March 24, 2008—The International Window Cleaning Association, secretariat for the American National Standards Institute’s Standard I-14 Committee, Window Cleaning Safety Standard, is working for the release of a new and revised window cleaning safety standard in early 2009.
The current (and first) version of the standard was published in 2001.
The 2009 draft will improve procedures for window cleaners with the clear intent of reducing the number of injuries sustained by window cleaners while tightening their practices. The revised standard will reportedly rely heavily once again on the installation of roof-top anchors for rope descending systems (RDS). Building owners and managers would still be allowed to provide roof top anchorages that have been approved by registered professional engineers.
The draft will place a new obligation on building owners and managers who will now have to furnish window cleaners with information pertaining to the risks posed by any roof top antennae. Beyond this, there are no significant changes for the responsibilities of building owners and managers. The next meeting of the I-14 Committee is expected to be in September 2008 at which time the first vote on the draft will take place. For more information, see the association Web site.
