• Home
• News
• Products
• C&M Issue Archive
• Contract Cleaners Guide 2010
• Machine Guide
• Manufacturers & Suppliers Guide

That’s the message from the Federation of Window Cleaners

Keeping windows clean can be a daunting and time-consuming task for building managers and the maintenance staff they manage. With window cleaning standards and health and safety improving, building managers understand the importance of employee training and safety.

Other issues when releasing staff for formal training, such as time, staff availability and budgetary constraints, can sometimes overshadow the importance of training. Dedicated to developing best practices in the cleaning industry, the FWC has been the professional Employers Trade Association for window cleaners for over 60 years and part of its aims are to:

• Increase public awareness of the need for high standards of safety.
• Encourage members in attaining Health & Safety Training & Education.
  

The FWC, in conjunction with IOSH, has launched it’s newly accredited one-day Health & Safety Course covering the use of waterfed poles and portable ladders. With the aid of external support, FWC has created a no-nonsense, hands-on, practical and theory course covering health & safety legislation, risk assessments, safe systems of work and the use of waterfed poles and portable ladders. This course has been written by experienced window cleaners and will provide an externally recognised qualification, accepted by employees, clients and health & safety professionals.

The course will mainly be delivered by the Federation’s own trainers, and is also available for companies to self-deliver, providing their trainers have the necessary mandatory training skills and experience.

This course is described as a must for all window cleaning professionals and will provide staff with the ability to work safely and in line with The Work at Height Regulations 2005, which apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person who controls the work of others (eg facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height) to the extent they control the work.

The Regulations include a hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height, and state:

• Avoid work at height where possible.
• Use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height.
• Where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.
  

The FWC’s IOSH accredited ‘Cleaning Windows Safely’ course is now available. It will provide your organisation with a more professional image, improved business opportunities, lower insurance costs, and give you peace of mind that you are working inline with Health & Safety regulations.

Tel: 0161 432 8754