Falls While Cleaning Windows

Window Cleaner fell from scaffold he was working on in Montreal.

Delicate rescue operation to rescue a window washer (Montreal): A dramatic rescue operation to rescue a window washer who fell several stories took place on Wednesday afternoon in Montreal. The workplace accident occurred around 15 pm at the rear of a commercial building located at 8255 Mountain Sights Avenue, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

For some unexplained reason, the worker of 32 years fell from the scaffold he was working on. The scaffold dropped at least three floors before landing heavily on the roof of a building annex. Specialized in high angle rescue, firefighters were called to the scene to conduct the delicate operation. In less than an hour, they managed to secure the worker and get him back down to the ground. The victim, groaning in pain, was then placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

According to Urgences Santé, he was suffering serious injuries to the pelvis, back, arms and legs.
His life would not however be in danger. Two inspectors from the Commission on Health and Safety (OHS) have visited the site in the late afternoon to try to establish the circumstances of the accident.
Representatives of the CSST were to meet several witnesses who attended the scene.  The working methods used by the worker will also be studied to determine whether they complied and were safe.

Window washer tumbles four stories: A window washer fell four stories Wednesday afternoon when the piece of scaffolding he was standing on gave way for an unknown reason. The worker was on the sixth floor of a building on Mountain Sights Ave., between De La Savane and Sorel Sts. at around 3p.m., when he tumbled four stories onto a secondary roof on the second floor of the building. The Montreal fire department's special Spiderman unit was called in to perform the delicate rescue operation. The man was conscious when he was taken to hospital. The extent of his injuries is not yet known.

A woman was injured after plunging from a ladder while cleaning her windows in Winchester.

A woman has been injured after plunging from ladder while cleaning her windows. The 42 year old fell around 10ft while she cleaning a dormer window set in the roof of her home in Winchester. She fell on to the flat roof of the house’s ground floor extension, which she had used as a base to pitch her ladder on and prop it against the house, in Crescent Close, Badger Farm.

Her husband raised the alarm around 4pm on Saturday after hearing her scream. It is thought the ladder gave way on the roof, which has a gravel surface. Firefighters had to lower the woman from the roof on a stretcher using a pulley system. They reported that the woman had cuts and grazes, but there was also concern she might have a spinal injury.

A spokeswoman for South Central Ambulance Service said an ambulance and rapid responder attended to reports that the woman had suspected injuries to her arm and leg. She was taken to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester but it is not known how serious her injuries are.

Woman who suffered fatal fall from ladder had 35 minute wait for ambulance, inquest told - A woman died after falling from a ladder while cleaning the gutters on her bungalow, an inquest heard. Celia Farrell (65) died at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, on August 4 last year, two days after sustaining severe head injuries when she fell backwards off a ladder at her home at The Mayne, Clonee in Co Meath. Dublin Coroner’s Court heard that Mrs Farrell had been due to celebrate her wedding anniversary that evening with her husband Noel Farrell. He told the inquest that they had gone to 10am Mass that morning and afterwards he was cutting the grass while his wife started to clean the gutters on the bungalow. He said he had asked her to wait because he wasn’t happy with the ladder she was using and they were in “no hurry”. However, when he went to help her at around 1.45pm, he found her lying on the ground with the ladder beside her.

Tightening The Belt

Hélène Charlebois, a registered dietitian and nutrition coach in Ottawa, says excess weight can be detrimental to workers with jobs requiring physical exertion, such as firefighting, policing or window cleaning.

Tightening the Belt: A study down south, which finds obese employees cost companies about twice as much money on average as other employees do, highlights the consequences that obesity may have on the workplace.

The study, published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, reports that overweight workers have higher rates of absenteeism and claims for workers’ compensation, medical care and short-term disability. An employee who is not obese costs an average of $3,830 per year in covered medical claims, sick days, short-term disability and workers’ compensation, while a morbidly obese person costs employers $8,067. The findings are based on data from nearly 30,000 employees over a three-year period.

“I don’t think we fully understand the direct association of obesity and the impact on the workplace,” says Mary Forhan, assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s faculty of rehabilitation medicine in Edmonton and a member of the Canadian Obesity Network.

Hélène Charlebois, a registered dietitian and nutrition coach in Ottawa, says excess weight can be detrimental to workers with jobs requiring physical exertion, such as firefighting, policing or window cleaning.

It can also affect positions like those of a cashier or waitress. An employee who has to stand at a cash register for eight hours a day is “not going to be able to be at that job very long, because it is just physically impossible,” Charlebois says, referring to the strain on the feet, knee joints and ankle joints.

“It predisposes you to a lot of other problems,” adds Kim McClelland, a registered nurse and wellness coordinator with the Toronto Police Service (TPS). Obese workers take more time off from work and have more diseases. “They are more tired, they take more breaks, they can’t concentrate.”

Ian Janssen, Ph.D., professor in kinesiology and health studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, co-authored a study published in 2011 that found obese workers have a 40 to 49 per cent higher risk of occupational injury. “Surprisingly, this related more to sedentary injuries that happen in more sedentary occupations,” Dr. Janssen says, citing repetitive strain and lower back pain as among the common ailments reported by the obese. “There is more increased likelihood of other illnesses and disabilities as well, even the flu. So that means persons with obesity are going to be potentially away from work more often.”

Obesity has been on the rise in Canada over the past few decades. In 1985, less than 10 per cent of the population was clinically overweight. By 2004, the level leaped to more than 20 per cent in every province and territory except British Columbia and Quebec, according to Statistics Canada.

In 2005, there were more than two million obese workers aged 18 to 64 in the country, 21 per cent of whom were older than 55. Men in the top-quarter income bracket were more likely to be overweight than other men were.

Forhan says the safety risks that obesity poses often depend on the job itself. “There are a lot of workers with obesity who actually could be very fit, strong and quite capable,” Forhan says. “When the risk starts to come in is when there is a disconnection between the person’s body size and shape and the workspace and demands of the job.”

An employee’s size might be incompatible with the required equipment or safety gear, and chronic health conditions like heart disease or high blood pressure could be dangerous in a job that involves physical exertion. So how can employers deal with this issue without being discriminatory?

“You need to be delicate, obviously, about the situation,” Dr. Janssen advises. “Just as you might accommodate somebody who is short or tall, you need to accommodate the person that might have a weight issue in the same way.”

Forhan agrees. “It is a matter of having a really good conversation with the employee about what their needs are,” she says, “in terms of being able to do their job safely.”

Dr. Janssen recommends making workplaces more health-conscious by allowing employees to stand during meetings, providing healthier choices in cafeterias and company lunches, offering subsidized gym memberships and permitting extra break time for exercise.

Charlebois believes that every employer should have access to a registered dietitian. “You should be able to take the receipt and put it through your medical insurance” — similar to claims for eyeglasses and dental, she says.

McClelland reports that the police service has a holistic nutritionist on staff. Other programs include educating police-force employees on the real cause of obesity, fatigue management and mental health.

“The more comprehensive they are, the more likely they are to have an impact,” Dr. Janssen says of corporate wellness programs, adding that staff feedback and evaluation of these programs are also important.

Whichever option an employer takes to address workplace obesity, McClelland says the focus should be on preventing and solving the problem, because “obesity is a symptom.” Jeff Cottrill is editorial assistant of ohs canada.

Also see: Window Cleaning Without Ladders

Rope Access Window Cleaning News

Understanding the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 With its 351 pages of legal jargon, it is not difficult to see why many people are still in the dark when it comes to understanding the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 and their duties and obligations.

Safety Officers Crack Down on Height Safety Systems (Australia) - Following a number of ‘near miss accidents’ in recent years, Workplace Health and Safety Officers from the Gold Coast region have spearheaded the creation of the Height Safety industry Working Group. The group, which convened for the first time in March, includes stakeholders from industry sectors including rope access, high rise window cleaning, height safety system installation and height safety equipment manufacturing. The officers identified window cleaning companies being at the greatest risk. 

These companies abseil down the building while attached to anchor point systems on the roof. In its meeting, the group identified the need to raise awareness of best practice principles in three main areas: Correct design, installation and certification of height safety systems; Raising the standard of safety of rope access companies; and Understanding of the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 by Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs). Design, Installation and Certification No amount of training or safe procedures can save a worker from a poorly designed and installed system.

An adequate design will address four separate points: Building layout: What sections of the building will need to be accessed? Building Structure: Is the building structure capable of sustaining the potential force of a fall? Anchor Design: The position, type and number of anchors that will be required? Rescue: In the event of an incident, does the design allow for a safe rescue? Installation is equally important. In order to protect yourself as a PCBU, it is important to ensure the installation company holds a QBCC license to install height safety systems, is an authorised installer for the manufacturer of the system in question, has adequate levels of experience in installing height safety systems and holds the required insurance. 

It is also important to clarify what certification and documents you will receive once the system is installed. Raising Standards Another goal of the working group is to raise the level of professionalism and safety within the rope access industry. Through better general education and awareness, they expect consumers will demand a higher standard of safety from rope access companies, and that rather simply awarding work according to the lowest quote, PCBUs will increasingly question areas such as qualifications, competency and experience. The follow on effect will be a more professional and safety conscious industry. 

Understanding the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 With its 351 pages of legal jargon, it is not difficult to see why many people are still in the dark when it comes to understanding the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 and their duties and obligations. It is a legal requirement that a PCBU has a duty to ‘eliminate risks to health and safety’ and ‘if it is not practicable to eliminate risks…to minimise those risks.’ Yet many building owners, corporate bodies and building managers do not fully understand this non-transferable obligation. Heavy penalties apply for failing to comply with the legislation, including large fines and potential jail sentences. 

The Act goes further to state that this duty cannot be transferred to another person and that more than one person can hold the same duty at the same time (part 2, division 1, subdivision 1, section 14 & 16.) How do you ensure compliance? So as a PCBU, how do you ensure you are getting the right advice and complying with your duty? You could read all 351 pages of the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 as well as the 735 pages of the Work Health & Safety Regulation 2011. Not to mention the Standards AS1891.4 and AS4488, or you could just follow these three simple rules: Properly research which companies you will choose to obtain a quote from. Ask the experience and compliance questions at the start of this article. Choose a company which is experienced, compliant, licenced and authorised, and is also willing to help educate you about your duties and obligations. 

Hopefully, the new working group will help drive industry change and raise standards. If it helps to prompt PCBUs to ask not only if they are complying with their obligations under the Act but also whether or not they have done everything possible to help keep people safe, it will succeed in this goal.

Stefan Bright - Acceptance of Triangle Award Speech: If you do not know anything about the professional window cleaning industry, here are a few tips to get you started; Number one,we prefer the term professional window cleaner over window washer. Homeowners are window washers, professional window cleaners require up to 6 months to become skilled enough to be able to perfectly clean over a hundred windows a day. Furthermore, it takes nearly a year to become equally proficient in the safe and correct use of the equipment needed to reach the windows.

Number two, we are not daredevils, cowboys nor are we crazy because we like working at heights. We are highly skilled tradespeople who enjoy the serenity of working above the general population using our artistic abilities to create a clear view of the world for those of you who get to look at it through our canvas.

Number three, we do have standards, guidelines, regulations and training programs to follow which help to ensure our health and safety as well as the safety of the general public as they walk by and look up at us plying our trade. The reason I am standing before you today is because it was not always this way. When I started cleaning windows myself in the late 1970’ s, there were no regulations, standards, guidelines or trade associations. I was only able to learn the trade from somebody who learned it from somebody else and realizing that a lot of it was based on trial and error.

Ten years later, I traveled from central Pennsylvania to the remote western town of Lubbock, Texas where the first ever gathering of professional window cleaners from across North America took place. At this event, over 60 window cleaners simultaneously discovered that we weren’t all alone in this occupation and that sharing our trials and errors would only help us all learn more about our occupation and safety. The International Window Cleaning Association, better known as the IWCA was born and the year was 1989.

The following year, Federal OSHA held a public hearing to begin the renovation of the General Industry Walking and Working Surface regulations which includes equipment and techniques used regularly by professional window cleaners. I testified at that hearing and a few months later, the President of the IWCA asked me to join the board of directors and head up the Safety and Training Standards Committee. That committee consisted of about a dozen professional window cleaners from across the country and together we agreed that our occupation needed a consistent set of safety guidelines. I had done some research and found that on average about 7 - 9 fatalities occurred each year in the window cleaning industry.

It took over a year for us to put together and publish the Safety Guidelines for Window Cleaning. Because nothing like this had ever existed before, several thousand copies were sold. This became the catalyst for many good things to come. Shortly afterwards , I spent over a year researching two decades worth of window cleaning accident case studies in order to pinpoint causes, hazards and methods of abatement. As a result, I was able to assemble a window cleaner safety training program to educate workers with identifying the hazards of our occupation and how to avoid them. That program was first delivered in 1993 and has been given several times a year ever since. In fact, I just came home this past Sunday (5/3/2014) from delivering it in Los Angeles, California.

The IWCA has estimated that over 6,500 professional window cleaners have attended and taken part in this training. I know that these professionals have taught others in the trade so the real outreach has been significantly greater. All this knowledge, experience and education helped with the development of an American National Standard for Window Cleaning Safety in 2001 which has helped OSHA, architects, engineers, designers and builders better understand the requirements for safe building maintenance. It was our way of introducing prevention through design to the window cleaning industry.

The safety training program and industry safety standard were the core documents which contributed to the creation of the Window Cleaner Safety Certification program. This is an IWCA program that is a study course which requires taking three online tests and a proctored final exam. All these accomplishments have made a difference. Professional window cleaning is the number one trade that takes place on commercial and residential mid to high rise buildings more than any other. There are upwards of twenty thousand workers exposed to serious fall hazards every day in North America and  no longer do professional window cleaners have to guess, or practice their trade by trial and error which can have fatal consequences.

Today, there are readily available sources of knowledge, experience and safety training. The Alliance between OSHA and the IWCA has helped to expand the educational outreach. This past February, the IWCA celebrated its 25th anniversary. I was asked to compile and deliver the list of safety related milestones the organization had achieved in that time. The most significant achievement was the statistic showing a 30 percent reduction in the number of fatalities in the window cleaning industry over the last 10 year. After reading these milestones to the audience , I think several people in attendance there may have thought to nominate me for this award. I thank them for that.

The greatest reward for doing what I do is when a window cleaner shakes my hand and thanks me for helping them to learn how to think more safely about their occupation which in turn, helps them to work safer. Over the years many have even told me I’ve saved their lives or that of a co-worker. Receiving this award from the American Society of Safety Engineers is extremely gratifying. I have benefited by being a member of the ASSE since 1997 and having such an esteemed organization that is outside of the window cleaning industry recognize and distinguish my efforts is most honorable and greatly appreciated. And in saving the best for last, I could not have done any of what I have without the extreme sacrifice and support of my best friend , who happens to be my wife of over 30 years, Michele. Thank you for your patience, tolerance and acceptance of what I do, which helped me make a difference. Thankyou.

The caped crusader window washers were back on the job for a second year at an Oregon children's hospital - not fighting crime, but fighting grime. Super heroes descend the nine stories of Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel for the second year.

Superheroes lift kids' spirits at Portland hospital: Superheroes took to the skies at Randall Children’s Hospital Monday fighting not crime but grime. “Holy squeegy Batman – it’s time to get to work,” shouted a window washer decked out as the Boy Wonder. A half dozen members of the regular window washing crew donned tights and capes to delight young patients. “This is the second year for this and I’m looking forward to all the smiles and high fives,” said Batman as he was suiting up.

This year’s event included a super twist for the kids. “We’re here with free costumes for all the patients,” said Alison Hicks who runs Chelsea’s Closet in memory of her daughter. “Dress-up was her favorite thing when she was in the hospital, it gave her a reason to get up in the morning,” Hicks said, of her daughter.

Before the superheroes arrived, costumes were delivered to rooms and out-patients selected outfits from a hallway rack. “It’s so nice to have him come here for something other than chemotherapy,” said the mother of a three-year-old patient. For the dangling half dozen doing the dirty work, there was a big pay off. “It so nice to come and brighten the day of these kids who are going through tough times, and they end up brightening our day as well,” concluded Spiderman. 

Union Files Complaint In Death Of Window-Washing Custodian At UC Berkeley - A union representing service workers at the University of California, Berkeley has filed a complaint with state authorities over the death of a custodian. Forty-five-year-old Damon Frick died after falling from a lift on April 7 while washing window sills at a campus auditorium 20 feet above the ground. The complaint against the university says Frick never received proper safety training, and his supervisor assigned him the job even though those duties weren’t part of his typical work. It was filed Wednesday with the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Frick’s family separately is pursuing a wrongful death claim against UC Berkeley. A call to the university on Friday was not immediately returned.

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.