AIS represents companies involved in all aspects of interior fit out. With 1,123 offices nationwide and a combined workforce of over 38,000, members carry out over 65% of the work involved in the UK commercial interior fit out, refurbishment and retrofit sector worth over £4.3bn.

Best Practice Award Winners 2011

Eco Innovation

Winner: Armstrong Ceilings for its Green Omega programme – UK and Ireland
Designed to strengthen environmental standards among Armstrong’s 165-plus approved ceiling subcontractors (known as Omegas), the Green Omega programme focuses on raising awareness of reducing, reusing or recycling suspended ceilings.

Each Green Omega will be expected to have an environmental policy in place; to measure progress through an environmental survey; to enrol in an environmental management system such as BS 8555/ISO 140001; to undertake Armstrong training; and to work on an end-of-life or offcut recycling project with Armstrong tiles. The 12-month programme includes audits, consultancy and workshops.

Highly Commended: Saint-Gobain Ecophon for its 3RD technology
Saint-Gobain Ecophon’s binding technology, 3RD, replaces the use of traditional formo-phenolic binder with a renewable plant-based binding agent. Instead of formaldehyde, the binder uses hydrolysed starch commonly found in cereal crops. This also helps reduce the use of petroleum-based processes, saving an estimated 14,000 barrels of crude oil a year.

Conversion to 3RD has started with Ecophon’s Focus and Master A and E panels and will be rolled out to all products over the next two years. The product emission
level of Ecophon products – which is already classed as “very low” – has decreased further. It has achieved top results in both the M1 classification for low levels of emissions for products in the installation phase and the Indoor Climate label for products in use.

Product Innovation

Winner: Lafarge Plasterboard for GTEC LaDura
GTEC LaDura was developed as a multi-purpose plasterboard for heavy-duty use in environments such as hospitals and schools. Classified as BS EN 520 Types
DEFH1IR, it is a strong product suitable for spaces that are intensively used or poorly cared for.

Wood particles make the board dense and rigid, giving it a pull-out strength of 210kg from a single screw. And its high technical performance meant only half the amount of plasterboard specified was used as part of the project to create Nottingham University’s new humanities building.

This is a conventional plasterboard, but its finish is superior and any waste fully recyclable. GTEC LaDura is made with recycled paper and the board’s 8% wood
particle content is a zero-carbon renewable material. The product’s low ecopoint score, coupled with board and/or metal savings, make for low embodied impacts for all
installed systems.

Highly commended: Screens at Work for its 4.2 acoustic pods and screens
To help combat office noise and make best use of open-plan working, Screens At Work has developed a range of modular, lightweight acoustic panels that can
create acoustic spaces within offices for a multitude of uses, such as meeting rooms or break-out areas.

The pods’ sound absorption is optimised while allowing air to flow freely. They are easy to assemble, demountable and can be reconfigured as requirements change.
Screens At Work has also teamed up with Waldmann Lighting to provide free-standing and surface-mounted luminaires with daylight-dependent control and presence-sensor PIR switching. To minimise costs standard products have been used where possible.

Training Innovation

Winner: Essex Safety Glass for its knowledge transfer partnership with Anglia Ruskin University.
ESG formed a knowledge transfer partnership with Anglia Ruskin University to create a staff training structure that would motivate staff and reduce their turnover. The training covers sales, communications, situational awareness, problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork, along with the associated customer service and sales sub-disciplines.

Sara Hobbin, the ESG associate within the partnership, has also been working to develop a customer relationship management system for the business. With technical
manager Gavin Gunn and commercial manager Susan Sinden – who rolled out a professional development plan for each member of staff – Hobbin is training staff to be brand ambassadors. She has undertaken an MBA with Anglia Ruskin University herself; other staff are being supported by outside training initiatives.

Highly commended: MPG Group for its people development training initiatives
MPG has rolled out several training projects over the past two years: a Project Excellence module was developed for site delivery staff and heads of department; a talent management programme sought to identify future leaders in the business; and initiatives are being used to give something back to the local community.

In May vegetable planters and general maintenance services were donated to a local school, giving junior managers a chance to organise a project – including
design, prefabrication, delivery, schedule of works, method statements and risk assessments, as well as client liaison and meeting end users’ requirements.

This follows a Princes Trust charity day in July 2010, when a team of MPG volunteers built vegetable planters, information posts and a recycling area for Shenley Primary School in Hertfordshire.