Dear lazy webs,
Anyone have stats on throughput of bathroom usage, by gender and age group and by type of installation and maybe other variables?
That is: Are urinals really faster?
Let me stress: Non-gendered bathrooms matter for reasons that are more important than speed.
Right now, I'm curious if the installation of a urinal speeds things up. Or, if it washes out.
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For example, my own situation is usually not sped up by the urinal, because I travel with my wife.
ReplyDeleteIf bathrooms were non-gendered, that'd potentially speed things up, though: She would less often need to wait in a line.
So, our average speed to being done would go down.
In this scenario, the time I save from a urinal is irrelevant, but the line reduction may matter.
Contrast this with supermarket queues, where stores with a single line have higher throughput, lower average wait times, and less annoyance.
So, yeah, from a thought experiment pov, it is clear that non-gendered bathrooms speed things up on average. What I don't know is if the presence of a urinal affects things. And I don't right now have the math to prove it, so I need emperical evidence.
Read The Bathroom by Alexander Kira: http://www.amazon.com/The-Bathroom-Alexander-Kira/dp/0140043713
ReplyDeleteWhat is the ratio of urinals to cubicles in the 'mens'? Because in the 'women's' I suspect we have a lower number of cubicles than there is a combined number of cubicles and urinals in the mens. So my theory is that you actually get more toilets than us overall even if you have less cubicles. So it isn't that urinals are faster - but that the higher combined total of urinals and cubicles = faster thoughput.
ReplyDeleteBecky Annison I think that is part of it, for sure! 3 + 1 is common in a small male-gendered bathroom, while 3 would be common in a female-gendered bathroom. But, urinals can still be fast like magic.
ReplyDeleteclash bowley Thanks! I've got the link up, and will look for it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about time, but I know architects have recommendations or even codes when building new public facilities that the ratio of women's stalls to men's should exceed 1:1, which sort of implies that speed is understood.
ReplyDeleteSome references can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potty_parity
My library has this: http://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Restrooms-Politics-Cultural-Analysis/dp/0814795897
ReplyDeleteI've got that on the hold. Maybe it'll have the stats I want.
What I'm thinking for a standard useful by all restroom is something like this:
0. All stall walls are floor to ceiling.
1. Enter along the short wall. "Front". Generate a queue space along this space, by separation until the first stall.
Along the right side:
2. Component position for makeup.
3. Sink trough along this long wall. Mirrors all along.
Along the left side:
4. fully accessible roll-in stall first. Include a shower head, and a sink. This is a self-contained bathroom.
5. Depending on size, either one or two standard stalls.
6. A single urinal, at the far end.
Along the end:
7. Baby changing station, either at the far end or within the accessible roll-in stall.
What have I missed? What changes increase throughout while keeping it a useful and safe place for all? What class of person have I unintentionally looked over? Would you like a bathroom like this? Does this sound more expensive than other restrooms?
Heck, what the economics of bathrooms? Floor space costs money, sure, but I imagine the cost is in the plumbing.
This is also something that civil engineering and architectural rules-of-thumb surely apply to.
ReplyDeleteYep, Jason Morningstar ! Know where I can find them?
ReplyDeleteI do not!
ReplyDelete