Home / Standards guides / Construction Site Basics: Housekeeping Sanitation Illumination Noise

Black Belt Safety · Free guide

Construction Site Basics: Housekeeping Sanitation Illumination Noise

For new construction workers: keep work areas clear of debris, know the drinking water, toilet, washing and eating rules, recognize when lighting is too low, and know when noise requires controls and hearing protection.

Based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926.25 (housekeeping), 1926.51 (sanitation), 1926.56 (illumination) and 1926.52 (occupational noise exposure) · about 4 min read

Need proof of training? The full course (20 min) adds practice questions, a job scenario, the final quiz and a certificate your employer can verify.

Take the course

Housekeeping

Keep it clear, bin it right

Keep these clear

Form and scrap lumber with protruding nails, and all other debris, must be kept cleared from work areas, passageways and stairs, in and around buildings and structures.

Combustible scrap

Combustible scrap and debris must be removed at regular intervals during construction, and safe means must be provided to facilitate that removal.

Waste containers

Containers are provided to collect and separate waste, trash, oily and used rags, and other refuse.
Containers for garbage and oily, flammable or hazardous wastes (such as caustics, acids and harmful dusts) must have covers.
Garbage and other waste is disposed of at frequent and regular intervals.

Your part (good practice): clean up as you go. Pull or bend over nails in scrap lumber, put oily rags in a covered container, and do not leave debris on a stair or walkway.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.25(a) · 29 CFR 1926.25(b) · 29 CFR 1926.25(c)

Water, toilets and washing

Drinking water

An adequate supply of potable (drinkable) water must be provided in all places of employment.
Portable drinking water containers must close tightly and have a tap. Water must not be dipped from the container.
Drinking water containers are clearly marked and not used for anything else.
A common drinking cup (one cup shared by the crew) is prohibited.
Outlets for nonpotable water, such as water for industrial or firefighting use, must have signs showing it is unsafe and not for drinking, washing or cooking.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.51(a)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.51(a)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.51(a)(3) · 29 CFR 1926.51(a)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.51(b)(1)

Water, toilets and washing

Toilets, washing and eating

Toilets

Toilets are provided based on crew size. For example, the table lists 20 or more workers as needing 1 toilet seat and 1 urinal per 40 workers.
Under temporary field conditions, there must be at least one toilet facility available.
Exception: these toilet rules do not apply to mobile crews that have transportation readily available to nearby toilet facilities.

Washing

Lavatories must be made available, with hot and cold running water, or tepid running water, hand soap or a similar cleanser, and individual hand towels (cloth or paper), air blowers or clean individual sections of continuous cloth toweling convenient to the lavatories. (Mobile crews and normally unattended locations are exempt if they have transportation readily available to nearby washing facilities.)
If you apply paints, coatings, herbicides or insecticides, or do other work with harmful contaminants, the employer must provide adequate washing facilities near the worksite equipped so you can remove those substances.

Eating and drinking

No one may eat or drink in a toilet room or in any area exposed to a toxic material.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.51(c)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.51(c)(2) · 29 CFR 1926.51(c)(4) · 29 CFR 1926.51(f)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.51(f)(3)(i) · 29 CFR 1926.51(f)(3)(iii) · 29 CFR 1926.51(g) · 29 CFR 1926.51(f)(3)(ii) · 29 CFR 1926.51(f)(3)(iv)

Lighting

Enough light to work

Construction areas, ramps, runways, corridors, offices, shops and storage areas must be lit to at least the minimum levels in OSHA's table while any work is in progress. The table gives minimums in foot-candles; it also requires a minimum of 10 foot-candles at tunnel and shaft headings during drilling, mucking and scaling, and Bureau of Mines approved cap lights are acceptable for use in the tunnel heading.

3 foot-candlesGeneral construction areas, concrete placement, excavation and waste areas, accessways, active storage areas, loading platforms, refueling and field maintenance areas

5 foot-candlesGeneral construction area lighting; indoor warehouses, corridors, hallways and exitways; tunnels, shafts and general underground work areas

10 foot-candlesGeneral construction plant and shops, such as batch plants, mechanical and electrical equipment rooms, carpenter shops, mess halls, and indoor toilets and workrooms

30 foot-candlesFirst aid stations, infirmaries and offices

Your part (good practice): if you cannot clearly see the floor, edges, cords and tools where you are working, the light is too low. Stop and get temporary lighting before you continue.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.56(a) · 29 CFR 1926.56(a) Table D-3

Noise

When noise is too much

OSHA's table of permissible noise exposures links how loud the noise is (in dBA) with how long you may be exposed in a day. The louder it is, the shorter the time.

90 dBA8 hours per day

95 dBA4 hours per day

100 dBA2 hours per day

115 dBA1/4 hour or less per day

When levels exceed the table

Feasible administrative or engineering controls must be used first (for example, quieter equipment, enclosures, or limiting time near the noise).
If those controls do not bring levels within the table, hearing protection must be provided and used.
A continuing, effective hearing conservation program must be administered.

Impulse or impact noise (like a powder-actuated tool) should not exceed 140 dB peak.

Reference: 29 CFR 1926.52(a) · 29 CFR 1926.52(b) · 29 CFR 1926.52(d)(1) · 29 CFR 1926.52 Table D-2 · 29 CFR 1926.52(e)

Need proof of training? The full course (20 min) adds practice questions, a job scenario, the final quiz and a certificate your employer can verify.

Take the course

Sources

Fact-checked against the regulation text on October 09, 2026. This certificate records completion of awareness training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926.25, 1926.51, 1926.52 and 1926.56. It is not an OSHA card or license. These sections do not set their own training requirements, and this certificate does not by itself meet the employer's training duty under 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2). Your employer must still instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to their work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury, and must administer a continuing, effective hearing conservation program wherever sound levels exceed Table D-2 (29 CFR 1926.52(d)(1)).

This guide explains the rule in plain words. Always read the regulation itself and your employer's site-specific procedures.