Meet Tom and find out more about Consultancy Services at #TeamYunexTraffic!
The traffic systems we design, build, install and maintain are constantly evolving. And, our Consultancy Services team work to solve complex challenges that result in a better transport network for tomorrow!
Meet Tom Hargreaves, Head of Consultancy Services in the UK, and see how his team are transforming traffic every single day.
Hi Tom! Thanks for speaking with us. We’d love to hear more about your role and what you do.
As the Head of Consultancy Services, I oversee a team of over 30 people who deliver a wide range of Traffic Engineering and ITS Consultancy projects throughout the UK and Internationally. You might wonder why we’re called ‘Consultants’ despite being an in-house team! We pride ourselves on being able to listen to our customers, understand their needs, develop a solution and ‘consult’ collaboratively to identify a suitable solution.
The team are located across the UK, delivering a wide variety of engineering activities such as traffic signal design, electrical design, the on-site testing and validation of our traffic solutions and much more. We also have a small team of colleagues who focus on feasibility and optioneering studies, asset management plans, funding applications, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and enforcement (and everything in between)! The team work hard to solve complex traffic engineering problems utilising our in-house systems to ensure the best possible results for our customers.
It’s safe to say: there’s always an ongoing exciting project, challenge or task within Consultancy Services!
How long have you been with #TeamYunexTraffic?
I joined at the start of 2017 so I’m coming up to 7 years with the company now! I’ve worked in the Traffic Engineering Consultancy industry for 23 years and I’ve always worked in the ITS world.
What excites you about your role?
As I say, I’ve been in the industry for 23 years and I can honestly say that each day is completely different. There’s so much variety with so many different aspects to the role. One day I could be testing a brand-new innovation that we’ve developed, and the next I can be on-site resolving complex challenges or collaborating on a big contract with the team.
Being able to talk to customers and hear firsthand about any issues or challenges, and assess how we can resolve them, is truly motivating. I also enjoy working with our entry level talent – training them and watching them grow into real assets for Yunex Traffic.
It really is the best role I’ve ever had!
Are there any challenges working in Consultancy Services?
There are always challenges but that’s part of the fun! There’s always a full to-do list – making sure we have enough resource and personnel to manage the workload.
The biggest challenge in Consultancy Services is always managing the workload. It’s fun to get stuck into but there’s a real gap of experienced people in our industry. Our team is always looking to grow!
If you could name just one project that you loved working on at Yunex Traffic so far – what would this be?
There are so many to choose from. In recent times, the Hampshire FUSION trial has been really interesting. It’s a brand-new flagship control strategy and the team has been able to really learn and understand the system, working out where we can improve it. It’s been a hugely rewarding project. As a team, we are involved in the full scope of these big projects, from inception to implementation and installation, which is always exciting. I could probably name 100 projects that I’ve loved being involved in if we had the time!
What does the future of traffic look like to you?
It’s a big question! I think the future of traffic is an exciting one. I’ve just mentioned FUSION, our adaptive traffic control solution, and it’s a great indicator of where traffic is heading. Involving the better use and collection of data to streamline and optimize traffic systems – looking at pedestrian management, active travel with bus priority, congestion control and using simulation models to predict the future. There’s so much to come and Yunex Traffic are a real pioneer in this field.
If you could say anything to a person considering an Engineering role at Yunex Traffic – what advice would you give?
You certainly won’t regret it. A lot of people don’t always understand what we do within Consultancy Services – but once you start you can quickly experience how rewarding it can be. It’s also great for career development as we follow every aspect of a project from feasibility, through design, testing, commissioning and network optimization – so you get to try everything!
Working through the full project life cycle is always great fun and I don’t think there’s a role like it in terms of the breadth of the experiences you get. Every day is different and it truly is an exciting team to be a part of. Come and join us!
Feeling inspired? Become a Traffic Transformer! We have many opportunities for you to join us at Yunex Traffic. Check them out today by visiting jobs.yunextraffic.com.
