How Many Porta Potties do I Need per Person at my Construction Site?

Are you managing a construction site in Arizona, perhaps in Tempe, Mesa, Goodyear, or Chandler? Porta potties are an easily-overlooked but crucial aspect of day-to-day management — and it’s vital to make sure you have the right number of portable toilets.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to provide adequate toilet facilities for workers on construction sites — and that includes renovations as well as new builds. Unless you already have plenty of experience, you might find it tricky to determine exactly how many porta potties you need on your job site in Arizona. 

Here’s a closer look at the regulations, as well as some other things construction site managers will need to take into account.

How Many Porta Potties Do You Need to Provide per Person at your Job Site in Arizona?

OSHA regulations, which apply nationwide and not just in Arizona, specify that you will need to install, for workers of each sex:

• One porta potty for a job site with one to 15 workers. 
• Two porta potties for a construction site with 16 to 35 workers.
• Three porta potties for a construction site with 36 to 55 workers.
• Four porta potties on a site with 56 to 80 workers.
• Five porta-potties on construction sites with 81 to 110 workers.
• Six porta-potties on sites with 111 to 150 workers.
• One additional porta potty for every 40 workers beyond 150. 

This means that, should you be running a construction site with female and male workers, you will need to double these numbers — providing at least two porta potties for job sites with one to 15 make and female workers, for instance.

If only men are working on any given construction site, OSHA adds that some porta potties may be replaced by urinals. Porta potties should still make up two-thirds of your total toileting facilities, however.

To make the process of calculating how many porta potties you need on your Arizona construction site easy, simply use Arizona Portables’ Porta Potty Rental Calculator!

OSHA further requires that you install one handwashing station — with running water — for every 20 workers. These handwashing stations will not just enable workers to wash their hands after using the facilities, but also to clear debris off their hands and faces after finishing a shift.

Keep in mind, however, that these regulations specify the minimum number of porta-potties. If you have fewer porta-potties, you’ll be in breach of the regulations — but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you provide a sufficient number of toilets by following the guidelines.

To run a construction site that operates smoothly, and on which no worker will ever feel the need to stop work for longer than necessary just to wait for the one good porta-potty to become available, it is helpful to look beyond the OSHA regulations. Your workers will appreciate you if you provide additional porta-potties, and productivity will increase as a result.

How Often Should Portable Toilets Be Serviced?

Once you have partnered with a porta-potty provider in Arizona and installed an adequate number of porta potties on your job site, it is just as important to keep your portable toilets serviced. 

The process of servicing a porta-potty entails:

• Evacuating the waste that has accumulated within the porta potty.
• “Charging” the porta potty, or adding the characteristic blue chemical mix that helps to keep a porta potty sanitary and odor-free.
• Cleaning the porta potty and the entire unit thoroughly with disinfectant agents.
• Restocking the toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and paper towels (where applicable).

Porta potties should be serviced at least once a week, and most porta potty rental companies — including Arizona Portables — include a once-a-week servicing in the cost of the rental. Managers will want to keep an eye on the condition of the porta-potties installed at their job sites, however. Porta-potty units that are out of stock (lacking toilet paper and hand sanitizer) and unsanitary before the week is up should be serviced more regularly. Making that happen is as easy as asking your porta potty provider to clean the portable toilets more frequently.

Why Choose Arizona Portables for Your Porta Potty Rental Needs

Do you need porta potties at your construction site at short notice? The highly-experienced Arizona Portables team is usually able to send you as many units as you need within 24 hours. We’ll deliver and install your porta potties, keep them maintained, and our friendly emergency response team is available whenever you have a problem or question — like a tipped-over porta potty. 

Arizona Portables services Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Scottsdale, Tempe, and surrounding areas, and in addition to porta-potties, we’ll get you set up with the handwashing stations you need as well.