| Abstract | The provision of public washroom facilities is usually based on requirements in various building codes, and health and labour standards. These requirements are traditional and often do not correspond to the actual usage of washrooms. Without information on the extent to which washrooms are used it is difficult, if not impossible, to make a rational decision about the number of plumbing fixtures to install in a building. As plumbing fixtures are expensive the over- provision of fixtures can result in a needless waste of money. On the other hand, the underprovision of fixtures results in user dissatisfaction, and perhaps increased maintenance costs and health hazards. To enable designers to make reasonable decisions about the provision of washroom facilities and to enable the various agencies that are responsible for plumbing fixture requirements to stipulate an appropriate number of fixtures, information must be developed to describe the likelihood of various fixtures being used and the consequences of providing a certain number and arrangement of fixtures. The National Research Council's Division of Building Research has been conducting studies of washroom use over the last few years in order to provide this kind of information. |
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