Saving Time Through 'Construction in Parallel'

Providing accommodations for a workforce on the road has always been problematic. Distant and sometimes remote locations mean employees must stay on site for long periods of time. Williams Scotsman has a solution it calls “construction in parallel.” The company’s innovative modular full-service units are manufactured and assembled off-site, allowing customers to focus on their key priorities. When the modules are complete, Williams Scotsman installs them. “We offer a large variety of flexible solutions to our customers, to cover all the basic needs of a project,” says Andrew Auns, Vice President and General Manager of the company. “We hope to evolve into a complete service provider and assume the operational capabilities of camps by offering cooking, cleaning and security services, which we call workforce accommodation.”

From a productivity standpoint, Auns believes the company’s most attractive asset is its ability to design and build a personalized solution that caters to individual client needs. With its “360° service,” Williams Scotsman sources furniture, site services and other preparatory necessities that are not a core competency for construction companies, providing them with all they require to begin a project. In this way, the companies can focus their attention on areas that are crucial to the productivity and operation of the project. Another asset is the flexibility its product provides. “In the past when people thought of modules, they thought of 2.4m by 11.5m trailers, which we still offer, and they form effective solutions,” Auns says. “However, our new AsFlex offering can be modified to changing needs.”

Williams Scotsman’s products combine a variety of features that allow workers to live closer to the site, which promotes greater productivity. The company can provide complete work camp solutions that allow better control of employees, create adequate living quarters and reduce safety and security concerns. “This ultimately leads to a happier workforce, fewer safety incidents and the completion of projects on time,” Auns says.

To control costs, Williams Scotsman is constantly looking for more efficient ways to source. “We are the largest mobile space supplier in Mexico and North America and can analyze our resources and costs in different economies of scale to ensure we can control our expenditures and offer the best deals to our customers.” The products also 181 function in extreme conditions and remote areas, says Auns. “We can customize water and waste-water tanks to attach to our units and we partner with third-party providers to service these.” In addition, the company can power the units with generators if necessary, set up temporary subpanels from established electrical sources to tie to its units or plug into existing permanent connections.

Williams Scotsman has completed projects for companies that have requested customized entertainment, dining and dorm areas with beds, TVs, lockers and an environment conducive to the comfort of the workers. As construction companies transition to different stages of a project, Williams Scotsman adapts its solutions to fit the unique needs of the client. “This is an example of how we can accommodate a company that has already completed a project as well as a company that will be starting a new development and reusing the existing modules.” After minimal modifications, the modules were installed for use by a different company within two to three weeks and without delaying the project.

For another project the company has been contracted to provide five office buildings that will accommodate over 400 workers and will be fully furnished with desks, electrical outlets and internet connections. There is no natural water surge in the area so Williams Scotsman will install septic water systems and tanks.

With a product portfolio that can solve most of the space needs of any mine, Williams Scotsman has worked with major developers and adapted to their specifications. “The best practice that we have developed in Mexico is being able to adopt the AsFlex product much faster than our counterpart in the US,” Auns says. “We have already used the AsFlex product in four large projects, from initial assembly to disassembly for new projects.”