The Importance of Good Site Accommodation
Providing good accommodation and welfare units for your workforce is not simply about meeting health and safety regulations, but about keeping your workers happy and healthy so they are more motivated to do a better job - there is nothing worse than spending a long day working on a construction site in wet clothese and not having a suitable place to rest afterwards.
It is essential to understand and meet your workers' needs to ensure that your operations go smoothly and are rewarded with increased staff retention and productivity. As a contractor, you must meet health and safety standards and ensure that you are finding the best accommodation solutions for your own needs too. Read on to learn about the importance of good site accommodation.
What site accommodation options do contractors have?
Arranging accommodation and welfare facilities for your site is one of the necessary steps to setting up a construction site, and work can not be started until your workers have somewhere to rest. This is mandated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the government body dedicated to maintaining good standards in workplaces across the country.
Depending on the location of your site, the number of workers, the connections to urban areas, and many more factors, your facilities’ needs will vary. For example, if the site is in the countryside, away from urban amenities like shops and hotels, you may need to provide sleeping cabins, showers and sheltered areas to prepare food, as a few examples.
Many construction industry contractors arrange hotel stays for their workers, but this can be expensive and inconvenient if the site is a commute away. Many modern portable accommodation units can provide the same benefits as a hotel while being installed directly onto the site, or close enough to reduce the need for transport logistics.
What are the Health and Safety Executive requirements of site facilities?
Any on-site accommodation must meet standards set by HSE and provide the necessary functions. HSE state that construction workers require adequate sanitary facilities, a place to heat and eat food, and safe storage for clothing, and that 'a cold water tap and chemical toilet on their own' do not meet these requirements.
The responsibility of organising this accommodation falls on either the contractor or the clients, and this should be organised between the two, included in a signed contract. If the party responsible does not provide adequate facilities, they could be liable for the health and safety of the workers, and subsequent legal implications.
Toilets
Toilets must flush and have running water with proper connections to drainage systems, be well ventilated and be cleaned and maintained regularly. There should also be enough of them to suit the number of workers on the site. For female workers, sanitary product disposal should also be provided.Washing facilities
Toilets and changing facilities should be installed next to washing facilities, and must have hot and cold running water with soap, towels and good ventilation. Workers should have enough space to wash their face, hands and arms in sinks.
If the facilities are unisex, they must have lockable doors and be separate from each other to allow for private use by one person at a time.
Showers that are for regular use should be separate from those used to clean hazardous substances from workers, for example, asbestos. This is because these substances can be difficult to clean and cling to surfaces even after washing, so using the same facilities for other uses can cause serious harm to the users.
Changing rooms
Similarly to the previous facilities, changing rooms should be secure, private and allow users to be separate from each other. They must be lockable, especially if they have storage space for workers' clothes and personal items. Contaminated clothing should not be stored here.
Changing facilities should also have space for the drying of wet clothes, with heaters for use in colder seasons.
Sleeping and rest facilities
Site accommodation should be secure and protect inhabitants and their belongings from the elements. This is no more important than in sleeper cabins and recreational areas where cooking and relaxation may take place. These are facilities with the purpose of allowing workers to escape the weather and recuperate when tired.
Most modern sleeper cabins are well insulated and have heaters to help in winter, but good ventilation and accessible windows for summer. With electrical ports, appropriately sized beds and larger units with the space for a desk or bathroom, the sleeper cabins at Bunkabin are perfect for ensuring that workers on construction sites get the rest they need and deserve.
For more information on how we can provide you and your workers with the highest quality site accommodation available for cost-effective prices, call us on 0345 456 7899 or fill out an online enquiry form.
