Hand Wash Stations for Food, Crews and Crowds

Why handwashing belongs next to the toilets

A station beside the restroom makes washing a natural part of using the toilet and keeps the wash point away from the food and the work area.

People wash where the sink is, and the sink is most useful at the point where people leave the toilet. A station placed at the exit of a unit block catches guests on their way out, and a station away from the block is often ignored.

For food vendors the same logic keeps washing away from the cooking. The station is placed between the food area and the restrooms, so vendors and guests have one place to wash that is not the stall.

Water, drainage and the waste water

A station needs water in and waste water out, and the plan has to say how each is handled, because a station with no drain and no tank is a mess by the second hour.

Where the spot has a water connection and a drain, the station runs as a fixed installation for the length of the booking. Where it does not, the station runs on a self-contained supply and a holding tank, and the tank is emptied on a schedule written at booking.

Waste water from a station is not the same as the waste from a toilet, and the plan treats it accordingly. The hauler's duty for the waste applies under the rules that cover it, and the schedule shows when the tank is taken away.

• Confirm the water supply at the spot
• Confirm the drain or the holding tank
• Schedule the waste removal
• Keep the water line clear of the walk

Stock, supplies and the busiest hour

Soap, towels or dryers and the water supply have to hold up through the peak, so the stock is checked before the rush and during it.

The most common failure is a station that runs out of soap or towels at lunchtime. A supervisor checks the stock before the peak and again during it, and a station that is low is topped up before anyone reaches it.

Towel dispensers and dryers need the same care. A paper towel roll that runs out in the middle of the rush is as bad as a dry basin, and the plan counts the supplies with the units.

Close-out and the spot

At the end of the event or job the station is emptied, its water is removed and the spot is checked for spills before the station is collected.

A station left with water in its tank is a hazard and a smell. The close-out empties the tank, removes the water and collects the unit on the same visit, so nothing is left behind for the owner to clear.

The spot is checked for spills and marks from the water, and the owner or the organiser signs off the state of the spot before the crew leaves.

Handwashing at the end of a long crew shift

A crew at the end of a long shift needs the station to be clean and stocked at the shift change, so the last visit of the day is set for that time.

A station that is dirty at the end of the shift is the one the crew remembers. The servicing visit is timed to finish before the crew comes off site, and the soap and towels are checked at that visit.

Where two crews work in shifts, the station is cleaned between them, and the schedule makes sure the next shift starts with a clean basin.

Cold weather and frozen water lines

A station in cold weather needs its water line and drain checked before the first use of the day, and the plan includes a way to keep the water from freezing.

In a cold morning the water line and the drain can freeze. A station that will not run at the first food service is a problem the organiser has to explain, and it can be avoided by checking the line and the drain before the crowd arrives.

Where the plan uses a holding system, the tank is kept off the cold ground and the supplier of the water is asked to keep the supply running. A station that is left empty overnight in winter is checked and drained.