Safety – all in a day's course
June 1st 2008

Providing staff with the ability to work in line with working at height regulations, a one day health & safety course from the FWC, created with IOSH, is available now

The FWC (Federation of Window Cleaners) in conjunction with IOSH, has recently 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 claims it 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.

The 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, but it is also available for companies to selfdeliver, providing their trainers have the necessary mandatory training skills and experience.

The FWC says this course is '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 they can; 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 available as of June.The FWC believe it will provide organisations with 'a more professional image, improved business opportunities, lower insurance costs', and that it will give 'peace of mind' that the company is working in line with Health & Safety regulations. For information contact the number on the right.

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