Jasmax Wins National Large Business Award

Media Release
6 October 2016

Jasmax Wins National Large Business Award:

AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards

New Zealand’s largest design practice Jasmax has won the AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards honour in the Large Business category.

The AUT Excellence in Business Support Awards celebrates business success by looking at those who support or contribute to other businesses. It is the only national performance measure for business support organisations.

The Large Business category looks at all aspects of leadership, planning, customer and market focus, provision of business support, and evaluation and improvement. In doing so, AUT focuses on results. Judges come on site, seek information and evidence, and question the business’ leaders.

Jasmax, which was founded 53 years ago, is unquestionably a leader in large business in New Zealand. With 300 architects and designers on board, it serves the majority of the other great, leading businesses in the country – including government and local government businesses.

Jasmax designers include teams specialising in urban design, landscape, architecture and interiors across many sectors including transport, commercial, education and healthcare. Jasmax has offices in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch. There are 20 shareholder principals.

“Our vision for design excellence is supported and underscored by our people and the culture and processes that they have tirelessly implemented in the decades of our operation,” says Marko den Breems, Managing Principal. “Supported by industry leading software, we tailor many of our systems and processes to suit our unique professional services situation. The end result is a cohesive and collaborative delivery of assessment, interaction, quality review, and sustainability with our partners in business - our clients.”

Jasmax’s quality review processes are a case in point. A purpose developed Quality Assurance Framework puts every Jasmax project through its paces, repeatedly during a project. “Every project must adhere to it through every stage,” says Mr den Breems. “It’s a repository for accumulated knowledge, and a suite of standard practice proformas. It means every project is reviewed by specialists across both sector and discipline expertise, rather like a patient nowadays receives collaborative care from every discipline of medicine. The Quality Assurance Framework we’ve developed ensures the designs we create with our clients have been tested, considered, improved and optimised.”

Inside the organisation, knowledge is shared through a dynamic intranet system. It is used all day, every day, by all employees, who readily engage with it.

Not only is the client the focus, the conduct and vision for Jasmax as an organisation is taken seriously.

Sustainability, for instance, takes centre stage. Jasmax’s offices are used for investigation and ‘principles in practice’ on sustainability. Each of the offices have worm farms (for disposal of food waste, and regeneration of high quality liquid fertiliser); paper and recyclable waste are separated out and passed on for recycling; and e-bikes are used to minimise the impacts of petrol-based transport.

Sitting behind these (and other) initiatives is the Jasmax Environmental Management System – known as JEMS. This is an ISO14001 certified system aimed at reducing carbon, waste and energy. It also encompasses an assessment system for designs: 80% of all designs produced are assessed against a Sustainable Design Review system.

“The award that’s been given by AUT is a great validation for us. It’s outside recognition that we’re going in the right direction, and that is really valued by Jasmax,” says Mr den Breems.

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