What you will be able to do after this lesson
You will calculate showers, washbasins and toilets from the number of residents and distribute them across floors.
Why it matters
The Sanitary Rules require toilets, washrooms and kitchens on every floor of a dormitory, and the number of fixtures is set by the number of people. This means fixtures are distributed across floors and groups, not gathered in one module at the end of the row.
A sanitary module is a wet room with its own requirements: hot water, wastewater drainage with a gradient, ventilation, freeze protection in unheated joints, and materials suited to cleaning. All of this is specified in the spec separately from the accommodation modules.
The location of bathrooms — in the rooms, shared on each floor, or in a separate sanitary module connected to the building — is the design engineer's decision based on purpose and codes. Plumbing in another module does not increase the area of the living room.
How to apply this on a project
- Step 1. Determine the number of showers, washbasins and toilets according to the applicable requirements.
- Step 2. Check the distribution of fixtures across floors and user groups.
- Step 3. Define the sources of water and hot water and the wastewater drainage.
- Step 4. Provide for maintenance, cleaning, ventilation and freeze protection.
Area and sanitary fixture norms for dormitories, including shift worker camps
The Sanitary Rules “Sanitary and Epidemiological Requirements for Administrative and Residential Buildings” were approved by Order of the Minister of Health of Kazakhstan № ҚР ДСМ-52 dated 16.06.2022 (registered under № 28525).
- Clause 9: “When designing and reconstructing dormitories, the floor area of living rooms is determined at a rate of not less than 6 m² per person.”
- Clause 10: “Each floor of a dormitory shall be provided with toilet rooms, washrooms and kitchens”; number of fixtures: “1 shower, 1 washbasin and 1 toilet per 4–6 persons”.
Applicability to shift worker camp facilities. For facilities conducting petroleum operations it is set out separately: clause 83 of the Sanitary Rules “Sanitary and Epidemiological Requirements for Process and Ancillary Facilities and Structures Conducting Petroleum Operations” (Appendix 4 to the Order of the Minister of Health of Kazakhstan № ҚР ДСМ-13 dated 11.02.2022, reg. № 26806) requires that “dormitories for workers under the rotational (fly-in/fly-out) method of work (shift worker camps, temporary camps, floating accommodation complexes)” comply with Order № ҚР ДСМ-52; the same clause names standard modular blocks and mobile dormitory trailers. For sites in other industries, the applicability of the rules is confirmed by the design engineer.
The area is measured by the net living room: corridors, toilet rooms, kitchens and other auxiliary rooms are not included in the 6 m². The external dimensions of the module are not this norm. Other sanitary, construction and fire safety requirements are checked against the design.
Clauses 9–10 of Order № ҚР ДСМ-52 in the Әділет legal information system →
Order № ҚР ДСМ-13 (Appendix 4, clause 83) in the Әділет legal information system →
Typical mistake
Replacing the fixture calculation with the phrase "one sanitary module per 25 people" without checking its actual fit-out.
Check before the next step
- Number of fixtures
- Distribution across floors
- Hot water
- Sewerage
- Ventilation
- Cleaning
Related materials and tools
Apply the lesson to your project
Gather the input data and record the unknown parameters as questions for approval. We prepare a calculation based on the questionnaire within 1 working day.