Today 21 April marks World Creativity and Innovation Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2017. The commemoration of this day coincides with the birth of Leonardo Da Vinci, an icon of interdisciplinary creativity in the arts and sciences, considered one of the most creative people in history who excelled as a painter, sculptor, architect, urban planner, inventor, anatomist, botanist, musician, poet, philosopher and writer, a curious man who dedicated his life to continuous learning.
The aim of this commemoration is to encourage original ideas, to encourage society to think differently, to promote the use of brainstorming and other creative techniques and to encourage us to do things with passion. The UN decided to establish this World Day because of its firm belief that creativity and innovation are the true wealth of nations, being essential components in problem solving and in economic, social and sustainable development.
At the same time the UN General Assembly notes that there is a need to focus on the important role of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to innovation, creativity and decent work for all:
Promoting inclusive, sustained and sustainable economic growth drives progress, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.
Making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Do you want to know more about Mobility and Sustainability?
At Globalvia, sharing this same vision and with the faithful premise of innovating to transform the world, at the end of 2018 we officially welcomed innovation. A challenge with capital letters for all areas and departments of the Company, but which two and a half years later is now a reality.
As a starting point for this great adventure, at Globalvia we saw it as essential to identify people with the right skills and abilities to lead this change in the Company (both inside and outside), with the key being curiosity to question the way things are done, to get out of their comfort zone and not to be afraid of making mistakes. And, with this objective in mind, we launched the internal contest to find the «Innovation Champions» of Globalvia. All those employees interested in taking part in this challenge and acting as ambassadors of innovation in the Company, only had to send a video explaining why they should be chosen.
In this fun way, we selected the 25 employees who are the 25 levers of change in Globalvia, accompanying us in our great work of extending the innovative mentality to the different areas and departments and participating in projects launched by the Department of Innovation and Transformation itself.
Once immersed in the change, we had a dual objective: to continue to be leaders in transport infrastructure management, but thinking that our actions today will mark our future. Therefore, in order to adapt and diversify our business, Openvia, our technological and innovation platform, was born. From here, new mobility models and new business opportunities are developed, Globalvia’s competitive position is strengthened and new synergies are created.
Today, Openvia Mobility has three centers dedicated to innovation: in Madrid we have an Artificial Intelligence center, in Portugal we have a mobility services platform for third parties, and in the USA we act as a spearhead to transform the user experience of our infrastructures. Because if there is one thing we have learned along the road we have traveled in innovation, it is that the user has to be at the center and, therefore, many of the projects we have launched are focused on understanding the user and detecting their pain points in order to develop interesting mobility solutions for them. Among our star projects that have passed the failure and error barrier and are now a success are:
Slora by Globalvia, the new digital solution for travelling quickly, conveniently and without the need to stop on toll roads, allowing users to pay for their journeys directly from their mobile phone, without using cash or a physical card. Pocahontas Parkway, the concession we manage in North America, becomes the first in the Group to offer this new toll payment system for the main highways in Virginia.
Tap&Go, a contactless validation and payment system that makes Metro de Sevilla the first metro in Spain to have this new ticketing system with EMV technology. It allows users to validate their ticket directly with their card, physically or from their cell phone, without using the vending machines.
Meep Seville by Globavia, our first Maas (Mobility as a Service) project and an example of collaboration with the startup ecosystem. It is the first multimodality platform in the city of Seville that allows you to plan your journey through its app, combining different transport and mobility models.
KarAI, for the operation and management of roads with the aim of becoming increasingly efficient.
Mobility Platform, an intelligent mobility platform for operators comprising the following systems:
- GMOM: First homogeneous Operation and Maintenance System for all our concessions. Its great value lies in the standardisation of the way things are done by Globalvia and its ease of use, making it possible to establish comparisons between the different concessions to ensure compliance with the Company’s strategy. It is currently in production in seven of our assets.
- GBOS: First Platform Back Office System operating on cloud for our concessions in real time, with instant control of revenues and processed transactions, gathering complete information of processed transits. It is already in production in four of our concessions.
- GTOLL: First Toll System capable of controlling and managing any type of toll system in real time. It is currently in production in two of our assets
These are just a few examples, because at Globalvia we are continuously working to find the best mobility solutions accessible to all, because you are the most important thing in this great journey we are travelling together towards innovation.
Globalvia – Changing the world together!
