Established in 1982, Hull Animal Welfare Trust is a charity which cares for thousands of animals in Hull and the East Riding every year.

For more than three decades, the charity looked after its own buildings and equipment, which, as a 24-hour operation, was a challenge on top of the daily running of the operation and caring for the animals.

The challenge

The site has to be a safe working environment for both animals and staff, and new buildings built by Sewell Construction in recent years provided new warden and animal accommodation.

The team needed expert advice and guidance regarding ongoing maintenance of the site, as well as training around new fire and security systems installed, to ensure they were safe, legal and compliant going forward.

They needed to be able to call on a reliable team which provides a one-stop-shop for everything they need and is always available should any problems arise.

The solution

The team met with the charity representatives to discuss their needs and tailored a full bespoke facilities management package to meet their requirements, which included planned and reactive maintenance support, compliance checks, fire alarm system installation and training for staff.

Due to the charity caring for animals in a live environment, specific measures needed to be taken to ensure materials used on site are robust and sturdy, and lifecycle planning to maintain longevity of the buildings and wider site was built into the plan.

In addition to planned and reactive maintenance support, water checks for legionella, boiler servicing, emergency lighting checks, building inspections, fire extinguisher checks and security system access control training were among the support put in place.

Additional advice and guidance, providing quotes and meetings on site to review the contract are also provided as part of the bespoke package for the charity.

The results

Structured facilities management support continues to be provided at Hull Animal Welfare Trust, ensuring best value for money for the charity and giving them peace of mind that help is no more than 30 minutes away.

The Sewell team carries out weekly visits and telephone calls, and charity staff and volunteers can now fully concentrate on the animals and the day-to-day running of the shelter while Sewell takes care of the rest.

The charity experienced issues with its drainage and the sewage pump became blocked due to materials obstructing the system. The Sewell Facilities Management team cleansed the whole system as goodwill and evaluated items being washed which caused the blockage, putting filters in the main outlets to stop any stray material before it reached the drainage system.