvements that can be made.

The accreditation’s ‘badge of honour’ demonstrates to future potential customers that the teams are truly collaborative and ensure this is at the core of everything they do.

Thales and Incremental are collaborating in several areas, on a number of joint rail related research and development initiatives, some led by Thales and others led by Incremental.

Moving Forwards

With the ISO accreditation achieved, the relationship will develop even further and both teams are thrilled to gain the certification. The benefits it will bring to both organisations include access to wider markets, a more formal collaborative relationship, generating good ideas between the two and the enhanced reputation of both companies.

The two companies share the aim to create and deliver the best innovative solutions to the rail industry, improving safety, punctuality and reliability by bringing them together to showcase how a collaborative working relationship can be a great success.