Toilets on the construction site: how many, where, how often cleaned

As a rule of thumb from practice, plan one unit per ten people present at the same time. What counts is not the total workforce over the whole construction period but who is actually working on the site at the same time. With shift work the largest shift counts, with several trades the phase in which the work overlaps.

Our recommendation: plan one unit more rather than ending up with too few. An additional cabin costs €29.50 per week net on a long-term rental. Bottlenecks cost time, distance and goodwill on site and make it harder to meet the requirements of the Workplace Ordinance with confidence.

When the site is large

On extensive sites or with several construction phases, two smaller locations are usually better than one large one. Long walks to the toilet are not taken in practice, they are avoided. Two cabins at two points are therefore often more effective than four at one.

• No more than seven metres between vehicle and cabin, even once materials are stored there later on.
• Level, load-bearing ground that stays passable in rain and in winter.
• Close to the assembly point where breaks are taken, not at the far edge of the site.
• Not within the slewing range of the crane and not on the site road.
• With a hand-wash station: where people eat.

When the build moves on, the unit moves with it. The crane hook add-on costs €6.00 per week net and allows the cabin to be moved with the site crane. Let us know when the spot has to make way, and we schedule the move into the next service run.

On each service visit the tank is pumped out, the sanitary fluid renewed, the cabin cleaned, consumables restocked and the equipment checked. If usage changes, for example when an additional trade arrives on site, the interval can be adjusted by arrangement. How a service visit works in detail is explained in the article “How often is a site toilet cleaned?”.