Porta Potty Forum

High-rise project: what's the protocol if the crane for the porta potty is down on service day?

Hector V.asked 1 viewConstruction & Job SitesHigh rise unitService visitMissed serviceService frequencyOsha 1926 51

We're running a 30-story high-rise in downtown Phoenix with a crew of 120. We've got a standard portable toilet and an ADA-compliant unit up on the 30th floor, serviced weekly by a crane lift. Last Thursday the tower crane was down for maintenance on service day. The vacuum truck driver showed up, saw no crane, and left. I got billed for the missed service visit. The units are getting full and the crew is complaining about the smell in this heat. What's the standard procedure here? Do I eat the cost? Does the rental company reschedule automatically? How do you handle this delay without violating OSHA 1926.51?

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Marcus B.Chicago, IL

You pay for the missed service visit. The rental company's driver performed the scheduled work by arriving on-site, and the inability to access the units due to the crane being down is a site access issue, which is your responsibility as the contractor. The bill stands. You must call the rental company immediately to reschedule service for the next available date when the crane is operational. To avoid an OSHA violation for those 120 workers, you must provide alternative toilet facilities. For a crew of 120, OSHA 1926.51 requires a minimum of four units (one toilet seat and one urinal per 40 workers). You need to rent a ground-level cluster of at least one standard portable toilet and one ADA-compliant portable toilet to meet the standard until the high-rise units are serviced. The heat accelerates waste breakdown, increasing odor and the urgency for service.

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