If you a builder you may be pushed for time running a busy site, the following tips are ones you must follow. These are essential for health and safety on your site.
What can happen if health and safety is ignored?
At an inspection, a company was found not to have provided welfare facilities at a construction site and was served with an improvement notice. The company failed to provide the facilities within the timescale and was prosecuted. The company received a £2000 fine for not complying with the notice, a £5000 fine for not providing the welfare facilities, and had to pay prosecution costs of £1272.
What do you need to provide?
- Flushing toilets connected to the mains water and drainage system where possible.
- If main connection is not available, then facilities with a built in water supply and drainage tank
- Portable chemical toilets can be used as last resort.
- Toilets should be ventilated, lit and kept clean
- There should be arrangements for cleaning the toilets (daily may not be sufficient) and an adequate supply of toilet paper etc
- There should be wash basins with hot and cold (or warm) running water next to the toilets with soap and towels (or hand dryers)
- The basins should be large enough to wash hands, face and forearms.
- Somewhere to change, dry and store clothing;
- Drinking water, and cups if needed
- A rest area to sit, make hot drinks and eat food.
- There should be an area for securely storing clothing and for drying wet items.
How many toilets do you need?
If using portable chemical toilets you need 1 for every 7 people working a 40 hour week.
| Number of people at work | Number of toilets | Number of washbasins |
| 1-5 | 1 | 1 |
| 6-25 | 2 | 2 |
| 26-50 | 3 | 3 |
| 51-75 | 4 | 4 |
| 76-100 | 5 | 5 |
Tardis Environmental have been providing the hire of portable toilets to construction sites large and small for many years now, our toilets fit all the HSE regulations and are perfect for sites where no mains sewage connection is available.