India Window Cleaning Rescue

A hydraulic tender was raised to the 12th floor to get the window cleaning workers to the ground. We were safe throughout,” Anus Khan, said.

2 window cleaners, stuck outside 12th floor of building, rescued (New Delhi, India): Two workers, who were cleaning the windows of a commercial highrise in the city, were trapped outside the 12th floor of the building on Wednesday morning when the cables of their suspended platform got jammed. The men were rescued after over two hours by a joint operation of the fire department and the police.

The incident was reported around 6am at Vatika Towers on Golf Course road. According to officials of the fire department, a hydraulic tender was raised to the 12th floor to get the workers to the ground. The rescued workers —Shahbaz Nawaz, 21, and Anus Khan, 22 — said initially they tried to resolve the technical error but later informed their supervisor when they failed to resolve the glitch. The building management immediately informed the fire department.

The men were asked to clean windows of the building early in the morning as noise produced by the machines would be a disturbance for those working in the building, the management of Vatika Towers said. Vatika Towers had outsourced this work to Enviro — a facility management company.

Shahbaz Nawaz, who is a resident of Muzaffarnagar in UP, said, “I was not scared as the platform was intact and there was no risk. It was just not moving and we kept on trying for an hour. Cleaning the glass is an everyday task, so there was no fear of heights.” “Initially, I thought we will manage to get down on our own, but the cables of the platform got locked. Our management told us not to panic and they were constantly in touch with us. We were safe throughout,” Anus Khan, said.

Fire officer of Sector 29, IS Kashyap, said the workers were rescued and brought to the ground with the help of a hydraulic tender, which was raised as high as 42 metres. “We reached the spot almost an hour after rescue operations began,” he added. Seema Patra, the facility head of Enviro, said, “The suspended platform was brand new but the cables got locked and the workers were stuck. They could not operate the cable to move down and were stationed outside the 12th floor.”

ACP(DLF) Ramesh Pal said, “As soon as we got the information, we spoke to the fire department and planned to send teams to the roof with ropes. Subsequently, the men were rescued with the help of a hydraulic tender.”

Where Angels Fear To Tread

This work gives you an adrenaline rush and you need to be a certain type of person to do this, says Chase Wakeford.

Where angels fear to tread - high-rise window washing: For some, a day at work means spending the day in a dreary, neon-lit office, sitting in safety and comfort. High-rise window washers however spend their days dangling hundreds of metres above the ground. These mavericks on a line are responsible for a job few would want - cleaning the exteriors of some of the country’s tallest buildings.

The three-man team from Rope Runners could not have asked for a more picturesque view as they dangle from The Oysters on Umhlanga’s affluent mile. They speak with excitement about "jumping", their term for hanging precariously above terra firma.  

Chase Wakeford, 21, the youngest of the crew, loves his job. "Being up on the ropes hanging in the air is perfect for me. We get to go places that very few people get to experience. This work gives you an adrenaline rush and you need to be a certain type of person to do this," he says.

His colleague Matthew Knowles, 23, cuts a confident figure on a ledge on the building’s highest storey. There are only a handful of people who can do what they do, he says. "There is a huge element of trust in doing what we do. That is trusting your team mates and trusting the equipment that we are using."

Their supervisor, Abraham van den Heever, is a quiet, unassuming man. He checks that Knowles and Wakeford are safely fixed to their anchors, and monitors their progress as they lower themselves and clean. "This is better than sitting in the office staring at four walls all day. I can sit here and do this and watch the ocean while I feel the breeze on my face," he enthuses.

Knowles acknowledges their work is dangerous. "It would be if you didn’t know what you were doing. If the weather picks up and the wind gets strong then it can get risky, but we take precautions. We do that because we know that one little mistake can be the end of you," he says. "I can’t see myself doing anything else."

Bad Day For Russian Window Cleaner

A Russian man had a bad day after he was left dangling from the 15th floor after his window cleaning attempt went awry.

Terrifying Footage Shows Russian Window Cleaner Who Slipped and Dangled Helplessly While 15 Stories in the Air: The leading thought for anyone who has ever looked up at a window cleaner as he or she calmly carried out their business while quite high in the sky is, most likely, some variation of "Wow. What would they do if they slipped?" Thankfully, such horror rarely occurs and is thus just a passing thought for those chronically afraid of heights. However, as shown in this footage obtained, even the most skilled of window cleaners are not completely above making a small but detrimental error.

After hanging from the window frame for half an hour, neighbours broke down the man's door and were successfully able to pull him back inside. It is thought the man had fallen out of the window while attempting to clean the glass.

The footage, reportedly captured by someone witnessing the incident as it transpired, shows the unidentified man reportedly dangling helplessly while 15 stories high in the Russian city of Novosibirsk. With his shirt blocking his view and ability to quickly problem-solve his way out of a harrowing mishap, the man is forced to scream for help until a neighbor eventually broke down a door and pulled him to safety.

The scariest part? The man was allegedly reportedly to be left dangling for "around 30 minutes." Witnesses reportedly called local authorities after noticing the man needed assistance, though the neighbors actually beat them to the rescue. Here's to hoping this guy is taking it easy for the rest of the week.

Drones Cleaning Windows

The prototype window cleaning drone that's looking for investors.

Window Cleaning Drones: Marcus Fritzsche says "Let the drones clean for you!" In the century of the “Internet of Things” and “Smart Home” it is time to automate also window cleaning. Our drones clean glass facades and roofs even at great altitudes. Our technology is applicable for almost every window size and window form. 

• Brilliant cleaning quality
• Cost-effective
• Cleaning hard to reach windows
• Cleaning up to 40 m2 surface per a 30 minutes flight
• Aviation-like safety features

Marcus Fritzsche with his window cleaning drone. He reached the semi-finals of the Dubai drone competition.

This is the application video for "The UAE Drones for Good Award". It shows a prototype drone for window cleaning and our vision of a complete autonomous swarm of intelligent Window Cleaning Drones. In order to achieve our goals we are looking for partners. If you want to be part of our journey contact us via mail in English or German: info@window-cleaning-drones.com

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year To All Readers: A special thank you to the sponsors of this blog who have supported it for so long & thank you yourselves for the readership! All the very best, Karl.

The Power Of No - The Gift Of Squeegee

He used the money to buy a squeegee and parlayed his token donation into a window washing service. But McGee was even more inspired to see what happened next.

The Surprising Power of a Gift of ‘No’ (by Collette Caprara): The gift of “no”—captivated participants at The Heritage Foundation’s 2015 Antipoverty Forum. The tale was told by the gift’s donor, Patrick McGee, the prison initiatives manager of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP).

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is a nonprofit organization that links the nation’s top executives, entrepreneurs and MBA students with convicted felons, providing an entrepreneurship “boot camp” and re-entry programs to prevent recidivism and maximize self sufficiency and transform broken lives.

From personal experience and from his service to incarcerated men, McGee is a firm believer in self-determination, having witnessed the power an entrepreneurial venture can have in providing a threshold to becoming a productive, contributing member of society, even for those whose personal history dims prospects for employment.

So, when one of McGee’s nephew in his early teens asked if he would buy him a pair of athletic shoes, McGee declined the role of the generous uncle. He said, “No.” But he did give his nephew $15, and suggested that he make the most of it.

And his nephew did. He used the money to buy a squeegee and parlayed his token donation into a window washing service. But McGee was even more inspired to see what happened next.

The teen noticed that many of the homes that he visited in his neighborhood needed address markings on their front curbs. In response, he invested a portion of his earnings in stencils and spray paint and broadened his business to include that new service. In time, he had earned enough money to purchase a lawnmower, and soon his lawn-care service expanded to the point where he hired additional youths from his community to take on a portion of his growing list of clients.

McGee reported that his nephew is now finally old enough to get his driver’s permit and that he is very excited about getting his license—not as most teens are, with visions of cruising the streets with friends, but with a plan to purchase a truck to take his growing enterprise on the road. McGee summed up his story with a wink and a declaration: “That is a pretty good return on the gift of a No and $15!”

Had McGee chosen to purchase those athletic shoes, they may well have been replaced and discarded by now. In contrast, his small contribution came with a lesson that will serve his nephew for a lifetime.

Window Cleaners Monkey Around

MEN AT WORK: A child gazes at window cleaners working while dressed in sheep and monkey costumes in Tokyo, Japan. Click to enlarge.

Washing away the old year: A child looks on mesmerised as window cleaners dressed as a goat and a monkey go about their task in Tokyo. According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2015 is the year of the goat or sheep and 2016 is the year of the monkey. The duo dressed up as monkey & goat commemorated the end of the year by reading some puns. The pair then climbed to the top floor of a skyscraper and got to work making the windows shine.

With just 10 days left in 2015, Japanese window cleaners traditionally dress in costumes representing the Chinese zodiac animals for this year and the next. A worker dressed as a sheep (2015) and another in a monkey costume (2016) started from the rooftop of a 15-floor building, cleaning as they worked their way down.