Railston Blog

Going the distance!.. 2011/12 charity efforts.

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:58:00 GMT

We have to give a massive shout out and congratulations to Laurence Taylor who successfully raised a HUGE £6,301.00 for our 2011/12 charity The Mustard Tree ( a Macmillan Cancer Support Charity.) Our charity year is now at its end which means it is time for a new charity. We have not yet calculated the total for the year but with Laurence's unbelievable effort ( he even had an injured knee!) Our total is going to be looking pretty great! And on top of that Railston double anything that the staff raises! Laurence left the following message on his just giving page:

" Well i did it.........5.59. I plodded round, very pleased that I did not stop( even for a Pee) and kept running the whole way without walking.......there were people walking faster than i was running though!!!!!!

What a fantastic experience......the crowds all the way round were so encouraging, uplifting and supportive.......i have never had my name shouted out as much in an hour let alone a day........fantastic.....!!!
Many many thanks to everyone who has supported, encouraged, donated and been there for me but special thanks to Jess, Tom and Helen for being there with me on the whole journey, I could not have done it without you.

This target will be updated any day now doubling the total..........I am so chuffed to have raised the amazing amount so again a BIG BIG THANK YOU to everyone......

Till next time.........well maybe not.....!!!" tip://www.justgiving.com/Laurenc2760

Our new charity is called Swindon Sands and has been set up to help parents who have lost babies. We're always looking for some great fund raising ideas so if you have one please send it to us by clicking on the comment link below.

What's an Apple Re-Seller?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:28:00 GMT

Railston have fitted a premium Apple re-seller called StormFront.

What's an Apple re-seller we hear you cry!? Well we'll tell you.

Apple re-sellers are retailers that have been approved by Apple to sell their products. In doing so they come under the Apple umbrella and as a result there are certain standards and brand specific specifications that must be met.

One of the great things about being approved means being allowed to use that lovely apple logo that has become so synonymous with high tech quality. Therefore you will see the logo within the store and on marketing material, letting you know that all the merchandise is authentic. Being a re-seller also means that their branding/ store design must conform to certain Apple design specifications. It also means that the service they offer has to be top notch! But of course the best part is being able to sell all those love iThings that we have grown to love.... iPads, iMacs and iPods to name but a few.

For all these reasons, in conjunction with being a company that puts the iPad to very good use, we were delighted to count StormFront as a new client. The first Railston fitted store in Durham is now complete. To see a case study click here. Or for a sneak peak then just look below. What do you think of Apple re-sellers? Let us know by commenting below.

Do you wanna be in our gang?

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:20:00 GMT

Railston are delighted to announce that due to an influx of work, we have two new vacancies within our design team! We're looking for a technical design engineer and architectural technician. So, do you like the look of this lot? Would you like to be part of an award winning, progressive team of creative individuals? If so, follow this link.

Change in Asbestos Regulations...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:14:00 GMT

Not an exciting news story.. However in this industry health and safety is paramount, therefore we thought we'd make you aware of the most recent changes in Asbestos regulations. Below you will find info from hse.gov.uk. We hope you find it helpful:

Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 came into force on 6 April 2012, updating previous asbestos regulations to take account of the European Commission's view that the UK had not fully implemented the EU Directive on exposure to asbestos (Directive 2009/148/EC).

In practice the changes are fairly limited. They mean that some types of non-licensed work with asbestos now have additional requirements, i.e. notification of work, medical surveillance and record keeping. All other requirements remain unchanged.
What has stayed the same?

If existing asbestos containing materials are in good condition and are not likely to be damaged, they may be left in place; their condition monitored and managed to ensure they are not disturbed.
If you're responsible for maintenance of non-domestic premises, you have a 'duty to manage' the asbestos in them, to protect anyone using or working in the premises from the risks to health that exposure to asbestos causes.
If you want to do any building or maintenance work in premises, or on plant or equipment that might contain asbestos, you need to identify where it is and its type and condition; assess the risks, and manage and control these risks.
The requirements for licensed work remain the same: in the majority of cases, work with asbestos needs to be done by a licensed contractor. This work includes most asbestos removal, all work with sprayed asbestos coatings and asbestos lagging and most work with asbestos insulation and asbestos insulating board (AIB).
If you are carrying out non-licensed asbestos work, this still requires effective controls.
The control limit for asbestos is 0.1 asbestos fibres per cubic centimetre of air (0.1 f/cm3). The control limit is not a 'safe' level and exposure from work activities involving asbestos must be reduced to as far below the control limit as possible.
Training is mandatory for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos fibres at work. This includes maintenance workers and others who may come into contact with or disturb asbestos (e.g. cable installers), as well as those involved in asbestos removal work.

What has changed?

From 6 April 2012, some non-licensed work needs to be notified to the relevant enforcing authority.
From 6 April 2012, brief written records should be kept of non-licensed work, which has to be notified e.g. copy of the notification with a list of workers on the job, plus the level of likely exposure of those workers to asbestos. This does not require air monitoring on every job, if an estimate of degree of exposure can be made based on experience of similar past tasks or published guidance.
By April 2015, all workers/self employed doing notifiable non-licensed work with asbestos must be under health surveillance by a Doctor. Workers who are already under health surveillance for licensed work need not have another medical examination for non-licensed work. BUT medicals for notifiable non-licensed work are not acceptable for those doing licensed work.
Some modernisation of language and changes to reflect other legislation, e.g. the prohibition section has been removed, as the prohibition of supply and use of asbestos is now covered by REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulations 2006).

Pets Corner: Cornering The Pet Care Market & Supporting Britain!

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:58:00 GMT

We've just announced Pets Corners new look shopfit on our home page....

Pets Corner have evolved over the last 44 years from family run local pet shop, with good old fashioned values to... a family run pet shops, with old fashioned values! The only difference is that there are many more of them today. We here at Railston thinks it speaks to their testament that they still strive for the same high standard they did those 44 years ago, when the store was first established. Today they boast very well trained, knowledgeable staff and environmentally considered stores. Another thing that Railston love is that they are doing all they can to support British jobs! For example, their two biggest selling food brands are British owned and made – Symply & More. Then of course there's us... we're British, not to mention Switch Signs who supply all signage and Eden who supply the shelving. Their hutches, kennels and runs are all made in the UK as is 95% of their pet bed range. They are doing all they can to source from UK companies and back Britain.

Railston love these qualities and are therefore extremely proud to work alongside Pets Corner providing their equipment and shopfitting. As part of their continual drive to improve quality they also have a new look. There is a case study available here. And below are some more pictures of one of the new look stores in Warrington. If you want to find your local Pets Corner then just follow this link.

Railston Interiors have a twitter page and Facebook page!

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:35:00 GMT

As you know we recently set up www.railston-interiors.co.uk, in conjunction with this we have now set up a twitter page and a facebook page. Now I know what you're thinking.. that this a little over kill. But what can we say, we like to communicate you all. We also thought that having news feed on lots of different platforms allows you to find us in the environment you most enjoy using. Incase you haven't seen this sites Facebook and twitter here are the links: Railston Twitter, Railston Facebook. And if you are interested in the Interiors twitter and facebook here are the links for those: Railston Interiors twitter, Railston Interiors Facebook. Please enjoy and as ever comment away.

A weeks work experience...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:04:00 GMT

We here at Railston were more than happy to open our doors to 14 year old Bethany Kemp from Malmesbury School, who asked us for one weeks work experience. We asked Bathany to write a short summery of her time here with us and here it is:

Name:
Bethany Kemp

Age:
14

School:
Malmesbury School

Career Goal:
I am not really sure yet what I want to do when I leave school, but I know that I want my career to be something that I will enjoy. I really enjoy graphics and that may be something that I would like to do in the future. My work experience has helped me with this as I have really enjoyed the week and especially the graphics side of it.

Why you chose Railston:
I took graphics as a subject in year 10 and found out that it was something that I was interested in and really enjoyed doing; therefore, I decided that for work experience I would experience work in the design and graphic area. I enjoy designing things and coming up with new ideas and so when I found Railston I thought that what they do would be something that I’d really enjoy.

Your experience at Railston:
While at Railston I found out a lot about what they do there and the different departments told me and introduced me to the work they do, however, I mainly worked with the design side and I also did a little bit of graphics which I really enjoyed.

I was really pleased to find out that during the week I would have my own project to work on - this was designing my own ideal bedroom if I was given thousands of pounds, I did this using AutoCAD. This was something that I had never used before and it was great to learn how to use this and see the other software they use here. I also designed a spring and winter logo for Railston which I really enjoyed doing and I was pleased with my final outcome, I did this using Photoshop which I was more familiar with as I use it in my graphic lessons at school. Overall it has been a great week which I have really enjoyed and it has been really good experience. Especially seeing what its like to go to work everyday.

Our Response:

We have greatly enjoyed having Bethany on board. She has been a pleasure to work with and is very interested in learning and developing her knowledge and skills within design. She has proven herself to be more than capable and just to prove it, here is the Spring, summer, autumn and winter logos she created... Flipping good if you ask us!:

Retail Focus: Shopfitting onwards and upwards?

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:51:00 GMT

We have been featured in Retail focus in an article discussing how difficult it is for shopfitters to thrive in this current economic climate. As we all know retail is suffering and it has never been more important to solidify working relationships between clients, designers and consultants. The article has some really interesting comments and also features shopfitters such as Dalziel + Pow and Portview. Below is a screen grab of article. To read in full please click the images.

Railston at the top!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:41:00 GMT

Oh yes, as the announcement (on our home page) correctly states, we have been ranked as number 78 on swindon's top 100 companies! We are obviously delighted, especially to be featured amongst companies such as Intel, Honda, Zurich and of course Dyson! If you are interested in seeing the list with details of how the companies were chosen, then please click here. If you don't want to leave here (and we don't blame you) then here's a copy of the companies in order below:

INTEL CORPORATION (UK)
NPOWER
ARVAL UK GROUP
ZURICH ASSURANCE
WINCANTON
HONDA OF THE UK MANUFACTURING
SMITHS NEWS
WH SMITH
FIRST GREATER WESTERN
DYSON JAMES GROUP
WATSON PETROLEUM
MAN UK TRUCK & BUS
CAMBRIA AUTOMOBILES
HONDA TRADING EUROPE
SYNERGY HEALTH
DICK LOVETT COMPANIES
TYCO ELECTRONICS UK
LUBRICANTS UK
DIALOG SEMICONDUCTOR
COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY EUROPE
WAVIN
SWINDON PRESSINGS
FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR
STONEGATE HOLDINGS
AVON RUBBER
ECOLAB
KNORR-BREMSE RAIL SYSTEMS (UK)
UNITED OILSEEDS MARKETING
FONTERRA (LOGISTICS)
T. H. WHITE HOLDINGS
OPENWORK HOLDINGS
COTSWOLD OUTDOOR
INTRINSIC FINANCIAL SERVICES
CATALENT UK SWINDON ZYDIS
CAPITA SECURE INFORMATION SOLUTIONS
FISH BROTHERS (HOLDINGS)
HERMAN MILLER
HILLS UK
PATHEON UK
MW HIGH TECH PROJECTS UK
SWINDON COMMERCIAL SERVICES
ZIMMER
CARTUS HOLDINGS
T. QUALITY
QUADRANT CATERING
ACCESS PLUS MARKETING SERVICES
DANISCO (UK)
ZEPHYR INVESTMENTS
VYGON (UK)
SCOTTS
WADWORTH AND COMPANY
ALLIANCE PHARMA
HOCHTIEF (UK) CONSTRUCTION
TAMURA-EUROPE
EW BEARD (HOLDINGS)
SCISYS
QMP (HOLDINGS)
VECTURA GROUP
GRANT ENGINEERING (UK)
TRIUMPH INTERNATIONAL
STANLEY SECURITY SOLUTIONS
EXCEPTION GROUP
FSG HOLDINGS
LATCHWAYS
TCG BARS
DTR VMS
RENELEC
WESTCODE SEMICONDUCTORS
TICAN UK
G PLAN UPHOLSTERY
IS-RAYFAST
KOCH FERTILISER
INTERCONNECT PRODUCTS
REFLEX ELECTRONICS
TM GROUP (UK)
CELLULAR OPERATIONS
CANBURG
RAILSTON
SAICA NATUR UK
MULTIVAC UK
BATHWICK TYRES (HOLDINGS)
THREADNEEDLE PORTFOLIO SERVICES
JB GLOBAL
CPI ANTONY ROWE LTD
HONDA R & D EUROPE (UK)
INTERGRAPH (UK)
MANULI PACKAGING (UK)
BALL AEROCAN UK
GEMINI MOTOR COMPANY
SOUTH MARSTON DC
CHIPPENHAM MOTOR COMPANY
SPORTS TRADERS ALLIANCE GROUP
OMITEC GROUP
THRINGS LLP
CRANE MERCHANDISING SYSTEMS
RYZEX
LINVATEC UK
DELORO STELLITE
GALILEO PORTUGAL
OUTSOURCE UK

Shortlisted for The Design Partnership Award!

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:14:00 GMT

As we have already so proudly announced we have been shortlisted for the NAS Design Partnership Award, which as the title suggests praises the great working relationship we have with the Yard Creative. Jointly both Railston and The Yard Creative entered our Olive Oil and Oregano site, situated in Westfield Stratford. Below are just a few of the pictures that made up our entry. Wish us luck on Thursday 17th May when we find out whether we've won the award!

Keeping up to date.. A marathon not a race!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:56:00 GMT

The world around is constantly evolving! One day you have the newest computer platform, the next day your practically in the dark ages! We here at Railston wish to stay at the forefront of technology as we feel it is paramount to the efficiency and smooth running of the company. This is why we bought in all new Smart Phones for all employees, IPads for all Project Managers and the cloud for the smooth running and reliability of our server. We also like to stay connected to you via our social media sites and this website itself. So as you can see we have the kit and the know how, but being the progressive company we are we still don't feel that's enough! We all like to use technology that functions well and looks aesthetically pleasing and this is why we like to continually re-new the brand and perform minor facelifts to the digital face of the company. In short we're giving Railston.co.uk a new look! Next week you will be able to browse a new look site with all new case studies! Soon you will also have all new brochures and pictures to peruse and we're planning an all new testimonials page and staff area. But remember, we are more then just a pretty face! There is substance to this site and we are also celebrating our all new ISO 9001 and Chas accreditation! This means both health and safety and quality standards throughout the company are on the rise! We hope you come back and view the new site in the coming weeks and as ever feel free to comment!

Dyson in Bristol Complete!

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:40:00 GMT

Railston have completed another Dyson concession within a Curry's. This site is in bristol (next to the Cribbs Causeway Shopping Mall.) We really like dyson's use of interactive media such as the hoover plug in area and rug, interactive information screen and other test sections. We think the entire thing not only looks great but functions brilliantly, (much like the vacuums themselves!) Here are just a few pictures of the site:

New look Clintons in Cribbs Causeway!

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:01:00 GMT

We attended the opening of the new Clintons in Cribbs Causeway Mall in Bristol. We all loved the free chocolate, large soft dog and all the smiling, helpful staff. But we especially liked the store itself. Railston were delighted to work with Clintons in bringing this new style store to fruition and we think the final result is certainly something to shout about... Hope you agree!

JD in Marseille...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:28:00 GMT

We here at Railston love to nip over the Channel to France and JD always give us ample opportunity. We've been there again, fitting a new JD in Marseille and as with all their new sites it looks wondrously science fiction! I can't decided if the store looks more like something out of Star wars of an amazing Neon 80's music video... Either way I love it! And looking at the range they stock I think it's pretty safe to say that they are indeed the king of Trainers!

Railston Newsletter, New case Studies and Sunny Skies Ahead!

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:53:00 GMT

The External Newsletter is being sent out soon so to avoid disappointment sign up today by clicking this link and filling out your info... You wont be disappointed! The NEW style newsletter is short and sweet with a small picture gallery keeping you up to date with what we're doing and 10 simple facts you should know about retail and 10 simple facts you should know about us!.. Everything you need to know!

Also There are even more new case studies available on the site, one for Le Bunny Bleu and one for Phones 4u. They contain details of individual sites and some lovely pictures. So although British Summer Time is nearing its end we at Railston are smiling! The office is buzzing and we have some exciting developments underway... Watch this space!