Lucky Escapes For Amateurs

PRECARIOUS: Serangoon residents were shocked to see a maid balancing on a window sill to do cleaning.

Maid's safety in the balance for 15 minutes: Residents of an HDB estate in Serangoon were shocked to see a domestic worker balancing precariously on a ledge to clean windows on Saturday. The incident occurred at about 2.30pm at an eighth-floor unit of Block 539 in Serangoon North Avenue 4, Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday.

Ms He, a 40-year-old housewife who lives at a block opposite, told Shin Min that she saw a maid climbing outside to clean the windows. "To see that maid standing on the window sill, grabbing on to the window to clean it without any safety measures on the eighth floor, it really frightened me," she added. She said she had wanted to go over to stop the maid but changed her mind when she saw that there seemed to be other people in the unit.

Another resident, Mr Chen, a 45-year-old construction worker, had also witnessed the maid's actions. "I wanted to shout at her to ask her not to do that, but I was worried that if I did, disaster may follow if she got frightened so I could only watch." Mr Chen added that the maid had spent about 15 minutes wiping the windows, most of the time squatting on the sill.

Madam He said this was the first time that she had seen the domestic worker carry out such a dangerous act. "Luckily, she climbed down safely in the end, much to my relief," she added.

Shin Min approached the maid's employer, who said that the woman had worked at his home for about five months. He said the maid was hard-working although they had some difficulty communicating.

After he saw the picture of the maid cleaning the window, the employer was shocked and said that he did not know she had done such a thing. He was normally away from home during the day, with only his mother and children around. He added that he would advise the maid to be more careful and that he had instructed her not to clean the windows' exterior since it would rain anyway.

Another lucky escape for those DIY amateurs. See below for video.

Lucky Escape For Man Stuck in Compost Bin: This guy stood on top of a compost bin so he could clean his gutters. However, the bin couldn't handle his weight, so he fell through and got stuck. He called for his family to help him, but all they did was laugh at his misery. This homeowner got away lightly & shows another case of how hiring a professional to do the job over DIY can pay for itself many times over.

This could have turned out very badly, luckily the man fell in such a way that he didn't harm himself. But in a lot of cases were knee flex is restricted when landing can cause serious damage. Extended knee landing results in serious deformation of the meniscus and cartilage and increases the risk of bone-to-bone contact and serious knee injury when the load exceeds the threshold safety height. This risk is considerably greater than the risk of injury associated with walking downhill or flexion landing activities.

Umbilical Drones For Window Cleaning & Painting

Apellix has developed the worlds first software controlled robotic system that utilizes drones connected to a base station with an umbilical cord and tether (UCAT) as material applicators. The Apellix platform moves workers from harms way - by replacing window washers on skyscrapers, moving painters off of scaffolding, and helping move workers to locations with reduced exposure to harmful chemicals. As a safety company we value human workers and the environment, and bring large value to both.

Robots may replace window cleaners, painters next: More than five million jobs are thought likely to be replaced by robots in the coming decade according to some analysts, and it may be that window cleaning and painting are part of that number. A new drone design from Apellix is conceptualising the idea of a robotic painting system, which negates the need to put workers at risk on tall ladders and against tall buildings.

As one of the more dangerous jobs in the U.S., with several deaths each year due to falls, construction – especially on ladders – is something Apellix wants to change. Instead of sending men up ladders, it wants to send a quad-copter up the side of a building with an “umbilical” connection. That cable can provide power, but it also provides paint, water and anything else it might need to complete its task.

The little robot can be seen in the latest demonstration video, flying up the side of a two story warehouse and spray painting it. Apellix has fitted that same robot with a hose system and a 3,000 PSI high-velocity-paint-sprayer, allowing for its application in even the most turbulent of environments.

This could easily be applied to other liquids, such as water, which would allow pressure washing of windows and walls that are out of reach of humans or at least can’t be cleaned safely. Apellix has other ideas too. Fitted with an expanding, self-setting foam gun and stockpile, it believes the umbilical equipped drones could build temporary igloo housing. It could theoretically “3D print” all sorts of structures autonomously with further development.

Chinese Window Cleaning Spiderman Most At Risk

"Spidermen" (window cleaners) clean windows outside a high-rise building in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

China's "spidermen" need more care, protection (BEIJING, Xinhua) -- Suspended from one or two ropes only as thick as a man's thumb, they hang like spiders hundreds of meters in the air, cleaning and maintaining the country's skyscrapers. A recent string of tragedies has drawn attention to the need protect China's fearless spidermen, low-tech workers who don't have the superpowers of the movie character and risk their lives every day to make a meager living.

In a highrise in Xi'an, capital of northwest China' s Shaanxi Province in late July, a sudden wind sent two dangling workers swinging. The spidermen, suspended at the 12th and 15th floors when the incident occurred, cried for help and struggled against the wind for more than 20 minutes before they were dashed against the building.

In another case, two window washers on the 91st floor of the 492-meter Shanghai World Financial Center, were injured when the cradle they occupied crashed into the skyscraper in early April. "Wind is our biggest enemy," said Chen Guofu, 40, a window-cleaner who has survived five years of high altitude and risk in Beijing.

He recalled the first time he stepped off the edge of a tall building. With sweaty palms and a vertiginous head, he carried a bucket of soapy water and a squeegee on a pole, with only a suction cup on a string to anchor himself to the window.

"If those two workers in Xi'an could have anchored themselves to the window, the tragedy may not have happened," said Chen who came to Beijing in 2003 from a village of neighboring Hebei Province. He changed jobs many times before he became a spiderman. "I have no choice since I don't have other skills," he said.

Like most spidermen, Chen is one of hundreds of millions migrant workers working in construction or cleaning to support parents and children. The current urbanization drive has brought a forest of city skyscrapers: Spidermen are important to the expansion. Their safety should also be better protected, said Zhai Jialiang, secretary general of Beijing's cleaning industry association,

More than 1,000 workplace deaths are reported each year in the construction industry, and over 60 percent of fatalities are caused by falls from high places and building collapses, said Huang Shengchu, head of National Institute for Occupational Safety under the State Administration of Work Safety.

Zhai Jialiang wants companies to establish complete management mechanisms including pre-job training for workers, regular equipment checks and emergency plans. Currently, there are more than 300 spidermen in Xi'an, fewer than 200 of whom have licenses to allow them to work aloft, said Wang Wenyong, manager of Xi'an Yunfei Property Management Company. The licenses he mentioned are either issued by China Occupational Safety and Health Association or the local work safety department.

"Without licenses, proper training and supervision, many spidermen don't even attach themselves to a backup line," said Chen Guofu. Xinhua reporters searched "high-rise window cleaning" on the Internet and found countless advertisements. Zhai told Xinhua that many are small firms and are poorly regulated. Liang said the government and association should strengthen regular supervision on cleaning and maintenance of highrise, issue clear regulations and punish companies who break the rules.

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.