Cycling makes environmental and economic sense for London window cleaner

Antony Cairns cycles to work with all his window cleaning equipment attached to his bicycle.

Antony Cairns has been selected as a Green Streets champion for Fitzrovia. Antony is a window cleaner and travels into Fitzrovia by bicycle from his home in Somers Town. The Green Streets campaign is part of Camden Council‘s plan to encourage more walking and cycling in Fitzrovia and was officially launched yesterday (Tuesday 21 February 2012).

For Antony cycling not only makes environmental sense it also makes a lot of economic sense. “I can get around quickly and cheaply and easily carry my buckets and gear,” says Antony.

He was asked to be a green champion because his work brings him into contact with lots of businesses and people in Fitzrovia and he is an ideal example of someone using cycling as a way to get around.

“As a window cleaner I get to meet a lot of people and a variety of businesses in Fitzrovia. I’m also able to put people in touch with each other through my work,” says Antony who runs his own business.

“I got chosen as a green champion through these connections I have in the neighbourhood. I clean windows all over Fitzrovia. Lee Lyons of the Fitzrovia Partnership had seen me and said that Woof London, a marketing agency, were looking for suitable people to be green champions for a campaign that Camden Council were running. Lee thought I’d be good at this because I was using a bicycle to get around.

“It’s easy for me to promote cycling because riding a bike is so necessary for me to do my job. People are often impressed that I carry all my gear on the bike including a folding ladder,” says Antony.

Most of his work is in Fitzrovia, but Antony also cycles to do a number of window cleaning jobs in, Regent’s Street and across the river in Waterloo. Antony has been a window cleaner for five years and has always got around by either walking or cycling.

You can contact Antony at London Window Cleaning Services.

As it was Shrove Tuesday yesterday cyclists and walkers were treated to free pancakes at Whitfield Gardens and Bedford Square.

Source: http://news.fitzrovia.org.uk/2012/02/22/cycling-makes-environmental-and-economic-sense-for-local-window-cleaner/

Derry window cleaner dies after ladder fall

The late Paddy McDermott.

Published on Friday 3 February 2012 09:46

Derry City FC steward Paddy McDermott passed away in hospital this afternoon just days after sustaining serious head injuries in a fall.

The 45-year-old, who owned a window cleaning business, fell from a ladder while cleaning guttering at a house in the Oakbridge area of the city on Monday.

Mr. McDermott, from Hazelbank, was initially taken to Altnagelvin Hospital but was later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he died yesterday.

Billy Scampton, Events Controller with Derry City FC, last night described his close friend as the “salt of the earth.”

Mr. Scampton said his friend was “very well known” and “very well liked - particularly within Derry City FC circles.”

“I’m sure I speak for everyone at the club - in particular the stewards - when I say we’re heartbroken at the loss of Paddy.

“Not only have we lost a good friend but the club has lost a very valuable individual who played a key role at Brandywell on match days.

“I’ve been working with Paddy for 15 years and I can say without hesitation that he will be a very big loss to the club.

“We worked hand in glove together and we were part of the FAI-winning Match Day Management Team for the 2010 season.

“We had just been working on contingency and emergency plans for the forthcoming season for Derry City Council.

“In fact, I was just about to phone him when I received the news of his accident.”

Mr. Scampton said his friend “would have given you the shirt off his back.”

“He was a tireless worker on behalf of the club and our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time,” he added.

Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney, a friend of Mr. McDermott, said he was deeply saddened to hear of his death.

“I would like to take this opportunity to pass on my regards to Paddy’s family,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time.”

New Minnesota OSHA Standard for Window Washers

Tony Gesino has been washing windows for the last 8 years.

Updated: Wednesday, 01 Feb 2012, 10:46 AM CST
Published : Wednesday, 01 Feb 2012, 10:44 AM CST

by John Michael / FOX 9 News

MINNEAPOLIS - The state of Minnesota is handing down new standards to help make the job of window washing safer.

In November, the FOX 9 Investigators exposed frequent safety shortcuts by crews working in the metro.

Three men washing windows have died in the past three years. OSHA reports say their deaths could have been prevented with more training and proper use of safety equipment and procedures.

SLIDESHOW: A Window Washer's World

The new Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) standard is designed to increase worker protection and provide clarity for contractors that perform interior or exterior window-washing or building-maintenance operations. It applies to workers that are suspended more than 14 feet above grade.

The standard requires employers to have a comprehensive written safety plan and provide employee training for window-washing and building-maintenance activities. It also addresses and outlines worker safety requirements in the areas of:

• Anchors and anchor points;
• Appropriate recordkeeping regarding employee training and retraining;
• Fall protection;
• Proper care, use and inspection of equipment;
• Rope descent systems; and
• Visual inspections of building exteriors before work begins.

"This new standard ensures a plan is in place to reduce risks to workers and that systems are in place to identify and control workplace hazards," said Commissioner Ken Peterson, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). "The goal is to prevent accidents."

MNOSHA began a local emphasis inspection program for the window-washing and building-maintenance industry in October 2010. Since then, MNOSHA has conducted 34 window-washing inspections: one was a complaint, one was a fatality and 32 were part of the emphasis program, where investigators may stop and conduct an inspection when they observe window-washing activity.

During these inspections, MNOSHA investigators found some worksites lacked proper safety equipment for employees cleaning windows. Also, not all employers were complying with existing MNOSHA safety standards or following the manufacturer's guidelines about how to safely use suspension scaffolds and lifelines.

Employers can get information about the new standard via the DLI website at www.dli.mn.gov/MnOsha.asp (click on the "Standards" tab) or by calling MNOSHA Compliance at (651) 284-5050.

The new safety standard for window-washers takes effect March 1, 2012.

Read more: New Minnesota OSHA Standard for Window Washers http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/minnesota/window-washing-safety-osha-feb-1-2012#ixzz1msZiyVha

Minnesota tightens rules to reduce risks for window washers

Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
Updated: January 30, 2012 - 9:45 PM

Three on-the-job fatalities in recent years spurred the state to strengthen regulations.

State safety officials are acting to make it safer for window washers to do their jobs. It's a profession that has suffered three on-the-job deaths in Minnesota since 2009.

The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MnOSHA) said Monday that it is tightening requirements for employers in the areas of equipment inspections and training for window washers who work 14 feet or higher above ground but not on a ladder.

The new standards take effect March 1 and are designed to "reduce risks to workers and [ensure] that systems are in place to identify and control workplace hazards," said Ken Peterson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

MnOSHA has intensified window-washing worksite inspections since October 2010. In the 34 inspections since then, the agency found a lack of proper safety equipment and improper use of suspension scaffolds and lifelines at some sites.

The most recent death occurred in June, when window washer Ryan J. Shannon, 25, of Roseville, fell from the roof of an eight-story St. Louis Park apartment building, where he was working with a crew.

In September 2009, Bryan Prairie, of Plymouth, fell to his death at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Six months earlier, Jacob Jennings, 20, of Coon Rapids, fell and died washing windows in Bloomington.

Ryan Wagner, operations manager for StarBrite Cleaning Services in St. Louis Park, defended his industry as "very safe ... if you do everything right. You can train for as long as you want, but it still comes down to that person. ... They have a checklist they have to go through."

Wagner said he suspects that OSHA is "feeling pressure to do something" because of the recent deaths.

"From a company point of view, let alone personal, ... you don't want to lose somebody," said Wagner, who added that his company hasn't had an accident in its 27 years of existence. "I've been doing this for nine years, and I've never felt unsafe."

Minnesota Labor and Industry spokesman James Honerman said that Minnesota's new regulation came as a result of the three window washer deaths and a maintenance worker who fell and died in 2007 while clearing snow from the IDS building.

The new rules should help prevent further falls. "Things we found during the initial inspections is that not all employees were being afforded the right to work safely," Honerman said. "This new standard requires comprehensive written safety plans and the need to provide workers training for window washing and safety. It talks specifically about the equipment they use and how to properly use that equipment and inspect that equipment."

Honerman added that window washers are not certified or licensed in the state of Minnesota. Some labor unions and advocacy groups have pushed for a national certified training program. For now, under the new MnOSHA standards, it's the individual building owner and window cleaning contractors who must provide a written safety plan and offer window washers training. Licensing requirements for workers do not fall under OSHA's jurisdictions, Honerman said.

Staff writers Nicole Norfleet and Dee DePass contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

Source: http://www.startribune.com/business/138340579.html

OAP window cleaner dies after plunge

Published on Saturday 4 February 2012 06:00

A WINDOW cleaner who had been in the business for more than 40 years has died after falling from his ladder.

Keith Harrison, 72, was cleaning windows when he fell and banged his head. He was rushed to Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital but died three days later, following a stroke.

Eunice Clifton, 67, his close friend and neighbour in Ardsley, Barnsley, said: “He was jolly, kind and just a lovely man. People are in absolute shock.

“He loved being a window cleaner, I think it was the social aspect of it. He just couldn’t retire because he liked it so much.

“The day he had the accident he had been mending my fencing. He had got to the last panel and was coming back in the afternoon but never got the chance.”

Mr Harrison, who had lived on the same street since he was a boy, was a former miner who worked in Barnsley Council’s refuse department and started an afternoon window cleaning round.

He cleaned windows all over Barnsley and was working at a house in Darfield when the accident happened last week.

A funeral will he held on Monday at Ardsley Crematorium.

Source: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/oap_window_cleaner_dies_after_plunge_1_4212506

Window washer briefly stuck on downtown Norfolk building

WVEC.com

Posted on February 3, 2012 at 12:20 PM

NORFOLK --A man was briefly stuck outside the 13th floor of an office building in downtown Norfolk Friday morning.

The man was washing windows on the USI building on Main Street when he apparently got stuck.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue crews went to help, but the man had gotten himself to safety by the time they arrived, Battalion Chief Harry Worley told WVEC.com

source: http://www.wvec.com/video/yahoo-video/window-washer-briefly-stuck-on-downtown-norfolk-building-138651044.html

Giant fall but she's fearless

The teenager who miraculously survived a 30m fall on to concrete can't wait to get back into abseiling.

For the first time, 18-year-old Louisa Kuypers, a window washer, has spoken about what happened last Friday afternoon, after she launched herself off the roof of an office building in Auckland's Newmarket.

"The rope was meant to stretch then tighten up, but I could feel it had gone further.

"I don't remember the fall exactly, but apparently people in the office heard me scream."

Unconscious, Kuypers was rushed to Auckland City Hospital's intensive care unit. She had five dislocated ribs, a hairline fracture in her eye socket and broken bones in her neck, ankle, shoulder and collarbone.

"There's a pretty small chance of surviving a fall from that height," Kuypers said from her hospital bed yesterday.

The roof did not have "eye bolts" where the abseiling ropes would usually be attached, she said. "The guy I was working with isn't coping too well. There's no blame, but he blames himself."

It was the second miraculous escape from abseiling in three months.

Mikaela Blayney, 20, fell from the Event Cinema building in Aotea Square in December during an acrobatic performance.

But both Blayney and Kuypers said they planned to get back into abseiling.

"We're always outside, always abseiling. I want to get back to work," Kuypers said.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10786529