It's Just Too Dirty - Political Window Cleaning

Angry protesters say they are trying to highlight the need for transparency over the trade deal.

'It's just too dirty' - TPP protesters wash minister's windows: Anti-TPP protesters have taken their plea to see the details of the trans Pacific trade deal to a whole new level, washing the windows of the Trade Minister's office to highlight the need for transparency. About a dozen protesters kitted out in yellow and orange jackets and wielding window mops gathered outside Tim Groser's New Lynn office in Auckland and took to the front window with buckets of soapy water.

"It's just too dirty," a male protester is heard to say in a video captured by ONE News. But was he talking about the window, the trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement - or both? "We want more transparency with the TPPA. So we're trying to highlight the need for transparency," a female protester explained, as she reached to clean the top of the window.

All the while, Tim Groser's picture on the window smiled out at the unhappy protesters. "Hon Tim Groser National MP", the accompanying sign for the National List MP explains. A woman waved a banner at passing motorists which showed "TPPA" written in a magnifying glass and demanded "Show us ya text".

Trade ministers failed at the start of the month to reach agreement on the proposed free trade agreement between 12 Pacific rim nations including the US and New Zealand which has been under secret negotiation for several years. Opponents of the deal say if New Zealand signs we risk damage to our economy, environment, health and ability to shape our own future, and the details of the agreement should be made public now.

Bus Shelter Window Cleaners Save The Day

Most window cleaners vans that use waterfed poles are equivalent to a mini fire engine! The brave workers have been hailed heroes for their exploits.

Hero cleaners save family from house fire: Two quick-thinking workmen screeched their van to a halt and raced to the rescue as a fire gripped hold of a family home in the early hours of the morning. Bus shelter cleaners Raymond Peacock and Paul Seggie banged on doors in Trinity Crescent in a frantic bid to wake sleeping occupants.

As shell-shocked residents fled, the raging flames broke a window and threatened to engulf neighbouring homes. The heroic duo then sprinted back to their van and used its water jet to douse the inferno before the fire brigade arrived.

Mr Peacock and Mr Seggie have now been hailed as heroes who went beyond the call of duty to save lives and prevent a family home from being completely destroyed. Modest Mr Peacock said the pair had just been in the “right place at the right time” when they came across the blaze.

The house fire on Trinity Crescent.

The 41-year-old said: “I think anyone would do that, really. It was just a quick reaction. We both just got on with it until the fire brigade were there. It was just a case of banging on the doors and waking everybody up.”

He said it was pure chance that their van had recently been fitted with a new water system, and the tank was full at the time. “I’m just glad everybody is safe,” he added. “I’m happy that we could help.”

The occupants of the house where the fire started, who had been away for the night, said the actions of Mr Peacock and Mr Seggie had potentially saved their neighbours’ lives as the fire threatened to spread.

According to the owner, who asked not to be named, the blaze broke out when the rising sun reflected on a magnifying beauty mirror, sparking a fire on a sofa. “If we had been in the house we would have had the shutters shut and it wouldn’t have happened,” said the mum-of-two. “It’s only stuff, but it’s quite a lot to sort out. We’re just relieved everyone is okay. It was absolutely brilliant that [the cleaners] were there.

“They even tried to put it out with the hose that they were using. They knocked on all the doors. “We want to pass on a massive thank you.”

Mr Peacock and Mr Seggie are employed under the council’s contract with JCDecaux to maintain the city’s new bus shelters. Mark Cooper, the firms’ group operations director, said his staff had gone “above and beyond” after spotting the blaze at 7am on July 23. He said: “I wish to personally thank Raymond and Paul for their quick thinking and role in assisting the community.”

A fire service spokeswoman said: “The blaze was a fierce one so every minute counted in terms of alerting the fire and rescue service. Fortunately no-one was injured as a result. “Our advice to anyone who suspects there might be a fire is to stay well clear and call 999 immediately.”

Community safety leader Councillor Cammy Day said: “Raymond and Paul’s efforts to alert those living nearby to the fire demonstrate quick thinking and consideration for others, and the council would like to commend them.”

SubStandard Glass A Killer

A resident of Tianjin, China, injured by glass shards following a massive chemical explosion in the city's port area on Aug. 12. 

Substandard Window Glass Increased the Injury Count in Tianjin’s Harbor Explosion: While over a hundred are confirmed dead and possibly thousands wounded in the conflagration and shockwave associated with the massive industrial explosions that struck the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Aug. 12, Chinese media are reporting that shoddily-built window glass in nearby residential buildings is the cause behind a large number of avoidable casualties.

An insider in the real estate business told Haixia Photography News that many developers cut corners in meeting state regulations. It is an open secret in the industry that windows claimed to be made of safety glass or double-layered glass are often, in fact made of plain materials.

Chinese construction ordinance promulgated starting 2004 stipulates that residences constructed that year and after must use safety glass for sizable windows and in public entrances and lobbies.

Upon impact, safety glass disintegrates into small, relatively harmless pieces, while conventional glass breaks up into dangerous shards. The safety risks went unnoticed until the disaster, which has killed at least 112 people, according to official estimates.

Fire and smoke rise from the site of a series of explosions in Tianjin, China, early on Aug. 13, 2015.

Many lives could have been saved had safety glass been installed in the affected housing blocs, according to Haixia Photography News, which published a photo essay and explanation to its WeChat account. HPN is a subsidiary of the Shangbang Media Group based in Fujian Province. Its WeChat account is not a formal news agency, but acts similarly to one.

The insider told an HPN reporter that while it is possible that some of the buildings in the New Binhai Area, where the blast took place, may have been constructed before the regulation came into effect, this is unlikely since the area was the site of heavy land development beginning only in 2005.

Many of the identified dead are firefighters. Initially dispatched to put out a blaze in the Tianjin harbor area, their efforts are believed to have triggered one or more chemical explosions, the fires from which are still being mopped up by a chemical warfare unit sent from Beijing. Official Chinese figures put the force of the blasts at 24 tons’ equivalent of TNT, but according to Sina, a Chinese online news portal, expert opinion says that the explosion was in fact in excess of 1 kiloton, hundreds of times the official figure.

According to professor Cheng Kang of Wuhan University of Technology’s school of civil engineering and architecture, a 1 kiloton-airburst will shatter glass 1640 feet away. In the Tianjin explosions, even windows located outside a 2,625 feet radius were damaged by the shockwave.

A residential building located near the site of the massive chemical explosion that leveled part of an industrial zone in Tianjin, a northern Chinese port city.

Jia Jia, a widely-read Chinese blogger, wrote in an essay that “Many people who lived near the Tianjin explosions were injured by the flying glass from their shattered windows. But if builders had used secure glass that conformed to safety regulations, these injuries could have been entirely avoided.”

Jia’s essay, entitled “You’ve Got Candles, I’ve Got a Whip,” was later posted on China Change, a website that features translations of Chinese-language texts from independent sources.

On Aug. 16, the state-run Beijing News reported that hundreds of residents in Binhai had gathered to demand compensation from the authorities for their damaged and destroyed property. The area is densely populated and was home to more than 5,600 households located within 3,280 feet of the blast site.

Ben Black Chose Hope

Ben Black was only diagnosed this year with Stage 4 lung cancer that had progressed to his bone marrow by the time it was caught. Remembering Ben Black.

Ben Black chose hope after terminal cancer diagnosis: Ben Black, a 38-year-old Placer High School grad and local window-cleaning business owner, died Aug. 5 after a courageous, hope-filled battle with terminal cancer. Black continued to receive visitors at his hospital bedside and then was allowed to return home, to die surrounded by his family and closest friends, his wife, Emily said.

Black was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in January and his attempt to battle back from the disease was the subject of a Journal story in May. The story also delved into his and Emily’s challenges of raising and providing for five children, ages 13 to less than a year. “Always, up until the very end, he chose hope,” Emily said. “He was a fighter to the very end.”

Black would have turned 39 on Aug. 9. His family went ahead with a birthday dinner of what would have been his chosen foods for the occasion – beef stroganoff, broccoli and chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Now friends and family are readying for a service to remember him at 2 p.m. Aug. 21 at Auburn Grace Community Church. Donations for the family may be made here. Emily said the family is thankful for all the help it has received.

“He had faith in God and where he was going – he was never afraid of dying,” Emily said. The example of hope will continue. “The hope now is to remember him as he was and in the way that we raised the kids, and what he taught them when he was here,” Emily said.

One of the many posters that was made to aid his treatment.

Window Cleaning - Safety First

Window cleaning - safety first.

Window cleaning - safety first: Window cleaning has long been associated with working from height along with all the risks that this involves. But since the advent of water-fed poles, how safe is window cleaning today? And what products are there on the market that can further improve window cleaners’ safety? Ann Laffeaty finds out.

Concern for personal safety is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society.  Over the past 30 years we have seen a growing trend for items such as infant car seats, personal protective clothing, bicycle helmets and rubberised surfaces for children’s playgrounds. Safety in cleaning has also come under the spotlight and stricter regulations have come into effect to reduce the number of accidents and injuries in the industry.

Window cleaning is one of the riskiest cleaning tasks of all.  It is frequently cited in online polls and on insurance websites as being one of the most dangerous jobs in the world alongside occupations such as logging, mining, fire-fighting and road-working.

The advent of water-fed poles has helped to reduce the number of operatives working from ladders which comes with an obvious risk of falling. But recent events would suggest that the dangers of window cleaning are still very real.

In November 2014, two window cleaners in New York had to be rescued after the cables securing their work basket malfunctioned. This left them dangling precariously at a near 75-degree angle on a platform near the 69th floor of One World Trade Centre. In a dramatic rescue hundreds of feet above the ground, fire department workers had to saw through the windows and haul the two to safety.

In March 2014 a stranded window cleaner in Toronto had to be rescued by firefighters after her hair became caught in a descending rope line. Earlier the same year a window cleaner in the UK sustained serious injuries after falling from a ladder through a conservatory roof.

And in a horrific accident in December 2013, a window cleaner plummeted 47 storeys from the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper. Miraculously the operative sustained only minor injuries after having clung to the scaffolding platform as it fell.

Scores of window cleaning accidents and even deaths are reported every year, usually as a result of falling from height. The EU Work at Height Regulations 2005 alleviated the problem to some extent by stipulating that if a window cleaning task could reasonably be carried out from the ground, that is how it should be done. But this of course is impractical when cleaning skyscrapers and other high-rise buildings.

And in any case, water-fed poles come with their own safety issues. Operators can incur injuries to their arms, wrists or backs when handling unwieldy poles for instance. In some cases, pole sections may fall to the ground and injure passers-by. And cleaning with water-fed poles can lead to a great deal of water spillage which could cause slips and trips on the part of the window cleaner or members of the public, particularly in icy conditions.

Modular systems

Unger is one of those companies to have embraced the challenge of increasing the safety of water-fed pole systems according to product marketing coordinator Axel Droste. “For many years window cleaners have had the choice of two types of pole system: telescopic or modular,” he said.

“However, telescopic poles can tend to flex as they are extended and this brings a subsequent loss of control. They also have some weight issues; for example, a six-section telescopic pole will always have six sections since none of these cannot be removed – so even if you only need to use four sections to clean to the height required, you will still be carrying the weight of six.

“Modular systems, although better at extending without losing rigidity, simply become too heavy when they are extended. And these extensions also add width to the poles which makes them more difficult to handle.”

His says this situation has presented manufacturers with a challenge. “How do you create a water-fed pole system that will clean at heights of up to 65 feet, but that will also be both lightweight and easy to control?” said Droste. “Along with engineering and design techniques it is crucial to use the right materials and combine the best features of telescopic and modular poles. And an increasing number of options are emerging to provide specific solutions.”

Stronger and rigid

According to Droste, water-fed pole materials such as carbon fibre, fibre glass and aluminium have all offered choice and flexibility to the window cleaning sector. “These have helped to create equipment to suit each situation and building type,” he said. “Carbon fibre in particular offers an amazing balance between strength, weight and rigidity. In comparison to steel it is both stronger and more rigid yet weighs considerably less.”

He adds that today’s new lighter poles make the cleaning operative’s job easier, safer and more comfortable while putting less of a strain on their bodies and enabling them to clean more swiftly and efficiently.“The fact that these systems are lighter in weight also means that the operative is less likely to become tired so quickly, which means they can clean a larger surface area than when using a conventional system,” he said.

“However just because the poles are more lightweight it doesn’t mean that they deliver less in terms of rigidity. Even when extensions are added to increase the length and reach of the system, the poles do not bend or become unwieldy. On the contrary rigidity, and therefore control, is maintained which allows every corner and crevice to be cleaned thoroughly”.

Unger offers the nLite modular system which is basically a telescopic pole that can be extended by another telescopic pole, says Droste. The base unit has four sections and an extended length of 6.63 metres while the extension has two sections at a length of 3.41 metres.

“Depending on the material used you can add up to four extensions to reach a height of 20 metres,” he said. “The individual components can be selected and put together to create a system to suit personal requirements. There are six grades of materials in the nLite range to suit various cleaning challenges and budgets.”

He adds that taller buildings need regular, thorough and effective cleaning to ensure that they present a professional face to customers. “But how do you deliver the high standards that are expected while also making the lives of operatives safer and easier?” he said. “Professional 

window cleaners have adapted to these challenges by embracing new methods and equipment.”

According to Moerman director Marc Roels the main health and safety risks for window cleaners include falls from ladders, wrist injuries and falling poles. “Working at Height legislation is moving the window cleaning industry into new directions and spearheading innovative developments,” he said. “It is important that we continually work towards safer practices since there is always 

room to improve.”

Moerman’s latest innovation in terms of safe window cleaning is the Liquidator. This system is said to allow operatives to clean right up to the edges of the window frame, leaving little or no water residue. This is claimed to significantly reduce the amount of time spent on prepping with a cloth.

No stretching

“With our Liquidator there is no real need for detailing,” said Roels. “This means operatives do not need to stretch out with a detailing cloth which can heighten the risks of falling.  The Liquidator also ‘floats’ over the glass which means that less effort is required during cleaning - and this in turn reduces the tension on operatives’ muscles and wrists.”

He says the future of window cleaning will greatly depend on the type of buildings being built. “Skyscrapers, for example, will always need to be cleaned from height but there will continue to be evolutions that allow the task to be carried out more safely,” said Roels.

Unger’s Droste agrees that the building industry will be key in determining the future of window cleaner safety. “Whether we are talking about the Shard in London, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt or the Torre de Cristal in Madrid, the fashion for high-rise, hi-tech designs featuring plenty of glass and metal does not look like slowing down any time soon,” he said.

“The majority of our most iconic buildings seem to prove the theory that size matters – at least in terms of height. If high-rise buildings continue to be built, window cleaner safety will continue to be a challenge. “

Window Cleaner Heads To Jail After Gross Breach Of Trust

Sean Pinkney was sentenced to 20 weeks behind bars for posting a sexually explicit photo on Facebook of a former partner 'to humiliate her'.

Jealous ex jailed for posting revenge porn on Facebook to 'humiliate' former girlfriend: Caged for five months, Sean Pinkney, 44, is the first in Greater Manchester to be jailed for the lewd act which was seen online by a mother at the victim's child's school

A jealous man has been jailed after posting a ‘sexually explicit’ picture of an ex-girlfriend online in an act of revenge. Sean Pinkney, 44, is the first in Greater Manchester to be sentenced for such an offence. He posted the picture on Facebook and left it there for four hours in a bid to humiliate a former partner, a court heard.

It was only when the victim went to pick up her children from school the following day that another mother told her the picture had been posted online. The mortified victim was ‘quite humiliated and very upset’ and immediately contacted police, who arrested Pinkney. Window cleaner Pinkney has now been locked up for 20 weeks by a district magistrate who described his actions as ‘a gross breach of trust’.

Window cleaner, Sean Pinkney.

The magistrate said the defendant posted the picture ‘solely to humiliate’ the victim and also imposed a restraining order on Pinkney. He said: “I can’t think of a more severe way this could be done. “Four hours in internet terms is a lifetime. A few seconds is a short period of time, four hours certainly is not. “It’s clear other people have viewed this image. Another mother at the school pointed it out.”

Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court heard that Pinkney and the victim had split up. On July 14, Pinkney sent the victim several phone messages which included sexually explicit pictures of her which she had allowed him to take during their relationship. When she went to collect her children from school the following day, one of the mothers told her the images were on Facebook, the court heard.

Pinkney admitted the offence during police interview and told officers he had posted the image to ‘humiliate’ his former partner as he believed she had sent a topless picture of herself to another man. Pinkney, of Dorning Road in Swinton, pleaded guilty to disclosing a private sexual photograph with intent to cause distress.

Sean Pinkney

Nnamdi Inegbu, defending, said Pinkney was not aware this was a criminal offence until it was pointed out to him at the police station. He said the dad had acted out of jealousy when he saw a picture of the victim showing her body to another man.

Mr Inegbu said Pinkney posted just one picture of the victim to Facebook and had intended to remove it after four hours. He said: “Once he posted it other people on the site asked to share and it snowballed.”

Mr Inegbu said the victim had ‘cheated’ on Pinkney and by sending the picture he had hoped to put some closure on the relationship. He added: “He recognises the emotional distress he has caused.”

Window Cleaning Contractor On Trial In France

Saint-Malo Brittany.

Window cleaning contractor on trial in France: A window cleaner died after falling off his ladder, resulting in a court case. An accident has been tried by the local criminal court of Saint-Malo following the death of a window cleaner who fell off his ladder.

Nobody saw or heard anything that day inside a superstore near Saint-Malo, in Brittany. While he was cleaning indoor windows Christian Aubert, 46, fell from his ladder and was found unconscious with severe head injuries. This model employee, who had 24 years’ experience, died four days later in hospital without having regained consciousness.

Eight months later his employer, the boss of a cleaning firm with 11 employees found himself before the court, charged with involuntary homicide and infringement of health and safety regulations.

Did Christian Aubert, on the day of his accident, have with him the equipment necessary for carrying out his tasks in accordance with the relevant safety regulation? This was the question the judges had to find an answer to while referring to the company’s internal rules and to the complex French legislation embodied in the Code du Travail.

As far as the company boss was concerned, the victim had been working within the law - he was working on a ladder that carried him to a height of two metres above the ground to clean a glazed surface to a maximum height of 3.6 metres.

“If one takes account of the man’s height and the fact he was working with arms stretched, he must have been at a height of about 1.25 metres above the ground,” argued the employer, who had distributed an internal note prohibiting his workers from climbing without protection to a height of over 1.60 metres.

But there were no witnesses and even the victim’s workmate, who was working next to him, was unable to confirm this assertion. On the other side of the witness stand, lawyers defending the dead employee referred to the work inspector’s report, who had investigated the accident and had concluded that acts of “negligence” had been involved and the employer had been responsible for not abiding by safety regulations.

“In this matter, lack of prudence has been involved, even though it may have been in good faith”, the public prosecutor decided, demanding a 3,500 euros fine.

Meanwhile the defendant has made new arrangements within his company, putting a wheeled scaffolding tower at the disposal of his workers, a device that may not be compulsory but which would have prevented the dramatic accident which struck Christian Aubert.

This case is a reminder that, as regards safety at work, there is no guarantee staff won’t be hit by an accident. This is particularly true of window cleaners, who often have to work at great heights. In this case, a man lost his life while working at less than two metres from the ground.

So far the ruling hasn’t been announced because the case is still being deliberated, but it is generally expected the employer will receive a sentence on the 3rd October when the case in court reopens.