Osborne Replaces Builders Huts with Modern Welfare Vans

The days of builders lunching in dingy huts may be at an end, with Osborne instead providing its housing maintenance workers with state-of-the-art ‘welfare vans’.

The vans come fully equipped with hot and cold running water, a chemical toilet, a microwave, seating area and electric heating – a far cry from the draughty sheds more commonly seen on building sites.
Alan Elliott, Operations Director at Osborne Property Services, said: ‘We have recently taken delivery of two of these vans to support our work with Dacorum Borough Council and the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and our operatives love them!

“They are not only warm and comfortable, but they are also really popular with local communities too as, where we use the vans, we no longer need to set up large site compounds that take up valuable communal community space.”

Under Health and Safety Executive rules, all contractors must supply welfare facilities for site workers within a ‘reasonable’ distance from a building site. On Osborne’s internal housing refurbishment jobs, as materials and waste are delivered and collected on a ‘just-in-time’ basis each day, these compounds are only needed for washing and resting purposes and so can be replaced by the vans.

Alan added: “Another benefit of the vans is their role at community events. For instance, we are supporting the Rennie Grove Hospice Hemel 10k run as well as the Osborne 50th Celebration Cycle Event, and are planning for the vans to be there providing seating and hot and cold drinks.”

Alan said Osborne so far has two of the welfare vans, and they have been such a success that two more vans have been ordered. ‘We will use the vans wherever appropriate as it removes the need for a full site compound,’ he said. ‘The benefits are many with the community seeing less distruption to valuable open space and a significant reduction in site traffic, with operatives travelling together in the van to and from the site.