The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set a standard for the minimum number of toilets that should be available and accessible for construction workers at a job site. However, not every construction job is the same.
Many construction jobs require workers to travel to and from various sites, perform a special service at different locations on the same day, or travel for other reasons.
The key is to distinguish mobile construction crews from standard crews to determine the requirement for providing portable toilets.
What is the Definition of a Mobile Construction Crew?
OSHA recently issued a clarification separating mobile construction crews from standard construction workers:
- Standard construction workers “report to a conventional construction project, where they work for more extended periods of time (days, weeks, or longer).” They are not considered a mobile crew.
- A mobile crew is defined as “workers who continually or frequently move from job site to job site on a daily or hourly basis.”
The burden is on your company to “evaluate the nature of the site and job functions of the crew” to determine whether the construction workers are mobile.
You need to be able to document and prove your process for making the distinction, which highlights the need for a reliable construction management plan to track the work performed by your crew.
What is the Portable Toilet Requirement for Mobile Construction Crews?
Once you determine that your crew meets the description of a mobile construction crew, you need to meet the requirement of “nearby” access to portable toilets.
OSHA defines nearby as having “prompt access” or being “sufficiently close so that employees can use them when they need to do so.” The idea is that you need to provide the equivalent access that you would offer a construction crew at a standard worksite.
The example provided by OSHA is that “toilets would be considered ‘nearby’ if it would take less than 10 minutes to get to them.”
Texas Outhouse Supports Your Mobile Construction Crew
Texas Outhouse provides clean, readily-accessible portable toilets and restroom trailers for standard construction jobs and mobile crews.
Our team is capable of quickly mobilizing our fleet of portable toilets and trailers to your worksite in Houston or throughout Southeast Texas to ensure that your workers have access to nearby facilities.
Our customer service team is available to answer any questions you may have about toilet accessibility. You can reach them directly at 713-999-6178. You can also provide us with information about your job requirement by completing this form or emailing [email protected].
