Blackpool Features in HSE Safety Campaign

Blackpool's highest window cleaner backs national safety campaign: The man who hangs under the glass floor at the top of Blackpool Tower to clean it, is backing a national safety campaign. Dave Hulme uses a harness to carry out maintenance work to the outside of the 158-metre-high tourist attraction, and is giving his support to the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) Shattered Lives campaign. Slips, trips and falls caused 1,155 serious injuries to workers in Lancashire last year, and are the most common cause of major workplace injury in Great Britain. HSE is urging employers and workers to take simple steps to reduce the risk of being injured.

Dave, who works for Cumbrian engineering company MP Marine, started work at Blackpool Tower in 1983 and now oversees its maintenance. He came face to face with HSE Inspector Allen Shute from the underside of the 'Walk of Faith' glass floor to give his support to the Shattered Lives campaign. Dave said: "When they were installing the glass floor just over a decade ago, we had to work out how we'd be able to clean under it safely. I seemed to end up being given the job. I use a harness and then just clean it like you would a window. "I often get some funny looks when I'm hanging under the floor if people are standing on top of it at the time. I've also been known to get a round of applause when I come back up. "People seem to think it's a dangerous job, but working 150 metres above the ground isn't really any more dangerous than working 15 metres above the ground. You just need to make sure you use the right safety equipment. "I hope HSE's Shattered Lives campaign makes people think more about preventing slips, trips and falls in their workplaces."

Allen Shute added: "No one would dream of doing a job like Dave's without using the proper safety equipment. But hundreds of workers are injured every year in falls from just a few metres above the ground. "Hundreds of workers in Lancashire were injured from slips, trips and falls last year. They might sound funny but they shatter the lives of thousands of British workers ever year. "Making improvements doesn't need to cost the earth and we are encouraging people to visit the Shattered Lives website, where they will be able to get simple and cost-effective solutions to help manage slip, trip and fall hazards in their workplace. "Dave knows he's safe when he's working more than 150 metres above the ground at the top of Blackpool Tower because he's held securely in a harness. I hope other people working less high up will start thinking more about the risks they face."

As well as the tragic human cost, preventable slips, trips and falls are having a serious financial impact on the UK. HSE estimates that the combined financial costs incurred by society as a whole is around £800 million a year, at a time when both businesses and individuals are struggling financially following the recession. In response, HSE has launched a new phase of its Shattered Lives campaign, aimed at reducing slips, trips and falls in the workplace. The hard-hitting campaign involves raising awareness of the impact of slips, trips and falls in the workplace and directing people to the new Shattered Lives website at www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives for practical advice and guidance.

The campaign is targeted at those sectors where there are a high number of slips, trips and falls each year. Specifically, health and social care, education, food manufacturing, food retail, catering and hospitality, building and plant maintenance, and construction are being targeted. On the new campaign website, people will be able to find out information on how they can easily, and cost effectively, reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls in the workplace, and see what other organisations, such as Sainsbury's and First Line Digital, have done. Included on the site are online guides to preventing slips and trips, and working safely at height. Advice ranges from how to deal with spills and other slip risks, to the importance of using ladders correctly to reduce the risk of falling from height.

Notes to editors:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It works to prevent death, injury and ill-health to those at work and those affected by work activities. For more information about the work of HSE, visit www.hse.gov.uk
Reportable major injuries include fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes; amputations; dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine; loss of sight (temporary or permanent); chemical or hot metal burn to the eye or any penetrating injury to the eye; injury resulting from an electric shock or electrical burn leading to unconsciousness, or requiring resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours; any other injury: leading to hypothermia, heat-induced illness or unconsciousness; or requiring resuscitation; or requiring admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours; and unconsciousness caused by asphyxia or exposure to harmful substance or biological agent.
There were two deaths involving falls in Manchester workplaces during 2008/9 and one in Ellesmere Port and Neston involving a slip or trip. The following table lists the number of serious injuries in each local authority area in the North West during 2008/9. Three day injuries refer to injuries which required workers to take at least three days off work.

A former Dudley window cleaner who broke his hip and wrist when he fell from a ladder is backing the Health and Safety Exectutive’s new campaign to prevent workplace injuries caused through trips, slips and falls. Ken Bradley, 63, was cleaning windows at a house in July 2006 when the ladder slipped, throwing him to the ground. The fall left him so badly hurt he had to give up his venture, which he had just started following redundancy a year previous. Ken said: “I felt the ladder slip from under me and I grabbed a window to try and stop myself from falling. But I couldn’t reach. I don’t really remember much after that until I woke up in hospital.” He was in hospital for nine days and had to have his hip pinned and stapled together. The severity of his injuries means he no longer can climb ladders, as well as doing certain jobs he took for granted before the fall. Ken said: “It’s the confidence as much as anything. I’d have done anything once but once the confidence has gone, it makes you think twice. “I can no longer walk as far as I used to be able to and I certainly can’t clamber up and down ladders.” Ken is now backing the HSE’s new campaign Shattered Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the impact of trips, slips and falls. As part of the campaign, a new website has been set up – where people can find out information about easy and cost effective ways to reduce such accidents. HSE inspector Brian Martin said: “Slips, trips and falls can be seen as comical but when they result in injuries like Ken’s, it’s proof they are anything but funny. “However, the vast majority of slips, trips and falls can be easily prevented.”

Window Cleaning Spring News

Tony Evans aka Mr. Squeegee of New View window cleaning in Iowa gives us some spring time tips.

Russell duo leads 'clean' life due to work: Despite their family being spread across the United States, Brett and Rachelle Scott are part of a family business. Brett's brothers, one in Connecticut and one in southeastern Kansas, both have window cleaning businesses similar to his Crystal Clear Cleaning based in Hays and Russell. His parents also still help out with some of the smaller projects in the area. "My oldest brother, Kelly, lives up in Connecticut. He started getting into it there," Brett Scott said. "And that's how it started to trickle down to other members of the family." Now, Brett and Rachelle Scott clean windows on about 50 businesses at least every three months. They also do less frequent cleaning on other homes and businesses in Hays and Russell.
It's not always an easy job -- especially when Mother Nature has something to say about it. "I hate doing it in the winter time," Rachelle Scott said. "We bundle up, and we use special chemicals so they won't freeze and we get it done." Windy days also can prove tiresome. "You have to work faster because the water will dry on the windows faster, so you have to do more work," Rachelle Scott said. But being able to work together is the best motivator for both of the Scotts. "We don't have to deal with any crazy people. We just work together as husband and wife," Rachelle Scott said. The Scotts can be seen cleaning windows two or three days a week in Hays and Russell. The rest of their time is devoted to a Jehovah's Witnesses ministry. "This is how we make our living," Brett Scott said. "It supports our ministry."
The most difficult projects taken on by Crystal Clear Cleaning are Hays Chevrolet and Dillon's on Vine Street in Hays. The Hays Chevrolet building has the highest windows they have to reach. Meanwhile, Dillon's is the most involved. They even wash the outsides of the refrigerators and freezers inside the building. Crystal Clear Cleaning also occasionally cleans windows on newly-constructed buildings after the construction crews are done. Some of their residential projects can be half- or full-day affairs, depending on the size of the house. The Scotts work anywhere from six to 12 hours a day. "When we drive over here (to Hays), we try to get as much done as we can," Brett Scott said. Pictured above: Brett Scott, left, and his wife, Rachelle, owners of Crystal Clear Cleaning of Russell, clean the windows of Equity Bank, 2428 Vine Street.

Teenage fire victim's search for her hero: A hero window cleaner saved the life of a teenage girl who was trapped in a burning house. The Good Samaritan then walked away without even leaving his name. Freya Murphy, 18, said yesterday she desperately wanted to thank the man for his heroic act. Singer Miss Murphy was trapped in her bedroom on the first floor of her parent's historic home in South Street, Lewes, after a chip pan fire broke out at 1pm on Saturday. Miss Murphy said: "I opened my bedroom door and the house was filled with thick black smoke. "I couldn't breathe and it was burning my eyes. "I was terrified. "A fire had ripped through the kitchen of their house spreading from a chip pan she had accidentally left on a lit hob. Smoke had spread through the building, which was built alongside the River Ouse by the Lewes bargemaster in 1784. Miss Murphy said: "I ran to my bedroom window and lent out screaming for someone to help. "I couldn t turn around because the heat was so painful."
Her cries were heard by a window cleaner working at another house in the road who ran with his ladders and climbed up to carry her down. He was helped by one of Miss Murphy s neighbours who saw what was happening and dialled 999. Lewes Fire Station watch commander Martin Lusk, from: "The girl was lucky the window cleaner was there. "We don t know who he was. "He left when we arrived and didn t leave his name. Miss Murphy was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and treated for smoke inhalation. She was not seriously injured and spent the night in a hotel with her parents. As she returned to see the gutted kitchen yesterday, Miss Murphy said: "I'd like to say thank you so much to that man. He saved my life. I am so grateful." Do you know who the hero window cleaner was?

Slips, trips and falls are no joke - London injury statistics revealed: In London workplaces last year, 21 people died and more than 3,700 suffered serious injury as a result of a slip, trip or fall from height. These shocking statistics have prompted the launch of an awareness raising campaign from the Health & Safety Executive. In the capital, Westminster topped the statistics with 409 major injuries and a further two fatal injuries reported in 2007/08. Hillingdon followed with a total of 374 reported serious injury cases and a further two fatal injuries, both as a result of falls. Camden reported two fatalities from falls, and the third-highest number of major injuries, totalling 207, of which 170 were a result of a slip or trip. Hounslow had the fourth highest number of major injuries, totalling 205.
The second phase of the Shattered Lives campaign has been launched to highlight the devastating consequences of slips, trips and falls in the workplace and to encourage employers, in consultation with their employees, to take action. "People often view slips, trips and falls as trivial incidents, even comical, but they are no joke to those who suffer major injuries, a lifetime of disability, time off work and, in the worst cases, death," warns Marcia Davies, HSE Head of the Injury Reduction Programme. "We want to raise awareness of how these incidents can happen and how they can be easily avoided by taking common sense actions and precautions at little or no cost. If you spot a hazard in your workplace, deal with it - don't assume that somebody else will.
"The lives of workers and their families are shattered by the serious consequences of these types of accidents. Simple measures introduced by businesses can make a positive difference to safety in the workplace." Fatalities and serious injuries arising from slips, trips and fall incidents cost British society an estimated £700 million last year. Breakdowns of the types of accidents, where they took place and how long they left the victims incapacitated is on the HSE website.
The campaign is targeted at seven sectors where there is a prevalence of such injuries: food retail, catering and hospitality, food and drink manufacturing, building and plant maintenance, healthcare, education and construction, although the risks can occur in any workplace.
To help businesses take preventive action the HSE launched STEP - an interactive learning package that provides practical guidance to help users tackle slips, trips and falls in their workplace. The tool is free and can be accessed online. For further information about slips, trips and falls go to the shattered lives campaign.