Automatic Window Cleaning Systems Save Time and Money

This CleanLink article articulates one of the main concerns regarding manual high-rise window cleaning - as the building height grows, so does the risk to human safety. SkyPro's products deliver this safety and security that many companies desire. To learn more about SkyPro's capabilities, visit their website. 

Jeffery Zeldman, Flickr.com

For high-rise structures, safety becomes an even greater concern, which is why some companies are turning to automated window cleaning equipment. These machines are suitable for curtain wall glass and “climb” up and down the surface of the building via remote control, eliminating the need to suspend a worker from a chair or lift.

According to Jon Arreguin, owner and operations manager of C-THRU Window Cleaning LLC in Saint Paul, Minn., there are two types of automated equipment: heavier units (200 to 300 pounds) that require a hoist motor attached to the machine and lightweight units (under 150 pounds) that have a hoist motor located on the roof.

“Because a hoist motor is attached to the first type of unit, you have to comply with the regulations of the support system,” Arreguin says. “If the hoist motor has a working load limit of 1,000 pounds, for example, that could add up to 2,000 pounds of counter weight that you need to carry to the roof.”

To read more on this article, click here. 

Healthier Workforces May Lead to a Healthier Bottom Line

This is an excerpt from an ISHN article.

Companies that build a culture of health by focusing on the well-being and safety of their workforce may yield greater value for their investors, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM), official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

The stock market performance of companies that had received ACOEM’s Corporate Health Achievement Award (CHAA), which annually recognizes the healthiest and safest companies in North America, was conducted at HealthNEXT LLC and analyzed by lead authors Raymond Fabius, MD, and R. Dixon Thayer, and colleagues. Companies that receive the award must be engaged in demonstrable and robust efforts to reduce health and safety risks among their employees.

To read the full article, visit ISHN.com.

Constant Improvement

This is an excerpt from an ISHN blog post.

What are you doing to be the best at what you do? Take a few moments and try the following exercise, which is a great process to improve areas in which you are already proficient.

What Activities Improve Safety The Most?

First, ask yourself what activities do you do that improve the safety of others in your area of responsibility. Really give this some time. Think of all the activities you do each day, week, month or year. Ask yourself which of these activities have the biggest impact on safety or have the potential to have the greater impact.

Write down all the activities you do that fit the criteria listed above. Take that list and do your best to prioritize it. Once you have done this, ask yourself which of these you do the best. The ones you are most competent in and feel comfortable doing. Now, look to see how you can become better in those areas.

The full article is available on the ISHN website.

OSHA's Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers

The following is an excerpt from OSHA's Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers.

Heat illness can be deadly. Every year, thousands of workers become sick from exposure to heat, and some even die. These illnesses and deaths are preventable.

OSHA's nationwide Heat Illness Prevention Campaign aims to raise awareness and teach workers and employers about the dangers of working in hot weather and provide valuable resources to address these concerns. Begun in 2011, the Heat Illness Prevention Campaign has reached more than 7 million people and distributed close to half a million fact sheets, posters, quick cards, training guides and wallet cards. OSHA is again joining with other federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations to spread the word about preventing heat illness. For example, OSHA is continuing its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service to include worker safety precautions in their Excessive Heat Watch, Warning, and Advisory Products.

The OSHA website has several resources that can be used to prevent heat illnesses:

• The Educational Resources section links to information about heat illnesses and how to prevent them. Many of these resources target vulnerable workers with limited English proficiency and/or low literacy.
• The Using the Heat Index section provides guidance to employers to develop a heat illness prevention plan.
• The Training section includes a guide/lesson plan for employers and others to use in instructing workers on heat illness.  There are links to additional resources in other languages.
• The Media Resources section includes news releases, public service announcements (PSAs), drop-in articles about heat illness prevention that you can customize to share and campaign artwork.
• The Fatality map shows locations of outdoor worker, heat-related fatalities between 2008 and 2012. It is not an exhaustive list of all worker fatalities from heat exposure. The map provides a geographic reminder that Water.Rest.Shade. are vital to providing a safe and healthful environment when working outdoors in the heat.

For the full article, more resources and information, visit OSHA's campaign website.