Hanging From The Skies

The buildings where they work are equipped with a built-in ‘suspended scaffold platforms’, commonly known as a ‘swing stage’.

Hanging from the skies – A chat with the window cleaners of Kuwait’s skyscrapers: If you suffer from vertigo, window-cleaning is not the job for you. But for some some, it’s an everyday task. The job is challenging considering the safety risks for the cleaners, especially in Kuwait where safety precautions are not always implemented or enforced.

Kuwait Times spoke to several window cleaners who work in Kuwait City skyscrapers and was amazed by their bravery. “Yes we are insured and our salary is better than regular cleaners,” said Yousef Mazumder, a Bangladeshi supervisor. He told Kuwait Times that in the event of an accident, the worker’s family can claim monetary compensation from the company.

“This job is quite dangerous but every worker undergoes a series of training and workshops; we have safety briefings every time they ascend and descend for the job; we prepare them mentally and I always tell them to relax and not have any worries whilst up there,” he noted. Muzumder’s job is to ensure each and every member of his team is safe at the end of the day. “My job is to keep them safe on the job site and make sure that they are all at ease with each other. Personal problems should be left on the ground,” asserted Mazumder.

The buildings where they work are equipped with a built-in ‘suspended scaffold platforms’, commonly known as a ‘swing stage’. These machine is regularly maintained and also have locally-based engineers and technicians to help in case of a breakdown. “We have regular checks regardless whether we have a problem or not. The good thing is that they are just a call away. When I call for help, within minutes they are here. My objective every day is to finish the job with zero accidents,” Mazumder said.

It can take up to a month to clean the façade windows of a 30-storey glass building. While cleaning glass faced skyscrapers, a team must have at least 10 people plus a supervisor to oversee the process. The suspended scaffold is permitted to carry two to three workers to perform the cleaning job. An operator is usually stationed in the control room to communicate with the cleaners on the swing stage. “We work as a team. It needs coordination. The cleaners can only swing sideways; but lowering or moving the platform is done by the operator in the control room,” Mazumder explained.

The swing stage is also equipped with several safety tools and equipment including built-in harnesses attached to the bodies of the cleaners and the platform . “I instruct them to wear the harness at all times. There are other cables here inside this swing stage; these are used to support the platform to prevent unnecessary movements when a strong wind blows. The rope also serves as a support in the event of a breakdown. They are also connected to the glass windows in the building, so we are really safe,” he assured.

Jenat Ali Sheikh from Bangladesh and Saru Munam from India are two of the window cleaners who scale the heights of some of Kuwait’s tallest skyscrapers. “This is my job and I do this every day without fear,” Sheikh said. “I am not afraid anymore; in the beginning it was scary, but not now. Anyway, all jobs are dangerous even if you are in an office; you go out in the street you don’t know whether you’ll reach home alive,” he reasoned.

Munam said they were carefully trained before getting the job as window cleaners. “I underwent training for about one or two months. Initially, we start from the first floor; then every day, if we can tolerate the height, they increased the floors until the top floor; It’s a process – you will be replaced if you cannot tolerate heights,” Munam said.

The scaffolding carries about five buckets of water and some chemicals to clean the windowpanes. When all the water is consumed, the operator lifts up the swing stage to replenish it. Cleaners perform the job manually using the chemicals and other cleaning tools and equipment. Generally, chemicals are added to water and a brush or cloth-covered wiper is dipped into the resulting solution and used to scrub the glass. A squeegee is then used to sluice the dirt and water mixture from the glass.

Note: Suspended platforms are access platforms for one or more workers with manual or motor driven devices for raising and lowering via ropes. Platforms may be fitted to high rise buildings or skyscrapers, or assembled from components to suit the architecture and nature of work being performed. These can be either temporary or permanent. Both have their own unique governing codes and regulations. Permanent suspended platforms are often known as building maintenance units (BMU) and their platforms are also known as gondolas in Europe.

Europes Tallest Building Gets A Window Clean

Vertigo...Window cleaners tackle the biggest job in Britain.

Careful you don’t drop your sponge: If you suffer from vertigo then you need not apply. Six plucky window cleaners take on the monster task of cleaning the windows of Britain’s tallest building. And as luck would have it, no sooner had they started than the rain began falling in London. The huge building is due to open in June and will be the tallest building in the European Union. It stands a towering 310 metres (1,020 ft) tall and is fully clad in glass — meaning there are an awful lot of windows to clean.

The Shard Tower; Floor count: 95 (Including plant floors), 72 (habitable) - £450 million to construct. Click to enlarge.

Shard London Bridge is a pyramid-shaped skyscraper under construction in Southwark, London. Upon its completion in May 2012 it will stand almost 310 metres (1,020 ft) tall, and it has been the tallest building in the European Union since December 2011. It is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330-metre (1,083 ft) Emley Moor transmitting station. Shard London Bridge replaces Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office building constructed on the site in 1976. Renzo Piano, the building's architect, worked with the architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage. The tower will have 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck – the UK's highest – on the 72nd floor. It has been designed with an irregular triangular shape from the base to the top, and will be clad entirely in glass. Shard London Bridge is expected to open to the public in June 2012. Check out the interactive views here.

Sky High In Shanghai - 101st Floor Window Cleaning

No room for vertigo: Left, two workers are suspended against the cityscape as they prepare for a shift on the 1,614ft skyscraper. Click to enlarge.

Tall order: The city sprawls out into the smog as one of the window cleaners readies his squeegee at the Shanghai World Financial Centre, China. Click to enlarge.

Yang Bo cleans a window outside the 94th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center March 26, 2012. Click to enlarge.

Sky high in Shanghai: Fearless window cleaners at work outside the 101st floor of the world's fourth-tallest building. The wacky workplace slogan of a thousand coffee mugs has never been more true: You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps. Outside the 101st floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center in China, window cleaners are shown preparing for their shift. More than 30 workers on the window-cleaning team of the supertall skyscraper work in pairs every day.

Top of the world: It takes a team of more than 30 cleaners, working in pairs every day, to keep the skyscraper looking its best. Click to enlarge.

They have to obtain a licence for high-rise operations and must not have high blood pressure or, naturally, suffer a fear of heights. They are not allowed items which could fall, such as mobile phones or wristwatches, and must stop working in heavy winds. The centre is the fourth-tallest building in the world, standing at 1,614ft. It opened in 2008 and houses the highest observation deck on Earth, while the Park Hyatt Shanghai, occupying the 79th to 93rd floors, is the world's second-highest hotel.

Nerves of steel: The Shanghai World Financial Center dwarfs the already huge buildings of China's biggest city. Click to enlarge.

The 1,614ft Shanghai World Financial Center in Lujiazui. Click to enlarge.

Two cleaners prepare for work outside the 101st floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center in Lujiazui. More than 30 workers on the window-cleaning team of the skyscraper work in pairs every day. The cleaners have to obtain a license for high-rise operations and must not have high blood pressure or, naturally, suffer a fear of heights. They are not allowed items which could fall, such as cell phones or wristwatches, and must stop work in medium to heavy winds.