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Window cleaner accident - Apple store sydney

martym

5-Aug-2015
9:32:42 PM

Apparently a rope access window cleaner fell 3 storeys outside Apple on George St. He hit the bus shelter so is hopefully going to make it. Scary stuff; especially since those windows are floor to ceiling..

Will be interesting to see what went wrong, as one assumes they have very high safety standards?

technogeekery

26-Aug-2016
4:19:31 PM

I was doing a Safe Work at Heights course for work, and the instructor told us about this incident as a case study in "check your own anchors". Take this as anecdotal.

Rope access company was employed to clean windows of Apple building - as pavements below are very high pedestrian density (cnr George & King) they aimed to do this before morning rush hour. Head of the business (very experienced) was in charge, junior worker assisting. Method was abseiling down with kit, anchors being anchor slings wrapped around steel structure / pipe on roof. Junior tasked with setting up anchor slings. Junior has been taught that basket-hitching slings is strongest attachment method, so thats what he does. Boss is used to girth hitching slings, he prefers it for several reasons, and assumed that is what had been done. Its pre-dawn, dark. Boss clips ropes into one end of sling (other end presumably just not seen), doesn't test load it, and weights it over the edge, goes all the way to the ground. Glass bus shelter broke his fall, somehow survived.

Not much room for error in that line of work.

phillipivan

26-Aug-2016
4:42:50 PM

I wonder just what percentage of accidents poor communication is a contributor to?

technogeekery

26-Aug-2016
5:13:52 PM

42

IdratherbeclimbingM9

26-Aug-2016
8:38:07 PM

On 26/08/2016 technogeekery wrote:
>snip
>Take this as anecdotal.
>
>snip
>been taught that basket-hitching slings is strongest attachment method,
>so thats what he does. Boss is used to girth hitching slings, he prefers
>it for several reasons, and assumed that is what had been done. Its pre-dawn,
>dark. Boss clips ropes into one end of sling (other end presumably just
>not seen), doesn't test load it, and weights it over the edge, goes all
>the way to the ground. snip

If the basket hitch was completed (both ends secured together by at least a karabiner), then my guess is that boss wouldn't have taken the big dive, because although the arrangement wouldn't have been ideally loaded, it still should have been good for at least body-weight and then some.
If it wasn't a completed basket hitch then it was little better than a sling draped around an anchor...

Post edit:
> 42
I like it!
~>pi, you now have meaning in your life!!
Heh, heh, heh.

martym

26-Aug-2016
11:08:33 PM

Thanks for that! It's always helpful to find out what has gone wrong, in my opinion it at the very least means others can learn from a tragic accident. Glad the guy made it - one step to the right and he'd have gone through the ground.

Incidentally I doubt the part about it happening first thing in the morning - my friend was working in the store at the time and assures me it happened at night. Perhaps along the grapevine the story got confused?

What is the definition of a "basket hitch"? I thought ut was pretty much:
>a sling draped around an anchor...

But if the junior was building the anchors, why did the boss clip and not the junior? Sounds like terrible lack of procedures. Aside from himself - he could have seriously injured others below.

rodw

27-Aug-2016
7:17:00 AM

On 26/08/2016 martym wrote:
>But if the junior was building the anchors, why did the boss clip and
>not the junior? Sounds like terrible lack of procedures.

Sounds like simple human error to me..do the same task hundreds of time a year you get blase about it..and thats what happened here..view anything in isolation you can see a cause but really I reckon no one follows the exact correct procedures every time they rope up no matter how anal you are....just in this case the error wasn't spotted and shit happened.

technogeekery

29-Aug-2016
9:30:01 AM

Yeah, as I said, it was a story told to us in a safety course - who knows how accurate the details are. I reckon any of us can see parallels to our climbing. Its good to remind yourself that even the professionals get it wrong some times, and keep that blase feeling at bay.

Martym

29-Aug-2016
10:06:46 PM

On 27/08/2016 rodw wrote:
>On 26/08/2016 martym wrote:
>>But if the junior was building the anchors, why did the boss clip and
>>not the junior? Sounds like terrible lack of procedures.
>
>Sounds like simple human error to me..do the same task hundreds of time
>a year you get blase about it..and thats what happened here..view anything
>in isolation you can see a cause but really I reckon no one follows the
>exact correct procedures every time they rope up no matter how anal you
>are....just in this case the error wasn't spotted and shit happened.

But isn't that what OH&S is supposed to be for? Don't we live in a nanny state in which you can't jump off a building without having someone double check & triple check each sling & biner?

As someone who often walks under window cleaners (jealously eyeing off their fancy gear) I am selfishly concerned ...also for their well-being. Of all the random people in the city, window cleaners are closest to climbing-kin.

rodw

30-Aug-2016
7:15:38 AM

On 29/08/2016 Martym wrote:

>But isn't that what OH&S is supposed to be for?

Yeah but red lights are also for stopping but doesn't always stops people from f*&king up and going through them...people are people and will eventually do it wrong..doesn't make ya reckless just human...legislation/rules is really about mitigation if your truthful about it..not eradication of risks.

technogeekery

30-Aug-2016
9:12:37 AM

On 29/08/2016 Martym wrote:

>But isn't that what OH&S is supposed to be for?

Sure it is. If it wasn't for the "nanny-state" regulations, there wouldn't be any of those climber type window cleaners and SRT access specialists with "fancy gear" and expensive training. They would instead be replaced with lowest bidder outfits, with untrained Turkmenistani peasants regularly plummeting to their death when their sub-spec Mongolian-made descender parts company with their non-rated accessory biners.

But all the processes in the world are no use at all if they aren't followed. I've implemented and had certified AS4801 OHS management systems at work (solar installation company) and working at heights is very strictly regulated & controlled. But the overwhelming attitude among our subcontractors is that we are wasting their time with nanny state regs & controls, they know how to keep themselves safe, they don't need a harness for that roof, blah blah. Rod is right - familiarity with the environment breeds contempt for the risks. Thats why I read the accident & injury forums - good reminder that sh1t happens. I also send OHS horror stories to my team every week :-)

Climbers don't make the best heights workers. We take risks in climbing willingly, and at levels that should be inconceivable for workers who are in that environment all day every day and have a right to expect to go home unhurt every day. I think its a good thing in Australia that we legislate to say that management HAS to ensure their safety. I've seen too many deaths in the workplace overseas.

One Day Hero

30-Aug-2016
10:49:41 PM

On 30/08/2016 technogeekery wrote:
>If it wasn't for the "nanny-state" regulations, there wouldn't
>be any of those climber type window cleaners and SRT access specialists
>with "fancy gear" and expensive training. They would instead be replaced
>with lowest bidder outfits, with untrained Turkmenistani peasants regularly
>plummeting to their death when their sub-spec Mongolian-made descender
>parts company with their non-rated accessory biners.

Sigh, you obviously haven't experienced the rope access world. It's chock full of lowest bidder outfits employing uneducated Aussie bogan/peasants with odd Aussie-made descenders and massively over-rated steel biners and crane slings.

>Climbers don't make the best heights workers.

I waaay prefer to train up climbers over non-climbers at work. Most at least have a respect for cliff/building edges, know something about rope protection, and haven't shown up to the job interview looking for "the thrill of abseiling".

One Day Hero

30-Aug-2016
10:55:53 PM

As to the acco in question - anyone who gets on an abseil rope without checking for themselves that things are rigged properly is a fuching retard. (this goes for climbing too)

There are 13 messages in this topic.