There’s no place for construction work like Columbus, Ohio, where multi-billion-dollar construction projects are in the works or soon to begin. Now is a great time to be a construction site manager, but this does come with some challenges.
Whether you’re managing a massive construction site or a single acre, it’s crucial that you provide your workers with all the equipment they need for health and safety. That includes portable johns that are easy to access.
Where is the best place for your construction site portable john? It depends on the number of workers on the project, the size of the project, and the type of project.
Read on for our complete guide to portable john placement for your construction site.
Choosing the Right Portable Toilet Rental for Your Site
Most construction managers prefer to rent portable johns, rather than purchasing their own. This ensures that they don’t have to worry about transporting or cleaning porta-potties and gives them versatile options to choose from. Let’s take a look at a few things to consider when renting a portable toilet for your specific construction site.
Find a Reliable Company
The first step is to find a reliable porta john rental company that can service your construction site every time. It’s easy to assume that cost is the most important thing and that you should stick with the company with the lowest quote. However, it’s equally as important that you find a company with experience, a good reputation, and the different types of porta potties to suit your specific needs.
Consider Specific Needs
What do we mean when we talk about the specific needs of your construction site? A great porta potty rental company will provide specialized options in addition to standard units, and these should include:
- Roll around units
- High-rise units
- Rolling trailers
You can rely solely on standard units when you have a smaller-scale construction project or you’re working on a structure that is only a few stories high. However, the goal is to ensure that your portable johns are accessible to your workers, and that may involve renting specialized equipment for large sites or high-rise projects.
Calculate the Numbers
Even if you’re managing a small crew of construction workers, you must have at least one accessible bathroom on site. If you have more than 20 workers on your site, you must provide at least one toilet and one urinal for every 40 employees. Not only will this keep you OSHA-compliant but it will also reduce productivity delays caused by long lines at the available bathrooms.
Best Conditions for a Portable John
Once you’ve decided what kind of portable johns you need for your upcoming construction project and how many you need for your construction site, it’s time to think about location. Let’s take a look at some of the factors to consider when placing porta johns around your construction site.
Flat Ground
Standard portable johns are designed to sit on the ground with all four edges planted firmly and with even weight distribution. This prevents them from tipping over, keeps waste level inside the holding tank, and ensures that the door can open without any resistance.
Make sure that when you’re finding a spot for a standard portable john, you pick a parcel of land that is flat and spacious. On smaller construction sites, you can group portable johns together. If you need to make portable johns accessible from different areas of the construction site, make sure that every standard portable john is placed on flat, sturdy, and preferably dry ground.
Clearance from Equipment
As construction booms in Columbus and surrounding areas, it’s important that construction managers prioritize creating safer construction sites. When using the restroom, construction workers shouldn’t have to worry about unnecessary safety hazards. In other words, they should have consistent and safe clearance from equipment.
To ensure clearance, try to place portable johns in empty portions of the construction site. How far they should be will depend on the type of equipment you’re using. They should not be at risk of getting hit by cranes, excavators, skid steer loaders, and more.
Overnight Lighting
What if your construction workers need to be on-site before sunrise or after sunset? In the fall and winter months, this is often the case. Increased visibility will make your portable johns safer and more comfortable to use.
While some portable toilets, like luxury trailers, have in-unit lighting, many standard units don’t. Make sure to install lighting around your portable johns and light any pathways to them to prevent accidents.
How Far Can Portable Johns Be from Workers?
There are a ton of benefits to having multiple portable johns on your construction site. They can keep productivity high, limit mess, reduce environmental hazards, and more. However, they’re also a legal requirement.
If you need to rent multiple portable johns, it’s important to consider how far they can be from your workers at any given time. According to OSHA, you must permit workers to use the restroom as needed. In addition, you must not create any unreasonable restrictions around bathroom use.
This language is vague and can be difficult to interpret. Ultimately, your workers should be able to access a bathroom in a reasonable amount of time and with limited difficulty.
This may mean renting high-rise portable johns that you can install on the upper levels of a high-rise construction project. It may also mean renting a rolling trailer that will allow you to transport portable johns from one side of your construction site to the other as your workers complete different parts of the project. If workers are spread out across a large construction site, installing porta potties in different locations will make it easy for all of them to use the restroom as needed.
Call Rent-A-John for Ohio Portable Toilets
Do you need a portable john for your next construction project? Rent-A-John is here to help. Use this guide to plan your construction site and rely on us for your portable toilet rental needs.
Rent-A-John is one of the most reliable portable toilet rental companies today. Get a quote to make an informed decision about your next porta-potty rental.
