Façade maintenance at HSBC

Most of the multinational banks have structures with glass facades calling for specialised maintenance.CIJ spoke to Mano Ranjan Deb, Branch Manager, Technoclean India Pvt Ltd, which is maintaining the facade at HSBC branches in Andhra Pradesh.

Cradle Runways has installed facade access systems in various banks, including HSBC, Bank of India and Standard Chartered.

HSBC had made it clear that it did not want scaffolding for cleaning the façade. Moreover, the system is very cumbersome. Explains Deb, “You have to erect the scaffolding every time you want to maintain/clean the facades. These banks do not want to mess up with safety or any kind of statutory requirements. Technoclean provides façade cleaning services to all the branches of HSBC bank in Andhra Pradesh, especially in cities like Hyderabad and Vizag. There are various kinds of façade access systems. In the spiderman technique, the person hangs from the top with the help of flexible ropes. These ropes can take sudden jerks and even absorb shocks.”

Such kind of specialised cleaning jobs are undertaken by trained cleaners. The ordinary window cleaners do not take the security aspects with importance. “Our operator also undergo a set of medical tests and training for a period of two-three months before getting qualified as a façade cleaner. When we were awarded the work, HSBC bank was concerned as to how its facades are cleaned and who is cleaning them?

“Besides spiderman-technique, we have also installed gondola or cradle system in some of the HSBC buildings. Cradle system is an external elevator, where a person can stand and move in any direction. We have also installed aerial platform system. It is kept on the ground and can go up to heights of 36m or above. A trained worker can also climb into the bucket of the aerial platform and clean 52m high.”

Most of the façade cleaning system has been installed during the construction stage. Generally, the architect of the building has discussion with us and incorporates the façade access system in the building. “The system helps us reach and maintain every inch of the building façade. We do not go for scaffolding but go for customized system for a particular building where safety and longevity of our equipment are concerned.

“We only maintain the façade and do not involved in preventive maintenance of windows. Our staff cleans the old glass that has rainbow effect on it, do mastic work if there is a leakage/seepage and even change broken glass. We use glass cleaning chemicals of Scheravan Laboratories and Taski. These chemicals restore the aluminium and composite panels. We use Unger tools to clean the facades.

“In order to get maximum results, we sit with our clients and study the surrounding area thoroughly. If the building is located in the centre of the city, we ask them to clean once in a month. If the glasses are inclined, the possibilities of dust deposition on the glasses are even higher and so we have a schedule for cleaning these glasses once in 15 days.”