When do we take on liability?
Let me be perfectly plain. As soon as you put down the squeegee and soft applicator/wetting wand;...you take on liability. When you turn on a drill motor for polishing the glass; pickup even a piece of steel, bronze, or synthetic wool; take a razor blade to the window; get out any chemical be it a solvent, acid, or alkali; or even use a plastic powder by hand or mixed with a chemical;....you become liable. The reason why is very simple. The process you are now using is NOT outlined as a common safe practice by the glass manufacturing association. They do NOT endorse it. Their suggestion is to simply use a mop and a squeegee.
Avoid Liability Through Education!
We must first educate ourselves. Get out the GANA Bulletins. Read them over. Share this information with your customers. I will be writing about these Bulletins here in this blog. But you will find them through the IWCA Glass Committee. Which I am assisting but am no longer a member of. The IWCA has actually shared in writing joint bulletins with the glass manufacturers association. These carry weight! Further, they actually do state in very plain language, if glass surfaces are allowed to become covered with concrete, stucco, paint, wood stain, silicone caulk, silane concrete sealant runoff, and so on;....they have in fact become damaged. Whenever "routine window cleaning" (a mop and a squeegee) procedures are incapable of removing any type of deposit, then the window is essentially wasted. Those are my words. You need to know this and so do your customers!
To read the IWCA/GANA Bulletins and access lots more unformation of glass surfaces from the IWCA use this link;...
https://www.iwca.org/glass-surface-information/
Knowing When To Walk
Better yet run! If you have not become responsible for doing any further damage, and especially are not completely comfortable with any procedure to remove the deposit without doing harm to the surface;....then absolutely take your leave. However before you do, educate. If enough of us do this contractors especially will get the idea very quick that they must use protective measures once the glass has arrived for storage. Yes storage. Even before installation. It should be inspected, protected, and safely stored. Protected through the installation/construction process, and then cleaned at the end of the job. I am looking into protection technology now and have already posted some interesting videos on my YouTube channel.
Avoid Liability With Waivers For Non-Routine Work
Get one! Whenever someone says, go ahead and do it anyway, and you think you can and make gobs of money in the process, don't be ill witted, be smart, get a waiver signed. You must first educate the customer. Let them know exactly what they are facing here. Explain what GANA says, show them those important lines in the bulletins. Explain what the problem is, concrete, silicone, etc. Explain that your procedure could do worse damage to the surface. Exactly. It could do worse damage. This is always possible. It could also and does many times "void the manufacturers warranty".
Identify The Surface and Avoid Liability
This will set you apart from other window cleaners. It is usually rather easy to identify what the problem is and where it came from. Concrete, hard water deposits, silicone, stucco, etc. But these days it is absolutely NOT an easy matter to identify the surface. This is ESPECIALLY true for any employees you have. If you are a franchise/business owner it could very well be true for you! If so how could you ever expect that of your employees!? And the wrong move could very easily affect the liability of your company and that of the entire franchise. So once again education is key here. How do we identify the surface? Is it a pyrolytic first surface tin oxide, what of a first surface AR, or an acrylic, polycarbonate, or polyester? Does it have a pyrolytic hydrophobic coating applied right off the glass line at the factory? These are becoming more common for shower doors and enclosures. Why is this so important? Because there are non-routine procedures out there which are considered perfectly harmless;....BUT THEY ARE NOT! Take for example the use of razor blades. On most glass surfaces they are harmless. But more and more now, glass surfaces are becoming very "scratch sensitive". To razors and other non-routine methods. So even if you have identified that you are working on plain glass you need to ask yourself is it rough, and does it "fizz and pop"? If so back off. Immediately! Then there are other surfaces like AR coatings, tin oxide pyrolytics, plastics, etc. You would NEVER under any circumstances want to use any type of metallic means (such as a razor or wool) on these surfaces. Once you identify this type of surface and feel the need to use other tools, (other then those used in routine window cleaning), back off. In fact let me put it this way. Educate, identify, educate again, walk away, or proceed with extreme caution with a waiver. You might choose to expand on any of this advice. The bottom line is to minimize liability as much as is reasonably possible. Never think you are losing a ton of money. The fact is that there is a ton of money left to make out there just by dragging rubber!
The Process of Limiting Liability
The procedure should always be one of education. Both the customer, ourselves, and our employees. How can windows be ruined? What are the manufacturers cleaning recommendations? Have they been violated? Is our customer demanding assistance? Have we obtained a legal waiver and has it been signed by the necessary parties? But most important is to know when to just walk away!
My YouTube channel will help to educate yourself and your employees in identifying various surfaces. Along with various techniques that can be used with caution in non-routine work. I would be delighted if you came aboard and supported my efforts by subscribing! The YouTube link is;...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKzhmAWtlsHJiwRd6WrgGyA
Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com
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