August marks 10 years since OnTrac first opened its doors and began supporting the UK rail industry, as it moved towards digitising its existing paper-based processes and began its journey towards the Digital Railway.

To celebrate this remarkable milestone – and as part of OnTrac’s ongoing 10th anniversary celebrations – PR & Communications Manager, Vicki, will be sitting down and chatting to a selection of OnTrac team members chat about their role at the company, and why OnTrac is such a wonderful place to work.

Kindly offering his services as the inaugural OnTrac interviewee, is the lovely David Smith.

OnTrac Interviews… David Smith

David is our fearless Senior Project Manager and one of the most hard working and dedicated members of the OnTrac team. He is incredibly supportive of everyone he works with, and the wider business, playing a crucial role in every department in the company; from keeping our software development team from running riot (they are the Lost Boys of the OnTrac team, clearly! “Does this make you Peter Pan or Wendy, David?” asks Vicki.), to managing the company’s project delivery team, David’s expertise, deep knowledge and understanding of the product suite and genuine willingness to support his team members, makes him an incredible employee, co-worker and friend to so many of us throughout the OnTrac team.

David has been a core member of the team for four years, and when asked what has kept him here for so long, he replied:

“It’s an incredible working environment, where I get to work with a diverse and talented team every day. We’re all passionate about our team, customers and products and it’s a pleasure to deliver a real, positive difference to the rail industry.”

David’s role has also seen him expanding the OnTrac team, by conducting interviews and integrating new staff across almost all departments. His recent acquisitions include adding another body to our ever-expanding apprenticeship team – the most recent of which, Reece Wakefield, has given up his summer to come and work with us – and our software development team, recently hiring Jack Johnson and our new DevOps Manager, and Filip Kulig, a backend software developer, who joined the gang on Wednesday.

“It’s a joy to be part of a team that’s delivering transformative technology to an industry critical to our economy and way of life. Our continued success is a testament to the core values that Martyn first outlined 10 years ago, being embedded within our DNA.”

He continues.

“There’s a huge amount of satisfaction knowing that over 350 organisations and more than 10,000 individual users obtain real value from the work that we do, with both Network Rail and millions of commuters benefitting too.”

When asked about both OnTrac over the past 10 years – and indeed, the next 10 years for both our company and the rail industry overall, David offered some final words:

“What makes OnTrac special is our unparalleled focus on our customers. We look to walk in their shoes and are passionate about putting people first when using technology, rather than seeing them as an afterthought. It’s important to reflect on this formula that has led to our continued growth and success after 10 years. This approach has created the platform for us to deliver even greater value to the industry in the next 10 years, which is a fantastic testimony to the team and what we do.”