Specifying workforce housing for a remote project is a procurement decision with a long tail: get the accommodation strategy right and the camp supports the programme; get it wrong and every mobilisation, demobilisation and winter becomes a cost line. This buyer's checklist sets out the decision areas that most often determine whether workforce housing performs on site — from module format and structural loading through to the support systems that keep a camp habitable where no municipal services exist. It is written for project buyers, procurement teams and engineering managers who need to compare proposals on substance rather than presentation.
1. Define the accommodation requirement before you approach suppliers
Remote workforce housing is not a single product. The requirement differs depending on whether you are housing a construction workforce for the duration of a build, operating a long-life mining or energy camp, or standing up emergency accommodation at short notice. Before requesting quotations, fix the following:
- Occupancy and duration. Peak headcount, expected occupancy profile and planned camp life. These drive the choice between relocatable modular accommodation and demountable formats that can be recovered and reused on a later project.
- Layout and density. Single, double or multi-storey arrangements, and whether an I, U, L or courtyard layout suits the site boundary and access routes. Storey count affects foundations, access stairs and fire planning.
- Climate and exposure. Design wind and snow assumptions, temperature range and ground conditions. A camp for a copper mine built for −55 °C conditions and a camp for a solar power station in Saudi Arabia are engineering problems of a different order.
- Support systems. Power, water, wastewater, fire protection, surveillance and furnishing. On a remote site these are not optional extras; they are the difference between a camp that opens on schedule and one that does not.
Write these parameters down and issue them with the enquiry. A supplier who receives a defined brief can respond with a concept rather than a catalogue page.
2. Select the building system and format against the site, not the brochure
CDPH's workforce housing is built on a factory-prefabricated modular house system: standard modules are bolted together on site, and the resulting buildings are relocatable and reusable. The same module platform is offered in several transport and assembly formats, and the choice between them is a logistics decision as much as a technical one.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Module sizes | 6055 × 2990 × 2896 mm (internal 5845 × 2780 × 2500 mm); 6055 × 2435 × 2896 mm (internal 5845 × 2225 × 2520 mm) |
| Frame | Galvanised cold-formed steel, t = 3.0 mm, SGH340, factory prefabricated |
| Design loads | Roof live load 1.0 / 0.5 kN/m²; floor live load 2.0 kN/m²; wind load 0.6 / 0.5 kN/m² |
| Insulation | Roof and floor: 100 mm glass wool |
| Walls | 75 mm colour-steel sandwich panels; seamless S-type rock wool composite panels |
| Flooring | 1.5 / 1.6 mm rubber-plastic flooring |
| Doors and windows | Steel doors; integrated PVC sliding windows with security bars and fly screens |
| Services routing | Electrical circuits pre-fitted in the roof; water supply along the walls; wall-side drainage |
| Storeys and layouts | Single, double, triple or more storeys; I, U, L or courtyard layouts |
Two format variants are built on this module system, each with a distinct logistics profile:
- Flat pack. The 6055 mm standard box is packed flat for transport and assembled on site — useful where shipping volume is the binding constraint.
- Detachable. Bolted, demountable modules that can be taken apart and reused — the format to consider when the camp will be relocated to a second project.
Ask each supplier to state which format they are proposing and why, against your transport route, crane availability and site labour. A proposal that does not address these points is incomplete. Beyond the modular house system, CDPH also supplies the ZA/ZM prefab house series and steel structures where the camp programme calls for them.
3. Specify the six camp support systems as one package
Accommodation modules do not make a camp. CDPH delivers one-stop camp solutions that combine modular and prefab buildings with six camp support systems: solar power, fire protection, water treatment, wastewater treatment, surveillance, and furnishing and sanitary. Every support system can be configured according to the camp's requirements and is priced together with the camp project, so the buyer sees one integrated scope rather than a set of disconnected supply contracts.
For remote workforce housing, this integration matters most in three areas:
- Power and water. Solar power and water treatment must be sized against the actual occupancy profile and the site's supply position, not a nominal bed count.
- Wastewater. Treatment capacity and discharge strategy should be agreed with the environmental regulator early; retrofitting capacity into a live camp is disruptive.
- Fire protection and surveillance. Both should be designed into the camp layout from the start. Fire performance is testable: one living camp for a solar power station in Saudi Arabia had its fire performance verified by Intertek testing.
The furnishing and sanitary system (SYS-06) covers dormitory beds, communal-area furniture, moisture-proof anti-slip tiles and complete sanitary ware. Interiors are finished at the factory so the camp is ready to occupy on delivery. Supply is matched across beds, storage and office furniture, with anti-slip tiles and weather-resistant interior panels and modular integrated bathroom installation; ablution blocks are built from these modular bathroom units. As with the other support systems, SYS-06 is configured to the camp's requirements and priced with the project.
For camps where the support systems carry most of the engineering risk, see the dedicated remote workforce camps page. Typical applications across the portfolio include mining, energy, education, medical, tourism, engineering and construction, military, and emergency rescue camps.
4. Verify the manufacturer's engineering and certification position
Workforce housing is a long-lead, project-specific purchase, and the manufacturer's capability should be checked with the same rigour as the product specification. CDPH — Beijing Chengdong International Modular Housing Corporation — was founded in 2009 and operates three production bases in Hebei, Xinjiang and Sichuan. The Hebei base is 48 km from Tianjin Port, which is relevant when comparing freight routes and incoterms for export projects. The company operates 13 subsidiaries and offices with a team of 500+ people, including 100+ engineers, and reports 5,000+ projects implemented in 100+ countries, with export markets in Eastern Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Overseas projects run through CDPH (HAINAN) COMPANY LIMITED, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Beijing corporation.
Certification is a checklist item in its own right. At category level, CDPH holds CE certification for modular container houses, prefab houses and light steel villas; ISO 14001 and ISO 45001; product carbon footprint certification; National High-Tech Enterprise status; NATA materials certification for Australia; Intertek fire-resistance certification; CCS factory approval; and Intertek ICC-ES / WH building-material compliance for the US market. Fourteen key welders are qualified to AWS, CWB and CE standards. Certificates available upon request — ask for the certificates relevant to your destination market and project type, and confirm their scope against your specification.
Reference experience is best assessed by region and project type rather than by logo. The CDPH portfolio includes a port expansion camp in Cote d'Ivoire, a construction camp for a methanol plant, a camp for a cross-sea bridge project in Croatia, a natural gas project camp in Nigeria, a copper mine camp built for −55 °C conditions, and a living camp for a solar power station in Saudi Arabia. Ask prospective suppliers for references that match your climate, sector and contract structure.
5. Agree the commercial and delivery model in writing
CDPH is a project-based manufacturer: there is no standard MOQ, and every project is quoted individually after engineering review. The engineering team replies within one business day with a concept proposal and a budget range. Use that first response as a test of the supplier's engagement — a concept proposal grounded in your brief is worth more than a generic price list.
Before award, close out the following in the contract documentation:
- Scope boundary. Confirm what is included in the camp package — buildings, support systems, furnishing and sanitary — and what remains the buyer's scope, such as civil works, foundations and site distribution.
- Configuration record. The support systems are configured per camp and priced with the project, so the agreed configuration should be documented line by line.
- Compliance evidence. List the certificates required for the destination market and make their provision a contractual deliverable.
- Logistics and assembly. Agree the format variant, transport assumptions, lifting plan and who supervises assembly.
- Reuse and relocation. If the camp will move, specify the demountable or relocatable format explicitly and record the dismantling assumptions.
The most reliable way to de-risk a workforce housing procurement is to engage the manufacturer's engineers early, with a defined brief and a clear list of decision areas. To discuss a project, contact the CDPH team with your occupancy profile, site conditions and required support systems; the engineering team will respond within one business day with a concept proposal and a budget range. CDPH is headquartered at No. 8 Art Museum East Street, Xiaobao Art Park, Songzhuang Town, Beijing, China; telephone +86-10 69597331; phone/WhatsApp +86-180 01125803; WhatsApp +86-150 1044 5216; email [email protected].