• Window washing has become big business in many cities, particularly where there are tall, glass-front buildings. Cleaning windows on high buildings often requires special equipment, including ropes, harnesses and winches. Washing windows is a dangerous occupation, and many states have regulations to protect the public and those workers engaged in professional window washing activities.
  
  

Window Washing Equipment in New York

• New York state has extensive legislation concerning matters relating to window washing, and most of these are contained in Part 21 of the New York Labor Law code. Part 21.3 (e) of the New York regulations prohibits the sale of unsafe window cleaning equipment and also prohibits the lending of unsafe equipment. Permitting someone to use unsafe equipment is also not allowed under this section of the code. Part 21.3 (g) states that employers must inspect window washing equipment on a monthly basis, and if they find any to be defective in any way, the employer is responsible for seeing that the equipment is not used.
  
  

Boatswain's Chair Regulations California

• For some tall buildings, the only way to clean exterior windows is by use of a boatswain's chair, suspended from the roof of the building, which is often the case with glass-front buildings which do not have windows that open. Article five of the California General Industry Safety Orders deals specifically with window cleaning. Within article five, statute 3286 regulates the use of boatswain's chairs. The use of boatswain's chairs and other controlled descent apparatus (CDA) is not allowed unless it is impossible to clean the windows by any other means. Boatswain's chair safety ropes and ropes attached to the operator must attach to separate, approved, anchorage points on the building. All employees using a boatswain's chair must receive training before they are allowed to use the equipment.
  
  

Training Washington State

• The Washington State legal code has a regulation concerning the training of workers to use window cleaning equipment. Rule 296-878-110 states that workers who will use window cleaning equipment need to properly maintain the equipment and become familiar with all manufacturers' instructions. Workers must identify safe and unsafe working conditions and know the correct procedures for rescuing other workers who are experiencing difficulties. All worker training must be documented, and documentation must include the name and signature of the trainer, as well as the subjects who were taught, where the training took place and the date of the training. The student must also sign the training document.
  
  

Other States

• While the examples given describe specific regulations in specific states, all states have regulations designed to address the safety of workers engaged in window cleaning. All state regulations emphasize the need for the inspection and certification of equipment as safe, and all states emphasize the need for certified training of workers who are engaged in window washing and using safety equipment that their lives depend upon.