Construction Trailers Get a Modern Makeover

Walk onto most any job site and you'll likely find one of the construction industry’s most recognized feature: the job site trailer.  This is where supervisors and managers meet to discuss project details, where paychecks get handed out on Friday and maybe the only air-conditioned space to be found on a hot, dusty day.

It’s often also cramped and crammed with second-hand furnishings, outdated office equipment and another antiquity: a land line.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Trailer manufacturers are stepping up their game and envisioning the construction trailers of tomorrow — comfortable, high-tech collaborative spaces that don’t feel or function like an afterthought. Some of these “trailers of tomorrow” are on the market now.

For example, modular room manufacturer Triumph recently introduced the "Mobile Big Room," which is part trailer and part project management solution. It's designed to accommodate users of Lean construction principles and the Integrated Project Delivery system by providing the open floor plan and breakout rooms necessary for pull planning sessions as well as one-on-one meetings. One side of the trailer features an IdeaPaint wall that can be used as a giant dry erase board.

The Mobile Big Room's design includes energy efficient, oversized windows for natural light, keyless entry locks, LED lighting and data ports.

Traditional construction trailer rental companies such as Williams Scotsman are hopping on board with units prewired for data hubs and Wi-Fi, as well as flat screen monitors for display during jobsite meetings.

As technology is integrated into more and more job site functions, no doubt these companies and others will rise to the challenge and create the high-tech mobile office construction companies will need to survive and thrive in the field.