BOMA Position
BOMA International supports a national safety standard for window cleaning operations. BOMA fully supports the approach that the IWCA I-14 Committee has taken and will continue working with the International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA) to develop a consistent and comprehensive safety standard.
Background
The ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 Standard provides the minimum recommended requirements for use by persons in the window cleaning trade: window cleaning contracting firms and providers of window cleaning equipment or supplies. The Standard also places some obligations on building owners in connection with window cleaning obligations. The Standard consolidated existing federal OSHA regulations and other relevant, approved standards relating to regulated equipment and practices.
Although ANSI standards do not have the force of law, they are cited in court as the standard of care any reasonable business would use in conducting its affairs. Therefore, it is critical for BOMA members that any ANSI standard addressing safety in the window cleaning industry be safe, fair, reasonable, achievable, and cost-effective.
Previously, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) A39 Committee was charged with the maintenance of an ANSI-approved window cleaning safety standard. That committee was disbanded in 1997 after elements within the group sought to limit, if not ban, the use of rope descent systems (RDS), a clear restraint of trade. In 1999, ANSI granted IWCA the authority to develop a new window cleaning safety standard.
The ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 Standard was approved by ANSI October 25, 2001 as an American National Standard, and it has become the nationally-recognized primary guide to window cleaning safety. The next version of the Standard will be released in 2007. BOMA International is a voting member on the ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 committee that is charged with the maintenance and further development of the current Standard.
Action Requested
BOMA members are encouraged to embrace the Standard as well as to contribute additional information that reflects the concerns of commercial real estate. This information will be essential in the future as the ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 Standard will be updated on a regular basis pursuant to ANSI requirements.