Stephen,
I am surprised you are allowed on a building site to work up a ladder up to 3rd floor.
I know that for Initial cleans you cannot use WFP, but the time is just about here when this work, on building sites in particular will have to be done off a platform of some desciption, either mobile or scaffolding.
If H & S Officers really are hunting down those such as window cleaners that are working off ladders then it has started to happen at least a year or two earlier than I personally expected.
It will come though, make no mistake.
As I've said elsewhere on the forum, where the reduction of risk is concerned, there is always another little step that can be taken, each step might be tiny, but it can and will be taken.
I don't agree with it, but it is true.
And every time there is a serious accident it will be pounced upon and used as an excuse to tighten up the rules.
Perceived risk and actual risk are two different animals, and it is the perceived risk that will hold sway where H & S are concerned.
There are of course thousands of accidents off ladders every year, and there are several deaths.
If you fall off a ladder you will hurt yourself, you might even kill yourself, or be crippled for life.
I've worked off ladders for 34 years (except for the last 2
) and my worst accident was the ladder shooting uot from underneath me and I bruised both of my heels on landing.
I lost about 2 days off work as a result.
I've hopped over a wall and sprained my ankle too, I lost a week off work because of that one!
No ladders were involved there though!
You work off ladders for long enough, you WILL have an accident.
I had one in 34 years.
All manual work carries risk. try working on a farm!
H & S are continually trying to reduce that risk, nothing wrong with that is there?
1 death is too many...isn't it?
Well in one respect of course it is, but the handful that occur each year as a result of falls from ladders are acceptable.
Each individual one was in all likelihood avoidable, human error is usually the major factor, it is in just about all accidents.
There are something like 180,000 window cleaners in the UK and each year half a dozen will die as a result of falls from ladders.
that is only a tiny percentage.
How many of those 180,000 will have major car accidents?
Around 3000 will die in car accidents (not all window cleaners I hasten to add!!)
But H & S won't be happy with simply educating us to use ladders in the safest way possible, because no matter how much educating you do, accidents and deaths will still occur.
You won't eliminate all human error and complacency.
But stopping people working off ladders will eliminate a great many accidents.
On a building site they can turn around and say that initial cleaning should be done off the scafolding prior to it being taken down.
For all other window cleaning at height there is now the option of WFP, therefore they can virtually eliminate the risk of 180,000 window cleaners clogging up A & E
It will come, they can and will stop us working off ladders.
Ian
