Construction Sites are Full of Waste
Construction sites are always bustling, with dedicated people working hard to keep the project running efficiently on schedule. There are two pieces of equipment that are necessary to this goal – a portable toile and dumpster. That might sound surprising until you consider the fact that there is a lot of waste on a construction site. When that waste doesn’t have a place to go, it simply creates a waste of time. That’s a little more obvious when it comes to renting a dumpster, but why do you need to rent a porta-potty too?
There’s no denying the fact that everybody needs to use the bathroom. That includes your construction team. If your site doesn’t have porta-potty, crews have no choice but to take care of business offsite. At some work sites, this might be a convenience store up the street, while on more remote job sites it can mean a lot more travel just to find a toilet. We all know what that can mean: less productvity and higher costs per man-hour of work, not to mention potential liability issues. When you consider the pros and cons of portable toilet rental, having a portable restroom on a construction site simply makes good business sense.
So now that we know it’s smart to have a porta-potty at your site, are there other things you need to consider? Of course there are! Below are some tips for understanding the factors affecting portable toilets for construction sites:
Getting the Toilet Serviced
The amount of traffic/use and the length of time for the construction project will determine how often portable toilet servicing is required. To maintain sanitary conditions and meet industry requirements, long-term construction projects will require numerous toilet service visits. Once a week or roughly every seven days is the recommended time to service and clean a portable toilet. However, this may vary depending on the amount of people you have working on the site (some weeks there may be more than others), as well as the season—summer heat might necessitate more frequent servicing—and usage volume.
Number of People on Your Crew
The rule of thumb ratio is to have 1 portable toilet for every 10 employees you have on the site. If there are more than 20 workers though, 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per every 40 workers is the industry standard. This will change agin on an especially large project with crew numbers exceeding 200. The ratio will be 1 toilet and 1 urinal for every 50 is the standard. Whenever possible, having a urinal/toilet combination unit onsite is recommended to accommodate a higher volume of use.
Plan Out the Layout and Size of the Job Site
For large worksites, placing all your toilets in one location can lead to issues and actually inconvenience the crew even more which of course leads to wasted time. That is why it is recommended to place your portable toilets at various locations around the site that are easy to access. Having toilets strategically placed within the working area will reduce the amount of time it takes for crew members working in the far back lot to “take care of business”. Those saved minutes can really add up over the course of weeks and months so proper planning and placement are important to avoid lost time and productivity.
A Portable Toilet Is an Investment
By offering a restroom on the job location, you may cut down on the distance workers must travel to use a toilet and the time they need to search for an alternative facility since no near restroom is available. Here is the annual cost of 10 minutes of wasted time searching for a toilet per employee, per day:
Hourly Rate 5 Employees 10 Employees
$10.00 $2,125.50 $4,250.00
$13.00 $2,762.50 $5,525.00
$15.00 $3,187.50 $6,375.00
(Formula: Hourly Rate divided by 60 Minutes Per Hour x 10 Minutes x Number of Employees x 255 Days Per Year. Referenced through a study conducted by the Portable Sanitation Association International).
It’s pretty clear that not having a portable toilet at your site is a massive waste of money. Because builders and laborers require bathroom breaks just like those who work in an office environment, keeping a few clean portable toilets on hand is important for employee morale as well as being seen favorably by clients. Keeping both satisfied is critical to success.
Renting a Dumpster with a Porta-Potty
When it comes down to it, every construction site needs some kind of waste management solution. That should include dumpsters and a porta-potty. But why pay for both services when you can have them combined in one? That’s exactly why redbox+ Dumpsters of Twin Cities South Metro offers a dumpster with a porta potty combination.
Our Elite Dumpster rentals will provide you with two services for just one invoice. Our crew will also be able to service both the dumpster and the toilet once they’re ready to be emptied. This will help keep your project on time and avoid even more wasted time and money. And doesn’t that just make sense. Learn more about the Elite Dumpster today.