Solar Panel Cleaning Training Course To Be Held 11th July 2015

[Diwrnach]

Rubber gloves and you're sorted.

Forget all the coarse etc none sense, it is a franchise in all but name, if he is giving you work then fair enough, but I know where you are coming from @MrBump especially with withholding health and safety issues.

 

[MrBump]

Haha sorry I was giving cheapie a run for his money with that one, bit of an essay /emoticons/tongue.png

Bit unfair on everyone if he deems himself the leading expert on solar panel cleaning safety and yet only offers it on a first come, first served basis. Franchise the work and then offer safety training for everybody, he won't ever get accreditation if he's not offering it to everyone.

Cheers diwrnach, I'll get some gloves and crack on /emoticons/biggrin.png Do I need to turn them off before cleaning?

 

[SolarPanelCleaning]

You cannot turn off solar panels.

 

[Tuffers]

Great day on the course yesterday, very informative. I'm looking forward to pushing solar panel cleaning in Dumfries now knowing how to clean the panels properly and what safety measures to take in order to protect myself from a DC shock. @Solar Steve also gave out a wealth of Information, not only on solar panel cleaning but marketing in general which will be very useful.

Spill the beans then bro :thumbsup:

 

[Diwrnach]

Haha sorry I was giving cheapie a run for his money with that one, bit of an essay /emoticons/tongue.png
Bit unfair on everyone if he deems himself the leading expert on solar panel cleaning safety and yet only offers it on a first come, first served basis. Franchise the work and then offer safety training for everybody, he won't ever get accreditation if he's not offering it to everyone.

Cheers diwrnach, I'll get some gloves and crack on /emoticons/biggrin.png Do I need to turn them off before cleaning?

Can't turn them off mate, but you can hold onto a 3 phase 110 cable with decent gloves on no problem, when I installed tescos years ago with all the lotto machines we had to do some of those live, forget the reason why now, but we just used gloves and was 100% fine, if you aren't grounded you can't get shocked, that is why birds can sit on high power electric cables and not get shocked, the only time its an issue if their wings are wide enough to hit two at the same time as it shorts across them, this was an issue in America with bald eagles electrocuting themselves when flying between power lines.

 

[SolarPanelCleaning]

Houses are wired in live, with super gloves and junction box with resin type stuff. Guck doing that everyday.

 

[Solar Steve]

@MrBump despite what @Jon Grainger says, I will give you a reply because you raise some valid points.

1. Yes, vehicle decals et al are required. That's the end of that one for you I guess. But surrendering the 'me' in behalf of the 'we' is how strong organisations are built and we have plenty of other people who are willing to do so. In fact, one of my biggest opposers on this very forum has this week sent me a PM apologising for his comments and for being a 'nay sayer' as he put it. He is now showing an interest in coming to the next course if his area is still available.

2. Safety is indeed the biggest concern. That is the main thrust of the day. On the last day we had one contractor who at the start of the day was saying to other attendees that he had cleaned over 10,000 panels already and said he would not learn anything new. He said he was only there to get 'in with Clean Solar Solutions' and get work from us.

Fair play to him, at the end of the day he put his hand up in front of everyone and said he realised 'he knew jack' about cleaning panels compared to what we taught him. He couldn't believe he put himself and his staff at the risk he did.

Why not set up franchises and then train everyone else separately? It isn't good business sense.

It is not immoral to withhold information for financial gain. It's best business practice and happens all day everyday. It just so happens that mine is H&S related. So I have no issues at all sleeping at night.

Regarding this, my message is very clear. I'm going to capitalise it because it don't know how to make the type bold: DON'T CARRY OUT WORK THAT YOU HAVE LITTLE H&S KNOWLEDGE OF.

That applies in any field. I would not dream of re-wiring my house even though I have some electrical knowledge relevant to my particular field. I don't have the training for re-wiring my house. But I do have a clear and concise knowledge of solar panel cleaning. Electricity is the common thread, but the knowledge needed is completely different. With this, cleaning is the common thread, but the knowledge needed for windows and solar panels is completely different.

It still confuses me how cleaners think they can work on high voltage electrical equipment with water without any knowledge or training regarding the equipment they are working on. How on earth could you begin to contemplate that and why on earth would you put yourself and the welfare of your family at that risk?

I feel very confident that if your wives and girlfriends knew the risks you were taking at work whilst cleaning panels, they would not want you to clean them either.

3. Your suppositions are wrong.

I hope that provides some clarity.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Hey Steve, just one question tonight, when you walk on to the podium at your seminar do you have Whitesnake 'Here I go again' playing over the speakers?

 

[Solar Steve]

I have 'Knock On Wood' on when I come on the forums because that's what I feel like I'm doing.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

So you're banging a woody whilst typing responses to us? EEeeewwwwwww!!!!! :thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

 

[MrBump]

Firstly I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read my post and reply. I appreciate that and also take all opinions on board and are valid equally. Clearly you know what you are doing and I am not mocking that, infact I would like to learn from it.

It is a shame that vehicle decals et el are required, I wouldn't mind it on work you'd sourced as we are both gaining from that, but if I source it and I am carrying out the work then its all me. But I can see what your saying on a 'we' basis, I guess for dedicated aolar panel cleaners it works, for casual or occasional solar cleaners its not worth the vans real estate.

It is mostly a shame that I cannot do the training for the trainings sake. The fact that someone went on your course purely to collaborate, even though he had cleaned 10,000 panels already shows what motivates people to sign up, although clearly he learned lots too.

Imo if you want to get accreditated it has to be offered to everyone, not just one per area. And imho it is immoral to withold information if it is potentially life-saving. Should someone who cures cancer withold the information for financial gain? To me that would be immoral.

If I had the choice to do the course just to know I'm safe if ever I did clean some panels I most probably would, you can never know enough. I wouldn't be competing for work aside from the odd residential and considering the huge amount of window cleaners in the uk, if they all did the course you could still make a bomb off that and then selling off areas on a 'we' basis would still build your empire - there must be value in that if a guy who already cleans loads still want to join forces.

Still I respect what you are trying to do and glad business is going well, I'm here to make friends not enemies, good that we all have our own opinions, so all the best to you. And thanks again for replying.

 

[Diwrnach]

To be fair if you knew for a fact there were people doing something that was potentially life threatening and you knew how they could do it in a non life threatening way, but refused to tell them how (they live in the wrong place) regardless of how much business sense it makes is still immoral.

 

[Diwrnach]

Last year I saw an old boy climbing a ladder to clean his windows, you could tell he was crapping himself and reckoned there was a good chance he would fall off.

I went over and did them for him, free of charge, I couldn't watch someone risk their lives when I knew I could prevent it, was that good business sense? hell no, but it was morally the right thing to do, a persons life shouldn't be measured in £££ signs.

 

[norm]

sounds to me you just lose your freedom and your working for the 'man' when ya sign up

and you wear his logo to prove it cus he owns ya now /emoticons/biggrin.png

just my opinion mind as i'm sure not many think like me and are chasing the mighty dollar

eh pound

i have looked at a couple of solar panel company web sites randomly and they said the householder could clean their own solar panels must have another look as maybe this has changed

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

I reckon norm was Born on the 4th of July! /emoticons/wink.png

Down with 'the man' :thumbsdown:

 

[Diwrnach]

sounds to me you just lose your freedom and your working for the 'man' when ya sign upand you wear his logo to prove it cus he owns ya now /emoticons/biggrin.png

just my opinion mind as i'm sure not many think like me and are chasing the mighty dollar

eh pound

i have looked at a couple of solar panel company web sites randomly and they said the householder could clean their own solar panels must have another look as maybe this has changed

Pretty much all maintenance pdfs from solar company's say this, I've checked.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

You may also want to try a small experiment and type the words 'injured cleaning solar panels' into google and notice how their are ZERO results.

Type in 'Died cleaning solar panels' and the first result talks of a poor chap in Preston whom was an installer the died when HE FELL through a barn roof. (Third on the page is an advert for Clean Solar) but NONE in relation to electrocution from the panels.

And also from what I have learnt of late from installers I think a lot of the scare mongering is totally uncalled for.

 

[SolarPanelCleaning]

Personally, I think as panels and their wiring deteriorate with time and the elements, there will be an increase in risk.

Regarding morality, Glaxo, lily, Monsanto etc are happy to charge for medicine, immunity jabs, anti bacs etc.

Morality is subjective.

 

[Solar Steve]

To be fair if you knew for a fact there were people doing something that was potentially life threatening and you knew how they could do it in a non life threatening way, but refused to tell them how (they live in the wrong place) regardless of how much business sense it makes is still immoral.

It's not immoral. Why is gas training not free then to then man who wants to plumb his house? Why are driving lessons not free to someone who wants to learn to drive? It's not against the law to buy some scuba diving gear and go in the sea with it. After all, you can swim and are probably a very good swimmer. But swimming 20m under the sea with unseen risks? Wise people get trained for that and take their PADI.

You should not engage in activities with a large degree of risk to your or other people's health without training.

If you can't afford the particular training you need or if it is not available in your area, you'd be wise not to engage in that activity.

People everywhere recognise that and that's why I've had interest in the training course from other people abroad and it is very likely that during the next 6 months I will be doing the training course in South Africa and Australia, at the request of people who want to clean panels in those countries. They recognise the risks and want to be kept safe too.

 

[Diwrnach]

Yeah, you get training that is correct, but you are withholding training to people you don't like or live in the wrong area, scuba diving, gas, electrician etc etc is open to EVERYONE.

 

[Diwrnach]

Personally, I think as panels and their wiring deteriorate with time and the elements, there will be an increase in risk.
Regarding morality, Glaxo, lily, Monsanto etc are happy to charge for medicine, immunity jabs, anti bacs etc.

Morality is subjective.

Yeah, but it is still open for absolutely ANYONE to buy them, they also get slammed for being immoral.