News & Press Releases
July 2009: New Lorry Delivered
Portable Space are pleased to announce the commissioning of their latest purpose built crane lorry. Supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus East Anglia, fitted with a crane by Tip and Lift of Ipswich, and a specialist body by Webb Truck Equipment in Acton it is built to meet the latest Euro 5 emissions regulations, this vehicle will take the pressure off having only one crane equipped vehicle capable of operating within the London low emission zone.
It is effectively the twin of the 56 plated lorry delivered in February 2007, with an identical crane, wheel base and specification. Portable Space Limited Managing Director, Mark Black explained “for a hire operator it is very important to have vehicles with the same specifications, as this simplifies the removal of cabins from sites”.
The crane is the optimum size to offload containers from the trailer in a straight line, without having to decouple, whilst maximising the carrying capacity of the lorry. This simplifies the delivery process, resulting in less site congestion and a quicker turn around. Built to meet all the latest regulations and utilising radio controlled operation it is safe, economical and comfortable to operate.
Driver Nathan Chittock commented “This vehicle will simplify my task of delivering cabins to the most awkward sites and help me to build Portable Spaces reputation for being able to safely deliver cabins to places that other companies would not think possible”.
April 2009: ISO 9001:2008 Inspection
In April 2009 the Portable Space Limited ISO inspection became due. Managing Director Mark Black explained “Having worked with the ISO system for 12 months we were very excited to check that the management system continues to conform with all the requirements, that the system continues to be effectively implemented and is capable of achieving our organisations policy objectives”
The audit was conducted by The British Accreditation Bureau and it established that everything had been maintained in accordance with the audit plan and not a single nonconformity was identified. The audit confirmed that the management system conforms with all the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, the very latest ISO standard. Mark Black, Managing Director added “the ISO system is a significant commitment by Portable Space Limited to demonstrate it is equipped to the highest standards and capable of undertaking any project involving portable and temporary storage or accommodation anywhere within the UK”.
26th November 2008: Portable Space Trade Mark Registered
Portable Space Limited are pleased to announce that “Portable Space” has been registered as a trademark by the UK Intellectual Property Office, the trademark covers a number of categories including Portable cabins built in steel and timber, container hire and leasing, and the provision of temporary accommodation.
A trademark or trade mark, identified by the symbols ®, is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organisation or other legal entity to identify that the products and/or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source of origin, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements.
The owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark.
In short – Portable Space is now a protected, exclusive trade mark that can only be used to describe the products and services of the company Portable Space Limited.
26th November 2008: Top Safety Accreditation for Portable Space Ltd
Portable Space Limited is one of the latest group of successful companies to join a leading edge scheme, designed to help industry improve its safety record.
The Suffolk based firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises very high standards of health and safety practise amongst UK contractors.
Employing 8 people, Portable Space is principally involved in cabin and container hire, sales and transport.
Specialising in the Construction and Commercial industries and with a £1.5 million turnover, Portable Space most recent clients have included major players such as the Ministry of Defence, Babcock Dyncorp, Spie Matthew Hall and The British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association.
The company’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business. “Many customers now expect evidence that we operate to the highest standards and Safe Contractor accreditation joins the growing list of approvals including ISO 9001:2000, Contractors Health and Safety Scheme and Investors In People” commented Mark Black, Managing Director.
SAFEcontractor accreditation is expected to enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.
SAFEcontractor is operated by international safety, health and environmental risk management specialists, the National Britannia Group. The system is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contract services.
Darran Hughes, Operations Director for SAFEcontractor at National Britannia said “Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies”.
“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Portable Space Limited has done. The firms’ high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector”.
Under the SAFEcontractor system, businesses undergo a vetting process, which examines health and safety procedure and their track record for safe practice.
Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered user only via a website, www.safecontractor.com.
Employer-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, which enables them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These employers agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.
Over 100 major nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.
For further information contact:
Mark Black, Managing Director, Portable Space Limited
Tel: 0845 3311424
Note to editors:
The National Britannia Group
The National Britannia Group is one of the UK’s largest independent safety, health and environmental risk management specialists, employing a total of 450 people within its UK operations. More than 200 of these personnel are scientists or other qualified professionals. The business provides leading edge solutions in disciplines such as health & safety, food safety, water quality control, environmental management, occupational health and hygiene, fire safety and asbestos management. It also operates two major information services on behalf of the UK Health & Safety Executive. Its heavy commitment to research and development has led to the creation of e-riskMANAGER, the world’s first interactive web-based risk management system. For more information visit www.WhatRisk.com.
For further information about the National Britannia Group, contact:
Steve McCormack
Working Word Public Relations – 029 2048 8778
Portable Space Limited based in Suffolk are pleased to announce that they have taken over A1 Accommodation based in Cambridgeshire with immediate effect, following the retirement of company owner Alan Morris.
Alan Morris of A1 Accommodation said “Portable Space led by Managing Director Mark Black is a growing family business and hirer of high quality portable units of all types and will continue to provide an excellent service to meet all of your hire requirements, may we take this opportunity to thank all existing and previous customers for all of your business during the last eight years, we are confident that you will continue to receive an excellent quality of service from Portable Space”. The self storage business of A1 Accommodation remains unaffected.
Portable Space are an ISO 9001:2000 and Contractors Health and Safety Scheme (CHAS) audited company covering East Anglia and the South East. A wide range of steel anti-vandal and jackleg units are available from stock including offices, canteens, meeting rooms, drying rooms, toilets and storage containers. Please also contact Portable Space for single cubicle chemical toilets serviced weekly, and septic tank emptying services for bulk toilet tanks.
Portable Space Limited operate a fleet of HIAB equipped vehicles. All drivers and maintenance staff are CPCS registered for double stacking and installing portable units. These vehicles are also available for hire to move your own plant and equipment.
How do Portable Space invoice?
We raise invoices in arrears on the last Friday of the month; invoices will therefore be for either 4 or 5 week periods. For existing A1 hire customers you will receive your first Portable Space invoice at the end of August 2008 or end of September 2008 depending on the previous A1 Accommodation invoice date.
How to contact us?
Call us on the usual A1 Accommodation number 01480 810013 or 0845 3311424, please speak to Kathy Faint (Office Manager) kathy@portablespace.co.uk or Mark Black (Managing Director) mark@portablespace.co.uk for hire and transport related enquiries.
The 2012 Olympics is a great opportunity for businesses based in the Eastern region to tender and supply goods and services through the “Compete For” portal which has been specifically designed for this purpose.
Portable Space Limited, a forward thinking and growing cabin and container hire and sales company identified that in order to get its share of the Olympics work it was necessary to audit its procedures to demonstrate to contractors that it meets the high standards required for such a high profile contract.
For this reason in autumn 2007 Portable Space identified ISO 9001:2000 and the Contractors Health and Safety Scheme as being the most relevant standards required of a conscientious cabin and container company.
ISO audit took place in March 2008 and Portable Space passed with flying colours. Managing Director Mark Black commented “We have passed our rigorous ISO audit with no changes to our existing systems, any organisation can work with Portable Space knowing that for the hire, sale, design, transport and maintenance of cabins and containers they are working with an experienced and professional organisation audited to the highest standards.” For more information about Portable Space and its quality systems click here.
CHAS audit took place in June 2008, this involved detailed investigation of all the Health and Safety procedures including staff training, risk assessments, method statements, staff inductions, health and safety policy and statements. After a detailed audit the systems in place required no changes to become accredited as compliant by CHAS. Managing Director Mark Black commented “CHAS is used as a benchmark by many of our customers so this will make it easier for them to deal with us knowing that we have been inspected and meet the high standards required by CHAS” For further information about the CHAS scheme please go to www.chas.gov.uk.
Construction site workers need adequate toilet and washing facilities, a place to warm up and eat their food and somewhere to store clothing. However, these basic requirements are often neglected. Good facilities can have a positive benefit on health and well-being and can help prevent dermatitis.
Fixed construction sites have to comply with the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.
If you have overall control of the site, you are responsible for making sure that legal requirements for welfare are met for the site. In practice, this means the principal contractor or other person in control of the site will often either provide or arrange for common facilities for everyone. If you are an employer or are self-employed, you need to ensure that everyone working under your control is either provided with or has access to suitable welfare facilities. This will need to be agreed with the person who has overall control of the site. If work is carried out in occupied premises, eg offices, factories, etc, it may be possible to make arrangements with the client to use the permanent facilities at the premises.
Portable Space Limited have a range of portable facilities including Steel Anti-Vandal to help construction site managers meet all these requirements.
Site tow water bowser
Following recent demand Portable Space have added the site towable water bowser to their hire fleet. Managing Director Mark Black explained “Many sites do not have access to mains water for flushing toilets; we have now introduced the site tow water bowser. When the site tow bowser is used in conjunction with toilet blocks (2+1, 3+1, 4+1, 5+1) fitted with the Portable Space booster pump, sites have hot water hand washing and mains flushing toilets with minimum hassle”
The bowser can be cheaply and easily towed around on site and filled by nearby stand pipe or hydrant, or alternatively Portable Space will come and fill it up for you. Further details are available here.
Single cubicle mains toilet
The single cubicle chemical toilet has become widely used on smaller construction sites where there is not enough space for the larger toilet block, Portable Space have now introduced the mains connected single cubicle toilet as an alternative to the toilet block or chemical toilet for sites where there is mains sewage (or septic tank), water supply and electrics yet with only the space for a chemical toilet.
Regional manager Mike Harris commented “With hot water heating and aluminium floor this toilet is compact yet meets the needs of the welfare regulations all at a very reasonable price” For further details click here
Portable Space Limited are pleased to announce that they are now stockists for the Expanda range of flat pack and man portable cabins and containers including Collapsible Stores, Collapsible Chemical Stores, Collapsible Shelters, Collapsible Vaults.
Mike Harris, Regional Manager said “On some sites it is not possible or safe to deliver pre-fabricated buildings by lorry mounted crane because of weak or low bridges, overhead obstructions such as electricity cables, or because of restricted site entrances and access, we have lot of demand for alternatives and the expanda range will enable us to offer just that”.
The Portable Space Collapsible Range is a handy alternative and is light enough to be offloaded in sections from a flat bed pick up and carried by two people. It is made up sections that are small enough to fit through small passageways. Assembly of these Collapsible Buildings will take 2-3 people around 1-2 hours using a socket set.
The flat pack & collapsible cabin or office, 'Expandakabin' can be transported and erected in sections by hand, making it ideal for use in previously inaccessible locations.
Expandakabin
Manufactured from fully galvanised steel (no rusting),Expandakabin has attractive smooth panelling, finished in a powder coated moss green (RAL 6005) on the outside and an off white (RAL 9002) powder coat on the inside. The unit has a guttered roof and features a double glazed u-PVC window fitted as standard.
The interior of the insulated Expandakabin is pleasantly light and airy with a durable and smart wall finish - suitable for surface mounted electrics. Once assembled the unit can be moved by crane / forklift or demounted back into it's neat flat-pack form for storage purposes.
Expandakabins can be linked side to side or end to end to provide additional space at any time after initial assembly.
Expandastore
It is light enough to be man handled and the components are small enough to fit through small passageways. No need for cranes, forklifts or specialist tools. Just a socket set - and you're away! (Up until now, the only alternative product was a tin shed, which offered minimal security, and even less in aesthetic appearance). Once erected, it can be lifted from its lifting eyes with a cargo on board!
ExpandaStore can be linked to another Expanda-Store unit to form large open plan areas of storage space as required (side by side and end to end).
Expandachem
Designed specially for the safe storage of hazardous materials. Featuring double doors for easy access, a sumped base for contained spillage and a suspended grated floor.
Great for siting in locations with limited access.
It is light enough to be man handled and the components are small enough to fit through small passageways. No need for cranes, forklifts or specialist tools. Just a socket set - and you're away!
Once erected, it can be lifted from its lifting eyes with a cargo on board!
Expandachem can be linked to another Expandachem unit to form large open plan areas of storage space as required (side by side and end to end).
Expandavault
This low cost, high quality product takes about 20 minutes to assemble and will keep your tools and valuables safe & secure.
The prefabricated ExpandaVault consists of an uninsulated flatpacked vault. Assembly is carried out by mounting the galvanized steel components on the ground requiring only manpower. Assembly of the building is simple, using nuts and bolts supplied.
Managing Director Mark Black said “We are delighted to have been given this dealership and as well as making these products available for sale, we will be adding them to our hire fleet across East Anglia, London and the South East”.
Portable Space are pleased to announce the commissioning of their latest purpose built crane lorry. Supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus and fitted with a crane and body by Tip and Lift of Ipswich, Suffolk. It meets the highest possible emissions status (Euro IV) and this vehicle is ready to operate inside the London Low Emission Zone when it is introduced later this year.
Portable Space are a cabin and container hire, sales and transport company and the vehicle will operate on existing contracts with a range of customers across East Anglia, London and the South East. The vehicle will also be available for contract hire for moving plant, cabins, containers and equipment.
Portable Space Managing Director, Mark Black commented “Lifting 1800kgs at over 14 metres will enable us to unload cabins without having to decouple the trailer, and make sure that we maintain our reputation of being able to deliver cabins and containers where other companies are unable to do so”. Designed specifically to their needs Portable Space have a vehicle ideally suited to the job, Mark Black added “We are now able to transport 2no 24ft units, 4no 12ft units or a single 34ft unit safely and efficiently which will ensure that we are well placed to offer customers the best possible delivery prices by carrying as many cabins to site as possible”. For further information about the Portable Space self loading transport fleet please click here.
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