Tag: Kelling Group

Partnership has never been more important for ambitious construction and infrastructure projects. With pressure to decarbonise supply chains, improve efficiency and deliver better results faster, who you choose to rely on for strategic equipment is a big question.

That’s why we believe it’s important for our customers to understand exactly what kind of company they are dealing with. But we don’t want to only be defined by our past achievements – we’d rather be understood based on our future.

In this article, we want to explore three factors that form the core of our company’s future – and what we’re currently doing to push things forward.

1. Localised support

Service has always been one of our core strategic ‘pillars’; that’s why we pride ourselves on delivering our welfare vans and van mounted MEWPs anywhere in the UK within 24 hours. But quality service is not only about delivery, maintenance and a responsive support team – it’s about understanding our customers’ specific needs.

The recent opening of our Scottish Depot is a perfect example. With a dedicated team operating out of our facility in the central belt, we are now able to deliver a different level of support to Scottish projects. We provide access to our market-leading range of mobile welfare units, and can supplement that with localised support for our Scottish customers.

This is emblematic of our approach to partnership: as we expand our offering, it is not simply in pursuit of growth – it’s to understand better and cater to our customers’ unique challenges and needs.

2. Investments in excellence

Our fleet has long since been the UK’s youngest and largest. This in turn provides an advantage we are intent on leveraging to continue improving our offering.

We are currently expanding our fleet, purchasing new mobile welfare units, mobile lighting towers and van mounted MEWPs to support growing demand, as well as upgrading existing equipment to ensure it remains the very best on the market. 

Such investments are essential for us to live up to our partners’ expectations. They know we are able to replace key equipment quickly, provide more units whenever needed and keep their projects running no matter what.

3. Solving problems through innovation

At our core, we are a company that focuses on our customers’ deeper needs. Our customers don’t simply need a quality mobile welfare unit; they need a way to reduce their carbon emissions. Our partners don’t just want a van mounted MEWP; they need flexibility and control over where they are able to work at heights. 

This mentality inevitably leads us to innovation, and we are always pushing our fleet forward with exciting new additions. This year alone we’ve launched the EcoXi and our Access Zero fully-electric van mounted MEWP; as well as the recent launch of our new mobile WC products to enhance hygiene and employee experience that also strengthens our proposition.

From providing better access platform training to making green technology more widely available, our approach empowers our partners to solve many of their toughest problems – and benefit from our insatiable desire to continue moving the needle forward.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PARTNERSHIP WITH KELLING GROUP?

Staying on a budget is always a challenge for construction projects. Research shows that nine out of ten construction projects experienced cost overrun, with an average overspend of 28%. But what is more surprising is how predictable the cause of these problems is.

Every project manager knows that the true cost of their equipment is not just the price of hire – it’s the sum of everything it takes to operate it effectively. Vehicles like Mobile Welfare Units and Van Mounted MEWPs are essential for many projects. But what can leaders do to ensure they maximize the value of every unit?

The answer is forecasting

Cost overruns don’t happen because leaders don’t know there will be unexpected costs; they happen because leaders, in some cases, cannot accurately plan for them. There are multiple ways a piece of equipment can lead to unexpected cost increases, which makes it difficult to anticipate the cost. 

This is changing though, as suppliers today can provide far more accurate total cost forecasts – or even offer supply agreements that remove the risk altogether.

Historical data increases accuracy

Welfare Hire is a perfect example of this. Our mobile welfare units and lighting towers run on more sustainable power sources, which dramatically reduces operating costs. But we have also gathered a large volume of data from real projects, together amounting to over half a million operating days, enabling us to build our Eco Calculator.

While every project is unique, the running costs of mobile welfare units and lighting towers are relatively predictable. The ECO Calculator allows you to estimate the savings in running costs you will gain through Welfare Hire with a high degree of accuracy – and finetune your order to fit your budget.

Removing hidden costs

Forecasting is highly valuable, but another way to keep hidden costs under control is to simply remove them. Maintenance accounts for up to 30% of the total cost of most vehicles, which is why Access Hire includes full support and maintenance packages. 

By removing the guesswork around maintenance costs, project managers reduce their risk and enable more accurate budgeting. But this isn’t the only way they can take control of their budgets.

The power of leasing

Access Lease enables leaders to lease their Vehicle Mounted MEWPs for the duration of a project. Not only does this allow them to access best-in-class vehicles at a lower cost – and avoid long manufacturer lead times – it also allows you to spread costs and save as much as 50% compared with loan repayments.

With all of these innovations, keeping strategic equipment costs under control is no longer a question of guesswork – it’s a decision project leaders can make. Whether it’s mobile welfare units or Fully-Electric MEWPs, Kelling Group is ready to support your project in creating visibility, consistency and long-term savings.

Delays are the bane of construction and infrastructure projects. Recent research reveals that roughly 10% of activities on the average site are performed out of sequence¹, with over two-thirds of projects running over budget by more than 10% – and larger projects routinely taking 20% longer than anticipated.

How can these challenges be overcome? One simple solution is to choose the right partners. Suppliers of strategic equipment like Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms (VMAPs) and mobile welfare units should not only offer best-in-class products – they should be expected to support you throughout the project.

Here are four ways this can help avoid delays:

1. Availability

Delivering, collecting and servicing vehicles can be a serious logistical challenge, if your provider has limited access to specific areas and will take a long time getting to your site.

This limits the flexibility of your site, and leaves you vulnerable to unexpected delays. But Access Hire and Welfare Hire each provide both service and deliveries across the entire country. With the largest fleet in the country and an unparalleled delivery network, we are able to get you what you need faster and more reliably than other providers.

2. Specialist knowledge

Vehicle mounted access platforms, mobile welfare units, lighting towers – these are very technical pieces of equipment which require in-depth specialist knowledge. Without that knowledge, it will take longer to service the vehicle – and any issue you experience is more likely to recur.

As specialists in our chosen fields, both Welfare Hire and Access Hire pride ourselves not only on providing the best equipment, but the highest level of expertise. Our team is made up of specialists who know the ins-and-outs of the equipment we offer – to ensure we can offer the best service possible.

We offer detailed advice to our partners at the start of every hire, to ensure the right equipment is selected – and used to its full potential. Then we provide assistance throughout the entire process, so that issues are resolved faster.

3. Fully maintained equipment

Maintenance is essential for key strategic equipment. If your mobile welfare units or vehicle mounted access platforms suddenly stall or experience a mechanical fault, it can completely derail a day’s schedule, as you are unable to complete tasks involving the vehicles. And even if the vehicles do still function, you may be breaking regulatory requirements by using them without proper maintenance.

At Kelling Group, we pride ourselves on avoiding such problems. Both Access Hire and Welfare Hire include rigorous quality checks as part of our standard service offering. This creates a consistent level of quality, ensuring every mobile welfare unit, lighting tower and vehicle mounted access platform we provide is properly maintained- and supports your project, rather than disrupting it.

4. A complete support network

When problems do arise with your strategic equipment, they can often be dealt with very quickly – as long as there is proper support on-hand. That’s why both Access Hire and Welfare Hire benefit from a complete support network – from service teams in the office to engineers in the field.

Access Hire boosts this with a strategic network that enables us to provide 24/7/265 support. So even if your infrastructure project works through the night or early morning, you’ll have access to fast, responsive support if there’s any issue with your vehicle mounted access platforms.