Health and safety board says window washer's death could have been avoided

One worker is dead and another injured after a window cleaning crane overturned.

In a recent article here,  the Quebec Health and safety board reported that a window cleaner's death could have been avoided. In this instance, they ruled that the window washing company is fully responsible for the unfortunate incident that resulted in the death of a 53-year-old employee back in April.

The employee, Rafael Marchante died on April 10th when a mobile crane overturned and crushed him. He and his 19-year-old son were cleaning windows on UQAM’s Paul Gerin Lajoie Pavilion the morning of the incident. The company overseeing the job, Lavage de Vitres Haute Performance, made several mistakes.

The crane, parked by another employee, was deployed at an extreme angle to reach some of the windows at the building. The crane was also not levelled. A plank of wood was placed over uneven terrain and under the support.

With the added weight of the employees in the support basket, the left support leg sank, causing the crane to tip backwards. Marchante was struck in the head by part of the crane . He died instantly. His son survived but was badly injured.

Officials said, “When the crane tilted, the chip fatally hit the worker aboard the window cleaning platform. And secondly, the operation of the crane beyond the lifting limit allowed by the manufacturer contributed in the sliding of the left rear stabilizer cylinder out of its support and destabilized the crane."

 

The company is now barred from using cranes to wash windows. All companies that use cranes should carefully review all safety measures and operational instructions for their equipment. Quebec's Federation of Labour (FTQ-Construction) is calling for mandatory training of all crane operators to reduce future injuries and accidents.

No Training Required In Death Of Montreal Window Cleaner

A father and son team was working roughly five storeys high when the crane holding their steel basket aloft tipped over, police say.

Montreal high-rise window-washers "No special training required" - They operate machinery and can work 40 or 50 storeys up in the air, but there are no specific training requirements and they get paid as maintenance people. That’s how industry veteran Jack Colati describes Montreal window washers, one of whom died on Sunday after the crane holding his basket about five floors up tipped over.

Another worker, the dead man’s son, was seriously injured in the accident, outside the Université du Québec à Montréal, at René-Lévesque Blvd. and St-Denis St. “Our business is not recognized as a profession — we’re just cleaners and the workers get paid the same as people who push a mop,” said Colati, owner of Future Window Cleaning.

Before a worker can operate a crane on a construction site, he or she must be certified, which requires more than 700 hours of training, he said. There is no such requirement for cranes used for window-washing, added Colati, who has been in the business for 25 years.

Under Quebec workplace safety law, an employer must ensure that anyone operating a crane has some training, said Marie-France Vermette, a spokesperson for Quebec’s workplace safety board, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST). But if the crane operator is not on a construction site, the law does not specify the type or amount of training required, she added.

Witnesses have said the crane may have been badly set up, with an “outrigger” —  a device used to support and stabilize the crane — placed on a patch of earth rather than on a solid surface. Colati said window washers are required to follow safety rules outlined in a booklet produced by the CNESST. “But it’s very easy to not read the rules,” Colati said. He said Quebec’s construction commission — the Commission de la construction du Québec — or the CNESST “should wake up” and impose new rules.

The CNESST is investigating Sunday’s accident. Vermette said investigators are interviewing witnesses and have seized the crane to inspect it. Normally, investigations take about five or six months, Vermette said. Six to eight companies in Montreal have the expertise to clean windows on highrises, Colati said.

In 2009, when a window-washer died after a fall from the 20th floor of a downtown building, the CNESST found that the worker — a foreman — was not wearing a safety harness at the time of the accident. The investigation found that an improperly installed electrical cable, inadequate work instructions and the absence of a structured health-and-safety approach were also contributing factors. In the 2009 report, the CNESST reminded employers of the importance of accident-prevention measures, training employees and supervising workplaces.

Window Washer Dead After Crane Overturns, Son In Critical Condition

One person was killed and another critically injured in the accident. The men, a father and son, were up on a lift washing windows when the crane overturned.

Window-washing crane falls downtown: 1 dead, 1 critically injured: A father and son team of window washers suffered a tragic accident Sunday morning as the crane supporting their basket tipped over, killing the father, who was crushed beneath the crane, and leaving the son in critical condition. 

They were washing the windows of the Paul-Gérin-Lavoie pavilion of the Université du Québec à Montréal, at René-Lévesque Blvd. and St-Denis St., when the crane toppled over at about 10:25 a.m. Police said the men were working roughly five storeys high when the crane holding their steel basket aloft tipped over.

There were originally five victims, said Robby Lagacé of the Montreal Fire Department: the 53-year-old man trapped in the basket and four people taken to hospital, three suffering from nervous shock. When Urgences Santé confirmed the death of the trapped man, the fire department switched from rescue to recovery mode, Lagacé said.

At  3 p.m., firefighters and investigators with Quebec’s labour safety board had still been working to remove his body from beneath the crane. The son was still listed in critical condition in hospital yesterday afternoon, said police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant. The cause of the accident is not known and it will be investigated by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).

A witness said one of the crane’s support posts was placed on soil.

Diane Thibault, a spokesperson for the CNESST, said investigators were on the scene Sunday “to try to get as much information as possible to establish the cause.” She did not have the name of the window-washing company involved in the accident. Some streets in the area were blocked as a horde of police, ambulance and fire department officials worked at the scene. The fire department tried to stabilize the vehicle using two other cranes, Lagacé said. 

Witness Pierre Benoit said he saw the front of the truck bearing the crane initially rise a few feet in the air, then suddenly pitch backward. He saw one of the window washers ejected from the lift. The other remained within, and was crushed when the lift crashed to the ground. Benoit said three of the support posts of the crane truck were placed on the asphalt surface of the road, but the fourth was placed on soil. It appeared the support placed on soil sunk into the ground, causing the truck to tip backward.

Is This The Best Window Cleaning Video Ever?

Pat Maher is James Bond. Is this the best window cleaning video ever?

Pat Maher of "Belles Vitres" in Quebec, Canada has produced what is probably the best window cleaning video around today. Pat being a street artist, utilises many of his props' to make the video possible. Featuring his dog driving a car, doing the 'moonwalk', pedalling a mini-bike, window cleaning in a knights coat of armour, a themed 007 - James Bond, an out-take from 'psycho' & cleaning many different styles of glass to show the versatility of the Wagtail brand.

Featuring the Wagtail, the fastest window cleaning squeegees in the World, Pat swears by them. Pat is a regular contributor on the facebook Wagtail Squeegee Network. As this video gets shared, I'm sure Wagtail, will be seen by more window cleaners that are losing out on not owning one! If you haven't tried them yet, take a peek at the Wagtail full range of tools, some of the squeegees utilised by Pat in his videos. To see the video in HD - go here.

Window Cleaners Critically Reviewed

Click picture to see original story.

Safety - What's wrong? The antics of some window cleaners were followed up on, when cleaning the windows of the offices of the CSST, an organization dedicated to safety. On October 3, workers of the company Sunshine Window Cleaning appeared at 9, Rue Nicholson, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, To clean the exterior windows of the building, which houses the offices of the Commission of Health and Safety (CSST).

In the photographs taken when the window washers were at work, one can see clearly that no security perimeter had been drawn around the workplace and people walked near the ladder although it was footed (as required) by a worker on the ground. On one of the pictures, you can see a window washer also trying somehow to keep his balance while leaning forward to reach the window.

Verdict: Nothing illegal

CSST claims they were not informed when the workers were present. An inspector who was passing by in the morning observed the ways of the business and then found that everything was perfectly in order. "All the techniques were consistent." "The number of workers was sufficient and there were cones on the sidewalk to prevent people going through there," said Jacques Nadeau, spokesman for the CSST. He added that it is not impossible that the company has changed its ways since that day. "It's possible, but it would be very unfortunate if they hadn't." He added their work practices were "Not recommended."

Asked about this, Normand Payette, responsible for work at height for a property maintenance company for 38 years, believes that "it is not off-the-law, but it is certainly not advisable." "For buildings of two stories or more, we use a crane with a bucket. In this case, people passed under the ladder, it's really not safe, "says Payette.

The owner of the building, Shazad Khan, is currently outside the country and his son Nadeem who has responded on his behalf said "We were not aware of their ways, had we known, we would have done business with another company." "We can not let something like that happen, especially as the offices of the CSST are located in this building" he said.

The viewpoint of Sunshine Window Cleaning Company is "We ensure compliance with all safety regulations." "We know how to do our job and we have experience." "We've been in business for 35 years and there has never been an accident," said Georges Hersky, an employee.

Montreal Newspaper Slams Window Cleaners At Health & Safety HQ

The window cleaner had no harness or safety line to do the job, as "Le Soleil" thought he should.

The windows of the CSST cleaned without any health & safety: A scene both amusing and incomprehensible could be observed on Monday in downtown Valleyfield, where the window washers were busy cleaning the outside windows of the regional office of the CSST, in total violation of the rules of health and safety that are in force.

Many citizens have noted unsafe methods used by the firm Sunshine Window Cleaning.

The two company employees from Sunshine Window Cleaning, a company based in the West Island of Montreal, did their work accompanied with a long ladder near electrical lines, no harness, and without having erected a security boundary around the workplace.

The CSST sign on the building.

At some point, you could even see passersby flow past underneath where they were working at the intersection of Victoria and Nicholson. Workers were able to do their work for several hours without being bothered in any way by the staff of the CSST. However, the manual published by the CSST and entitled "How To Wash Windows Safely," clearly lays out rules to allow these workers to do their work safely.

On the one hand, the use of a ladder is recommended for work performed to a maximum of 40 feet in height; any worker who works at a height of more than 3 meters (10 feet) must also must wear protective equipment in the form of a harness, in addition, exercising great care when one is close to electrical lines.

The building in question on a busy intersection, houses the CSST, the OSHA equivalent in the USA or the HSE in the UK.

In addition, "when the working area of ​​the window cleaners is over a sidewalk, street or driveway, the window cleaning business or building owner must ensure public safety. The work area must be enclosed by barricades and appropriate signage. "

In fact, several people who witnessed the scene threw an incredulous look and expressed their amazement having to deal with the rather rudimentary working methods used by these window washers. One passerby commented, "I'm working on a construction site and I can tell you that the CSST inspectors are usually faster than that to tell us what to do on site," said a witness at the scene.

The place of work should be safe and offer safety to passersby.

The building owner has a responsibility. At last aware of this situation, the spokesman for the CSST, Danielle Girard, initially showed surprise, recalling that the building owner who hires a window cleaning firm also has a responsibility for health and safety. The building in question, which houses five commercial premises, is owned by the numbered company 9162-8537 Quebec Inc., whose head office is located in the borough of Verdun, Montreal.

Discuss here.

Hi Honey, The Window Cleaner's Here

Until January he was living on the streets of Montreal, where he was living as a 'bum', doing everything from window-cleaning to performing as a circus freak to pay for his next tattoo. Now bilingual Rick Genest is a catwalk star, modelling Thierry Mugler's latest collection for Paris Fashion Week.

Covered in skeletal tattoos to make his body resemble a decomposing corpse, Lady Gaga's latest video co-star probably isn't the kind of man you'd take home to meet your parents. The mysterious 25-year-old has shot to fame after displaying his macabre body art in Gaga's video for Born This Way.

Rick Genest, also known as Zombie Boy, shot to fame when he appeared in the music video for Born This Way with Lady Gaga.

The self-described 'punk' is a well-known figure in the Quebec city, where he spent three or four years slowly inking his body, spending at least $7,000 on tattoos.

Before & After

In 2006, he told Bizarre magazine his tattoos were 'about the human body as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver. It’s also a tribute to horror movies, which I love.'  Most of his designs were inked by Montreal tattoo artist Frank Lewis, who said Genest first came to him when he was 21.

Also see here.