Short answer
A man camp is temporary housing for workers at a remote construction, oil and gas or mining site, where there are no homes or hotels close enough for a daily commute. A typical camp has dormitories, offices, a kitchen and canteen, toilet and shower blocks and a guard house at the gate, most often built from 5975 × 2435 mm flat pack units that four workers assemble in about three hours each. To plan and price a camp, see our Worker Camp and Man Camp Buildings page.
Who Builds a Man Camp and Why
Man camps are built by contractors and project owners on jobs far from towns: roads, railways, power lines, pipelines, mines and large plants. The camp keeps the workforce on site, cuts daily travel and gives the project control over meals, rest and safety. The same thing is called a worker camp, labour camp, work camp or mining camp accommodation, depending on the country and the industry.
A camp lasts as long as the contract, then moves. That is why most camps are built from container units rather than brick: bolted flat pack units can be taken down and rebuilt more than ten times, so the dormitories go on to the next job. For the units, layouts and ordering steps, see our Worker Camp and Man Camp Buildings page.
The Buildings a Man Camp Needs
| Building | What it is for | Built from |
|---|---|---|
| Dormitories | Bedrooms for workers; beds per room set by you | Flat pack units, 5975 × 2435 × 2810 mm, stacked with walkways |
| Offices | Site management and meeting rooms | Single offices, two-in-one offices and glazed corridor units |
| Kitchen and canteen | Food preparation and dining | Several units joined into one room |
| Toilets | Toilet blocks beside the dormitories | Five-stall toilet blocks, or men and women units |
| Showers | Washing after shifts | Shower containers with 5 stalls, or 2 showers and 2 wash troughs |
| Guard house | Control of who enters the camp | Access control cabin with a row of turnstiles |
| Stores and other rooms | Tools, laundry, first aid | Standard units with fit-out listed on your quote |
Layouts from our catalogue drawings. Toilet and shower units arrive plumbed and need water, drain and power on site.
How a Man Camp Is Planned
- Head count - how many workers, the split of men and women, and how many share a room
- Shifts - day and night shifts change how many beds, showers and canteen seats are needed at once
- Site - the size and shape of the plot, access for 17.5 m trucks and space for a crane or forklift
- Services - water, drainage and power points for the washroom units and kitchen
- Local rules - permits, fire escape routes and room standards, checked with your client and the local authority
- Drawing - we place every building on one camp layout drawing and send it with a container loading plan and an FOB China quote
Which Container Units to Use
- Flat pack units for dormitory and office blocks - they stack into multi-storey buildings and join into larger rooms; the floor count is confirmed on the drawing
- Folding units for the first rooms on site - each stands in about 3 minutes, and a 17.5 m truck carries 17 of them against 9 flat pack units
- Expandable units for manager housing, a clinic or a large office - a 20 ft unit gives about 35 m² inside and opens in about two hours
- Washroom units and the turnstile gate cabin come from the same factory, so the whole camp is one order
What a Man Camp Looks Like
In short, rows of multi-storey dormitory blocks with outside stairs, washrooms beside each block and offices with a gate cabin at the entrance - our separate answer on what a man camp looks like walks through the layout zone by zone.
What Is Not in the Container Order
Foundations, roads, fencing, water supply, sewage treatment and power generation are site works, usually done by a local contractor. We show base positions and the water, drain and power connection points on our drawing so the groundwork can start while the units are built. Your crew assembles the units with our written and video installation guides; four workers assemble one flat pack unit in about three hours.
Planning Your Camp With Us
We are a container house factory with production bases in Shandong and Guangdong, and we work with contractors and camp operators who need the whole camp from one source, and with dealers who resell camp units. Send us your head count, rooms per floor and site size; we reply within one working day with a camp layout drawing, a container loading plan and an FOB China quote. Standard sizes can be mixed in one order, and you can check the production line on a video factory tour before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a man camp the same as a labour camp?
Yes. Man camp is the usual term in North America; labour camp, worker camp and work camp are used in other regions. All of them mean housing for a workforce at a remote site, built from 5975 × 2435 mm flat pack units in our case.
How many toilets does a man camp need?
It depends on head count and local rules. Each of our toilet blocks has five stalls; send us the number of workers and we propose the number of toilet and shower units on the drawing.
How fast can a man camp be set up?
Once the base is ready, four workers assemble one flat pack unit in about three hours and a folding unit stands in about 3 minutes. The total depends on how many crews you put on site.
Can a man camp be moved to the next project?
Yes. Bolted flat pack units can be taken down and rebuilt more than ten times, so the same dormitories serve several contracts.
How many floors can camp buildings have?
Flat pack units are built to be stacked into multi-storey blocks; the floor count depends on the base and local rules and is confirmed on your drawing.
Why Buyers Choose Cabinrise
We are a container house manufacturer with production bases in Shandong and Guangdong, China. Expandable, folding and flat pack houses, offices, guard houses and toilet units all come from our factories - so a whole camp, office block or home can be one order, drawn on one layout and shipped to your port. Every quote comes with a layout drawing and loading plan, standard sizes can be mixed in one order, and you are welcome to visit the factory or tour it by video first.
- Factory-direct from Shandong and Guangdong
- Layout drawing and loading plan with every quote
- Mixed sizes in one order
- Factory visits and video tours welcome
- Written and video installation guides