[Tom White]

i feel very sorry for the guy .sooner theirs a ladder ban or some form of enforceable legislation the better imo and stop these unfortunate accidents

would you refuse to have sky fitted unless they used a cherry picker

No Sky abide by the law, try and cover all the risks, wear a helmet & secure the ladder as per WAHR, have correct training, and walk away when job cant be done safely. Ladders are still safe if used correctly, and for short periods.

idealrob

Agree.  I saw a sky fitter phone for help because he couldn't work out how to use his ladders on a sideways slope on the ground.  I could've done it in ten minutes with a couple of laddermats, but he had to phone the boss to come and help.

No joke.  I heard the call and later saw the 2nd sky van turn up.  They were kitted out like they were going to climb Mount Everest.

[simon w]

is it someone off here?

his surname rings a bell.

Ours was a David and he used a backpack.  And this guy - so the article says - fell through a conservatory roof.

Window cleaner Robin Salkeld was airlifted to hospital on Monday lunchtime after he fell from a ladder and through a conservatory roof of a house at The Green, Marlborough.

I think I've done a race at Marlborough; lots of extremely big and posh houses there.

Marlborough has a lot of long distance athletic history. Bruce Tulloh worked at the school and coached Richard Nerurkar who was a first class long distance athlete, his wife also a remarkable long distance runner

[rosskesava]

No Sky abide by the law, try and cover all the risks, wear a helmet & secure the ladder as per WAHR, have correct training, and walk away when job cant be done safely. Ladders are still safe if used correctly, and for short periods.

idealrob

The problem is often that window cleaners become complacent. They think that because nothing happened the last 10, 20, 100 or 200 times they done that, no accident or fall happened so therefore it's safe.

That is why it's so important to understand what 'risk' actually is as opposed to what some 'think' risk is.

It's like those that drive too close to the car in front which is so common place. They think that because they've being doing that for yonks without an accident that the rules about a safe distance from the car in front don't apply to them and are not needed because they know what is a safe distance from not having having an accident.

[Geoff]

And they also don't appreciate that there's some crazy like me about to slam the brakes on in order to make them smash into the back of my car.  I can then get out with the baseball bat and set about them.

[AuRavelling79]

And they also don't appreciate that there's some crazy like me about to slam the brakes on in order to make them smash into the back of my car.  I can then get out with the baseball bat and set about them before putting in a claim for whiplash.

FTFY Geoffrey!

[TomCrowther]

Sky engineers have to drill an eye bolt into the wall about two feet off the ground. Then fix the ladder to the bolt ensuring the ladder is at the correct angle before using it. A mate of mine had a dish fixed only about eight feet from the ground level and they still had to use the safety measures.
It seems like overkill but it will stop them becoming complacent. My mate had to tick a box saying it was ok to fix ladder to the wall etc.