Customer: City of Edinburgh Council

Location: Morton Hall, Edinburgh

Requirement: With the Pest Control team at City of Edinburgh Council divided between two small office buildings, the Council was keen to unite the administration and operational personnel in a single larger office building. Having everyone working from the same office would greatly improve efficiency and simplify working practices for the whole team.

Solution: The two existing small office buildings were on hire from Portakabin, so the Council went back to the leading modular building supplier to see what it could offer.

Roderick MacDougall, Manager of Bereavement and Pest Control Services at the Council, says: "We had always been more than happy with the service provided by our local Portakabin team, and Portakabin buildings had always provided us with excellent, permanent-quality accommodation. We decided that hiring a building from Portakabin offered the best solution because it avoided the major capital outlay associated with building a permanent structure, and we knew the build quality was very good."

Having assessed and understood the Council's requirements, Portakabin recommended a large high-quality Duplex modular building to fulfil the team's requirements. Durable, attractive, all-steel Duplex buildings offer versatile, column-free space, giving customers the flexibility to create everything from large open-plan areas to individual offices and meeting rooms.

The Duplex building specified for the Pest Control team includes a large open-plan office area for use by operational personnel, who are frequently out attending jobs. Adjoining this office is another smaller open-plan office for the team's four administration staff, plus a separate office for the team manager. In total, the building provides a base for 17 people.

Roderick continues: "The building provided by Portakabin meets our needs precisely. They added a couple of extra windows at our request and fitted external roller shutters. They also supplied us with a secure storage unit for our harmful chemicals. To keep the project as simple as possible and ensure it was completed quickly and efficiently, we sourced all of the work surfaces, desks and other finishing touches from Portakabin, giving us a single point of contact and making the project very easy for us to manage."

Portakabin delivered and installed the buildings on schedule, just five weeks after the order was placed, as promised by the unique Portakabin Customer Charter. This promises that all buildings will be delivered on time and on budget. For complete peace of mind, Portakabin even promises that if it ever fails to meet this commitment, it will provide a week's free hire for every day it is late.*

Roderick adds: "The team members are really pleased with their new offices, which provide a very pleasant, self-contained working environment. Once again Portakabin delivered an outstanding level of service at every stage of the project – their attention to detail and customer care were excellent."

*Terms and Conditions apply. A copy is available on request.