Falls While Cleaning Windows

Window Cleaner fell from scaffold he was working on in Montreal.

Delicate rescue operation to rescue a window washer (Montreal): A dramatic rescue operation to rescue a window washer who fell several stories took place on Wednesday afternoon in Montreal. The workplace accident occurred around 15 pm at the rear of a commercial building located at 8255 Mountain Sights Avenue, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

For some unexplained reason, the worker of 32 years fell from the scaffold he was working on. The scaffold dropped at least three floors before landing heavily on the roof of a building annex. Specialized in high angle rescue, firefighters were called to the scene to conduct the delicate operation. In less than an hour, they managed to secure the worker and get him back down to the ground. The victim, groaning in pain, was then placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

According to Urgences Santé, he was suffering serious injuries to the pelvis, back, arms and legs.
His life would not however be in danger. Two inspectors from the Commission on Health and Safety (OHS) have visited the site in the late afternoon to try to establish the circumstances of the accident.
Representatives of the CSST were to meet several witnesses who attended the scene.  The working methods used by the worker will also be studied to determine whether they complied and were safe.

Window washer tumbles four stories: A window washer fell four stories Wednesday afternoon when the piece of scaffolding he was standing on gave way for an unknown reason. The worker was on the sixth floor of a building on Mountain Sights Ave., between De La Savane and Sorel Sts. at around 3p.m., when he tumbled four stories onto a secondary roof on the second floor of the building. The Montreal fire department's special Spiderman unit was called in to perform the delicate rescue operation. The man was conscious when he was taken to hospital. The extent of his injuries is not yet known.

A woman was injured after plunging from a ladder while cleaning her windows in Winchester.

A woman has been injured after plunging from ladder while cleaning her windows. The 42 year old fell around 10ft while she cleaning a dormer window set in the roof of her home in Winchester. She fell on to the flat roof of the house’s ground floor extension, which she had used as a base to pitch her ladder on and prop it against the house, in Crescent Close, Badger Farm.

Her husband raised the alarm around 4pm on Saturday after hearing her scream. It is thought the ladder gave way on the roof, which has a gravel surface. Firefighters had to lower the woman from the roof on a stretcher using a pulley system. They reported that the woman had cuts and grazes, but there was also concern she might have a spinal injury.

A spokeswoman for South Central Ambulance Service said an ambulance and rapid responder attended to reports that the woman had suspected injuries to her arm and leg. She was taken to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester but it is not known how serious her injuries are.

Woman who suffered fatal fall from ladder had 35 minute wait for ambulance, inquest told - A woman died after falling from a ladder while cleaning the gutters on her bungalow, an inquest heard. Celia Farrell (65) died at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, on August 4 last year, two days after sustaining severe head injuries when she fell backwards off a ladder at her home at The Mayne, Clonee in Co Meath. Dublin Coroner’s Court heard that Mrs Farrell had been due to celebrate her wedding anniversary that evening with her husband Noel Farrell. He told the inquest that they had gone to 10am Mass that morning and afterwards he was cutting the grass while his wife started to clean the gutters on the bungalow. He said he had asked her to wait because he wasn’t happy with the ladder she was using and they were in “no hurry”. However, when he went to help her at around 1.45pm, he found her lying on the ground with the ladder beside her.

Tightening The Belt

Hélène Charlebois, a registered dietitian and nutrition coach in Ottawa, says excess weight can be detrimental to workers with jobs requiring physical exertion, such as firefighting, policing or window cleaning.

Tightening the Belt: A study down south, which finds obese employees cost companies about twice as much money on average as other employees do, highlights the consequences that obesity may have on the workplace.

The study, published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, reports that overweight workers have higher rates of absenteeism and claims for workers’ compensation, medical care and short-term disability. An employee who is not obese costs an average of $3,830 per year in covered medical claims, sick days, short-term disability and workers’ compensation, while a morbidly obese person costs employers $8,067. The findings are based on data from nearly 30,000 employees over a three-year period.

“I don’t think we fully understand the direct association of obesity and the impact on the workplace,” says Mary Forhan, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s faculty of rehabilitation medicine in Edmonton and a member of the Canadian Obesity Network.

Hélène Charlebois, a registered dietitian and nutrition coach in Ottawa, says excess weight can be detrimental to workers with jobs requiring physical exertion, such as firefighting, policing or window cleaning.

It can also affect positions like those of a cashier or waitress. An employee who has to stand at a cash register for eight hours a day is “not going to be able to be at that job very long, because it is just physically impossible,” Charlebois says, referring to the strain on the feet, knee joints and ankle joints.

“It predisposes you to a lot of other problems,” adds Kim McClelland, a registered nurse and wellness coordinator with the Toronto Police Service (TPS). Obese workers take more time off from work and have more diseases. “They are more tired, they take more breaks, they can’t concentrate.”

Ian Janssen, Ph.D., professor in kinesiology and health studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, co-authored a study published in 2011 that found obese workers have a 40 to 49 per cent higher risk of occupational injury. “Surprisingly, this related more to sedentary injuries that happen in more sedentary occupations,” Dr. Janssen says, citing repetitive strain and lower back pain as among the common ailments reported by the obese. “There is more increased likelihood of other illnesses and disabilities as well, even the flu. So that means persons with obesity are going to be potentially away from work more often.”

Obesity has been on the rise in Canada over the past few decades. In 1985, less than 10 per cent of the population was clinically overweight. By 2004, the level leaped to more than 20 per cent in every province and territory except British Columbia and Quebec, according to Statistics Canada.

In 2005, there were more than two million obese workers aged 18 to 64 in the country, 21 per cent of whom were older than 55. Men in the top-quarter income bracket were more likely to be overweight than other men were.

Forhan says the safety risks that obesity poses often depend on the job itself. “There are a lot of workers with obesity who actually could be very fit, strong and quite capable,” Forhan says. “When the risk starts to come in is when there is a disconnection between the person’s body size and shape and the workspace and demands of the job.”

An employee’s size might be incompatible with the required equipment or safety gear, and chronic health conditions like heart disease or high blood pressure could be dangerous in a job that involves physical exertion. So how can employers deal with this issue without being discriminatory?

“You need to be delicate, obviously, about the situation,” Dr. Janssen advises. “Just as you might accommodate somebody who is short or tall, you need to accommodate the person that might have a weight issue in the same way.”

Forhan agrees. “It is a matter of having a really good conversation with the employee about what their needs are,” she says, “in terms of being able to do their job safely.”

Dr. Janssen recommends making workplaces more health-conscious by allowing employees to stand during meetings, providing healthier choices in cafeterias and company lunches, offering subsidized gym memberships and permitting extra break time for exercise.

Charlebois believes that every employer should have access to a registered dietitian. “You should be able to take the receipt and put it through your medical insurance” — similar to claims for eyeglasses and dental, she says.

McClelland reports that the police service has a holistic nutritionist on staff. Other programs include educating police-force employees on the real cause of obesity, fatigue management and mental health.

“The more comprehensive they are, the more likely they are to have an impact,” Dr. Janssen says of corporate wellness programs, adding that staff feedback and evaluation of these programs are also important.

Whichever option an employer takes to address workplace obesity, McClelland says the focus should be on preventing and solving the problem, because “obesity is a symptom.” Jeff Cottrill is editorial assistant of ohs canada.

Also see: Window Cleaning Without Ladders

Western Australian Height Workers Let Down By Anchors

Don't look down: report suggests safety of almost half workers at height in WA could be at risk.

Half of Western Australias height workers could be at risk: Almost half of WA's maintenance workers are risking their lives on top of Perth's tall buildings due to unfit safety devices, according to a peak safety industry body.

In a study 268 out of 608 roof anchors, used to connect a worker's safety harness to a building, were found to be incorrectly installed and useless in the event of a fall, a recent audit of Perth buildings revealed. The Working At Heights Association audit included a cross-section of both single and multi-storey commercial premises throughout Perth, including universities, warehouses, retail stores and offices.

The audit found that buildings with unfit safety devices varied in age and there was no difference between equipment installed recently or over time. Those at risk included maintenance workers who are required to work from height such as painters, window cleaners and repairman.

WAHA secretary Gordon Cadzow said said it showed that height safety is often overlooked outside the construction industry and "desperately hoped" the findings would bring change to the regulation of safety device installation. "20 Australians are killed at work by falls from height each year - a figure that has remained constant over the last eight years," he said.

While falls from height remains of the biggest causes of workplace death, no data is collected on whether unfit safety devices are to blame, Mr Cadzow said. "The problem is that it's not being policed," he said. "The statistics aren't able to tell you whether inadequate fall prevention systems contributed to the final outcome." Mr Cadzow said there was no penalty for the incorrect installation of safety devices.

One in three safety devices unfit to save lives (by Kevin Jones): On September 3 2013 I will be on a panel in Sydney discussing issues associated with working at heights. Below is a media release (not yet available online) about the panel and some recent data on working at heights risks. The quotes are mine. Inaction by policy makers is putting lives at risk and now, says a peak safety industry body, there are the numbers to prove it.

On September 3 2013 I will be on a panel in Sydney discussing issues associated with working at heights. Below is a media release (not yet available online) about the panel and some recent data on working at heights risks. The quotes are mine. Inaction by policy makers is putting lives at risk and now, says a peak safety industry body, there are the numbers to prove it.

The Working At Heights Association (WAHA) will host a crisis summit on Tuesday at The Safety Show Sydney, where it will reveal that one in three roof anchors are unfit for use. Of the 3245 anchors audited by association members over the last three months, 2260 were deemed unusable.

Part of the problem, says WAHA secretary Gordon Cadzow, has been the lack of awareness of the number of inadequate safety systems on Australia’s rooftops.

“Falls from height are one of Australia’s biggest causes of workplace deaths but the statistics aren’t able to tell you whether inadequate fall prevention systems contributed to the final outcome,” Mr Cadzow explains.

Twenty Australians are killed at work by falls from height each year – a figure that has remained almost constant over the last eight years.

OHS commentator and author of the SafetyAtWorkBlog, Kevin Jones, says height safety is often overlooked.

“The ‘fails’ identified by members of WAHA are of great concern and shine a light on an area of construction and maintenance services that few of us ‘ground dwellers’ really consider or understand,” Mr Jones says.

Regulators, too, seem to have a blind spot when it comes to safe work at heights outside the construction industry, says Mr Cadzow.

“The regulators will tell you that the law mandates the job has to be done properly by a competent person,” Cadzow says. “The problem is that it’s not being policed.”

The alarming survey results offer a serious challenge for Safe Work Australia, regulators and OHS decision makers, says Kevin Jones.

“WAHA’s survey is trying to get us to look up and not only to look but to see,” Mr Jones says. “Working at heights is an acknowledged hazard in the construction industry but remains a ‘hazard in progress’ in others. WAHA’s data should start a safety conversation but the test of the survey’s value will be what solutions are offered. Discussion must always lead to action, particularly on safety matters.”

Gordon Cadzow desperately hopes Tuesday’s summit will bring change. Prominent OHS lawyer and author, Michael Tooma will facilitate public discussion and a panel of experts including representatives from WorkCover NSW, construction, international height safety bodies, the occupational health and safety sector and WAHA itself.

“Our association was established years ago after a fatality and we continue to dedicate our efforts to stop it happening again,” Mr Cadzow says. “There’s nothing like a death to make you think in a different way.”

The fall prevention industry crisis summit will include an open discussion and, at its conclusion, WAHA will ask for a show of support from the public. Attendance is free but organisers say seating is limited.

Stolen Guitars, Fires, Explosions + Window Cleaning Reports

Window cleaner injured as he gave chase to thieves, court told: A window cleaner ran almost naked along a country lane in the early hours chasing two thieves who stole his acoustic guitar, a jury was told. Robert Dobbins had returned home at midnight from his band's practice session, leaving two guitars in his car. He and his wife Victoria were asleep in bed when they were awoken by noises outside their cottage in Bog Lane, Upper Moor, near Pershore. Mr Dobbins described at Worcester Crown Court how, dressed only in his boxer shorts, he sprinted barefoot after two people he saw standing near the Vauxhall Corsa on his driveway. One was carrying his acoustic guitar and the other person had his briefcase. "The last thing I remember was jumping over my guitar left in the lane," said Mr Dobbins.
He and his wife - who had followed him in the pursuit - were both attacked before the thieves fled in their own car, said prosecutor Charles Hardy. But police later matched three fingerprints found on the Corsa's door to a Lithuanian man. Alvydas Pudymaitis, aged 22, of Beaconsfield Road, Mottingham, south-east London, denies theft and two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm. The offences occurred on August 12, 2006 (correct) around 1.30am, said Mr Hardy. The thieves broke into the car before Mr Dobbins ran downstairs and then chased them in the dark.
He was knocked to the ground in the attack and came round lying on a grass verge. His feet were cut and he suffered blows to his face, black eyes and a gash to the back of his head. Mr Dobbins recalled seeing his wife crying. She was punched in the face and knocked against a wall by one thief. She had a cut mouth and a head injury. Pudymaitis was stopped in a police check on October 2 last year. He could not remember being in Worcestershire, said Mr Hardy. But he added: "His fingerprints were on the car. He was one of the two men who broke in. We don't know who his accomplice was." The trial continues.

Potential explosion prevented after van fire: Firefighters prevented a potential explosion after a window cleaner's van caught fire in Forest Town. The van was dual-fuelled, and firefighters were concerned a gas cylinder in the back could explode as it heated up due to the fire. They also had to contend with burning fuel coming from the vehicle running down the road. Residents in Newlands Drive were told to stay inside their homes and keep their windows closed due to the fumes. The burning fuel was then extinguished using almost an entire tank of foam, and the cylinder was cooled using water. Watch manager Darren Warner, of Notts Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We had to treat it with upmost caution and cool it. There was the possibility of projectiles in all directions. "It's biodegradable eco-friendly foam. Up there right now it looks like Christmas." Firefighters were alerted at 10.35am, and the stop message was not given until 11.27am. The van was severely damaged by the fire.

Woman dies in Chatham Twp. house fire: Authorities are investigating a fatal garage fire that killed a Chatham Township woman Monday afternoon. Emergency officials on scene said flames were shooting out the garage when authorities arrived. The blaze spread quickly to the 87-year-old home it anchors, said Chatham Township Police Lt. William Behr. John Strelkoff, who owns Bottle Hill Window Cleaning in Madison, was cleaning windows at the house next door when he heard someone yelling for help outside. The voice, he said, was calling for blankets. "I got outside and saw smoke pouring outside the garage and saw what looked like a body on fire laying next to the car," Strelkoff said. "I tried to grab towels, blankets, but no one could get inside because the heat was so intense. "Things started popping ... glass started breaking, the flames got really big and the smoke started pouring out," he said.

Toronto window washer saved by fall arrest system (Report-Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News): A window cleaner was saved by his fall arrest system after an equipment malfunction caused him to fall 19 storeys from a Toronto building.

On April 2 at about 2:45 pm, the worker employed by Premium Window Cleaning Ltd was on the roof of a 33-storey building preparing to use a bosun's chair to descend the side of the building, confirms Bruce Skeaff, a spokesman from Ontario's Ministry of Labour (MoL). At that point, the bosun's chair - a seat connected to a suspended line - became unhooked from the rope and fell away.

"The worker was left hanging from the ledge and lost grip with his hands and went into a freefall to the 15th floor," says Skeaff. "That's when the fall arrest system kicked in and the rope-grab locked." The worker suffered rope burns to his hands and was taken to St Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

The ministry was unable to disclose how long the worker was suspended in his harness, but Skeaff reports that the company has been issued a stop work order for not having a written emergency rescue procedure in place related to the fall arrest system. Part of the MoL investigation will focus on how the bosun's chair malfunctioned, Skeaff adds.

While the worker was saved in this case, falls from elevations represent a significant hazard. Information from the MoL website reports that one-quarter of all workplace fatalities are the result of falls, and the danger was made more apparent by the events of Christmas Eve last year. Five construction workers were working on scaffolding on the 13th storey of a Toronto building when "the scaffolding, known as a swing stage, separated in the middle and the workers fell to the ground below" (COHSN, January 11, 2010). Four of the workers died at the scene and the fifth suffered critical injuries.

In response to that tragedy, the MoL issued a hazard alert detailing safety procedures for suspended platform work, including proper training; use of fall arrest systems; proper design, construction, use and maintenance of the equipment; and inspections by competent workers and supervisors.

Suspended platforms, such as bosun's chairs, should not be mistaken for fall protection, cautions Andrew Sulowski, president of Sulowski Fall Protection Inc, a Toronto-based consulting firm. "[These] are called work-positioning systems," he says, explaining that while they enable window washers to do their job, they do not provide adequate protection from potentially fatal falls.

"The law requires that in addition to the work-positioning system, the window washer is equipped with a fall arrest system, which in this simple case will consist of another rope attached to the roof to a different anchor point," he explains. "That rope will usually have the fall arrester, and between the fall arrester and the harness there will be a lanyard, which is either energy-absorbing or not."

Sulowski suggests that workers should conduct a before-use inspection on their fall arrest systems. The worker should check to see if straps are cut or if there are any "stains of unknown origins" which may cause the usually soft webbing in the fall protection system to become hard and brittle. The worker should also make sure the metal D-ring at the back of the harness is not damaged, he adds.