Jobsite Toilet Count, Placement, Service, Washing Facilities, Winter Package, and Rental Cost

How many toilets your jobsite needs for your headcount, where they have to sit, how often they get serviced, what the washing, shower, change room, and drinking water rules add, and what the rental and service bill looks like.

The OSHA construction sanitation line is a headcount rule, not a comfort rule: one water closet for 20 employees, two for 21 to 40, three for 41 to 60, four for 61 to 80, five for 81 to 100, and one per 25 above 100. On multiple work areas the ratio tightens to one per 10 employees, and during the initial development of a site, before any permanent fixture exists, it is one per 25. Use your peak headcount for the shift, not your average, and count every trade on the payroll.

—Required toilet count for your headcount
—Placement, the 500 ft line, and trailer options
—Service visits, waste volume, and consumables
—Washing, shower, change room, and water rules
—Winter package, heat, and ice management
—Rental, service, and cost per worker-month
How the math works
  • Headcount table (29 CFR 1926.51(b)(1)): 1 fixture for 20 employees or fewer, 2 for more than 20 up to 40, 3 for 41 to 60, 4 for 61 to 80, 5 for 81 to 100, and 1 per 25 employees above 100. On multiple work areas the line is 1 per 10 employees, and during initial site development it is 1 per 25.
  • Placement: as near the work area as practicable, within 500 ft for a dry or chemical unit, on level ground, reachable without a scaffold climb, never in a fire lane, hydrant zone, gate swing, designated walkway, or a trench.
  • Service: maintain in a sanitary condition with a weekly minimum clean, tissue and wash consumables stocked, a service log with date, hauler, and gallons, and a waste load of 1 to 1.5 gallons per use including the rinse at about 3 uses per worker per shift.
  • The package: washing facilities with soap and towels at the fixture, showers for projects of six months or more at 1 per 10 employees within a quarter mile, a change room on lead, pesticide, and respirator-program jobs, and potable water at 1 quart per worker per hour with cups.
  • Cost band: porta-clet rental 95 to 150 dollars a month, service 60 to 120 dollars a visit, heated surcharge 35 to 60 dollars a month, mobilization 120 to 260 dollars a move, trailer with a sewer tie 1,400 to 2,800 dollars a month.
Jobsite sanitation planning tool on 29 CFR 1926.51 toilet, washing, bathing, change room, and potable water provisions as written for construction, with standard porta-clet service practice. State and municipal plumbing code on a fixture count, a required number of fixtures by occupancy, a required water closet for a women crew, a required lockable door, a required wash station, a required hand-wash sink at a lead, asbestos, and pesticide job, a decontamination station, a required septic permit for a trailer on a septic system, a required sewer connection permit, a required right-of-way placement permit for a unit in a street, a required accessibility route, a required heat source listing, a required service log, a required potable water source, a required drinking water rule for a public-facing site, a required chemical toilet disposal route, and a required disposal manifest are set by the authority having jurisdiction and by the state plan for states with their own OSHA plan. A chemical toilet in a street, a unit placed on a sidewalk, a unit at a school, a unit at a hospital, a unit at a food processing site, a unit on a lead, asbestos, hex chrome, and pesticide job with a decontamination requirement, a unit on a shipyard, a unit on a clean room, and a unit on a confined-space job are all placement and disposal questions for the AHJ and the site safety plan. Rental, service, and hauler rates vary by region and move with fuel and disposal gate rates, and a porta-clet is a 90 day consumable service line, not a fixture.

How many portable toilets does a jobsite need?

One for 20 workers or fewer, two for 21 to 40, three for 41 to 60, four for 61 to 80, five for 81 to 100, and one per 25 above 100, on your peak shift headcount. On a site with multiple work areas the ratio is one per 10 workers per area, and during initial site development it is one per 25. A 40 worker single-area site is a 2 unit site, and a 40 worker site with three buildings is a 3 unit site.

How far can a portable toilet be from the work area?

As near the work area as practicable, and within 500 ft of the work face for a dry or chemical unit. A unit that requires a scaffold climb, a ladder, a trench crossing, or a walk through a hoisting area is a unit that will not be used, and an unused unit is a sanitation citation with a urinal problem attached to it.

How often does a porta-clet need servicing?

The rule is that it is maintained in a sanitary condition, and the industry floor is once a week. A 250 gallon unit serving 40 workers at 3 uses a day and 1.2 gallons a use needs about 2 visits a week. Servicing includes the tank pump-out, the rinse, the deodorizer, the foot pump prime, the paper, the soap, the hand sanitizer, and the log entry.

Do I need showers and a change room on a jobsite?

Showers are required for projects of six months or more, at one shower per 10 workers, within a quarter mile of the site, with hot water. A change room with clean and dirty clothing storage is required on lead, pesticide, and respirator-program jobs. A wash station with soap, water, and towels is required at the fixture on every job, and a three-stage decontamination station is required on lead, asbestos, and pesticide work.

What does a portable toilet cost per month on a jobsite?

About 95 to 150 dollars a month for the rental, 60 to 120 dollars per service visit, 35 to 60 dollars a month for a heated unit in freezing weather, and 120 to 260 dollars per mobilization. A 2 unit site for 6 months at 2 services a week is about 2,000 to 2,900 dollars all-in, about 10 dollars per worker-month for 40 workers.

Related tools

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