Astins
11 Magellan Terrace
Gatwick Road
RH10 9PJ
Tel:  0845 260 9401
Email: info@astins.com

 

Get Map - Click Here

 

Astins Institute
Unit 8 Battersea Business Park
102-104 Stewarts Road
London
SW8 4UG
Tel:  020 7738 8777
Email: info@astinsinstitute.com

 

Get Map - Click Here

 

Astins Wins UKGBC Environmental Innovation Award

Astins ECOdoor has been chosen as one of the winners of the Marks & Spencer/UKGBC Ecobuild Innovation Zone Award. The competition was run by BRE and the Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network. 

As winners, Astins and the EcoDoor will featured prominantly in the UKGBC's exhibition area at Ecobuild in March. The company will also have the opportunity to work with Marks & Spencer to pilot the ECOdoor in one of its 'Sustainable Learning Stores'

Tested and approved by the BRE, ECOdoor is an innovative design enhancement that promises to drastically cut the volume of metal and plasterboard waste on site. The new design builds and enhances previous work by UK based plasterboard manufacturers. It will reduce the cost of materials and increase the productivity of labour during the internal fit-out phase of a construction project, cutting disposal costs and reduce material wastage.  It will also have a marked effect on site safety.

Every year construction and refurbishment projects generate some 1m tonnes of plasterboard waste. The result is high waste management costs and hefty environmental impacts.

Construction waste and in particular excess plasterboard is a key issue for the construction industry, Recent European legislation has made it increasingly expensive and more difficult to dispose of plasterboard waste at landfill sites. Contractors are now obliged to sort and process this type of site waste themselves.

This innovation has the potential to drastically reduce the cost of disposal and lowers the embodied carbon emissions on all construction projects

More information is available from Justin Hopkins at 07717 854450

 

The Astins team at Heathrow T2A has won the Health & Safety 'Contractor of the Month' award for January 2012.

The award was made by client HETCo. This is the third time HETCo have given this award to Astins in the last four months.

John Kelly the Astins project manager said: “This is a major achievement. T2a is one of the largest and most prestigious building projects in England at this time. Add this to the pressure and demands of the build programme and this shows an even greater achievement .I am extremely proud of the Astins team".

More information is available from Justin Hopkins at 07717 854450

Astins - National Recycling Stars

Astins has been awarded a silver award through the National Recycling Stars scheme, run by E2B Pulse.

Astins work in the reduction of construction materials waste and the roll out of its BRE approved ECOdoor was singled out for particular mention.

The National Recycling Stars scheme recognises UK organisations that are committed to increasing the amount of waste they recycle and improving the environmental awareness of their staff.

Organisations can be awarded up to three stars depending on their level of recycling excellence. In order to ensure that the level is sustained, Stars are reviewed on an annual basis.

Dominic Tutt of Astins said, "This award is a  is a real achievement for Astins and reflects the hard of work of people on and off site. It is very difficult for construction companies to meet the stringent award criteria. So a silver award is something quite special."

 For more info please click here.

Astins recognised for work encouraging women in construction

Astins has been recognised for its work in encouraging diversity in the construction industry. The company has recently been presented with a coveted UKRC CEO Charter.

The work of the Astins Institute, the young women on our apprenticeship programme and the work of the Astins Institute Advisory Panel were all mentioned as important achievements. They helped prove Astins commitment and led to  the presentation of the charter. Astins work is seen as leading the way for other construction companies.

Harinder Kaur, Astins Head of Design, attended the VIP evening event to pick up the CEO Charter from the UKRC.  The evening was arranged to to celebrate the achievements of women in science, engineering, technology and construction.  

You can find out more about the UKRC event at the following link .

Astins has developed a new door jamb design that will deliver 20% savings on material waste.

Tested and approved by the BRE, ECOdoor is an innovative design enhancement that promises to drastically cut the volume of metal and plasterboard waste on site. The new design builds and enhances previous work by UK based plasterboard manufacturers. It will reduce the cost of materials and increase the productivity of labour during the internal fit-out phase of a construction project, cutting disposal costs and reduce material wastage.  It will also have a marked effect on site safety.

 “Traditional door openings involve positioning a plasterboard sheet half way or fully over the door position and then simply cutting out the required opening. This results in large off cuts,” explains Dominic Tutt, managing director of Astins, “ECOdoor will significantly reduce the amount of metal and plasterboard waste generated, by positioning full sheets up against the studs at each side of a door opening and using an off cut from elsewhere above the door. This is great news for the environment and brilliant news for our cost-sensitive customers. And because of the configuration of the new design, it will be a lot safer to construct”

Every year construction and refurbishment projects generate some one million tones of plasterboard waste. The result is high waste management costs and hefty environmental impacts.

Construction waste and in particular excess plasterboard is a key issue for Astins, which takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. Recent European legislation has made it increasingly expensive and more difficult to dispose of plasterboard waste at landfill sites.

Contractors are now obliged to sort and process this type of site waste themselves. In developing design details to reduce the amount of cutting needed to form door openings, the levels of materials waste created on site can be lowered by 20%. This in turn reduces the cost of disposal and lowers the embodied carbon emissions on a project.

Legislative, environmental and cost drivers all compound to present a real challenge to main contractors. Astins’ in-house technical design team is able to apply its deep expertise to develop a value engineered approach to any scheme, helping to overcome these issues for its clients.

Astins wins Neo Bankside project next to Tate Modern.

The luxury apartment complex is a joint development between Native Land and Grosvenor. The main contractor is Carillion.

The Astins package comprises of partitions, drylining and ceilings in 125 luxury apartments across 2 blocks and 34 floors. The value of the works is £3.2m and the project duration is 50 weeks.

Mark Pettit, Managing Director, said: "This is another example of where Astins approach to build quality has secured a major project. Our behavioural driven approach can deliver the highest build quality at a very competitive price. It has worked at The Savoy and at Syon Park. Neo Bankside is next."

 Work started on site on 7th February 2011. 

Astins Pushes ‘People Power’ On New Website.

Astins, the specialist dry lining and cladding contractor, has made a big statement about its priorities today.

It has launched a new company website. One that looks very different to the everyday website that one normally finds in the construction industry.

The new website (www.astins.com) is built around portrait photography of its working men and women. It is all about making sure that credit for what Astins does is given where it is due – its people on site.

To find out more about Astins and its new website contact Justin Hopkins at Astins on 07717 854450

Astins Takes On Business Improvement Guru

Recognising the need to constantly evolve by improving its offer and service, Astins the specialist dry lining and facades contractor has appointed John Rogerson to the role of Head of Business Improvement.

John joins Astins with a varied range of business skills, developed over a number of years spent working in engineering and security, which follow a career in the Army. John has a keen eye for business processes, mainly borne out of his role as a production engineer and factory manager for a cable manufacturer. He is conversant with methodologies such as TQM, TPM, Lean and Six Sigma.

Latterly, John has worked as Business Lead at Heathrow Terminal Three. In this role he was responsible for the day to day operations of this busy passenger terminal, which handles some 40 airlines with a number of control authorities, all demanding a high level of stakeholder management.

Since then John has also worked as a management consultant for companies operating within the built environment. He has been responsible for introducing Lean, Six Sigma and other operational techniques to help improve his clients’ business performances.

John now brings this wide wealth of expertise to Astins. “I will be looking at the operational aspects of the business and identifying ways of improving for longer term business stability and growth,” he explains. “Often it is small changes that can make a significant difference to productivity, customer retention and therefore the bottom line.”

Dominic Tutt, Managing Director of Astins is pleased to welcome John to his team, “In the current economic climate all businesses need to look at their operations and processes to understand what customers want and how better these services can be delivered. Introducing someone with the right skills to this very role will help to focus the business and aid the implementation of efficiencies in time and cost savings, helping us deliver a better service as a result.”

Astins Welcomes New Apprenticeship Proposals

Specialist dry lining and facades contractor Astins has welcomed the announcement by Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister John Hayes, to guarantee the quality of the governments flagship apprenticeship programme.

"The recent announcement by John Hayes is very positive for the construction industry as a whole," explains Dominic Tutt, Managing Director of Astins, "it provides the certainty that companies need when they are planning their training. Employer led training will help to build a more productive and competitive industry overall.

"By supporting training through its programme the government is also playing its part in providing a foundation for the construction industry to have a real impact on getting young people back to work.

For the programme to succeed more investment from companies like Astins is what is required. The development of training programmes that really deliver the much-needed skills should be the focus. However the current funding arrangement places 100% of the pressure squarely on the employer's shoulders, particularly where apprentices over the age of 25 are concerned.

"The current attitude towards older apprentices really must be challenged," says Dominic. "with this in mind the government should think about a complete overhaul of the CITB and its construction training levy, because this places a serious disincentive on companies investing in an effective apprenticeship programme of their own. Surely this works against the government's own employment objectives."

Astins is perhaps unique in the world of construction. It has successfully invested its own money in a training academy that seeks to develop the skills of young people who would otherwise be unemployed.

The Astins Institute is a £1m fully accredited NVQ centre. It currently has 15 registered apprentices and is looking to recruit a further ten this year. In Astins' experience well-trained apprentices are more productive and more effective than experienced operatives.

In developing its training programme Astins conceived an assessment tool that empirically demonstrates that good training pays for itself many times over in improved quality and productivity.