High Rise Window Cleaning: the Hazards you Need to Know About

The training courses window cleaners must undergo and the health and safety guidelines they must commit to are well documented, but that is only the tip of the iceberg of regulations that professional window cleaning companies must work to if they are to ensure optimum safety at all times.

Window cleaning, particularly at the heights that high rise window cleaners and abseil cleaners work to, if not undertaken following strict safety precautions, can be extremely dangerous. It is not without hazard for the public either.

Hazards to the Public

The Work at Height Regulations (2005) are the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidelines for anyone who works at height and they not only cover the dangers to workers and co-workers but also potential hazards to the general public too.

The Work at Height Regulations state that as a worker “you must do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anything falling when working at height.” Any piece of equipment that falls from a height, even if it’s not particularly heavy, can cause injury.

Working at Height: The Safety Rules

Abseil cleaners and
manual elevated work platform (MEWP) operators must safely tether any cleaning tools such as squeegees and applicators that they are using to prevent them from falling from height.

A clearly cordoned off area should be made at pavement level underneath where window cleaners are working at height to prevent passing pedestrians being hit by any falling tools or water. The regulations state that cordoning off the area with cones, hazard warning signs and barrier tape is the minimum that should be done to section off the area. Ideally there should always be another worker at ground level acting as a sentry to further discourage passers-by from straying into the hazard area.

These regulations may seem excessive but where safety for workers, staff and the general public is concerned there can’t be too many precautions. It is simply not worth taking a gamble on safety, particularly where there are proven hazards such as tools or water that could fall from a height and cause injury. The Work at Height Regulations are there to keep everyone safe from harm.

As professional window cleaners it’s our duty to uphold these regulations at all times. For a commercial window cleaning company you can trust to be fully compliant,
contact Aquamark.