Sainsbury's Standards & Formats

Overview

'Coordinating all aspects of the construction process throughout the design team'

In early 2001, ICON completed the first part of an extensive private site for Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd. The website, one of the largest in the UK, was launched in September 2000 and was required to communicate standards and specifications to the company's construction teams, suppliers and internal staff. This site, still (2003) growing and being revised on a daily basis, currently consists of over 5,000 pages of information, combining text, 4,500 images, 1500 CAD drawing, audio and video, incorporating over 24,000 internal hyperlinks! Although the site is available over the Internet, access is tightly restricted to registered users only.

Initially, the project involved chasing suppliers for equipment and specification information. From the supplier information received, ICON then sifted it for relevance and reformatted it into a version suitable for the website. Since it’s conception, the site has grown considerably as different departments within Sainsbury’s have requested that their information is published on the site.

This site contains a lot of graphic information and, where appropriate, drawing files have been uploaded to the Internet in Autodesk DWF format. The DWF format allows users to pan, zoom and print CAD drawings direct from a web page.

Detail

As the Sainsbury's Standards and Formats Web Site is a restricted access site it is not available for public view. For this reason the following sequence of screen grabs and associated text, was gathered in early 2001, to give you an idea of the contents and functionality of the site:

home page
After successfully logging in, the home page offers the three main requirements for both novice and experienced users:
  • A fast way of locating information
  • Quick access to view files that have changed
  • Help and guidance for new users

The feedback form (accessible from the header menu at all times) also enables users to notify the site administrator of any queries / comments.

 Site Review
This page gives a quick overview of the total site contents...		 Updates List
A check of what information has been updated since your last visit ...		 Archived Files
See what specification a store was built to ...		 Feedback
Provide feedback direct to those responsible for producing the information ...

store formats
There are at present four distinct formats of store:
  • Large (formerly known as Savacentres)
  • Conforming (typical out-of-town locations)
  • Central (city / town centre locations)
  • Local ('corner-shop' style)

Once the store format is selected, a side menu appears listing all files associated with that type of store. The formats are grouped into five areas:

  • external branding

  • site design

  • customer areas

  • back-up areas

  • engineering services

View the store format screen below...

 External Branding & Signage
These standards are clearly documented along with guidelines as to where each type of sign or banner should be sited.		 Sales Area Plan
Each store format has a typical sales area plan with hyperlinks to more detailed information and zones.		 Company Images
Schedules of available images are accessible for users to download and use in the preparation of project-specific drawings.		 Department Information
Detailed information about each department within the sales area is available. This includes plans, elevations, equipment, finishes schedules, together with photographs of typical installations.

store elements

There are a number of elements that are independent of the store format, these being:

  • restaurants / coffee shops

  • petrol filling stations

  • back-up areas

These elements are presented as standalone options that can, theoretically, be 'plugged-in' to any format of store.

Restaurant & Coffee Shop
This section opens at an introductory page with links to branding and signage, layouts, elevations, equipment and finishes.

 Petrol Filling Station
This section leads onto detailed information about policy and procedures, branding, forecourt, kiosk and amenities.		 Generic Layouts
Examples of typical layouts are accessible for users to download as DXF or DWG files for use in the preparation of project specific drawings. A generic forecourt layout is detailed below...		 Back-up Areas
Detailed information about Back-up Areas is divided into warehouse and unloading, staff facilities and plant areas.

equipment

There is a vast section of the site dedicated to providing equipment specifications ranging from bakery ovens to waste compactors and leaflet holders to shelf stripping.

Many of the specifications are generic, enabling Sainsbury’s to grant potential suppliers with temporary access for tendering purposes.

It is also the intention to develop on-line ordering for the majority of items.

 Merchandising
This section contains information on the vast range of accessories and promotional items that are used in and around the sales area.		 External & PFS
This section details equipment used externally from petrol pump "topper" displays to car washing machines.		 Equipment Groups
Where there are large numbers of similar items of equipment, for example fridges and freezers, they are grouped together into sub-menus for ease of searching.		 Disposable Equipment
The website includes information on "disposable" items of equipment as well as more permanent items.

specifications

Full technical specifications are available for:

  • standard materials and workmanship clauses

  • specialist shopfitting items and shelving

  • engineering services

These supplement the design information, giving a complete picture of the client’s requirements.

 Standard Construction
These specifications provide common specification clauses and prevent repetition. They are hyperlinked to on-line statutory requirements and British Standards.		 Shopfitting
This area holds detailed 2D drawings to enable the construction team to accurately compile detailed layouts and elevations for live projects. This information can subsequently be passed to shopfitters for manufacture.		 Gondolas & Shelving
A series of gondola and shelving specifications are listed showing the assembly of display units from component parts. The future intention is to supplement these details with merchandising planograms.		 Engineering
Fully coordinated specifications cover all aspects of engineering services required in a store.

schedules

Some information is best suited to being presented in the form of a schedule:

  • Building information

  • Equipment allocations

  • Supplier details

These are the three main categories.

 Door & Ironmongery
A full schedule is available that can be downloaded and modified for use on live projects.		 Finishes
These schedules are available for each area and format of store linking back to a central 'Colours and Materials' schedule. Having a central schedule allows for ease of update.		 Equipment
Typical equipment schedules with details of quantity, type and approved suppliers of items of equipment for various area and formats are held on the site. These are regularly updated by the client and are and provided to us in PDF format for publishing on a weekly basis.		 Suppliers
An alphabetical list of all approved suppliers is on the website and provides contact names, numbers, e-mails and web addresses when available.

discipline

Despite the vast quantity of information on the website it is possible to access the same file from a number of different routes.

Grouping information together by discipline allows quick and easy access to the required file in no more than three or four clicks of the mouse.

The discipline-specific files can also be accessed through the high-level 'design' information where applicable (e.g. lighting principles link to the lighting specification), so that a complete thread can be followed.

 Engineering Specifications
In this section engineering specifications are fully coordinated covering all aspects of electrical, mechanical, environmental and public health requirements.		 Fire Standards
This section covers all aspects of fire safety which are specific to the client and are over and above the statutory regulations.		 Refrigerated Display Cabinets
Full specifications for refrigerated display cabinets are available, including manufacturers' data and performance sheets. Confidentiality between suppliers is maintained using the secure logging in system.

Store Planning & Layouts
Guidelines relating to store planning and layouts are listed together with model store plans that can be downloaded by construction teams for specific projects.

ICON  Studio 2  18 The Point, Rockingham Road  Market Harborough  Leicestershire  LE16 7QU
T +44 1858 468345  F +44 1858 469940

Page Last Reviewed 20 November 2003