A guide to procuring public toilets
This guide is provided as an aid to people wishing to procure one or more public toilets. We have brought together the most important things you need to think of as a customer in order to make the right decisions and get the functions and appearance you want for your public toilet. At the bottom of the page, you can download the guide in PDF format.
Some checkpoints for the procurement of public toilets
- Be sure to get started when there is still plenty of time, and feel free to let us help you think through the best solution for your particular needs. Building permits and electrical service often take a while, so it is good to get an early start with this work.
- Figure out whether excavation and ground preparation will be included in the job. We always provide a suggested drawing of the public toilets foundation, but we can also carry out the necessary excavation to lay the foundation if desired.
- Make clear how many public toilets you need and whether you would like to have the option of installing more toilet buildings if you know you will have additional needs in the future.
- Request documentation of reference projects showing that contractors have experience of projects similar to the one envisaged in this procurement. If the buildings will be in an urban setting, it may be appropriate to require experience of operations and maintenance in that particular setting.
- Check that the contractor has sufficient economic stability and a strong enough financial position to fulfil the contract without risk of interruption due to economic problems. Look for a high credit rating and company equity corresponding to at least the total value of the tender.
General information about our public toilets
- Our public toilet buildings are ready to use on delivery. The buildings’ foundations are made of well-insulated, self-supporting concrete beams. In combination with eye bolts in the foundation, this makes for easy installation and enables the building to be moved later on.
- Danfo’s public toilet buildings have been developed over the course of many years to be resistant to wear and vandalism. The buildings always have separate toilet stalls with service areas behind them for increased security and decreased risk of damage.
- To ensure that everyone is welcome in Danfo public toilet buildings, all models are available with toilet rooms for the disabled, the interiors of which have been developed in cooperation with the Disability Rights Federation and meet all applicable requirements.
- The buildings are always equipped with programmable logic control (PLC) enabling functions such as remote monitoring, usage statistics and a variety of alarm systems, including fire alarms, burglar alarms, malfunction alarms, etc.
- The interior equipment in our toilet rooms is designed so that all installations are recessed into the service area. All conduits for water, sewage, electricity and ventilation are visibly situated in the service area. Every toilet room is serviced through a service area behind it, where consumables can be refilled and operations and maintenance activities can be carried out. The service area can only be accessed through a separate service entrance on the outside of the building.
- The useful life of the public toilet buildings is at least 40 years, and 94% of the materials in our toilet buildings are reusable.
- All of our work is carried out pursuant to our ISO 14001 environmental management system, and we work actively to follow our environmental policy.
- All spare parts, accessories and consumables are available in the UK for rapid delivery.
Buy or lease public toilets?
- When you buy a Danfo public toilet building, a warranty inspection and free support during the warranty period are always included.
- It can be a good idea to complement your purchase of a public toilet with a daily cleaning and operations contract. Even if daily cleaning and operations responsibility are not included in the purchase, we recommend adding it as a potential option in case you identify a need for it in the future.
- If you lease, we provide a brand new facility including preventive maintenance, daily cleaning and inspection for a monthly fee. Ownership is problem-free for leasing customers, as we take charge of every aspect of the building.
What to think about the public toilet during procurements
It is important to describe the public toilets size and design of the building so it’s clear what is desired.
When we make an agreement with a client, we always hold a start-up meeting afterwards where we review all the details: colour choices, delivery times, etc.
You need to provide the following information early in the process:
- Number of cubicles desired
- Facade materials
- Roof model and roofing materials
- Doors: do you want door control and exterior cladding?
- Desired options and equipment
What to think about operations of public toilets during procurements
- Indicate how many times a day the toilets need to be cleaned (Monday–Sunday).
- We suggest that faults relating to function should be corrected within 48 hours of reporting, which requires the contractor to have a wide range of spare parts on hand in the vicinity of the region.
- Responsibility for care should include all ongoing maintenance of the toilet building, including basic construction, facades, the roof, doors, surfaces, interiors and all technical installations, as well as meter reading (water use and usage statistics). This work must be carried out regularly, documented and regularly reported to the customer.
- Responsibility for operations should include measures to correct all damage, vandalism and graffiti outside and inside the building. Ask for references and make sure potential contractors have an organisation capable of doing this.
