Your main focus on a job site is getting the job done. You have to make sure you’ve got your materials, tools, and workers in place and ready to go. One thing you can’t forget about, however, is taking care of your crew during those times when they’re not actively working.
Providing restroom facilities is absolutely essential for many reasons. Your workers need to be happy and comfortable, your job site needs to be sanitary, and you’re legally required to have a certain number of facilities available. We’ve compiled a list of reminders and best practices to help keep your workplace clean and compliant.
OSHA Requirements
OSHA requires every job site workplace to have portable toilets. The minimum number of toilets breaks down like this:
- For 20 employees or fewer, you must have one toilet.
- If you have more than 20 employees, you must have one toilet seat and one urinal for every 40 employees.
- For job sites with over 200 employees, you must have one toilet seat and one urinal for every 50 employees.
These toilets must be “readily available,” which means they must be no further than a 10 minute walk away and they must be kept clean. While there isn’t a specific OSHA regulation on how often portable restrooms must be serviced, there are some useful guidelines you can follow. If 20 people are using one toilet, it should be cleaned twice a week. If only 10 people are using it, once a week will do.
Placement of Portable Toilets
So where should you put these toilets? Apart from the requirement of being readily available, there are a few other factors to consider as well. Most importantly, they should be located in as well ventilated an area as possible. This helps with sanitary as well as safety concerns.
Portable toilets should be on level ground, preferably pavement. If you need to place them on grass or dirt, you may want to stake them down to help prevent tipovers. It’s also a good idea to group your restrooms together in banks for extra protection against sideways tipping.
Additional Necessities
Don’t forget about everything else that goes with your restrooms! Toilet paper is an absolute must, as are paper towels for drying off after workers have washed their hands. Speaking of which, it’s a good idea to rent some portable hand wash stations as well. Even if your portable toilets have sinks, the extra stations will help keep lines short.
Finally, you’re going to want trash receptacles near your portable toilets for used paper towels and other garbage. Some models of portable restrooms come equipped with trash containers, but it’s often more efficient to encourage workers to wash up at the hand wash stations after they’ve finished.
Plan for Your Workers’ Comfort and Safety
Texas Outhouse has a wide variety of portable toilets for construction sites. We offer basic models, luxury restrooms, shower stations, and much more. Take a look at our inventory to find everything you need for your next job.
