Window Cleaner In Critical Condition - Philadelphia

Window washer falls 4 stories in University City - A window washer is in critical condition after plummeting four stories on Wednesday morning in Philadelphia. It happened at the intersection of 38th and Spruce in the University city section around 9:30 a.m. The man reportedly fell from a scaffolding. The man, who is between 20 and 30 years old, was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in critical condition with head injuries. Police are now investigating how this fall happened. The name of the man who was injured has not yet been released.

Comments: J Kieffer says "First of all he is my coworker...and it was 5 stories up and it wasn't scaffold, it was a drop rig that landed on him as well. This was a freak accident & something isn't right. Stay strong jay! Your in my prayers bro'.

Sidewalk Collapses Under Weight Of Window Washer

The machine was relatively undamaged

Lucky escape for window washer: A man using a 60ft boom lift in San Francisco had a lucky escape yesterday after one of the machines wheels dropped into a void, while driving on the sidewalk/pavement. The accident occurred on Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco when the boom lift, a Genie S-65 belonging to United Rentals, was being driven fully stowed. The operator was unharmed and might have been prevented from being catapulted out of the platform by his harness?

Two tow trucks were called in to pull the lift out of the hole and it was then able to drive off apparently undamaged. The sidewalk surface was less than an inch thick and was spread over the steel beams of an underground basement. The wheel dropped into the space between two beams. City engineer Fuad S. Sweiss said: "The sidewalk has a basement underneath it. The roof of the basement is not designed to carry a 25,000lb fork lift. It should have been parked on the street rather than the sidewalk.” He also said the window washing company ought to have had a permit and that the property owner will be responsible for repairing the damage.

The boom lift broke through the sidewalk and while stowed still created a catapult effect.

Vertikal Comment: If this man had been driving the machine while elevated this might have been a completely different story. Why people think that they can drive such heavy machines on the sidewalk in old neighbourhoods is a mystery. This accident was totally predictable.

SAN FRANCISCO - A cherry picker caved into a small sinkhole on Sutter Street overnight, shutting down the street between Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, a police spokesman said. The crane sank into a weak section of sidewalk in front of a Banana Republic store while its operator was cleaning windows early this morning, said Officer Steven Wonder of the San Francisco Police Department's Central Station. The accident happened at about 2:14 a.m., police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said. The operator was not injured, and called police for assistance, Wonder said. San Francisco's Department of Public Works is assessing the damage, and a crane is being sent to the scene to remove the cherry picker, Wonder said. Sutter Street was still closed mid-morning, and motorists and pedestrians are advised to plan alternate routes, Esparza said.

Sidewalk Collapses Under Weight Of Window Washer, Closing FiDi Street: KTVU broadcast is reporting that Sutter Street is closed between Kearny and Grant after a window washer's cherry-picker rig collapsed at 2 AM, damaging the sidewalk. According to a city engineer KTVU spoke with, the window washer wasn't supposed to be using that style of what he called a "fork lift," which at 25,000 pounds was too heavy to be supported by the sidewalk, which was atop an open, basement area, not solid ground. "Luckily" the engineer told KTVU, the cherry picker "fell between two beams that are supporting this sidewalk" while washing the windows of the Grant Street Banana Republic. The engineer expects that it'll take another hour to remove the window washer's rig. According to the engineer, they have calculated that no damage was done to the beams, and the street remains safe to use. No one was injured in the incident.

Work nearly done on Sutter Street construction project: After a year of construction on Sutter Street, merchants and residents are looking forward to the $8.4 million project’s completion. Kent Hansen, 28, has lived on Reading Street off of Sutter Street for one year and is happy to see work move forward. “I think the project will make the street look better,” Hansen said. “I’m looking forward to the long-term effects.” The project’s construction completion date is planned for mid-March with final finishing touches in April, said Sue Ryan, public information officer for the city. Ryan said an opening event called “Rediscover Historic Folsom” is scheduled to take place in April. No details were available on the event at this time, said Ryan.

Reed said upcoming construction work includes work around the Hacienda Del Rio in the 700 block of Sutter Street and work near Scott Street. Also, the next round of facade work will take place in upcoming weeks on the south side of the 700 block of Sutter Street.

Window Cleaning News...& Some Art?

Warning over rogue tradesmen in Caversham: Police fear rogue traders are preying on people in Caversham – ‘cleaning’ their gutters for free and then demanding £16,000 for the job. The conmen targeted a home in All Hallows Road off Henley Road, on Thursday, December 10, and police believe they might have visited elsewhere too – focusing on vulnerable people. Inspector Penny Mackenzie, who leads the Caversham neighbourhood team, said: “Please be aware cold callers and/or rogue traders attended an address in All Hallows Road at approximately 3.45pm on Thursday, December 10. “The males said they would clean the homeowners’ guttering for free. “When they had done this they said the guttering was rotten and they would replace it for £16,000. “Although the householder refused to pay – they may be targeting elderly or vulnerable individuals. Please keep an eye on your neighbours.”

Gwen Richins, 73, of Ordish Street, said staff at the nearby Asda store, in Orchard Street, where she is a regular shopper, had called to check on her welfare while her window cleaner had offered to shop for her. She told the Mail: “I can’t get out at the moment unless family come and pick me up as it’s like a skating rink out there. “People say there’s no community anymore but this just proves there is. I think it’s absolutely brilliant that people take the time to help.”

Wagtail makes its appearance in Russia, thanks to window cleaner Vadim. Vadim Bokhanovitch of MoemGorod started the first water fed pole window cleaning service in Saint Petersburg, 370 miles north of Moscow. Read more about Vadims Russian takeover in a previous blog here.

York window-cleaner Jonathan Millea worked “hell-for-leather” before Christmas to ensure York’s only windmill, Holgate Mill, started 2010 with money in the bank. Selling raffle tickets to his customers, Jonathan raised £430 for the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society, which works hard to preserve and promote the important historical building. The money will pay for the painting of the windmill’s exterior. Jonathan said: “I’ve always been interested in historical buildings and the Holgate Windmill is an important, unique landmark for York. It provides excellent information to visitors regarding engineering methods and plenty of fun for youngsters.” Bob Anderton, society chairman, said: “The society is always busy in their quest to restore the Holgate Windmill to its former operating status and is doing a marvellous job.”

Dutch art?

Emigrates holidays wanted to give office workers a new spectacular view out of their windows. They created giant canvas posters and attached them to window cleaning units with a simple message: "Change your view. Emigrates holidays." As the unit moved around the building, office workers had a pleasant surprise. This simple & spectacular idea created a massive buzz around the region, picked up in newspapers & discussed on blog sites. As always click the pictures to enlarge.

In the name of transparency, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson is publishing all payments above £1,000 on the Greater London Authority website. Good for him. But it does lead him open to criticism for some items. The list for November last year has now been released and it comes to a total of £3.7 million. There are numerous charges for consultancies, media training, Bupa health screening, agency staff and lawyers. Some £812,000 was handed over to marketing firm Jack Morton Worldwide. Even the City Hall window cleaning was five figures, at £13,314.

Roofing inspector Duncan Hastings enjoyed a night on the tiles after being crowned John Smith's People's Darts champion. The Scot beat window cleaner Mark Petchey 3-1 at the Lakeside to scoop £15,000 for his nominated charity, the Strathcarron Hospice. Hastings, 43, nicknamed 'Big D' and representing Pennies Bar in Falkirk, nailed double 10 for victory - but will be back at work up a ladder tomorrow. "It feels special to be standing here as a People's Darts champion," said Hastings. Petchey, 45, will also be back up a ladder this week with his bucket and chamois leather, but did the Royal Oak in Basingstoke proud. He picked up £5,000 for Sport Relief.

Canada Seeks Zero Tolerance After Scaffold Tragedy

Safety blitz of scaffolds not enough, activists say: Only a public inquiry – not just a scaffold safety blitz – will get to the root problem of unsafe labour practices in the province's underground economy, labour leaders say. On Wednesday, the labour ministry announced the mid-January start of a safety blitz after four men fell 13 storeys to their deaths from a suspended construction platform on Christmas Eve. Inspectors will not give companies prior warning before visiting to check for hazards involving suspended platforms. The inspectors will have a zero-tolerance policy for non-compliance. The review will take 90 days. Labour activists welcome safety inspections but they argue the problem here is deeper than safety issues. Even though the blitz was announced in advance, inspectors will not reveal when sites will be targeted.
The Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario will hold a news conference Thursday at Queen's Park to call for a public inquiry and discuss issues surrounding the scaffolding fatalities. "This accident is just the tip of the iceberg of the growing underground employment in the construction industry," said John Cartwright, of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. "Because of (the workers') precarious employment they would never feel they could raise the safety issue." Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan wants a criminal probe into the deaths of the four migrant workers. Ryan says Attorney General Chris Bentley should step in. "We would like to see you take more seriously the provision in the Criminal Code of Canada that gives your office the power to lay criminal charges if an employer causes death or serious harm due to negligence," Ryan said in a letter to Bentley, dated Dec. 31, 2009.

The OFL represents more than one million workers in Ontario. On Dec. 24, five workers fell from outside a 13th-floor balcony at 2757 Kipling Ave., an apartment building complex just south of Steeles Ave. W., when the scaffold they were on suddenly snapped in half. Four of the men died. The fifth man, Dilshod Marupov, 21, clung to the equipment briefly before falling. He suffered broken legs and a shattered spine and is the only survivor, recovering at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Killed instantly were Fayzullo Fazilov, 31, of Uzbekistan; Aleksey Blumberg, 33, of Ukraine; Alexander Bondorev, 25, originally from Latvia; and Vladimir Korostin, 40, originally from Uzbekistan. The legality of the employment status of some of the men involved in the Christmas Eve accident is unclear.
Metron Construction president Joel Swartz previously told the Star Metron "does not discuss personnel matters or personal information with anyone outside the organization." On Oct. 20, five work orders were placed against Metron Construction at the adjacent building at 2737 Kipling Ave. However, there were no orders issued regarding the swing stage on that site on that date, according to Tom Zach, a labour ministry spokesperson. The swing stage involved in the fatalities was not at 2757 Kipling Ave. when labour ministry inspectors where there in October, he said.
For labour activists, this accident is reminiscent of the Hogg's Hollow disaster, where five Italian Canadians working under dangerous conditions were killed in March, 1960, while building a tunnel at Old York Mills Rd. and Yonge St. "It looks like we've come full circle," Cartwright said.
Labour Minister Peter Fonseca expects to see a report on the safety blitz in 90 days. Then, decisions will be made on what further steps should be taken. However, a spokesperson for the labour ministry said it will wait for a coroner's inquest and then review the recommendations before any decision on a public inquiry. Under Ontario law, if a fatality happens on a construction site, an inquest must be held, said Cheryl Mahyr, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Coroner. Labour inspectors will also begin a heightened enforcement campaign targeting fall hazards at construction sites this month. In 2008, a similar blitz resulted in 336 projects being temporarily halted.

Ontario launches construction site blitz - Inspectors will check for hazards involving suspended platforms: Beginning mid-January, Ontario Ministry of Labour inspectors will begin an enforcement blitz checking for hazards involving suspended platforms and fall hazards at construction sites. "We want to ensure that Ontarians are safe at their workplace and these actions we're taking serve as a reminder that safety practices must be followed when working above the ground. I have asked for a report back in 90 days, at which time decisions will be made on what further steps will be taken," said Minister of Labour Peter Fonseca. As part of regular inspections, Ministry of Labour inspectors will look for compliance with fall protection requirements, including appropriate fall-related equipment and adequate worker training. Inspectors will have zero tolerance for non-compliance, said Fonseca. The most commonly used suspended work platforms (suspended platforms or suspended scaffolds) are known as swing stages. They are used for window cleaning or conducting repairs to the exterior of buildings and consist of a work platform, guardrails and a suspension system.

The most significant hazard associated with swing stages is workers falling from height. Some of the reasons why a fall may occur include:
• the swing stage over-turning because the counterweight does not have the adequate weight or if the “fulcrum” or point of support at the edge of the building fails; or
• the swing stage collapsing because it is overloaded, the platforms are inadequately attached (in case of modular type stages), or there is damage from exposure to chemicals or corrosive material to the motors, platforms or wire ropes to which the stage is suspended, in addition to poor maintenance.

Employers and supervisors are required to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to ensure the health and safety of workers, including: Proper training - Workers working on a suspended platform or suspended scaffold who may use a fall protection system must receive comprehensive fall protection training and must receive:
• training on the use and inspection of the platform or scaffold, including access to and egress from it
• training on the erection and dismantling procedures where the workers are involved in these activities
Wearing of a fall arrest system when working on suspended equipment

A worker who is on or is getting on or off a suspended platform or suspended scaffold must wear a full body harness that is connected to a fall arrest system with an independent lifeline, or that is securely fastened to the suspended platform or suspended scaffold. Proper design, construction and use of equipment -
The platform must not be overloaded, equipment must be maintained in a condition that does not endanger a worker and it must be used in accordance with any operating manual issued by the manufacturers.
Every suspended scaffold that consists of more than one platform, and every suspended platform that weighs, together with its components, more than 525 kilograms, must be designed by a professional engineer and erected in accordance with the design drawings. A professional engineer must inspect it prior to its first use and issue a written report in regard to the inspection. The constructor must keep a copy of the design drawings and the professional engineer’s written inspection report on the project while the suspended platform or suspended scaffold is on the project.
Adequate maintenance of equipment, materials and protective devices -
Employers must ensure that the equipment, materials and protective devices are maintained in good condition.
Proper inspection of equipment by a competent worker and by the supervisor
Suspended platforms or suspended scaffolds must be inspected prior to each day’s use by a competent worker if it is operated by mechanical power and at least once a week by the supervisor or a competent person appointed by the supervisor.

Window Cleaning News Round-Up

A WINDOW cleaner cheated death when he fell 10ft from his ladder and brushed spiked railings at a Cambridge hotel, UK. The 42-year-old suffered a flesh wound to his leg but an ambulance worker said: "If he had fallen at a different angle it could have been a lot more serious. "The man was working as a sub-contractor cleaning windows at the De Vere University Arms Hotel when he appears to have slipped from his ladder. "He was awake and alert but complaining of numbness in his legs. "A spokesman for the hotel said: "We are investigating what happened and will be working closely with environmental health. "We have all the necessary risk assessments in place, and are satisfied it was a genuine accident." "We will also be speaking to the person who was injured and the company he works for to ensure they also had the correct safety procedures, such as non-slip shoes, in place." Note: This event was reported to have occured in Regent Street, London (incorrect).

In Virginia, USA: One side of a window-washing rig slipped from its anchoring near the top of a downtown Richmond office building this morning. The worker in the rig was able to right it and lower himself to safety. Richmond firefighters were called to an 11-story building at the James Center complex at Ninth and East Cary streets shortly before 10 a.m. for a report of a rig dangling near the roof. Firefighters closed off a portion of Ninth Street while the worker righted the misaligned side of the rig and slowly lowered himself to the sixth floor, a process that took about 30 minutes. At that point, the worker left the rig behind and rappelled safely to the ground. The worker was identified as Alejandro Alvarado, an employee of Universal Building Services.
LONG BEACH - As if leading the government of the fifth-largest city in California weren't enough, Mayor Bob Foster now does windows, too. On Monday morning in the lobby of City Hall, Foster demonstrated the use of new environmentally friendly cleaning products that soon could be used in all city buildings. Pictured: Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster cleans a City Hall window with a Sun Valley Green cleaning product under the eye of company founder Teresa Cochran. Foster announced a pilot program to give the firm's green cleaning products a trial.

And finally, monks in Bangkok, Thailand were reported to have cottoned on to the benefits of using water fed poles.....