83% of industry leaders expect a shift towards customer-centricity in construction. While the quality of equipment is still central, vendors must also offer comprehensive support to maximise the value they provide – and keep their customers’ projects running.

But what does great customer support mean? In this article, we explore five factors that every quality vendor should provide.

1. Faster turnarounds

With tight deadlines and challenging workflows, construction teams should have access to key strategic equipment like mobile welfare units and lighting towers exactly when they need them. But this is not just a question of convenience; it has a real bottom line impact on your project.

Faster turnarounds on equipment orders have been found to reduce the overall length of a project by up to 50%¹ – and great customer service is all about realising these kinds of improvements. 

At Welfare Hire, we pride ourselves on not just processing orders quickly, but ensuring they are delivered at market-leading speed. With the UK’s largest fleet of mobile eco welfare units and lighting towers, customers can rely on the availability of our equipment – and most locations can receive their orders within 24 hours.

2. GReater flexibility

As projects evolve, leaders often need to modify their orders at short notice. This not only ensures they get the exact equipment and vehicles they need – it also means they avoid being left with the wrong specifications. 

Good customer service delivers this level of flexibility. With responsive teams on hand, vendors should be able to change orders with ease without interrupting delivery or allowing delays to the project. 

Welfare Hire does exactly that, with a responsive Hire Desk Team ready to attend to your orders – and any changes that are needed. The result is leaders’ lives are simpler as they have more control over their project and equipment.

3. Reduced delays

Research shows that roughly 10% of activities on the average site are performed out of sequence² and larger projects routinely take 20% longer than anticipated. When a problem arises, even a few minutes’ delay can have a significant impact on your project’s schedule – so a support team should be on-hand 24/7.

Welfare Hire reduces any such delays by carrying out the most rigorous checks in the market. Each unit goes through a 67-point PDI check before it goes out to hire, ensuring the vehicle is in proper working condition. They are then delivered by our own dedicated drivers who provide customers with expert advice about the use and maintenance of the vehicle.

4. ON-hand expertise

Vendors must have deep knowledge of the equipment they provide, and readily share it with their customers. This can have a huge impact on projects; by consulting over the phone with an expert, issues that may arise with mobile welfare units or lighting towers can be quickly resolved without engineers being called to the site. 

Welfare Hire has a dedicated tech support team that can provide any information you need about your equipment. They will help assess the issue, give a clear estimate as to the delay and walk you through any steps you can take to resolve the problem. In addition, we have a team of Field Service Engineers out on the road, ready to support you on-site whenever they’re needed.

5. true partnership

85% of B2B customers expect suppliers to have a solid understanding of their business.³ Why? Many issues that arise on-site are industry specific, and customer support teams require knowledge about the sector you operate in to help resolve the issue. The best vendors are not mere suppliers – they are strategic partners that adapt to the specific challenges of your industry.

That is how Welfare Hire operates: we specialise in a handful of key sectors and gear our market-leading mobile welfare units and lighting towers to our partners in those industries.

World Creativity and Innovation Day has never been more relevant. Earlier this year, scientists issued a ‘final warning’ that serious action must be taken to reduce carbon emissions. Yet despite its net zero pledges, the UK government currently expects demand for electricity to increase by up to 60% by 2035.

Meeting such demand while radically reducing carbon emissions can only be achieved by applying innovative technology to the problem – and that’s what World Creativity and Innovation Day is all about.

Solar power is essential for the future

The concept of solar power has been around for centuries, and the world’s first ‘solar collector cell’ was designed in 1767. But inventing the technology and implementing it – especially on a nationwide scale – are very different things.

Today, we understand that solar power is necessary. According to research from Columbia University, an acre of solar panels producing zero-emissions electricity saves between 121 to 138 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Not only is it far more environmentally friendly and sustainable – the construction of solar power generators is more likely to stay on budget and schedule. Scaling up solar power should therefore be a top priority, but today just 3.3% of UK households are generating power using solar.

Construction must lead the way

The construction industry has well documented sustainability challenges. But we also have the opportunity to champion innovation and normalise the use of solar power and other innovative technologies. 

What is needed to achieve this? It’s simple: projects need to prioritise the use of equipment that makes the most of cutting-edge technology and pushes us closer to true sustainability – which is exactly what Welfare Hire is dedicated to providing.

solar-powered mobile welfare units

Welfare Hire has always been at the forefront of innovation in our industry. As powerful new technology appears, we pride ourselves on using it to solve important problems for our partners – the most important of which today is sustainability.

Our leading mobile welfare units exemplify the qualities of World Creativity and Innovation day. Not only do they feature a Smart Water system, they use innovative technology to make construction sites more sustainable.

Features include:

Solar and lithium hybrid power

Each unit is fitted with XL solar panels, ensuring that the entire unit can be powered purely using solar power. On top of that, there is a next generation lithium battery that acts as a backup for the mobile welfare unit, and which also recharges from the solar technology. The result is a massive reduction in carbon emissions, noise pollution and running costs.

Rainwater harvesting

Helping users reduce water usage and improve their environmental credentials with ease. The toilet system in all of our units is non-chemical, so it can be fed by rainwater.  The rainwater harvesting system helps supply an XL water tank that services the entire system – all of which minimises the environmental and financial cost of servicing your mobile welfare unit.

Smart telemetry

Empowering users to monitor and manage their fuel usage, unlocking new levels of efficiency and eliminating downtime. Users can view live and historical volumetric data via a dashboard, to ensure optimal green silent running from the hybrid power system. The result? Fewer servicing trips, which means lower emissions and a big saving for your project.

Evolution is never finished

World Creativity and Innovation Day is meant to celebrate bold steps forward. But it’s also important to remember that this process is never finished. While we are proud of our products, it is essential to our ethos to continue improving them. Not just because it’s what our partners deserve, but because it’s what we love to do.

The humble welfare unit: for anyone who works on or visits rail construction sites regularly, these modular cabins will be a familiar sight. Once installed, they’re static and easy to overlook – a no-frills space in which workers can take breaks, prepare food, and use toilet facilities.

At least, that’s what you might have come to expect. Certainly you can up-spec for more spacious and comfortable facilities. But additionally, could the onsite equipment we all take for granted help you run your site more effectively?

The simple answer is ‘yes’. Powered by telemetry, a new generation of intelligent lighting and welfare systems is making it easier to manage sites, review and optimise fuel usage, and even report on ESG performance. Below, we’ll explain how, thanks to smart tech, these modern assets could make your site smarter and more efficient.

What is intelligent onsite equipment?

In this case, we’re talking about equipment fitted with telemetry (data measurement) systems, which provide insights into power and performance. Site managers can review this data, using it to inform decisions about energy use, servicing, and even security.

While not yet the industry norm, many top-of-the-range products now boast this functionality. And it isn’t reserved for highly complex equipment; everything from lighting towers to welfare units (including the most advanced systems in Welfare Hire’s range) can be fitted with smart tech.

But what kind of challenges could telemetry help you to address onsite?

Managing onsite services efficiently- keeping your workforce happy and productive

Onsite equipment must be managed and maintained. If you’re using lighting towers to illuminate a sprawling rail construction site, you’ll need to keep track of them as they’re moved from area to area – not to mention managing fuel use as required. WC facilities must be serviced regularly, with their water tanks filled and their waste tanks emptied.  

Smart tech enables site managers to monitor their equipment remotely, issuing alerts when fuel is running low or tanks need to be emptied. This, in turn, allows them to take a more informed and cost-effective approach, minimising trips to site and booking services only when they’re required.

Perhaps your eco-friendly lighting towers use hybrid battery power? Smart tech would allow you to remotely control noisy backup generators, switching them on when they’re least likely to disturb lineside residents, as well as optimising silent, green running.

Equipment can even be tracked and protected via geofencing, with alarms for crossing a virtual boundary, and allowing you to locate it quickly and easily.

Indeed, making the simplest equipment more intelligent can lead to considerable time and cost savings onsite, while also keeping your facilities performing optimally to support your employees, keeping them safe and productive onsite.

Managing power usage- reducing costs and saving downtime

It can also support and inform your power management strategy. As discussed, telemetry provides granular insights into energy usage, showing which power source an item of equipment is drawing from, battery charge status, and how much power is consumed.

These insights won’t just enable you to manage your onsite services more effectively, anticipating refuelling needs and minimising downtime. They’ll also help you to ensure that equipment is operating as efficiently as possible, and to identify and address inefficiencies. With smart tech, there’s no guesswork – just accurate data, available in real time.

Monitoring ESG targets- supporting your green credentials

With managers under increasing pressure to meet ESG (environmental, social and governance) and sustainability targets, tracking onsite energy usage is more important than ever. The smarter the equipment, the easier this is; with telemetry, you can generate a comprehensive report on a product’s energy usage at the push of a button. And the most ubiquitous onsite equipment – those tower lights and welfare facilities that are essential – is a great place to start.

Intelligent equipment can even help you to manage your carbon footprint, by helping eliminate unnecessary services and site visits, and taking HGVs off the road.

Indeed, when it comes to site management, you could unlock cost, time and carbon savings in unexpected areas. Simply put, it pays to make basic equipment more intelligent and invest in future-proofing your projects. 

Article published in association with Rail Business Daily.

Stress is a major issue for the construction industry. 48% of workers have taken time off due to unmanageable stress, while a third deal with elevated stress every day – and 91% say they have felt overwhelmed at work.

But despite these statistics, the negative impact of workplace stress is still not widely talked about. Which is exactly why National Stress Awareness Month is such an important event for the industry.

What is National Stress Awareness month?

National Stress Awareness month is all about raising awareness of the connection between mental and physical wellbeing. Held every April since 1992, the goal is to remove the shame and stigma from mental health – and encourage an open dialogue about how to improve people’s experiences. 

But this raises the question: what can construction leaders actually do to tackle stress? Mental Health at Work provides some extremely valuable advice on building a more inclusive, open workplace culture. (You can find it here.) 

But more than anything, the key to reducing stress on-site is empowering workers. And to do that, you need to provide the right environment on-site – which is how providing the best mobile welfare units can help.

Mobile welfare units can help tackle stress in three key ways:

1. Creating a safe space

One of the most powerful ways to tackle stress is simply by talking about it openly. But research finds that 78% of construction workers don’t do this due to ‘shame and stigma’ – while 77% don’t because they fear the judgement of their peers.

A comfortable welfare unit creates a better environment to tackle this problem. Workers can relax, and feel they are in a safe space to discuss their problems either with management teams or their co-workers.

2. Enabling regular breaks

Construction shift work can be brutal: long hours of physical working, out in the open. Research has shown that not taking enough breaks has a detrimental effect on stress levels – as well as a host of other negative repercussions for both physical and mental health.

Mobile welfare units enable workers to take regular breaks that help them replenish their energy and recentre themselves. Welfare Hire’s units offer extra space, too – to ensure everybody who needs to take a break can do so.

3. Signalling employers’ intent

64% of construction workers want their employers to do more to support their mental health, while 55% won’t open up about their struggles because they fear negative consequences to their job. Employers need a way to signal to their workers that it’s okay to talk – and investing in better mobile welfare units is a great way to do that.

Larger, newer mobile welfare units make clear that employees’ wellbeing is valued. They demonstrate leaders’ desire to do more for their workers. And most importantly, they show that it’s not all just talk – leaders are genuinely willing to act.

The construction industry is making great progress in its shift towards more sustainable practices, with 47% of industry executives saying sustainability is top of mind for them. But the majority of sites could still consume less water – all they need is the right technology to facilitate more efficient usage.

For leaders looking to reduce their water usage, mobile welfare units are a great place to start. The Smart Water System included in Welfare Hire’s units delivers significant reductions through the following four key features:

Four steps to reduce water waste:

1. Rainwater harvesting

One significant and easy win to avoid water wastage is harvesting rainwater. This immediately reduces the need for alternate water supplies, both cutting costs and increasing sustainability. The only problem is most welfare units are unable to do this.

That’s why the ECOXLi Mobile Welfare Unit features a Smart Water System which facilitates the harvesting of rainwater. But simply using rainwater is not enough – you need to maximise its usage.

2. Grey water recycling

Much of the water used in mobile welfare units is for sinks. But this ‘grey water’ can actually be recycled and fed back into the system to be used for flushing toilets. 

Our Smart Water System enables such recycling, so that rainwater can be used – and then reused – to create a sustainable water ecosystem. The effectiveness of this is really only limited by the unit’s capacity to store water.

3. increased storage

Harvesting rainwater and recycling grey water is fantastic. But in order to support a full workforce, the mobile welfare unit also needs a very large storage tank. Not only does this mean it can harvest more water; it means the waste tank takes longer to reach capacity, which reduces the frequency of servicing.

Welfare Hire’s Mobile Welfare Units are fitted with XL tanks that take more than twice as long to reach capacity. This reduces the servicing frequency dramatically, which in turn helps to cut costs on transport and lower CO₂ emissions.

4. Smart telemetry

The final step to reduce water usage is monitoring. Leaders need the ability to see how much water their units are using and optimise the timing of servicing.  At the least, mobile welfare units should incorporate clear gauges for fresh and waste water tanks.  

In addition, smart telemetry is also available with some models of welfare unit.  This technology provides live data and the ability to monitor and schedule servicing. This enables leaders to monitor water usage with ease, helping them use resources more efficiently, reduce costs and ultimately be proactive in combating water waste.