[idealrob]

Attended excellent talk by Andrew Willis at Windex on Thursday, it was probably the best prensentation I have ever heard, and I have heard hundreds, if not thousands over the years. He was a window cleaner for 15 years and worked on some massive contracts, now a consultant for buildings all over Uk I think.
He covered many items, and sensibly did not get involved in the trad/WFP debate.
I am not trying to link into some of the issues he discussed or get involved in a WAHR debate, but Andrew did give some great references to buildings he has advised on and his own opinions on various issues in our industry, and did mention a thread on this forum about flat roofs etc

Many thanks Andrew, and look forward again to hearing you in future, i think he runs some courses and would gladly pay the £125 to hear his advice and his most important point, going home safe and well to the wife & kids every night

Thanks again

idealrob

[trevor perry]

i talked to andrew and he is definately passsionate about health and safety and does have a lot of knowledge and experience in the window cleaning industry, my own opinion of health and safety is that it has now gone a bit too far but maybe that is because i started window cleaning when you could more or less take any risks you wanted and you where classed as good at your job if you could get to windows others coulldnt so things like access and egress from flat roofs to me doesnt seem a major risk but obviously with the accidents that have happened carrying out this task then restrictions had to be put in place.
  i think it is excellent that andrew is working along with the federation and maybe together they can come up with some industry standard procedures that we can all follow and facility managers accept as at the moment it is very hit and miss on what some sites accept and others dont, one off the other talks given was also excellent as it dealt with tenders and highlighted how little information we are sometimes given when asked to qoute and then the problems that follow once the tender is awarded he also highlighted that water fed pole is an excellent tool but it isnt the answer to all situations and building owners need to be shown this, i took some time to speak to brian dolby of the federation about some of the safety issues i personally feel they need to talk to HSE about and come up with workable guidance on and it was obvious from his reply that they are trying but it is a very slow process one thing he did say was that they need more input from us involved in the industry so may be without getting into arguments we on this forum can highlight some things we have thoughts and issues on and forward them onto the federation to see if matters can be resolved and we can all benifit from clearer guidelines.
 i know andrew willis did come on this site for the flat roof debate and later deleted his account as he came under a bit of an attack i only hope he re opens his account as he certainly does have a lot to offer but if he does then he has got to realise that we deal with these issues on commercial work on a regular basis and do become a bit frustrated so he will get some negative responses

[StanA]

Attended excellent talk by Andrew Willis at Windex on Thursday, it was probably the best prensentation I have ever heard, and I have heard hundreds, if not thousands over the years. He was a window cleaner for 15 years and worked on some massive contracts, now a consultant for buildings all over Uk I think.
He covered many items, and sensibly did not get involved in the trad/WFP debate.
I am not trying to link into some of the issues he discussed or get involved in a WAHR debate, but Andrew did give some great references to buildings he has advised on and his own opinions on various issues in our industry, and did mention a thread on this forum about flat roofs etc

Many thanks Andrew, and look forward again to hearing you in future, i think he runs some courses and would gladly pay the £125 to hear his advice and his most important point, going home safe and well to the wife & kids every night

Thanks again

idealrob

That was one of my big regrets about being unable to be there.  Although I feel that H & S may have gone too far, I would have been very interested in what he had to say.  I felt it was a great pity that he got some flak on here before having the opportunity to present more info.

[idealrob]

Andrews style is informal and you dont feel it is Health & Safety advice, just a chat with a few photos, and dont mention the great videos

idealrob

[Clive McDonald]

When he came on this site some of his stuff i didn't understand, but we all post as equals, so you have to back up what you say with logic. He failed to do this imo, and fell back too often on being 'an industry expert'.

My advice if he doe ever comes back? More actual safety tips, and less legalese..

[trevor perry]

the truth is none of us like being told we can no longer do something that we have been doing for years especially when we find out it may cost us money or loose us the job but i think if we could run ideas past the federation and andrew then sollutions to cleaning windows in problem areas like flat roofs and balconies could be found.

[Moderator David@stives]

idealrob

You could have been sitting next to me and Trevor, what day did you attend ?

I agree we need more of these seminars, and more FWC guidance going forward

[idealrob]

no sat on the back row on Thursday, saw the back of your polo shirts, looked very proffessional. Yes I really liked Andrew and his style and have booked a course for September in Newcastle for 3 of us. Still liked the way he did not cause trad/wfp division, and some great safety point.
We have worked for the large chemical industry for over 50 years on Teesside, ICI etc and safety is number one, so we have been looked after for 50 years and get great help, advice from them on courses and weekly meetings

idealrob

[Moderator David@stives]

Dont start on the shirts lol

It would have been good to say Hi, maybe next year,

I like what he is doing at the FWC, hope he bringss the H&s side  forward and doesnt focus entirely on nyqs