Starlc Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Footing................ Secured and this is the last option as if there is a safer method ie water fed pole then this must be used Get some casters ! Edited January 17, 2016 by Starlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricgem2002 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Health and safety and introduction of water fed pole systems. Think it was about 2005 when they decided and there should be risk assesments, if ladders are needed they should be fixed/secured but on housing you should be using water fed pole now. ---------- Post added 17-01-2016 at 15:33 ---------- In 2005, new regulations came into force that impacted the way that all work at height, including window cleaning would be carried out. These regulations became law in the UK as a result of The European Work at Height Directive, which aims to standardize work at height regulation throughout the European community. Why Were New Regulations Needed? Working at height is, of course, inherently dangerous. The potential for serious and even fatal injury from working at height is all too well illustrated by the accident statistics compiled by The HSE. Clearly, more needed to be done to prevent death and serious injury among those trades that work at height. It was found, for example, that approximatley two-thirds of all accidents while working at height involved ladders. How Do They Affect Window Cleaners? Even before the regulations were published, the consultation document made it clear that they would have a profound impact on window cleaners. There are few other trades where work at height, in particular the use of ladders, plays such an integral part of the working process. Put simply, the regulations say that if a task can reasonably be done without the need to work at height, then it must be done that way. They also require that when ladders are used (and a risk assessment must show that work at height was unavoidable) then those ladders must be "secured". The Regulations and Water-Fed Pole Systems An obvious question that arises is how does the advent of water-fed pole systems affect window cleaners in light of the new regulations? The answer is somewhat complex. It is now illegal to work at height where a risk assessment would show that it is reasonably practical to complete the task from the safety of the ground. Its a simple fact that the vast majority of window cleaning work can now be done without the need to work at height by using a water-fed pole system. As using a system is almost always faster (and therefore more efficient) than using ladders, and can clean to greater heights than is possible from ladders, it would be very hard to argue that using a water-fed pole was not "reasonably practical" in the majority of cases. This takes on a particularly serious dimension for employers who could be prosecuted under the new regulations if their worker has an accident while using ladders for a cleaning task that could have been done with water-fed pole. The HSE has promised more guidance on what it would consider to be "reasonably practcable" in the context of the regulations, but this has not yet been produced. All Ladders Must Be "Secured" - What Does That Mean? Schedule 6 of the regulations require that when ladders are used, they must be "secured", and then goes on to describe specifically how that is to be done. you missed this page http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg455.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlc Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) you missed this page http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg455.pdf Yes i have seen it but one contredicts the other as if there is a safer method ie water fed pole then it states you must use that and not ladders. To be honest i know a bit about this as my brother has a window cleaning round and uses both methods. Edited January 17, 2016 by Starlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickey finn Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Secured and this is the last option as if there is a safer method ie water fed pole then this must be used Get some casters ! I wince sometimes when I see the danger some window cleaners put themselves in, pole fed every time for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlc Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I wince sometimes when I see the danger some window cleaners put themselves in, pole fed every time for me. Exactly ! At the end of the day it is there so people dont seriously injure thereselves but for me it is silly to risk yourselves for the sake of a grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey104 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Someone better tell my window cleaner! He still using wooden ladders!!! However we have detracted from the initial post. These cold calling scammers work on the elderly and most vulnerable of our society. My grandad was taken by these scumbags for a large amount of money. They have no shame or morals and quite frankly should have their hands chopped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlfroofingco Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Any good tradesman or woman should never need to go cold calling and it's things like this what give all us good roofers a bad name........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel01 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Health and Safety now gone mad back to the good old days when windows used to sparkle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogg Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I would never employ a cold caller, whatever their trade. I am totally capable of deciding if work needs doing on my house and of finding a suitable tradesperson to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASGOWOODS Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Secured and this is the last option as if there is a safer method ie water fed pole then this must be used Get some casters ! Robert Wadlow would have been the man. Just shy of 9 feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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