Onsite Construction Offices-- Everything You Need to Know
Image courtesy of Unsplash.
If you’re in the construction industry, you probably understand the need for organization and security on every jobsite. Your worksite is in constant motion every single day, and you’ll always need quick access to your materials, quick responses from site managers, and plenty of space to organize all of your paperwork and important documents.
Yet with so many moving parts in your everyday life, how can you find a good solution to your organizational needs onsite? Well, that’s where we can help-- why not consider setting up an onsite, ground level office?
Ground level construction offices are used on construction sites all over the world. Although there are plenty of ways to go about setting one up, most people consider shipping containers to be the most accessible and, often, most affordable option. With some modifications, a shipping container like the ones we sell at Rent-A-Container can serve your business with a fully functional onsite construction office, allowing you to respond to needs as they arise and keep everything running as smoothly as possible. Consider talking to a representative today about your specific office needs to find out how Rent-A-Container can help you get started!
But what are all the benefits of setting up an onsite container office? We’ll walk you through all the pros of using a shipping container as your construction office, from the amount of storage space a container can provide to its benefits for your wallet.
Why Set Up a Shipping Container Office?
Shipping container offices can benefit your worksite in a variety of ways. Image courtesy of Almar.
We know you’re probably considering a lot of different factors before you decide what kind of setup you need at your jobsite-- whether that means temporary storage, a multi-purpose office, or a secure place to keep paperwork and important documents.
A shipping container office is a great option to fulfill any of these needs. With different sizes available, you’ll be able to store materials and tools or set up a dedicated workspace as the need arises. You’ll also be able to keep your onsite belongings secure during your off hours while saving money on construction and labor overall. Let’s go into more of the specifics!
Plenty of Storage Space
Shipping containers come in several sizes to meet your specific storage space needs. Image courtesy of Unsplash.
The first major benefit of setting up a shipping container office on your jobsite is that containers can offer you plenty of storage space for materials and tools that you aren’t currently using.
Shipping containers come in various custom sizes, but the most common are 20’ and 40’ containers-- these make up the majority of shipping containers that you see on a daily basis. Although you might struggle to tell just by looking at a container, they offer a considerable amount of storage space. 20’ standard containers, for example, are 20 feet long, 8.5 feet tall, and 8 feet wide, making for an overall storage volume of 1170 cubic feet. They offer about the same amount of space as a one or two bedroom apartment-- which works great if you need to use your office as a storage space on occasion.
40’ standard containers offer over 1000 more cubic feet of storage space, making them ideal if you need a little extra space to store tools and small pieces of equipment on occasion. For reference, 40’ containers are considered to be about the size of a two or three bedroom apartment.
Flexible Floor Plan
Arrange and rearrange your desks, tables, and shelves in a shipping container office in order to optimize your space usage. Image courtesy of Inhabitat.com.
Even if you don’t need to use an onsite container office for storage purposes, shipping containers are still a great option. Thanks to their simple, rectangular floor plans, it’s very easy to organize the inside of a container office to suit your company’s specific needs. A single shipping container could serve as a single large office, or it could be divided into a handful of smaller ones with little effort.
The fact that shipping containers usually come in standard sizes makes it easier to figure out how to best utilize your space, too. All standard containers are 8.5 feet tall and 8 feet wide-- so it’s easy to calculate how many desks, worktables, shelves, and other furniture you can fit inside in order to optimize your productivity. With a flexible floor plan that allows you to organize and optimize your workspace as you need, a shipping container office will help you stay on top of your projects and keep all your paperwork in order.
Security Benefits
Shipping containers offer great security benefits. Image courtesy of Container Lock Box.
Security is always a concern on any construction site. You have sensitive information and important documentation tucked away in your onsite office, or perhaps some spare materials or expensive equipment-- and you definitely don’t want that going anywhere. You need to have some certainty that your office is secure while you’re away from the jobsite. But how?
Luckily for you, shipping container offices are generally more secure than the average office building or storage unit. Shipping containers aren’t just made of any metal, either. Usually, they’re made out of Corten steel, a highly durable material forged by combining several steel alloys.
The steel doors of your shipping container office are definitely going to be much more difficult to cut through than a normal door, and you can always add extra padlocks to give yourself an added sense of security. With a shipping container office housing all of your important information, you can rest easy knowing that your belongings are about as safe as they can be whenever you’re offsite.
Guarding Against the Elements
Shipping containers are naturally resistant to rust and can be modified to be even more weatherproof. Image courtesy of Mini Warehousing, Inc.
Have you ever had a roof leak in your onsite office or even at home? It’s definitely not fun, and besides damaging your belongings, it also usually damages your ceilings, walls, and floors-- just one little leak can lead to a huge costly mess just to clean it all up and keep it from happening again. In the everyday bustle of a construction site, that’s one of the last things you want to have on your mind.
Fortunately, using a shipping container office to store your important documents and to serve as a workspace can also help cut down on the likelihood of running into weather problems mid-project. Besides the fact that it’s durable, Corten steel is used to construct most shipping containers because it is extremely resistant to rust. If you’re working in a rainy area, your shipping container office will probably not rust, meaning that all your belongings inside it will stay safe.
Since the exterior walls of your container office are made of metal, too, they aren’t very porous-- so they won’t soak up water and allow it to seep through to the interior. This means that the inside of your container office is less likely to experience water damage. And if you want to be extra sure that your shipping container will stand up to the rain and wind, you can always make a point of purchasing a watertight shipping container designed specifically to withstand inclement weather conditions.
And if you need to ensure a consistent temperature inside your office, either for your employees’ comfort or to safely store materials? A shipping container office can cover that, too. Rent-A-Container can help you modify your shipping container to be temperature controlled, whether you need to store things at a cold temperature or simply keep the heat out to provide your colleagues with a nice place to relax.
Eco-Friendly Workspace
Shipping container offices tend to be more environmentally friendly than other types of temporary office spaces. Image courtesy of PSE.
We all know that construction can be extremely expensive and complicated. You’re already working on at least one major project, and that’s probably taking up a lot of physical resources as well as human labor. You need an office nearby to keep things running smoothly, but transportation costs can get higher than you’d like if you have to drive back and forth between the office and jobsite four or five times a day. At the same time, building a small-scale office onsite only to dismantle it when you’ve finished work might just create an even bigger mess.
Using a shipping container as your onsite office can help you minimize your resource usage where possible. Since shipping containers are designed to be durable and undergo heavy use, they’re easy to manufacture and can be reused. Purchasing a shipping container to use as your onsite office will likely be more straightforward and have less of an ecological effect than other types of offices will. Even better, you don’t have to dismantle or demolish your office after you’ve finished with your current project-- instead, you can transport it to your next jobsite, cutting down on the resources you’re using to set up an office there, too.
Quick Response Time from Site Managers
With your container office onsite instead of farther away, you’ll be able to stay involved with your business and respond to problems as they arise. Image courtesy of Unsplash.
As we’ve mentioned, construction sites tend to be…busy. All the time. There are so many moving parts in progress at all hours of the day, and it’s not unusual for problems to arise unexpectedly.
Sometimes, those problems require a quick response from site managers and other personnel. Yet if your office is too far from your worksite, your ability to address issues as they arise will be extremely impaired.
An onsite shipping container office can be a great benefit in this respect, too-- with everything moving just outside your own door, you’ll be able to keep track of what’s going on and anticipate issues before they arise, keeping you more involved with your construction project.
Cost Effective Solution
Shipping containers are cost effective as storage solutions as well as office space. Image courtesy of Unsplash.
Shipping containers generally prove to be extremely cost effective solutions for temporary onsite office spaces. For starters, it’s relatively easy to adapt a shipping container into a functional office-- you’ll need to wire up some electricity and make some modifications, for sure, but the process of setting up a container office is overall simple and pretty cheap.
Besides that, shipping containers are already affordable in most instances. They can be purchased new or used, and the price will definitely vary depending on the size and condition of the container you choose. But most standard 20 foot containers, for example, cost between $1,800 and $6,500 while standard 40 foot containers can range anywhere from $2,000 to upwards of $9,800. When you consider that they are easy to transport, can undergo heavy use, and can be reused at different construction sites as needed, the cost of purchasing a shipping container is well justified.
At Rent-A-Container, we sell shipping containers at a competitive price compared to other companies. Here, you’ll find 20 foot containers for anywhere from $1,100 to $5,000 and 40 foot containers for between $1,350 and $9,800.
How Can Rent-A-Container Help You?
Rent-A-Container can help you get started with your construction site container office! Image courtesy of Rent-A-Container.
We’ve gone over some of the biggest benefits to using a shipping container for your onsite construction office-- shipping containers offer plenty of storage space, are secure, and can save you some money in the long run. But where does Rent-A-Container come in?
Rent-A-Container sells and rents a wide variety of shipping containers, both new and used, at great prices compared to other vendors. Although the price of your Rent-A-Container shipping container will vary depending on its size and condition, most of our containers cost between $1,100 and $9,800.
We also service plenty of different areas across the United States. All you have to do is check our online catalog using your zip code to see what promotions are available in your city!
And if you need to make modifications to your shipping container office or want help talking through what features you need it to have, you’re always welcome to talk to a Rent-A-Container representative. Whether you need windows installed, air conditioning, or an extra set of doors, we can help you figure out what steps to take in order to set up your own jobsite shipping container office. Talk to a representative today to get started!