Planning Welfare Facilities for Large Construction & Infrastructure Projects

Welfare facilities are a legal and practical necessity on project sites, particularly large construction and infrastructural projects. Having static or mobile welfare cabins not only keeps your workers safe and happy but also supports your project’s productivity and compliance needs. 

Not planning for the right type and quantity of welfare facilities on large-scale sites can affect your workers’ safety and even delay your project. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) L153 Approved Code of Practice and the Construction Design Management (CDM) regulations stress the employer’s responsibility to provide adequate, accessible, and hygienic facilities from day one of construction.

In this blog post, we’re sharing what welfare facilities are required on site and how you can plan for them.

Challenges in Deploying Welfare on Complex and Large Construction Project Sites

Large construction projects in the UK are often located in remote areas that can be logistically difficult to reach. 

Delivering welfare facilities can be challenging due to uneven terrain or congested zones. The remoteness of these locations means there’s limited access to resources like power and water, so you need to depend on off-grid solutions to support your welfare needs. Another challenge is the high possibility of adverse weather conditions, which means you’ll need to hire welfare facilities with sturdy enough construction to withstand changing conditions.

Key Welfare Requirements for Large Construction Projects in the UK

For project sites with a large workforce, the important HSE site welfare requirements you should know about include:

• Regularly clean, self-contained, and adequate toilets
• Hot and cold running water with soap and hand-drying facilities
• Ready access to clean drinking water
• Comfortable spaces for breaks
• Enclosed changing and drying rooms, especially on project sites prone to adverse conditions
• Safety provisions like first aid kits and staff trained to handle emergencies

Planning for these welfare requirements begins well before the project starts and needs to be integrated as early as the project planning and design stage.

Integrating Welfare into Project Design

When you start a construction project, welfare facilities and a site office are among the first things you need to establish. 

During the project design phase, you need to consider:

Availability of Services

First, ensure you have all the necessary services to support your workforce, from a continuous water supply to clean toilets. 

You’ll also need to secure an electric supply for your facilities for heating and lighting, as well as to run your office equipment. Hireforce Welfare’s site welfare units are self-contained with all the necessary HSE site welfare facilities to help your project comply with the regulations.

The Site Layout

Establishing your site layout involves considering the ideal space for your site compound. 

Ideally, you want a site compound at a location where it can remain undisturbed throughout the duration of the project. Place your site office and welfare unit in an easily accessible location for your on-site team as well as for visitors and deliveries.

Site Spread

Large sites with workers spread out over an expansive area need more than one set of welfare facilities. If possible, spread welfare cabins across your site to be accessible from all parts of the site.

Location of the Entrance

A site office is usually the first place your workers will report. With this in mind, ask yourself if it’s practical to have your site office at the rear of the site when your entrance is at the front. You can plan to set up some welfare units close to the site entrance for quick access.

Take away the hassle of hiring welfare units and site offices separately with Hireforce Welfare. Our 10 and 16-person welfare cabin variants conveniently arrive with a 3-person site office with a separate entrance.

Types of Welfare Facilities Suitable for Large Construction Projects

Practically, the welfare solutions you choose for your site depend on the scale and duration of your project. Here are the common options and the projects they’re best suited to:

• Static welfare units: Ideal for long-term sites with stable access.
• Mobile welfare cabins: Towable units that can be repositioned as the project evolves.
• Anti-vandal cabins: Reinforced units suited for exposed or remote locations.
• Modular and expandable units: Allow flexible scaling based on workforce size.
• Eco-friendly and off-grid solutions: Solar-powered units or those with water-saving features, reducing environmental impact.

Our Ecosmart range offers project welfare unit solutions that are mobile, well-maintained, eco-friendly, and quick to deploy and use. 

Best Practices for Managing Welfare During Long-Term Projects

Infrastructural and large construction projects tend to run for a long duration. As the project progresses, your site’s welfare needs are bound to evolve. This also means your welfare facilities need to be fit for purpose for the long haul.

Only with regular and meticulous inspections, maintenance schedules, and cleaning protocols can you keep your project running smoothly without any downtime. The team at Hireforce Welfare follows the best practices in maintaining on-site welfare facilities, with regular cleaning, comprehensive inspections, and repairs to keep your units running as they should.

Why Choose Hireforce Welfare for Your Next Large Construction Project?

For years, we’ve powered the welfare needs of many infrastructure and construction projects, regardless of size. Whether you’re after a single welfare cabin or dozens of welfare units, we’re here to cater to your needs. Our range includes towable, hydraulic, and eco-friendly cabins running independently on their own power and water source and fully maintained by our team.

With a fleet capable of UK-wide delivery and proven support for large infrastructural projects, like rail and utilities, we ensure HSE site welfare compliance for your project, from project start to finish.

Call or email to reach out to us for well-maintained welfare cabins.