Three For Thursday

The staff devised a scaffold system to clean the museum windows from the outside.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas: Every detail of opening the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was planned as carefully as possible but everyone on the staff knew there would be issues come up that couldn’t have been seen ahead of time. Flexibility would be the proverbial name of the game and in the first year of the museum, that philosophy has worked well for the museum. There is a common theme threaded through most unexpected issues that came up in the museum’s first year: numbers. Based on research made at other museums in similar-sized markets, planners hoped for about 250,000 guests with about 3,000 members joining the museum the first year.

Those figures were blown out of the water. As of Nov. 4 this year, a week short of the museum’s one-year anniversary, the museum welcomed more than 595,000 people and has more than 7,500 "Original Members." Such members are anyone who joins the museum until Nov. 30 and those members are afforded additional benefits to their membership. More guests means more food has been ordered, more employees hired, schedules altered and even more parking has been necessary. Those issues are just some of the lessons learned during Crystal Bridge’s first year. “The first year is always trial and error,” said Diane Carroll, media relations manager. “We’ve been adapting to the overwhelming response.”

Cleaning the museum is another major task, something that usually happens on Tuesdays and at night when the museum is closed. Museum visitors are treated to countless windows that let them see the natural beauty on the outside of the museum while they peruse the works of art inside. The problem with so many windows is how to clean them in a way that is safe for personnel and the environment. The curved windows that overlook the ponds create special challenges for the staff. They created a pontoon boat system that allows them to float to the outside of the windows to clean them using ionized water that doesn’t have chemicals.

“Whatever we put in the water has to be green,” Eccleston said. “We’re an eighth of a mile from the water treatment plant so anything we put in the water (including runoff from the landscaping) must be very neutral and green.” The entire staff takes managing the facility and grounds very seriously. “All of it is a shared resource with not only our visitors but the animals that live here,” he said. Although the drastic increase in numbers has created challenges, the museum staff and volunteers are grateful that so many people have appreciated the museum. “It completely furthers the vision of the museum to bring art, architecture and nature to a wide audience,” Carroll said.

WORTH THE CLIMB: Luke Rayner with the diamond ring he found on a roof.

Window cleaner finds diamond ring on rooftop of Sandbanks house: A window cleaner saw a different kind of shine when he found a diamond ring on a Sandbanks house during work. Luke Rayner, 24, from Queen’s Park, who runs Harvard Window Cleaning, stumbled across the find when he climbed on to the roof of the property, Emporio, on Brudenell Avenue, ready to clean the next part of the building. He said: “I was cleaning one of the windows of the house which is for sale, when I climbed up on to the roof, which is flat.

He added: “I was just looking at the bird spikes, when I saw something. I looked away – but then, when I looked back, I saw it and I thought: ‘Bloody hell, it’s a diamond ring.’ ”  “It was in among some leaves and twigs, so a bird must have taken it there. “It’s quite incredible really. “It must have been a bird, which likes shiny things.”

Luke says that he would love to know how it got there but may never find out. He said: “I mean, it’s not a fantastically large ring but it’s a diamond ring nonetheless. “I don’t know how much it is worth. You would have to get it valued for that but it’s a diamond ring, so it could be worth a fortune. “I think I could be the luckiest window cleaner ever. “I’m going to hand it into the police, and then people can have a better look at it, if they think that it is theirs.”

Licences required to clean building facades in Abu Dhabi: Cleaning companies must now obtain a maintenance licence before undertaking any work on building facades and windows in the capital, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City announced in a statement sent on Wednesday. Any companies in the sector found to be violating municipal health, safety and environment (HSE) standards will face fines ranging from Dh10,000 to Dh20,000. The municipal decision and revised fines come after a spate of recent accidents and near-accidents in the capital involving workers cleaning building facades.

While two window cleaners were killed in October when their scaffolding collapsed, four others were rescued by the Abu Dhabi Police in two separate incidents last month. “Scaffolding equipment is considered to be among the top risks posed to workers,” said Abdul Aziz Zurub, the municipality’s HSE director. “The municipality will therefore rigorously monitor all building and construction sites, as well as maintenance and cleaning works, to ensure that companies comply with all HSE requirements,” Zurub said. According to statistics revealed by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi, 53 lives were lost in 2011 due to falls from heights and falling objects. In addition, 59 per cent of all injuries from falls and falling objects occurred in the construction sector.

The licence to undertake the cleaning of building facades can be obtained via the municipality’s e-licensing programme. A list of approved technical inspection companies must also inspect the equipment used by cleaning companies every six months. These inspection companies have themselves been approved by the municipal HSE department, as well as the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA). Companies engaged in maintenance or construction that do not implement the appropriate security precautions to safeguard passers-by or adjacent buildings will be considered as violating the municipal HSE standards.

Other violations include undertaking maintenance or construction work without the appropriate permit, or working beyond the prescribed working hours, the municipality statement said. If a violation is detected, operations could be suspended until the applicable fines are paid and the errors corrected. Zurub urged cleaning companies to ensure that scaffolding equipment, cranes and platforms are made of safe and high-quality materials. “Platforms should be panelled with wood so that they can withstand loads. In addition, protection barriers and systems to prevent debris from falling should also be provided,” he said.

The official also said that scaffolding equipment must be anchored with a rigid support system and base plate on a solid ground surface. Workers must also use securely connected safety belts, and protective personal equipment such as face masks. In addition, all equipment must be re-checked after bad weather conditions, or when cleaning platforms and cranes are dismantled or changed.

Mihal Labonov, technical director at equipment manufacturing and maintenance company Tass Industries, said many cleaning companies tend to use cheaper equipment that is often not safe. “In many other countries, load tests to check the condition of equipment used in construction and cleaning works are required each year. The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City has, however, implemented even stricter standards, requiring these tests to be conducted every six months,” Labonov said. “While the stricter inspection standards will enhance safety for workers, companies must also always ensure that workers are well trained and provided with proper safety equipment,” he added.