Health and hygiene on construction sites - a complete guide

During the Covid pandemic, construction was one of the few industries that was allowed to continue operating and the safety of all involved was brought into sharp focus. Now, even with the pandemic behind us, it continues to be an area of great importance.

Why health and hygiene on construction sites is important

Good health and hygiene policies on a construction site help to identify and eliminate hazards before they become potentially serious, and they put good practices in place to help to avoid accidents, slips and falls before they occur. The HSE also sets out clearly the provision required from anyone in charge of a site, for welfare facilities such as toilets and handwashing. Adequate hygiene facilities prevent the spread of bacteria and reduce the risk of cross contamination. They also make your workforce feel valued and appreciated and show them that their physical and mental wellbeing is a priority for you.

What the law says

Construction workers must be given access to toilets and washing facilities. Toilets can be flushing or chemical, and washing facilities should include hot and cold running water with soap, drying facilities, ventilation and lighting. Showers may or may not be provided depending on specific circumstances. In addition, the guidelines state that there should always be an adequate supply of all consumables which includes not just soap, but toilet paper and paper towels.

How many toilets do I need?

The HSE recommends one toilet for every seven workers employed for a 40-hour week, with adequate provision for men and women. Males and females can use the same toilets if they are lockable and separate from urinals, and they may share basins. Where showers are provided, these must also be separate, single-occupancy lockable cubicles.

What can operation managers do to ensure compliance?

Among the huge amount of responsibilities that a site foreman, operations manager or facilities manager has, the supply of welfare facilities ranks high up the list. Unfortunately, in times of looming deadlines and time constraints, they can easily be overlooked. Using a professional and experienced toilet hire company enables you to focus on other areas, knowing that everything is being taken care of and your site is completely compliant with relevant regulations.

Site toilet hire from Fortis Hire

All the products within our standard portable hire range are suitable for construction sites and are available for long term hire. We offer a single use plastic portable toilet unit as well as a 6 man plastic urinal and a plastic disabled toilet unit. As an upper tier licence holder with the Environment Agency, we will carry out all waste management and waste disposal necessary, maintaining hygiene standards and preventing the opportunity for waste tanks to overflow. We can carry out routine servicing on site with minimum disruption, thanks to our inhouse fleet of service tankers, and we replenish all consumables as necessary. We can arrange for more frequent service visits where demand for the toilets is particularly high.

In addition to our site toilet hire, we offer portable shower trailers. These feature individual, lockable cubicles in line with HSE recommendations. They do require a mains water supply but where this is not possible, we can arrange to supply an intermediate bulk container (IBC) with pump.  

To find out more about how Fortis Hire can help the compliance on your next construction project, call our professional sales team on 01525 643850, or send us an email to sales@fortishire.co.uk