Page 168 - ELEMENTS EUROPA (EN)

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THE CLEANING SYSTEMS
ERGONOMICS AND RISK ASSESSMENT
All the glass surfaces have to be cleaned regularly. This means
that cleaning systems have to be installed – as an integral part
of the architectural design – to reach every point of the building where appropriate through the use of standard equipment,
from a mobile, ergonomic and safe workplace.
In response to the first two criteria, there are vast numbers of individual protection may also be installed, for instance in the
electromechanical solutions available,
The third criteria – safety – is, however, more complicated.
Current European regulations consider a system to be safe
when the risks it creates, after formal assessment, are removed
or, when this is not possible, are reduced to an acceptable level. size rolling scaffolds (systems O, P1, P2) or cradles, whether
To achieve this, protective devices – preferably collective –
must be installed and any residual risks must be duly notified.
Relevant training must also be provided to users on the basis of
exhaustive use instructions.
Risk assessment and the availability of protective equipment
constitute a legal requirement for employers vis-à-vis their
workers, and the introduction of any new system is subject
to the authorisation of a health and safety inspectorate. With
regard to who is responsible for this, it is up to a system’s
designers and manufacturers to come up with a coordinated set
of reports, certificates and declarations verifying its safety.
Contrary to what one might think, the risks needing to
be taken into account are not limited to the danger of falls.
They also include many other less serious physical dangers
(pinches, cuts, shocks, electrocution, noise, etc.), as well as
those resulting from “reasonably foreseeable misuse”. There
is also a need to consider how operators can be rescued in
the event of them becoming ill, or in the case of a power or
mechanical failure. Further factors include system assembly
and its subsequent dismantling, maintenance, repairs, etc.
Risk assessment is done on the basis of a comprehensive and
evolving set of European standards. For risks not formally
covered by a harmonised standard, Belgian legislation requires
that the services of a workplace inspection agency be used
(in the case of Belgium, a Service externe pour les contrôles
techniques sur le lieu de travail (SECT)).
“STANDARD” AND “TAILOR-MADE” SYSTEMS
Among the large variety of glass surfaces present in the
Europa building, certain ones are accessible from the ground,
sometimes carried by the cleaners themselves, e.g. a stepladder
or a motorised elevator. Fixed equipment for collective or
form of fixed or removable guardrails, life lines or carabiner
anchor points.
Other glass surfaces, conversely, present such specific
configurations that a tailor-made system is required: special-
motorised (system A) or non-motorised (system F), rolling
(system B, S), suspended (system C) or at the end of a telescopic
arm (system E).
The systems used for cleaning the facades of the lantern and
the atrium are described below.
SYSTEM A: THE ATRIUM’S PATCHWORK FACADE OF RECYCLED
WINDOW FRAMES
The cleaning system for this facade benefits from the
walkways present on each floor. Made entirely of stainless
steel, these are integrated into the prefabricated frames
containing the window frames. Their complex form has
several architectural functions: sun protection, the collection
and discharge of run-off water, support for the cleaning and
maintenance system – as well as being a visible feature of the
facade’s architecture.
On each of the ten floors, an IPE 80 monorail for the cradle’s
trolleys has been welded to the bottom side of the walkway.
On the upper side, the plate bordering the walkway’s gutter
has been simply extended a few centimetres upwards to act
as a guide rail. An L-shaped trolley bearing the actual cradle
runs along the two rails. Though the cradle itself, designed
for one person, is relatively narrow, the side facing the facade
is completely open. Its slightly rounded form maximises the
usable space while being able to get around the vertical rods
supporting the walkway in the corners of the facade. It moves
along the walkway by means of manually operated pulleys. It
also has a battery-operated motorized worm lift system, raising
the cradle upwards to enable the operator to safely reach
the top windows on each floor (working height: 3.54 m). The