Industry Veteran Asks Questions

Another Window Cleaner Falls Off Building. Why?

Another Window Cleaner Falls Off Building. Why? In Sydney, another major accident has occurred involving window cleaners and façade access equipment. Two cleaners were left in critical condition after the building maintenance unit (BMU) cradle they were working in fell 12 floors onto the street awning below. One man was crushed under the cradle and the other wound up dangling over the edge of the awning.

This is on the heels of another accident in August where a window cleaner fell off the Apple store in Sydney. He was using rope access methods to clean the façade. He too amazingly survived but with serious injuries.

Are these types of accidents going to be the norm? Do authorities require a death before they act? I’m amazed that after the Apple store accident, the working at heights industry has had no contact directly or indirectly from the agency that is meant to govern workplace safety in NSW, WorkCover. Where are the WorkCover inspectors or educators? Absolutely nothing is being done to improve safety for the thousands of people who work at heights across Australia.

I see the extent of the problem daily. It may be a lone window cleaner working on the facade of a 60-floor apartment building, a plasterer finishing a ceiling while standing on a ladder on the edge of a balcony, or a fall protection anchor point that pops out when being load tested for annual certification.

We need immediate action; to begin with, WorkCover should be inspecting all buildings in Sydney to ensure the façade access and fall protection equipment is in compliance. Also, Government needs to sit down with industry bodies like the Working at Heights Association, IRATA and ARAA, and they need to comprehensively review working practices and standards. This needs to be done now. If we act quickly, we may be able to save someone’s life. If not, I believe it’s just a matter of time before the next accident is a fatality.

Contributed by Andrew Ferguson (KARABINER): Andrew is an expert in Fall Protection, Rope Access and Façade Access Equipment and has been working in these sectors for since 1991. Andrew has worked on large and prestigious commercial construction projects in Australia, Middle East and Asia. He’s experience also extended to the miming, oil and gas sectors.

With 24 years experience there are many first from Andrew and his expert teams, both Karabiner and XSPlatforms. Innovation has always been one of the key elements in his success in solving many of the most difficult access scenarios put up by industry. Such as green facades with 20 tones annually of waste and vegetation to be removed and replaced, glass roofs with complex atrium spaces, large façade art installation, buildings with counter-leveed façades, merging new construction into heritage buildings and a mirrored of architectural features never contemplated just a few years ago. Tackling commercial construction faces many modern challenges however it can be simpler than in the miming, oil and gas sectors where everything is made more complicated by site remoteness, tight program’s and the shear scale of the projects. 

Andrew was a founding member of the Australian Rope Access Association, sat on the WorkCover committee reviewing Façade Access, Working at Heights and Rope Access in NSW. He also sat on the Australian Standards Committee which develop the first Australian Standard for Rope Access (AS4488), his company Karabiner was a (past) member of IRATA and now he is a member of the Working at Heights Association (WAHA) and part of the team developing the ‘Industry Code – Permanent Anchors, Lifeline and Rail Installations’.

Google Questions - Window Cleaning

This is one of those questions where the trick is to come up with an easier answer than the one that's seemingly being called for. We'd say. "$10 per window."

Want to work at Google? It's famously tough getting through the Google interview process. But now we can reveal just how strenuous are the mental acrobatics demanded from prospective employees. Job-seekers can expect to face open-ended riddles, seemingly impossible mathematical challenges and mind-boggling estimation puzzles. 

Answer this question:  #11. How much would you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?

The first step here is to estimate the population of Seattle. The U.S. Census recently put it at 594,000 (city limits) or 3.26 million (metro area). In a job interview, no one would fault you for saying Seattle has about a million people.

How many windows are there per Seattle resident? In Manhattan, young people count themselves lucky to have one window. Seattle is different; apartments are larger, and more people live in houses with panoramic windows overlooking evergreen forests. Many houses and townhouses are two story. A decent guess, favoring the convenient round number, is ten residential windows per Seattleite.

There are also windows at places of work, Starbucks, department stores, airports, concert halls, and so forth. This probably doesn't add all that much to the per capita total. The average cubicle has no windows. A big-box store has little surface area (and few windows) relative to its volume. The windows in public spaces like restaurants and airports are shared among the huge mass of people using them.

Don't forget windows in cars. (You might ask the interviewer whether to count them.) A car is going to have four windows at bare minimum, often twice that. But big 4x4s are driven by big families and don't add many windows per capita.
 A reasonable guess is that windows outside the home account for another ten per person. This comes to twenty windows per Seattle resident. Assuming a population of a million, there are about twenty million windows to be cleaned.

How much should you charge to wash a window? With the windows in your home, it takes a few spritzes of Windex, a few paper towels, and a few seconds. Some of the windows in Seattle are huge, like those in the restaurant atop the Space Needle, and they're high up, requiring special crews, special equipment, high workers' comp rates, and considerable guts.
 Someone knowing what he's doing could probably clean one side of a typical window a minute, given that most are small. That means cleaning "a window" (both sides) in two minutes. That comes to thirty windows an hour.

Say the average window washer makes $10 an hour. Throw in another $5 an hour for supplies and insurance. That's $15 for an hour's work, which cleans thirty windows. Cost per window: 50 cents. Twenty million windows times 50 cents is $10 million. This question is used at Amazon and Google. Just so you don't miss the joke, such as it is, Windows is another company's registered trademark.

Think your good enough? Other Google questions..

• 1. You are shrunk to the height of a 2p coin and thrown into a blender. Your mass is reduced so that your density is the same as usual. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?
• 2. There's a latency problem in South Africa. Diagnose it.
• 3. Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.
• 4. Using only a four-minute hourglass and seven-minute hourglass, measure exactly nine minutes.
• 5. Imagine a country where all the parents want to have a boy. Every family keeps having children until they have a boy; then they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in this country?
• 6. Use a programming language to describe a chicken.
• 7. What is the most beautiful equation you have ever seen?
• 8. You want to make sure that Bob has your phone number. You can't ask him directly. Instead you have to write a message to him on a card and hand it to Eve, who will act as a go-between. Eve will give the card to Bob and he will hand his message to Eve, who will hand it to you. You don't want Eve to learn your phone number. What do you ask Bob?
• 9. A man pushed his car to a hotel and lost his fortune. What happened?
• 10. If you had a stack of pennies as tall as the Empire State Building, could you fit them all in one room?
• 12. How much toilet paper would it take to cover the entire state?
• 13. How do you find the closest pair of stars in the sky?
• 14. Can you swim faster through water or syrup?
• 15. It is difficult to remember what you read, especially after many years. How would you address this?
• 16. You're in a car with a helium balloon tied to the floor. The windows are closed. When you step on the gas pedal, what happens to the balloon? Does it move forward, backwards, or stay put?
• 17. You have a choice of two wagers: One, you're given a basketball and have one chance to sink it for £1,000. Two, you have to make two out of three shots, for the same £1,000. Which do you prefer?
• 18. You have N companies and want to merge them into one big company. How many different ways are there to do it?
• 19. You've got an analogue watch with a second hand. How many times a day do all three of the watch's hands overlap?
• 20. You work in a 100-storey building and are given two identical eggs. You have to determine the highest floor from which an egg can be dropped without breaking. You are allowed to break both eggs in the process. How many drops would it take you to do it?
• 21. Add any standard arithmetic signs to this equation to make it true: 3 1 3 6 = 8

Q&A With The Electric Window Cleaner (Jeff Brimble)

Jeff Brimble (pictured) is often the name people look for on all the window cleaning forums when they need to know about water fed pole (WFP) problems or brush techniques. His moniker,"save your life and go waterfed" usually follows his answers as Jeff dishes out advise, from window cleaning companies to WFP manufacturers. Jeff usually has an answer up his sleeve to almost every problem associated with waterfed pole work. From his nightlight cleaning lamp to the first ever backpack & of course the lightest ever WFP's, window cleaners lives have been changed by Jeffs approach & his inventiveness. I personally, bought my very first DIY modular carbon fiber fishing pole from Jeff (that's it in my profile photo!) & it's still one of the lightest poles on the market, except for the ones Jeff wields on a daily basis. Todays question & answer session will give you more insight into Jeffs world!

You’re known as “Electric” on the forums – how did that name come about?
I have an odd name that's difficult to spell and people can never remember if it's Geoff or Jeff! The electric backpack brought about the name & I wanted a trick that people could remember, hence the "Electric Window Cleaner" web site.

How long have you been window cleaning?
I started early - 1967 as have most young men, I think we all try it. I had a partner in Blackpool called Alan Forest - now the oldest window cleaner in the UK. I learn't my trade off him - a real gent', he was the AAA boxing champion of Lancashire so I had to behave !

Based in Ruthin, Wales, how come you don’t have a Welsh accent?
Listen "boyo," it depends who I am talking to. My wife says I am like a sponge with any dialect, so much so, that she find it embarrassing when I turn it on. Maybe its also to do with having "English" lessons when I was younger. Didn't work though!

When did you first pick up a water fed pole? Did you make it, or was it a bought one?
I converted an Unger Aluminum pole after reading about the Tucker USA poles in the AWC mag and joining Gary Mauers email forum many years ago. Twelve years ago - After two years of developing it my wife thought I was mad and that people would never accept it, but they did and she now knows I will come home safe at night.



So when anyone wants to know about water fed poles – they come to you Jeff. Are you happy with that?
Yes, I remember going to my first Master Window Cleaners exhibition in Windsor, UK, the same year as OTT started (now Ionics). I had by then my own 12v backpack. The next years were spent encouraging everyone "To save their life and go waterfed." At the Blackpool MWC exhibition I took many laughs and jokes in my stride with the backpack on! Thanks to the space given By Craig Mawlem from Ionics.

You were the first person to incorporate carbon-fiber poles in to window cleaning, how did the idea come about, explain more?
Hmm, I had a mate that used to go pole fishing, I had never heard of it, but when he let me hold his pole & how light it was - I was sold! I immediately bought an old "Leeda Blue diamond" off him for the staggering price of £200. He taught me a lot & I set about converting it. I was so excited when it was delivered - 8ft sections and really heavy at 60ft! After the fishing pole conversion I managed to sell it for half the price.

Is fishing a hobby for you?
Well I once caught a sea bass off the prom in Blackpool but was hopeless at fly fishing so gave it up.

I remember when the window cleaning forums first laughed about your carbon fiber fishing poles for window cleaning – happy now?
Karl, it was very hard being laughed at, I still have things to achieve, cleaning at 100ft being one of them (which I offered to one of the pole manufacturers just for my costs but was turned down).

When the first carbon fiber commercially made poles entered the market, did it ever occur to you that you started a craze?
Yes I realised a revolution was about to happen.

Do you have a favorite fishing pole you have adapted for window cleaning?
5-10 years ago they made the fishing poles out of stronger material but when the fishermen demanded stronger and lighter 16 metre poles they managed to get the wall thickness even thinner, if the window cleaning industry could only persuade the manufacturers to go back in time we could have reasonably priced poles. My favourite, is the legendary "Leeda Blue Diamond" but as I wanted a pole that everyone could use, I picked (after trying many) the "Map F16" as it was the new kid on the block and available indefinitely, it's predecessor was the stronger " M16."

What’s the highest you’ve ever been with a water fed pole?
A contractor from Sheffield asked me for some help cleaning a large building in Sheffield (pictured), he said it was about 78ft which ended up being 88ft 2" when we measured it on the ground. It taught me a lot including how to make high pole work say 100ft safe and possible. My previous height was 80ft, but hey, you Karl have my previous high pole the 80ft "Garbalino" with twisted strand technology.

What techniques do you utilise at that height as opposed to lower WFP work?
Well still air helps, but if there are any safety issues I get my secret "sky hook " bits and pieces out of the van. You have to be a natural plate spinner/balancer and keep your eye on what the brush is doing, as there is a tendency for the pole to curve back on itself & return to earth under gravity.

What height are you most comfortable with?
45ft is where the competition fears to tread on ladders, so that's the market I aim for.

Which is your favorite commercial WFP?
I gave some input to Alan at Emporium with his Ultralight (now ceased supplying the window cleaner market) and he sent sections for the 88ft job, which as far as I know is a world record.



Which is your favorite water fed pole brush?
Well I have had a swivel brush which works similar to the "whirlwind squeegee", I bought a half pallet load to get me to retirement and havent found anything to beat it, but I do like the Tucker range who I reckon have the best and most copied. Their UK distributor "Aquafactors" have their own cladding brush which is very soft and light.

I saw you bought a Nec-protech at one of the cleaning shows - how's that working for you?
I buy anything new to evaluate, sadly the Nec Protech is not for me as its too cumbersome. Fortunately the beginners neck pains have eased after 6 years of muscle building.

What’s the trickiest part of water fed cleaning ?
Without doubt its what I originally termed the "learning curve" and taking the plunge to try water fed pole work. I developed the first backpack after a good friend fell backwards off a 4ft step ladder and died two weeks before his much awaited retirement.



Spotting – can it ever be reduced ?
Its odd that we now have to apply nano-technology to make windows that used to sheet, sheet again, after being through the double glazing process. There are suppliers out there that still install sheeting glass, "Everest" in the UK being one, they also have installers that don't spread silicon and add finger prints all over the glass installation. Once any petroleum/silicon coating has been applied to the surface of the glass then there is nothing in the known universe that can remove the absorbed chemicals.

You collect your own WFP water from the sky by rain water harvesting – do you think this water is better for cleaning?
Yes one day we will understand why, natural rain is "softer" and different to water made from reverse osmosis (RO). Its good for our green footprint and the customers love the idea.

With rain water harvesting in mind - how often do you have to make production water from an R.O?
One IBC (1 tonne, industrial bulk container) full this dry year.

You use the least water of anyone I know to clean windows – what’s your secret ?
I guess its because I started with a back pack and wanted to stretch the water between fills, I still cannot understand why the suppliers encourage you to use gallons of the stuff, hmm or maybe I can, just add some filtered rainwater if you're in a limestone/borehole area. Most people cannot understand it either Karl, but it's an acquired art. I can use 330ml (1/4pint) per minute, but in dirty/dry weather I use up to 440ml (approx 1/2 pint/min).



When do you think the USA will catch up with British users in the WFP arena?
They already are buying UK equipment and Phillip Alexander (Simpole) is probably going to catch fast, the nature of window cleaning in the USA is totally different to the regular cleans we do in the UK though.

Where would you most like to live & practice window cleaning?
The big mistake I made was not moving to any large town 10 years ago, but I really do enjoy the rural life.

How many DIY/Inventions do you have on the go at the moment ?
Well there is the new brush you and I have been developing, introducing a cheap telescopic tapered modular with 3ft sections another (video featured). Then there is a wind resistant pole, I used to be a chimney sweep so the ideas for that come from that job, I have had a large variety of jobs.

Where do you see window cleaning in ten years from now ?
Nano technology may be there by then, its not working yet. I like your cleaning by sound ideas Karl -oh and a NASA Powered anti gravity jump pack would be a good Christmas present. Or an anti gravity skate board,self raising pole - I have a spoof picture of a pole with 4 helium ballons tied to it! Seriously though, I would hope that even in the next century there will be a demand for our "shiners" services, we are the problem solvers. Because of that, we probaby are the hardest sell next to ice cream to eskimos, but it's a great job. I already have a passive hot water system and have already made a wind resistant pole.

Contact Jeff through his Electric Window Cleaner Website.

Answers From a Window Cleaner

Ask a Window Cleaner By THE NEW YORK TIMES

This week: Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices, responded to readers’ questions about his career. Mr. Horton, 54, has worked on landmark buildings all over the city, including the Empire State Building, the Twin Towers, the Hearst Building and dozens of others. He said he was always content with his job until one day, hanging off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with just a belt tying him to a window, he decided that he should rethink his livelihood.

Mr. Horton now runs New York City’s main safety training program for window washers at the building service workers union 32BJ, teaching future window washers how to reduce risks and promoting safety while working a thousand feet up in the sky. “What’s more important up there?” he asks. “Prevention, prevention, prevention!” Mr. Horton was born and raised in New York City. He is married, has two sons and lives in Queens. He enjoys fly fishing and is a youth basketball coach at his parish.

Answers From a Window Cleaner: Following is the first set of responses from Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.

Do you avoid looking down at the street far below?
The scaffolding is my office. As with any job, I get caught up in my daily work, so I don’t have time to look down. My job is to clean windows, not look at pedestrians.

What is the scariest experience you have had?
Back in 1993, I was up on a building on 72nd Street and the scaffolding dropped about 15 feet. Before I realized what was happening, it was over. They say that you never hear the sound of a bullet coming at you, but what I heard that day was my heart pounding in my chest.

What is the most important safety tip for the individual window cleaner?
Inspect your equipment daily. We have a saying: Respect yourself and your equipment, inspect yourself and your equipment and protect yourself and your equipment.

What was the most interesting thing you witnessed happening inside the space you were cleaning?
When I first started my career, there was a large party taking place in one of the penthouse apartments on 72nd Street on the East Side. As we came down on our scaffolding and into sight, everybody there started taking pictures of us. My partner and I didn’t even know that we were witnessing a wedding until everything was over. We didn’t get cake, but I guarantee you that it stuck in their minds, as it did in ours. Strange things happen when you work outside!

What’s the highest window you have ever cleaned?
The 102nd floor of the World Trade Center and the 82nd floor of the Empire State Building.

How did you start washing windows in the first place?
I was a painter looking to change professions and I found an ad and thought it would be interesting. But once, hanging off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building with just a belt tying me to a window I said to myself, “There’s got to be a better way to make a living!”

Did you listen to music or radio while washing, or do you listen to the birds and the wind? Did you ever answer your cellphone when you were up there?
For safety reasons, music and cellphones are not allowed up in the scaffolding, but some of us listen to our own music in our heads.

Who trained you, and what was the most valuable lesson/advice they shared before you began work?
I learned from an old window cleaner who’s still alive today, Dimitrius Ganadakis. He still calls me student, and he will consider me his student for the rest of his life. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have continued window cleaning. He showed me to be proud of my trade.

Please tell me the basic supplies I need to clean the inside and outside of my home’s windows. By supplies, I mean squeegee, applicator, brush type, cleaning solution (commercial or homemade) and any secret ones you have.
Hire a professional window cleaner so we can stay in business. Just kidding! It’s important to wash it with cold water, not hot water, to get the best shine. Hot water, especially in the winter, can break the glass. Mix any kind of dish detergent with a little ammonia and scrub with a camel hair brush. Use an 18-inch squeegee to clean it off. Your windows will come out spectacularly clear.

Answers From a Window Cleaner, Part 2: Following is the second set of responses from Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades and knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.

Which building did you enjoy being outside of the most? I bet though the views from all of them must have been amazing.
The observation deck of the old World Trade Center was amazing. I especially loved the view from up there in the mornings. It was absolutely beautiful. Being up there alone — before the tourists arrived — was something special. I’m hoping the new World Trade Center will bring smiles to people’s faces again.

In our apartment building, the windows are cleaned professionally once per year. According to the window cleaners, if you don’t do this, the windows could brown. Is this true? Or was this just a sales tactic?
It is true. If your windows are not cleaned often, at least an average of four times a year, the sun will bake the dirt onto the glass and ruin them.

What is the most common mistakes people make when cleaning their windows?
Error No. 1 is soap. People tend to put too much soap in the water because they think it will be easier to clean the windows. But it actually makes it harder because too much soup greases the glass. Less is more.

Are there any women window washers in the city that you know of? I always see men.
Yes: Carol Alvarado, who was an apprentice of mine. She is now a journeywoman.

What is the most dangerous thing about the job?
Wind. We have to get down off the scaffolding if the wind is above 25 m.p.h., but even 15 m.p.h. is dangerous.

Answers From a Window Cleaner, Part 3

How long does it take to wash all of the windows of a typical office building?
The Empire State Building takes forever! It takes about four months to complete with only three full-time men. And once the guys finish the job, they have to start all over again. Can you imagine? But the average New York high-rise building, let’s say, a 50-story building, takes about 30 to 40 days, with one drop per day from the roof to the ground. Of course, it also depends on the type of scaffolding you are using and how many windows there are.

Do you rinse the windows?
Absolutely, we rinse the windows.

You mentioned using cold water in one of your responses – how do you get the water up there on tall buildings?
Each roof has a water outlet, so we don’t need to transport it from an inside source. But we have to make sure that we have enough water with us on the scaffolding to finish the job. If you’re about to finish a job and you run out of water, you need to go all the way back to the top, which is a waste of time and energy. So when you fill up your bucket on the roof, you have to make sure you put enough water to do the whole drop. It’s like measuring ingredients for baking. No union window cleaner runs out of water on the scaffolding.

How do you have to carry the supplies up the scaffolding to the high floors?
We bring everything up on an elevator. But on the roof, we have an area with lockers where we keep our equipment, such as harnesses, life lines, hard hats, window-cleaning tools and anything else we need to do the job.

How long does it take to erect the scaffolding?
Most New York high-rise buildings have permanent scaffolding, so to set it up can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.

What’s the best way to wash indoor windows?
Pretty much like washing windows outside. Same technique, but you need to be much more careful and cleaner. You have to use less water than outside. Make sure that you have clean water and clean tools and you are good to go.

Do you use a different mixture on windows that face the river? Just wondering if being by the water impacts how dirty the windows get and if you need to change the cleaning formula?
Yes, definitely. Any windows facing the water are going to get filthy, so we use a heavier dose of soap and ammonia.

Have you met window washers from other countries? Are their jobs different in any ways that surprise you?
Yes. They may speak different languages, but they use the same techniques. As a New Yorker, I should point out the difference between New York State and everyone else. We have the only approved apprentice training program in the country, at union 32BJ’s training center. We also have the strictest rules in the country. Rule 21 of the state law is specifically for window cleaners’ equipment and the protection of the public. New York has the highest buildings and the highest standards.