Decisions Decisions

[paul alan]

I use an 18 for most of my work and occasionally crack out the 27.

I earn a good living and have a loyal domestic customer base, I am happy like this.

 

[spruce]

I use an 18 for most of my work and occasionally crack out the 27.

I earn a good living and have a loyal domestic customer base, I am happy like this.

I have an SLX40 and an SLX22.

I only used the SLX40 at full stretch for one clean on our round cycle. TBH, that once is more than enough to tell me that I didn't want to go any higher.

 

[P4dstar]

I can get one for half of that and it's 56ft and add 2 sections on takes me to the 80ft I need to get to

but yeah it's a lot of expense for 1 job although does it not mean I could potentially take on other wfp jobs by having it?

You’ll regret cutting corners when the brush comes crashing down on a poor kid or someone’s vehicle. The high reach poles have special handles to aid control at that sort of height.

Somethings not quite right here though. How have you landed a contract for such a specialist clean with no equipment and no experience?

 

[steve garwood]

I use an 18 for most of my work and occasionally crack out the 27.

I earn a good living and have a loyal domestic customer base, I am happy like this.

Don’t understand how that helps this topic?

The other factor to consider is the implications on the body working at this height, especially when he doesn’t usually do WFP so certain muscles won’t be used to it.

Seems odd a guy with no experience of WFP wants to try an 80ft job.

Anyway good luck to him ?

 

[spruce]

You’ll regret cutting corners when the brush comes crashing down on a poor kid or someone’s vehicle. The high reach poles have special handles to aid control at that sort of height.

Somethings not quite right here though. How have you landed a contract for such a specialist clean with no equipment and no experience?

I agree the risk to life and property for me is just too big. When we did our NVQ on window cleaning, we looked at accidents that had occurred, what procedures should have been followed to minimise the risk and how the management company and window cleaners were fined for not following procedures. Should an accident occur then I'm sure that H&S would be into this like a flash. They will be asking questions such as; was he working alone? Did he cordon off the area by at least to length of his pole and then some? Was there someone ensuring that no one entered into the cordoned off area? If the area included a street, did he have permission and a permit to close the road off?

Then they will ask; was it necessary to clean those windows in the first place? (One of the questions they asked when introducing the working at height regulations for window cleaners in 2005.)

I think the other issue here is the height. Where is the 80' measurement taken from? If its the vertical height, then he will need a longer pole to create the angle.

I'm not sure of the workings of the Gardiner pole at 74' but I'm sure that its a lot better than the setup Jeff Brimble used. Jeff Brimble did say that at that height there were several factors to consider.

The first was that the pole wants to flex and then 'curl' out on itself. This meant that the brush had very little contact with the glass.

The second was that a normal brush won't sit flat on the window as they do when we work normally. He said that you wanted something round like an applicator with jets.

Thirdly, the wind patterns change significantly the higher you go. So no wind at ground level didn't mean that there was no wind at higher up. I know how difficult it is to control a pole at 40' when a gust of wind catches it. Sometimes I just let the wind take the brush into the side of the window until the gust passes. I can't imagine what those forces are at 80' with a very flexible pole.

I haven't ever had any dealing with H&S and I honestly don't want to either. But one has to understand that they don't have wtitten rules and regulations for working at height for every senario. So a lot of those rules are 'principles'. If something goes wrong you don't take all the factors into consideration when doing your Risk and Method analysis, period. Due to this failure and subsequent accident, you are guilty of contravening the regulations.

Please forgive me if I'm wrong, but British law makes the employer guilty of not providing a safe working environment for his employee, in this case, the window cleaner. This remains in force even if the employee doesn't follow procedure and gets himself seriously injured or even killed.

I don't think the person requesting the clean at 80' understands the seriousness and implications of his request.

Sorry to ask @Ronnie, but have you done a RAMS and have you cleared this potential job with your insurance company? (In other words, I'm asking if you've had a credit check done for a mortgage before you went looking for houses to buy.)

.

 

[Den]

I have an SLX40 and an SLX22.

I only used the SLX40 at full stretch for one clean on our round cycle. TBH, that once is more than enough to tell me that I didn't want to go any higher.

I have to get my Slx25 with a couple of extensions out to do approx 15 windows or veluxs on two days a month that's enough for me, especially when you are used to a slx18 for over 90% of your work. 

 

[spruce]

Don’t understand how that helps this topic?

The other factor to consider is the implications on the body working at this height, especially when he doesn’t usually do WFP so certain muscles won’t be used to it.

Seems odd a guy with no experience of WFP wants to try an 80ft job.

Anyway good luck to him ?

I do get where you are coming from @steve garwood. I got from @paul alanthat there is more than enough windows to clean that are easier to reach and still earn a good living rather than going for the bulls eye moon clean standing on earth.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Your first fall with an 80 feet pole will be your last. Think about the damage one can do with an 80 feet radius, never mind hitting pedestrians on the head. I can round it up in one word "madness"

 

[spruce]

Your first fall with an 80 feet pole will be your last. Think about the damage one can do with an 80 feet radius, never mind hitting pedestrians on the head. I can round it up in one word "madness"

Harsh, but from my viewpoint, very true.

I don't think that Jeff Brimble has cleaned that buildings windows again. I get the feeling that it was all about record breaking as he was the first to every clean a window at that height.

 

[steve garwood]

I do get where you are coming from @steve garwood. I got from @paul alanthat there is more than enough windows to clean that are easier to reach and still earn a good living rather than going for the bulls eye moon clean standing on earth.

Agree. I don’t do anything that my SLX22 won’t reach.

Its just that the guy wants information about working at extreme height.

Another example of this was last week when a guy wanted information on a one stop remote.

He got several answers of ‘get a univalve’. ?

That isn’t what he’s asking about is the point I’m making ?

 

[Teaboy]

We have 2 65ft poles and trust me you don’t want to use either of these any longer than what you NEED to lol


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[Den]

Agree. I don’t do anything that my SLX22 won’t reach.

Its just that the guy wants information about working at extreme height.

Another example of this was last week when a guy wanted information on a one stop remote.

He got several answers of ‘get a univalve’. ?

That isn’t what he’s asking about is the point I’m making ?

Soon be pub time lol.

 

[Teaboy]

I can get one for half of that and it's 56ft and add 2 sections on takes me to the 80ft I need to get to[emoji53] but yeah it's a lot of expense for 1 job although does it not mean I could potentially take on other wfp jobs by having it?

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12ft sections???


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[scottish cleaning service]

Harsh, but from my viewpoint, very true.

I don't think that Jeff Brimble has cleaned that buildings windows again. I get the feeling that it was all about record breaking as he was the first to every clean a window at that height.

Corporate manslaughter springs to mind after a gust of wind appears from nowhere. Only saying it because it happened to me when my ladder fell and bounced off my van and landed on the clients hedge. 

 

[Teaboy]

One of my lads has dropped a pole at 65ft the wind gusts are terrible luckily it was a closed site and our health and safety procedures prevented any issue


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[P4dstar]

12ft sections???


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Yeah they’re twelve foot broom handles he is gonna strap to it with tape...

I call bull  :1f4a9:  on this post. Something doesn’t add up!!

 

[paul alan]

Agree. I don’t do anything that my SLX22 won’t reach.

Its just that the guy wants information about working at extreme height.

Another example of this was last week when a guy wanted information on a one stop remote.

He got several answers of ‘get a univalve’. ?

That isn’t what he’s asking about is the point I’m making ?

Fair point but hopefully my opinion may be helpful when he comes to decide if its worth the bother.

 

[Part Timer]

It must be very hard to be offered, what looks, a very high priced job, when you're looking for work, and have to turn it down. However sometimes that is what you have to do. 

What worries me about this is why they have offered this job to you, no disrespect intended. They either can't find a large company to do it, probably because they've risk assessed it and turned it down, or their price is much higher. I also doubt they want, or need, their windows doing monthly. 

What I would do is suggest they get their windows, up to circa 45' monthly and then cherry pick the rest 3 or 6 monthly. Good luck no matter what you decide to do. 

 

[Ronnie]

Right I have made my mind up obviously there is alot to this and it wouldn't be worth my while so I will go back and if they want them done then it will need to be a cherry picker. I think I will still get a system though for small jobs [emoji23] ant suggestions on that[emoji6]

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[Tuffers]

Here's a video of pole work at 8 storeys. Think you could hack it @Ronnie?

 

[Ronnie]

Yeah mate not a problem as I keep saying I have already used wfp at height before [emoji6] I have been window cleaning for over 25 years so I do have experience maybe not much wfp but I have used it and I think I could handle what they guys and girls were doing. Thing I've took into consideration is where the job is and it's on a main rd in a city centre and open so I won't be using the pole system as I have already said [emoji847]

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